Scottish policing needs balanced workforce, says UNISON

26th March 2016

UNISON is calling on all political parties to commit to a balanced workforce in Scottish policing in their 2016 election manifestos.

The present policy of centralisation to cut £1.1bn from the justice budget by 2026 and to maintain an arbitrary politically set target of 17,234 police officers is proving disastrous. Over two thousand police civilian staff jobs have been cut since 2010. That's 1 in 4 reduction in civilian staff jobs. This means less highly skilled finger print officers, crime analysts, forensics, human resources, mechanics, and 999 control room staff, who are all leaving the service.

The need for these jobs is still there which means that higher paid police officers have to carry out tasks which they are not qualified nor skilled to do. This is not best value for Scotland's public finances.

George McIrvine, secretary of UNISON police staff branch said, Present policies are taking Scottish policing back. We are dismantling our modern police force making policing less effective. This is bad for community safety. We have to call a halt to the budget cuts, and look again at the arbitrary politically set target of 17,234 police officers in Scotland.

We agree with the new chief constable when he says we must develop a sustainable operating model. We need to look at the policing needs of our communities and allocated the appropriate resources to achieve this. We think that trade unions should also be on the board of the Scottish Police Authority as our members have vital skills and experience to offer the future of Scottish policing.