Officer numbers will fall to more than a thousand fewer than minimum promised by Government as force seeks ideas from cops to generate cash and make up budget shortfall
The body that represents 98% of Scotland’s police officers will warn the SNP conference tomorrow that budget cuts have left the national force on its knees with officer numbers set to fall further to a record low.
It will tell those attending that so few of the more recent recruits are trained to drive emergency vehicles that the force is trying to entice retired staff to come back and do driving shifts. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Record, Kennedy said: “I’m glad the new chief constable has also recognised this in her first public statement, but I can’t stress enough the importance of community policing.
“You don’t get to hear about who or what people are worried about, you lose that trust and that link to people in the community. “It comes down to budgets. If we want a well-staffed, motivated police service that has good relationships with the communities of Scotland, we need the resources in place to police effectively and keep the public safe.”
“Only the police has the power to close roads, so it’s not controversial, but it would be a whole different territory to open up our national force to becoming reliant on commercial industry to fund itself. It would compromise the police service and could lead to corruption or the perception of corruption.”
“My operational focus is on threat, harm, and risk. Police Scotland will focus on prevention, problem solving and proactivity, and on looking after our hard-working officers and staff so our people can deliver our vital public service.”
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