Warning underfunding has led to 'policing deserts'

A lack of investment in Police Scotland has led to large areas of the country becoming "policing deserts", officers have warned.

The chair of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank and file officers, has warned Justice Secretary Angela Constance that station closures and stress on serving officers have left areas with "an almost invisible policing presence, providing an utterly reactive service".

David Threadgold's comments came on the first say of the SPF's conference at the Trump Turnberry resort.

The budget for policing in Scotland is 2024-25 is £1.5bn, and ministers have previously defended increased spending and a move to increase officer numbers.

Mr Threadgold's speech at the conference was delivered directly to the justice secretary.

He said Police Scotland had 17,496 officers when created in 2013, but this had dropped to below 16,000 after a recruitment freeze between September 2023 and March 2024.

He said this had led to fewer officers, facing increased demand and had created "record absence through physical and mental health illness, challenges with recruitment, retention and job satisfaction".

Mr Threadgold's numbers are disputed by Police Scotland, which puts the current number serving at 16,631.

He also said the move to a more reactive service was an "inevitable consequence" and warned of a bleak future for the force.

"Changes to pension regulations, a crisis where over 3,700 - almost one quarter of serving police officers in Scotland can retire in the next four years - creates risk now and in the future," he said.

"So how does the organisation mitigate the potential loss of not just officer numbers, but the experience, rank and corporate knowledge that will go with them, and why is no-one asking why?"

Mr Threadgold continued: "Since its inception in 2013, Police Scotland has closed over 140 police stations across our country, three in the east of Scotland in the last month, with many more across the communities of Scotland in the pipeline.

"Chronic underinvestment in policing, and in particular the police estate, has resulted in a situation where large areas of our country have become 'policing deserts' with an almost invisible policing presence, providing an utterly reactive service."

He added that underinvestment in the police estate was creating problems.

"A recent SPF deep-dive shows that some of our colleagues are still, 12 years into the creation of Police Scotland, working in terrible conditions, unfit and unacceptable for a modern 21st Century service," he said directly to Angela Constance.

"The difference between the 'haves and the have nots' across the policing estate is frankly unacceptable and for that, your government should be ashamed."

Responding to the comments, the justice secretary said: "We are investing a record £1.62bn for policing in 2025-26 - an increase of £70m on 2024-25 - and Police Scotland is taking on the highest number of recruits since 2013, with the chief constable stating that 123 new probationary constables took their oath of office this month, maintaining officer establishment at 16,631.

"Scottish police officers have consistently been the best paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum of each rank."

Constance added: "We welcome the outcome of the recent arbitration process, which means that police officers in Scotland will receive an uplift of 4.75%, backdated to 1 April 2024 in their March salaries, recognising the hard work and valuable contribution that police officers make.

"Recruitment and deployment are operational matters for the chief constable, who has the flexibility to develop her workforce to best keep our communities safe," she added.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr MSP said the remarks showed the "devastating impact SNP cuts are having on frontline policing".

"For far too long dedicated officers have been expected to do their job with one hand tied behind their backs, leaving communities up and down Scotland at the mercy of criminals," he said.

"The recruitment and retention crisis facing the force is entirely of the SNP's own making as they have ignored warnings from the police about the impact a fall in officer numbers is having on tackling rising levels of crime."

He added: "SNP ministers must accept that policing our communities cannot simply be reliant on the goodwill of officers. They should show some common sense by finally providing Police Scotland with the funding they need to keep communities safe."