Cutting police staff will take officers off the street

UNISON Scotland has issued a stark warning to MSPs – cut police staff and you cut frontline services.

The union told Holyrood’s Justice Committee that reducing the number of police staff will result in less police officers on the beat and a potential increase in crime in local communities. It has also branded the Government’s plans to recruit 1,000 additional police officers as nothing more than a “cosmetic political exercise”.

Police boards currently face a real terms cut of at least six per cent and, as police numbers have to be maintained, the cuts will fall almost entirely on police (civilian) staff. Boards have also reported that, as a consequence, they will have to backfill civilian posts with police officers.

UNISON’s Scottish Organiser Dave Watson said: “Police staff deliver a wide range of routine, complex and specialised functions that are central to modern day police forces.

“Maintaining an additional 1,000 police officers in this budget is a purely cosmetic political exercise. In practice, even more police officers will be taken off the street to perform tasks they are unsuited or unqualified to do - at a huge additional cost to the taxpayer.”

“Focusing cuts on police staffs will have serious implications for policing across Scotland and it is vital that we protect the ability to deliver our frontline services”, added Dave.

headlines . top