Police Numbers Down In Scotland

The number of police officers in Scotland has fallen since the start of the year.

There are 17,272 officers across the country, 23 less than during the first quarter of the year and 46 less than this time last year. Numbers were at an all time high at the start of 2013 - before the single Scottish force was introduced - but have fallen by around 200 since then.

Community Safety and Legal Affairs Minister Paul Wheelhouse said:

"Recorded crime is at a 40 year low, with violent crime down 52 per cent and crimes of handling an offensive weapon (including knives) down 62 per cent since 2006-07. These strong statistics are backed by over 1,000 extra police officers that this Government has delivered since 2007. However, on behalf of the Scottish Government I want to thank all the officers and their support staff within Police Scotland for all they do to prevent and detect crime, for protecting the public and for helping to ensure communities across Scotland are safer.

"This publication shows police officer numbers continue to exceed targets and demonstrates that, through working in partnership with Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, we continue to honour the commitment we gave to the people of Scotland to deliver 1,000 additional officers."