Police Officers 'Solving Fewer Crimes'

Police in Scotland have resolved fewer crimes as a single force, a think-tank has claimed.

That's according to think-tank Reform Scotland, who say centralisation hasn't worked.

Eight police forces were amalgamated in 2013, since then the number of cleared-up crimes has fallen by around 60,000. That's despite recorded crime dropping by 35% during the same period.

Trade unions including Unison have suggested that police officers are spending more time covering work previously carried out by civilian staff. Reform Scotland is questioning if the pledge to recruit 1,000 extra officers - which they say has resulted in police officers having to carry out backroom duties, as opposed to being out on the street - is delivering value for taxpayers’ money.  They're urging the Government to review this policy.

Should the Scottish Government remove the pledge, it would not necessarily lead to a reduction in police officers. However it would give greater operational freedom to the police to decide how to best use their own resources, ensuring deployment was an operational, not a political decision.

Reform Scotland’s Research Director Alison Payne said the figures "speak for themselves".

"It has been suggested that police officers have to carry out duties previously carried out by civilian staff, which would certainly help explain this situation. After all, it is not just the number of police officers that is important, but how they are deployed. As a result we would urge the Scottish Government to review the 1,000 extra officers pledge to ensure that the policy is delivering value for taxpayers’ money.  

"Reform Scotland disagreed with the formation of a single police force, and we remain opposed on the grounds that the single force does not offer the necessary flexibility to deal with regional and local differences. While we accept that further police reorganisation will not happen in the short-term, we do believe that the single police force does not need to be such a centralised one and have set out policies which could give a greater voice to local communities."

'Doesn't reflect modern policing'

Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson said: "This report does not reflect the delivery of modern policing in Scotland in 2015. 

"Police Scotland has been focused on keeping people safe during the biggest period of public sector reform and structural change to policing in more than a generation. Savings which are the equivalent to the combined budgets of three legacy police forces have been achieved at the same time as performance levels have been maintained and public confidence levels have remained high. 

"There has never been more scrutiny of policing in Scotland and our performance is reported regularly in public locally and nationally. We remain committed to maintaining a minimum of 17,234 police officers who, working alongside police staff, work around the clock to deal with priorities set by communities and protecting public safety."