A Lanarkshire MSP has slammed the Scottish Government for overseeing cuts in the number of frontline police officers in Lanarkshire.
Conservative Meghan Gallacher’s call comes after new statistics showed that over 900 local officers have been lost across Scotland since the SNP merged the force into Police Scotland in 2013, with overall officer numbers at their lowest level since 2008.
Local officer numbers are down by more than 100 compared to this time last year, and down 35 on the first quarter of this year.
In Lanarkshire, there are now 132 fewer officers than nine years ago when SNP ministers created Police Scotland, while over the last quarter officer numbers in Lanarkshire have fallen by 10.
Meghan says it is little surprise to see such a fall in Lanarkshire as the SNP Government have treated police officers “with contempt” and failed to honour spending commitments promised for the policing budget.
She told Lanarkshire Live : “It is local policing divisions such as Lanarkshire that are shamefully but predictably bearing the brunt of the SNP’s brutal underfunding of our police force.
“It is shocking to see such a reduction in local officers from Lanarkshire since SNP Ministers merged forces into Police Scotland in 2013. Sadly, that trend is continuing with each passing quarter.
“It is hardly surprising, though, when the SNP Government have treated our hardworking officers in Lanarkshire with such contempt.
"Officers across Scotland have removed their goodwill after the derisory pay offer that has been put forward.
“SNP Ministers should never have let it get to that stage and for officer numbers to fall so far.
"That only increases the risk of crime in our communities in Lanarkshire, where people like to be reassured by a strong police presence in their local area.”
Justice Secretary Keith Brown said that national police numbers remain higher than at any time during the previous administration.
He continued: “Officer numbers are favourable relative to elsewhere in the UK – with around 31 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland compared to around 24 in England and Wales as at March 2022.
“Officer numbers continue to reflect the impact of COP26 and Covid restrictions, which reduced capacity to train new recruits at the Scottish Police College.
"This is combined with the impact of recent pension changes which I know Police Scotland is alert to and managing, and there has been a decrease in officers numbers over the quarter to 30 June.
“I welcome the fact around 300 new police officers took the oath of office in April and around a further 300 last week – a vocational choice no doubt influenced by the basic starting salary for a constable in Scotland – which is currently approximately five thousand pounds more than that paid to equivalent officers in England and Wales.”
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