Police Scotland has defended its position after new figures show that the number of community Tayside officers has decreased since it formed a decade ago.
The latest Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics, published by the Scottish Government, show that local ‘divisional’ officers - the core local resource who patrol streets and respond to calls - has dropped from 968 in 2013 to 933 on December 31, 2021 - a decrease of 35.
The number of police officers in Scotland overall has also hit its lowest level since the formation of Police Scotland.
