THE number of police officers in Scotland is “not sustainable”, it has been claimed.
At a Scottish Police Authority (SPA) meeting yesterday, vice-chair David Crichton also said “difficult choices” will have to be made to address the deficit. He told the meeting in Edinburgh: “With almost 90% of the budget allocated to officer and staff costs, it does mean that difficult choices are going to have to be made over the next weeks and months.
“Current officer numbers are not sustainable within the existing budget so something has to change on that front.”
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Chief Constable Iain Livingstone told the meeting there had been an increase in the demands on officers in 2019.
He said there was an almost 20% rise – from around 1500 to 1800 – in the number of loyalist and republican marches in Scotland, as well as a higher number of spontaneous protests such as those by Extinction Rebellion.
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“My priority is to build a sustainable police service that has the right mix of police officers and police staff that operates within its budget,” he said.
“The challenge for us is showing the value that having a strong police service provides and at this stage making a case for further investment.”
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