The chief constable of Police Scotland has said the force is having to “make do and mend” because of its “derisory” capital budget.
Iain Livingstone’s comments came after video footage emerged of shoddy conditions inside a Perthshire police station.
The phone film shows evidence bags taped over plug sockets at the Pitlochry office, to protect them from rainwater pouring through broken window frames.
The clip was released by the Scottish Police Federation, ahead of talks about the state of the country’s police stations.
The potential impact of continuing budget cuts was spelled out by Chief Constable Livingstone at Friday’s Scottish Police Authority meeting.
Chief constable Livingstone said officers are having to “make do and mend” because of a lack of proper funding.
He said: “Our capital budget is derisory for the size of organisation that we’ve got.
“We’ve come so far with our ability to make do and mend. We have come so far with officers and staff and cone so far with workarounds.”
The video of Pitlochry station was released by the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, who said the current police estate is falling apart.
It follows a similar video showing a leaking roof in a police building in Paisley.
SPF vice chairman David Hamilton said a quarter of buildings are in a “poor condition” while nearly two-thirds of police buildings are over 40 years old.
Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins from Police Scotland said the Pitlochry station was one of a number of buildings that is in a poor condition.
He said: “We inherited a policing estate which had been built up over the course of several decades and which has suffered from a historic lack of investment.
“Some buildings are no longer in the right place, operationally fit for purpose or designed in a way which allows us to work alongside key partners.
“I am grateful to officers and staff who continue to work tirelessly in challenging conditions and am committed to finding solutions that improve the environment from which we operate.”
