Politicians generally avoid being precise in their pre-election manifestos, not least as they fear being held to them should they win.
Not so the SNP who could not have been clearer before the Scottish Government elections.
“We will protect the police resource budget in real terms for the entirety of the next parliament,” they said.
Fast forward a year. That promise has served its purpose and is in the bin.
Police officers are more than used to dealing with people who are economical with the truth; they just don’t expect it from their government.
Some promises it seems are more equal than others.
The message from government is clear, the public sector must reform; it must make more use of technology; it must have a “smarter” estate; and ultimately must shrink to pre-pandemic levels if anyone is to have any hope of a meaningful pay rise in the next few years.
Terrific!
Except all these things have already happened with the police service; not only that they have happened under this government.
This was the government that created Police Scotland, that cut millions from its budget, that forced the closure of hundreds of police stations, and that is presiding over a rise in violent crime as police officers leave in their droves.
‘Whiff of hypocrisy’
Have they forgotten? On the plus side, it is now able to boast the roll out of technology to officers that other forces have had for decades, and we have a handful of electric cars that make for a lovely photo opportunity.
It is hard to avoid the whiff of hypocrisy hanging over a Scottish Government that has spent a decade decrying the approach to policing and justice south of the border, only to now steal the same clothes.
It should take a closer look at our neighbours to learn that cuts to police numbers and funding ultimately bite back.
As of today, Scotland would need approximately 650 more officers to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Headcount alone represents 87% of the police revenue budget. That remaining 13% is what just about manages to keep the show on the road.
Police officer, paramedic, mental health responder….
Police officers are the default out of hours service for mental health emergencies.
They are all too often acting as paramedics and ambulance drivers.
They are the de-facto out of hours social work service, and the same for local authorities.
We have already seen other parts of the public sector steadily retrench to core functions in recent years. Any notion they won’t do the same as belts tighten is an utter fallacy.
The net effect therefore will be an even further diminished police service, fewer police officers, stations, and cars, doing more of the work of others and less and less of their own.
Our communities are already not phoning the police as no one comes; that is about to get a whole lot worse.
No one is saying government faced easy choices; it’s a pity it hasn’t thought more about the consequence of the ones it has made.
Calum Steele is the General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation.
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