Fife’s chief constable has given an assurance that local policing will not be compromised by a single force.
Norma Graham spoke out as the region prepares to see its police and fire responses merged into single Scottish services.
She said the public would notice superficial changes after the single Scottish police force is introduced in just over a year’s time, but the ”essence” of Fife Constabulary would continue with the work of local officers.
Speaking at this week’s meeting of Fife’s police, fire and safety committee, Mrs Graham said: ”What does this mean for the people of Fife? The area I want people to take some comfort from is, while the entity of Fife Constabulary will stop being on April 1 2013, and the badges will look different and the cars will have slightly different branding, it will be the same people driving them and it will be the same staff who delivered an almost halving of crime over the past four years.
”For me the essence of policing in Fife is not about what is tagged ‘Fife Constabulary’ it is about the people who deliver it. It won’t change in the hearts and spirits of the people who deliver it.”
Mrs Graham was among senior police and fire officers who joined councillors for the last meeting of the current committee, held at Fife Fire and Rescue Service’s headquarters in Thornton.
Following the May election, the committee will only be in place for a matter of months before it is dissolved, with funding for the emergency services set to be taken out of the hands of Fife Council.
In the place of the committee will be ‘Pathfinder’ scrutiny groups.
The chief constable said Fife Constabulary aimed to ensure areas of good practice were taken into the single service.
In recent years the force has rolled out a programme of community engagement, to increase the use of local intelligence in fighting crime. The scheme has been hailed as one of the force’s biggest success stories.
”We want to take a bit of Fife into the national service in fact we want to take a huge bit of Fife into that service,” said Mrs Graham.
She said the single police force would face huge financial challenges as it accommodates financial constraints.
The Scottish Government has set a target of a £106m reduction in costs as a result of police reform.
”I have every faith in our people that they will be able to deliver ” and the people of Fife will get the service they are looking for,” said Mrs Graham. ”Local accountability is absolutely critical to policing in a democratic society.”
After April next year, the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan will serve as an interim base for Mrs Graham and her immediate command team.
Mrs Graham said preparing for the implementation of police reform had meant ”onerous” work for staff and had caused some anxiety among the workforce.
And she said Chief Superintendent Garry McEwan and Deputy Chief Constable Andrew Barker had done a ”fantastic job” in maintaining morale through the changes.
As part of the reform, police complaints will no longer be handled by neighbouring police forces but by an independent police investigation and review commissioner.