Police from the Central Belt regularly patrolled the A9 on motorbikes while their boss was unaware of the costs involved, it has been revealed.
A report drawn up by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) concluded the “functional costs” of road policing are “not yet fully understood” by Police Scotland.
Inspectors found the head of road policing and other senior managers felt it was not always possible for them to be fully accountable for associated costs.
HMICS found the annual budget for road policing for the 2013-14 financial year was £26.7 million and they examined data regarding costs up to January 31.
Inspectors established the allocated budget for road policing did not match actual “emerging structures”.
“We concluded the functional costs of road policing are not yet fully understood by Police Scotland,” the report said.
“At the time of our inspection, there was no functional financial information being made available to the head of road policing, with the exception of devolved overtime control.
“This meant the head of road policing and other senior managers felt it was not always possible for them to be fully accountable for the costs associated with some aspects of functional decision making.”
The report continued: “For example, motorcyclists were regularly being deployed from the Central Belt to patrol the A9 but there was no financial analysis of whether the ability to operate regionally or nationally had led to an increase in fleet operation costs.”
Superintendent Iain Murray, head of road policing for Police Scotland, replied: “At the time of the inspection, November 2013, the road policing budget was still being developed.
“As we move forward, more information is becoming available which will make it easier to understand the full cost of operations in the future.
“We balance providing value for money with prioritising our patrols where they can be most effective and where they are needed to improve road safety.”