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Scotland’s top police officer defends new force

Scotland’s top police officer defends new force

The man in charge of under-fire Police Scotland defends his organisation, insisting the introduction of the new service has been “beneficial”.

Sir Stephen House claims the body has peformed well over its first six months. The new single force has been beset by a series of negative headlines recently.

It has been criticised for planning the closure of 65 public counters at police stations, for shuttlingofficers all over the country, and for failing to give the press and the public details of crimes that have happened in their area.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour hit out after The Courier revealed thousands of police working hours have been lost by Police Scotland as officers travel across the country to “share best practice”.

Justice spokesman Graeme Pearson MSP said: “There has been a long-held fear that the SNP Government’s decisions would usher in a culture of ‘backroom bobbies’ but now we are seeing the emergence of ‘backseat bobbies’ as they are being driven around the country.”

However, Sir Stephen defended Police Scotland.

Writing in The Courier he says: “Local policing is performing strongly. Officers have continued to deal with a range of incidents since the advent ofthe new service and have benefited from additional resource from across the country as and when required.

“It was always anticipated that the public would see little discernible change in policing on a day-to-day basis.” Writing exclusively for The Courier, Sir Stephen House claims the body has peformed well over its first six months.

Read Sir Stephen House’s views in Wednesday’s Courier or try our digital edition.