Fears over police cuts dismissed

Fears about cuts to frontline policing were dismissed by First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday.

Concerns were raised in the Scottish Parliament that officers could be taken off the beat to cover for civilian administrative staff made redundant. Grampian Joint Police Board convener Martin Greig has warned MSPs that officers could be transferred to desk duties if the draft budget goes ahead as planned.

The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents has written to Holyrood’s justice committee claiming that spending plans will lead to significant cuts in officers and a reduction in the quality of service enjoyed by the public.

It warned that “a systematic failure” is likely to occur, and of an inability to respond appropriately to major civil and criminal contingencies.

The concerns were raised by Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker at Holyrood. “Is it not the case that police superintendents and Grampian Police have raised concerns about the impact of the draft budget and Strathclyde Police will face a shortfall next year of some £12million with a potential for redundancies among support staff?” he asked. “Does the first minister agree that forces must be able to recruit and retain police officers and they should be on the beat, not doing jobs previously carried out by civilian staff?”

Mr Salmond replied that there were 1,044 more officers in Scotland “to do the job”, referring to the extra police recruited since the SNP came to power in 2007.

He said anyone in public service was entitled to express concerns given the £500million cut in the Scottish budget by Westminster.

The draft budget shows that the police grant will be £586.7million in 2010-11, an increase of 3.1% on this year, Mr Salmond said.