A top cop has warned of a mismatch between the falling police budget and the commitment to maintain officer numbers.
The president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) said his members were “paying the price” for the extra workload as backroom staff were cut.
Chief Superintendent Niven Rennie said he wanted to hear what Justice Secretary Michael Matheson had to say about the increased workload when he addressed the ASPS conference at the Scottish Police College in Tulliallan today.
Chief Constable Sir Stephen House will also be at the conference, which aims to challenge current practices across the police spectrum.
Mr Rennie said superintendent numbers had been cut by a quarter since the formation of Police Scotland in April 2013.
“With greater spans of command and little discernible change in the operating model, evidence suggests that the burden being placed on our members is having an adverse effect on their health and wellbeing,” he said.
“Whist I particularly welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to maintaining officer numbers across all ranks – I believe that the desire to maintain these numbers when allied to a substantial reduction in budget does not equate.
“Seventeen thousand two hundred and thirty four (officers) comes with a price tag. You cannot retain numbers and strip out everything else – it just doesn’t make sense.
“With a reduction in numbers and the removal of back office support, my members are paying that price in the hours they are working and the demand they meet.”
A Scottish Government spokesman ministers were committed to maintaining crime at a 40-year low backed by 1,000 extra police officers.
“Reform is ensuring policing can sustain frontline services and will deliver savings of £1.1billion over the next 15 years, largely by reducing the costs of duplication,” he said.
“There has been significant change over the past two years, with reductions in the number of senior officers and directors, to reflect the creation of a single service.”
He added: “It is for the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to ensure issues raised about health and wellbeing continue to be addressed as a priority.”