Police Scotland defends position after new figures show decrease in Tayside officer numbers

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Police Scotland has defended its position after new figures show that the number of community Tayside officers has decreased since it formed a decade ago.

The latest Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics, published by the Scottish Government, show that local ‘divisional’ officers - the core local resource who patrol streets and respond to calls - has dropped from 968 in 2013 to 933 on December 31, 2021 - a decrease of 35.The number of police officers in Scotland overall has also hit its lowest level since the formation of Police Scotland.The latest statistics show that as of December 31, 2021 there were 17,117 full-time equivalent police officers across Scotland.Twelve out of 13 local divisions have fewer of these officers since Police Scotland was first created, with a total cut of 643 officers across Scotland since 2013, when Scotland’s police force merged.The numbers exclude specialist officers who are shared by different divisions - with Tayside division having 3402 available officers in total.Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith called the latest figures “alarming”.“Community safety, tackling of anti-social behaviour, addressing rural crime, road safety on routes such as the A9 and A85 all require active policing,” she said.“It is alarming to see statistics that show since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013 there has been a decrease in officers in Tayside of 35.“That figure is part of a far wider picture across Scotland which puts pressure on existing officers and means that local policing efforts become more challenging. “In conversations with local officers I know how determined they are to do a good job, to keep our communities safer and to tackle crime across Perth and Kinross. “The Scottish