Official Report 817KB pdf
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-20730, in the name of Pauline McNeill, on community policing. I invite members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons.
16:01
Vital to any high-performing justice system is a well-trusted, visible police service. Scotland’s police force is respected across the world, but there can be no doubt that, in the past 19 years, the Scottish National Party’s lack of leadership and investment has reduced public confidence and eroded the police’s ability to respond to all types of crime. Police stations are closing, officer numbers are dwindling and crime is not being responded to.
People want to see and feel the presence of the police, but that must mean their presence in all Scotland’s communities. Our communities must know that the police will turn up when crime is reported and that it will be investigated to the highest standards. Violent crime in Scotland is rising—including sexual crimes such as rape and attempted rape—as are domestic abuse and weapons offences.
The increase in the carrying of weapons is understandably causing fear in communities. Will Linden, deputy head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, stated:
“The biggest challenge we have is increasing carrying of weapons”.
In the 12 months to April last year, weapons were found 231 times during searches on children—the highest total in eight years—and a 10-year-old boy in Edinburgh was the youngest person to be caught with a knife. Jimmy Paul, the unit’s head, has said that he is worried about recent trends in which young people view violent content online and use social media to organise fights. Although fewer of our older children are getting involved in violence, more of our younger children—eight, 10 and 11-year-olds—are doing so. That trend is of concern, he said.
Scottish Labour believes that strengthening community policing is an essential part of the strategy for dealing with such young children. We would restore at least 360 police officers to the front line in local divisions, which would boost community policing teams. That would mean that every council ward in Scotland would have a named officer who would build relationships in the community and gather intelligence on crime in local areas. We believe that building relationships in our communities is vital to fighting such crime.
We would also reduce the amount of time that police officers have to spend stuck in accident and emergency, through our new mental health response service. Scotland’s police officers currently have to deal with almost 700 mental health-related incidents each day. Between April and October last year, police officers responded to more than 122,000 incidents, which represented one in five of all incidents that officers attended. However, the vast majority of such calls do not involve criminality. Expecting police officers to fill the gap left by our struggling national health service is placing a huge strain on our already stretched police force.
As part of our plan to combine NHS 24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service into a strengthened emergency response health board, Scottish Labour would create a dedicated mental health response division. That would be a default blue-light service for mental health crisis calls, and so reduce the number of calls that would require Police Scotland to attend.
Only this week, David Kennedy, the head of the Scottish Police Federation, highlighted claims that the police are expected to operate like a “nanny force”, by plugging gaps in social services, which is leaving communities without
“adequate protection from serious crime.”
It is reported that 80 per cent of call-outs involve no criminality, with police time being increasingly taken up by public safety concerns, wellbeing checks and mental health crises. That simply has to end.
It is no surprise, therefore, that police morale is at an all-time low. Police officers must be allowed to do the job that they are trained for, as the public would expect. However, our police service has been hollowed out since its creation 13 years ago. Police Scotland has made savings of more than £1 billion, but it has not been allowed to reinvest any of those savings back into our police force. The police estate has been decimated, with a staggering 150 police stations closed in the past two years.
The public consensus is that that is compromising community safety. However, there are still some crimes to which the police do not turn up, as a result of what is called the proportionate response to crime initiative.
It is unacceptable that Police Scotland was the last force in the United Kingdom to roll out body-worn cameras. It is important for police officers to be able to fight crime in the best way, and with the best equipment, but, in Scotland, they have not been able to do that.
Given all that, it is unsurprising that so many officers are choosing to leave their careers early. I see that as the most vital issue in policing today. More than 1,700 police officers have quit the profession in the past two years, and officers are leaving at the rate of 16 every week. Too many officers are disillusioned and are leaving jobs or taking early retirement.
We need to start making police officers feel properly valued, and we need to reverse that trend. There are now more than 1,000 fewer police officers than when Police Scotland was formed back in 2013. It is no surprise that that is having an impact on officers who are currently serving.
The Scottish Police Federation has said that the Government’s budget as drafted falls well below what is needed to stabilise officer numbers and meet rising demand, and we have still to see the full impact of that.
I believe that the most significant task ahead is to deal with the challenge of so many officers who are—as I said—leaving the job early. We must invest properly in the service to sustain police numbers. We must properly support police officers. We must reduce the practice of cancelling leave so that we have a strong, well-equipped police force that serves in communities, so that those communities see that their police officers and their police service are visible to them.
I move,
That the Parliament regrets that cuts to police officer numbers have disproportionately fallen on local divisions, reducing the number of officers on the frontline; is deeply concerned about reports of rising crime, particularly violent crime; recognises that the proportion of people reporting that they feel safe after dark is at the lowest point on record; considers that failures to modernise the court system and support mental health care have resulted in a poor use of police officer time, which should be focused on reducing crime; believes that there is a need to restore community policing, and calls for the creation of community and crime prevention officers in every council ward in Scotland.
16:07
I thank Police Scotland officers and staff for their dedication in keeping our communities safe. The Scottish Government recognises their vital role, which is why, building on last year’s record investment of £1.64 billion for policing, we will be investing further record funding of more than £1.7 billion in 2026-27. That includes uplifts for both resource and capital funding and will allow Police Scotland to deliver on its priorities, including front-line service delivery.
Our investment in policing has enabled Police Scotland to take on more recruits in the last financial year than it has at any time since 2013. Police Scotland has confirmed that there is a healthy recruitment pipeline, In that it has welcomed around 1,840 new officers since the beginning of 2024.
In addition, as of 30 September 2025, there were around 30 full-time-equivalent officers per 10,000 members of the population, in comparison with 24 full-time equivalent officers per 10,000 in England and Wales. I am sure that everyone will welcome the fact that our police officers are receiving the best basic pay in the UK at the minimum and maximum points of each rank.
Public safety and crime statistics are a key measurement of the effectiveness of policing. The latest published statistics, from September, show that recorded crime had halved from its peak in 1991 and that, since the Scottish National Party came into office, it has reduced by 38 per cent.
Last year’s Scottish crime and justice survey showed that the proportion of adults who felt safe walking alone after dark in their local area had increased from 66 per cent in 2008-09 to 75 per cent in 2023-24; the proportion who worried they that they would be physically assaulted in a public place had fallen from 31 per cent to 15 per cent; and the proportion who thought that people carrying knives was common in their area had fallen from 22 per cent to 13 per cent.
However, I completely understand that perceptions and experiences of safety can vary from area to area. Therefore, it is important that we talk about the facts in the round when we talk about crime and policing, in terms of both long-term trajectories and more recent changes. We need to use that information to understand the changing nature of crime.
The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, which created our national police service, also ensures that there is full operational independence, meaning that how and where officers are deployed are matters for the chief constable. The act also ensures that local authorities have a say in shaping priorities in their areas, which is better than was the case in the past. I recognise that community policing is a vital part of keeping our communities safe, which is why I welcome that it is front and centre in both Police Scotland’s three-year business plan and its strategic policing plan.
Turning to the wider justice system, the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 places victims and witnesses at the heart of a modern and fair justice system and includes significant new measures to meet the needs of the survivors of sexual offences. The act is part of a continually evolving justice landscape, with our police very much at the heart of it.
We all want to ensure that our officers have the time to police. There are significant endeavours to protect officers’ time and better deploy them through a range of initiatives that reduce unnecessary demand on policing and ensure that people receive the most appropriate support. That includes the distress brief intervention programme and the strengthening of the enhanced mental health pathway, which is underpinned by investment of £18.5 million for NHS 24, with referrals up by 36 per cent. For my part, I will keep pushing for better pace and scalability of reform.
Alongside that, summary case management is streamlining criminal justice processes by reducing avoidable court attendances, enabling cases to be progressed more efficiently and minimising the time that officers spend waiting in court. Members will recall that the pilot programme demonstrated that 500 summary trials were not required to be fixed, which ensured that 18,000 witnesses, including 11,000 police officers, did not have to attend court. The roll-out of summary case management, the digital evidence-sharing capability programme and the use of body-worn video cameras are all vital reforms. Those initiatives, along with many others, will go a long way to ensure that mean officer hours are being released, which will allow greater focus on visible, front-line and community policing, crime prevention and protecting the public.
I move amendment S6M-20730.1, to leave out from “regrets” to end and insert:
“acknowledges that Scotland is a safe country with recorded crime having decreased by 38% since 2006-7 and that homicide is at its lowest level since comparable records began in 1976; recognises that in 2025-26, the Scottish Government increased police funding to a record £1.64 billion, investment which enabled Police Scotland to take on more recruits in the last financial year than at any time since 2013, and that the draft Budget has a further record investment in policing of £1.7 billion in 2026-27; condemns the UK Government’s employer national insurance increase, which is costing Police Scotland over £25 million every year; commends the hard work, dedication and commitment of all the officers and staff of Police Scotland; is pleased that police officers in Scotland receive the best basic pay in the UK at the minimum and maximum of each rank, and that there are around 30 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers per 10,000 population, compared with around 24 FTE officers in England and Wales; notes that Police Scotland has an important role to play in addressing community concerns or tensions and there should be no tolerance for hate crime in a modern society; recognises that, whilst the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows a long-term increase in the proportion of people who report feeling safe in their local area, perceptions of safety can vary significantly between communities; further recognises that, in September 2025, Parliament agreed the landmark Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Act, which will introduce reforms to place victims and witnesses at the heart of the justice and courts system, establish a Sexual Offences Court, improve the Victim Notification Scheme and parole system, and introduce a Victims Commissioner, and calls on the Scottish Government to continue its focus on reducing crime and reoffending and supporting victims.”
I call Liam Kerr to speak to and move amendment S6M-20730.2.
16:13
We cannot fix a problem if we do not first acknowledge that it exists. That is why the Pollyanna contribution that we have just heard from the cabinet secretary is so concerning, because the fact is that crime is rising and people out there know it. Recorded crime is up by 2 per cent; non-sexual violent crime is up by 3 per cent; and sexual crime is up by 7 per cent. Nearly one in every five adults in Scotland was a victim of at least one crime in 2023-24. Given that the cabinet secretary is so fond of comparisons, it is surprising that she omitted to mention that people are more likely to be a victim of violent crime in Scotland than they are in England and Wales.
The cabinet secretary’s amendment would completely delete any reference to police numbers. I remind her that there are around 1,000 fewer officers today than there were in 2020. Despite nearly 20 years of manifesto promises, warm words and targets, there are basically the same number of officers as there were in 2007. Since police officer applications show steep falls, while resignations and retirements are rising, the situation shows no sign of reversal.
What is the impact of that? Police Scotland has over 900 fewer police officers who have a decade or more of experience than it did in 2019. Of the officers who are in post, one in seven—more than 2,300—are on light or modified duties due to illness or injury. It is no wonder that Audit Scotland reported last month that there is “no evidence” that the current complements of officers and staff represent the right numbers for future policing demand.
What about the cabinet secretary’s proud boasts about funding? David Kennedy of the SPF recently said:
“If ministers want a police service that prevents crime, supports victims and responds when communities need it, they must fund policing at the level required”.
What is that level? The chief constable told us that the sum in her budget request would strengthen the front line by funding 850 officers and 348 staff. What was this Government’s response? It was £15 million less than the amount that was requested.
I credit the Labour motion for not only identifying the problems but for proposing solutions, because there is a need to restore community policing. In October, we set out in our justice policy the need for that to boost confidence in the police, keep people safe, reduce antisocial behaviour and crack down on crime. However, I worry that the call in the Labour motion for
“the creation of community and crime prevention officers in every council ward in Scotland”
might risk stretching already limited police resources and force policing into a rigid structure that might not match the level of local need.
In my amendment, I have proposed a further solution. The SPF has warned that officers are spending between 40 and 60 per cent of their operational capacity dealing with health-related incidents. That means that a huge amount of police time is being diverted away from tackling crime because of wider public sector challenges that the Scottish Government is also refusing to address.
In my amendment and my justice paper, I addressed that issue by recommending the adoption of a right care, right person model, which is about focusing police time on crime and public safety. In brief, police will attend if there is risk, but health professionals will take the lead if there is a health issue. Here is a comparison for the cabinet secretary—such a model has saved nearly 19,000 hours every month for the Metropolitan Police and nearly 5,000 hours every month in Essex.
The Scottish Conservatives agree with the motion that, before identifying solutions, we must recognise the problems that have been caused by nearly two decades of a failing SNP Government. Once we have done that, the solutions become clear. We would back our police officers, stop wasting their time, ensure that they are visible in their communities and give them the powers that they need to do their jobs. That is what the amended motion would deliver.
I move amendment S6M-20730.2, to leave out from “for the creation” to end and insert:
“on the Scottish Government to reduce non-crime demand on Police Scotland and accelerate delivery of a ‘Right Care, Right Person’ style model.”
16:17
When we talk about community policing, what we are really talking about is the values that we think should be at the heart of our communities, and we are talking about safety. Safety is not simply the absence of crime; it is the presence of justice, dignity and trust. That must be the foundation of how we approach policing in our communities.
Much is often made of violent crime, and it is right that we take harm seriously. However, we also need honesty and perspective. Long-term trends show that recorded violent crime in Scotland has generally fallen over recent decades. That trend matters, because it challenges the narrative of constant escalation that is so often used to justify fear-based policies. It reminds us that safety cannot be built on panic, sensationalism or punitive reflexes, but on evidence, prevention and care.
At the same time, perceptions of safety tell a more complicated story. Many people—particularly women, racialised communities, LGBTQIA+ people and disabled people—still feel unsafe in their daily lives. That fear is real. However, responding to it requires us to understand where risk truly lies and to tackle its root causes: poverty, inequality, trauma, exclusion and the erosion of the public services that once held communities together.
Nowhere is the gap between rhetoric and reality clearer than in how we respond to racism and the rise of the far right. In the north-east, far-right groups have sought to organise and intimidate. Last year, in its 20th year, Aberdeen’s anti-racism march was attacked by members of a known racist and anti-immigrant group, who verbally and physically assaulted people who were attending a peaceful community event. The police did not prevent the confrontation, nor did they effectively stop it while it was happening. Instead, anti-racists stepped in to protect one another. That is not policing by consent; that is a failure of protection.
We have seen armed police deployed to arrest peaceful protesters who demonstrate against the genocide in Palestine—protesters who were later cleared of wrongdoing in court. Communities are left asking, “What are the police up to? What about proportionality and priorities? Why does peaceful protest appear to attract a heavy response, while racist intimidation appears to go unchallenged?”
What about consistency in the application of laws around stirring up hatred? At anti-immigrant demonstrations, individuals have openly called for the mass deportation of all black and brown people from Scotland, repeated antisemitic conspiracy theories or worse. There have been patterns of harassment: people have been followed, targeted and subjected to malicious allegations. Are we waiting for serious bodily harm to occur before intervention is deemed to be justified? Where is the bar for recognising intimidation and instigation?
Police Scotland must take seriously its responsibility to rebuild trust. Protecting free speech and the right to peaceful assembly must mean protecting those who stand against racism, not leaving them to defend themselves. Taking hate seriously means acting early, consistently and visibly. Community policing must mean standing with those who are targeted by hate, not treating them as collateral in a public order calculation.
Policing does not exist in isolation, and I appreciate Labour’s comments about officers being pulled into supporting people who are facing mental health crises or waiting for court processes to happen—that is not fair or right. If we are serious about community safety, we must think across portfolios—mental health provision, anti-poverty work, youth services and housing. Prevention is not a slogan; it requires investment. We must also be honest about where the risk is shifting. For many, cybercrime, online fraud and digital exploitation now pose greater threats than violence by strangers. If we misread risk, we misallocate resources.
Community policing must be rooted in equality, justice, accountability and compassion. If we want trust, we must earn it through consistency, protection of rights and a commitment to tackle harm wherever it arises.
16:21
I thank Pauline McNeill for bringing the debate to the chamber today. There can be no doubt about the pressures on policing across Scotland and the impact of that on local communities. Against a backdrop of increasing complexity in the crime landscape, taking robust and urgent action to address those pressures is critical.
The decline in police numbers is one important aspect of the debate, and colleagues have rightly highlighted how workforce pressures are most keenly felt in neighbourhood policing capacity. I certainly see that in my Orkney constituency, where overall numbers are at a bare minimum and recruitment challenges are on-going. It is crucial that local forces are properly staffed in order to ensure that policing is effective and to maintain morale in the service and confidence among the wider public.
Worryingly, in Police Scotland’s 2025 local policing survey, only 23 per cent of respondents thought that the police dealt with local issues. In the latest Scottish crime and justice survey, fewer than half of respondents thought that the police were effective at preventing crime. I recognise that having bobbies on the beat does not necessarily reflect modern demands on the police and policing, but when officers are not visible in local areas and certain crimes are not being investigated as a matter of course, community policing is difficult to sustain.
In return, public confidence starts to erode. Add to that the inability to call the local police station—if it is not already closed—to report an incident and it is not hard to see how tensions can arise between police and local communities. To be clear, that is not a criticism of officers and staff, who are stretched to the limits and asked to do more with less, or at least work with resources that fail to keep pace with growing demands. It is little wonder that we see—as Pauline McNeill identified—officers and staff leaving the force in sizeable numbers, which strips away capacity and invaluable experience.
One of the most notable pressures is the significant rise in non-criminal health and care work. As we have heard, the force faces almost 700 mental health-related incidents a day, and the Scottish Police Federation has highlighted that officers can spend entire shifts with an individual who is detained under place of safety orders.
The police essentially plug gaps in our health and care system by acting as a crisis care provider of last resort. That is not in the interests of vulnerable individuals, who need appropriate, often specialist support, not officers who are diverted from the prevention and detection of crime. That is not safe or sustainable, and it requires urgent redress from ministers.
In the meantime, inefficiencies in the court system, with delays and repeat adjournments taking officers away from front-line duties, simply compound the problems. Chief Constable Jo Farrell estimated that, in 2024, that involved as many as 500 officers a day, with only 15 per cent ultimately giving evidence. That is in no one’s interest, and it demands to be addressed.
Community policing relies on visibility, stability and building trust. That requires officers to be present in communities to respond to crime and to engage in prevention by working closely with other local partners. Community policing has always been a great strength of policing in Scotland, but it now faces a pretty existential threat.
I thank Pauline McNeill for giving us the chance to shine a light on these issues, and I urge the Government to take the urgent steps that are needed to safeguard this critical aspect of policing in Scotland.
We move to the open debate.
16:25
SNP members often like to hide behind carefully chosen statistics that hide the real situation on the ground and how people are feeling, but, on this issue, the numbers speak for themselves. As was mentioned earlier, there are now 1,000 fewer officers than there were when Police Scotland was established. Many officers are now on clerical duties, because many support staff have been done away with. That ties in with the complaints that I get about never seeing a police officer.
There are 25 fewer officers in this quarter than there were in the previous quarter. Crime is up 2 per cent, violent crime is up 3 per cent and sexual crime is up 7 per cent. Those statistics reflect what people feel on the ground. It is not fear that people feel. They feel alone, because they know that, when they are in need of police assistance, help will be a little bit further away than it should be—if it comes at all.
Larkhall police station, in my constituency, is set to close its doors to public access, and the same is true for stations in Bellshill and Blantyre, in neighbouring constituencies. That ties in with the pattern of local services closing. A bank in my constituency closed recently, which will affect the vulnerable in society, and the police station is now set to follow suit. People are worried that their town, which is not insubstantial—15,000 people live in Larkhall, and it supports a further 15,000 people in the surrounding rural areas—is being forgotten. Given that the heart keeps getting ripped out of small towns, has the SNP Government forgotten about community spirit and the people SNP members were elected to serve? It is shameful that vital services are falling by the wayside while the Scottish Government does nothing about it.
If members speak to people in Larkhall, they will tell them that they now have to travel to Hamilton, take justice into their own hands or just not bother complaining and be a victim of crime. However, I am told that the desk at Hamilton police station is not manned in the evening, so I do not know where we go with that. I wonder which of those options the justice minister would like to suggest to my Larkhall constituents, because I do not know what to tell them.
Starving vital police services of essential funding is not like the mismanagement of health services. Families cannot go private, as they have to for hip replacements.
It is clear that the SNP does not have a plan to make our streets safer. The lack of community policing—in fact, any policing—will lead to more antisocial behaviour and people feeling less safe in their homes. Scottish Labour will restore much-needed investment in community policing, with a named officer responsible for every council ward, as has been mentioned.
If constituents want to feel safe where they live, they need to kick out the SNP Government in May. The SNP acts as though it does not care about the people it is there to protect. The SNP says that, if people vote for it and independence, it will be utopia, the garden of Eden and heaven all rolled up into one. Aye, right. The SNP Government can con some people some of the time, but the people of Scotland are finally beginning to see it for what it is doing in wrecking essential public services and breaking community spirits. Scottish Labour will fight that every step of the way.
16:29
Presiding Officer,
“Community policing matters to us all. It brings significant benefits by strengthening trust, visibility and collaboration between police and the public.”
Those are not my words; they are the words of Stuart Murray, the community policing chief inspector in East Dunbartonshire, whose team works closely with residents and business, doing exactly what the role of community police should be about.
For the past decade, I have witnessed local community police in my constituency address issues proactively, whether by tackling shoplifting through targeted patrols, working in partnership with retailers or reducing youth disorder by building positive relationships and offering early interventions. That said, I take Pauline McNeill’s point about younger children carrying weapons, which is very concerning.
As Stuart Murray has said, regular engagement, including holding community surgeries in the form of pop-ups across the East Dunbartonshire area, helps residents to feel heard and supported while providing accessible opportunities to share concerns. That approach not only improves safety and gives reassurance but empowers communities to play an active role alongside their local problem-solving policing teams.
There has been no decline in community policing in Strathkelvin and Bearsden over the years—if anything, it has been stepped up incrementally. That brings me to the Labour motion. I do not believe that it is representative of what is happening on the ground. I am sure that things are not perfect, but I do not think that my constituency will be that unusual.
Police Scotland is operationally independent, but the SNP has delivered a higher number of police officers per capita than England and Wales. In addition, the 2026-27 Scottish budget is delivering record investment of more than £1.7 billion for police services.
Police Scotland’s three-year plan includes a number of measures that are aimed at enhancing community policing to help to keep our communities safe. That includes preventing and reducing crime and offending, as well as striving to transform societal attitudes and the circumstances that contribute to the perpetuation of harm.
There are plans to deliver high-quality and efficient public services through a range of initiatives, including, as we have heard, the rolling out of body-worn video technology and digital evidence-sharing capability—game-changing technologies that will increase public confidence in policing. Funding for the retail crime task force has also been maintained at £3 million, supporting efforts to prevent shop-based theft and pursue those responsible for it.
In addition, Scottish Government funding has allowed Police Scotland to take on more recruits in the most recent financial year than at any time since 2013. As we have heard, as of December last year, there were 16,416 officers. It is for the chief constable, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority, to deploy those officers, and they have been clear on the importance and priority of recruitment during evidence given to the Criminal Justice Committee.
The SNP Government cares deeply about crime and the safety of those living here. Indeed, levels of recorded crime have decreased by 38 per cent since 2006, and homicide is at its lowest level since comparable records began in 1976. In September last year, Parliament passed the landmark Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which will introduce reforms to place victims and witnesses at the heart of the justice and courts system.
Of course, it should never be forgotten that the Labour UK Government’s increase to employer national insurance contributions costs Police Scotland more than £25 million every year, which has a considerable impact on any budget planning.
In conclusion, I congratulate our hard-working officers on carrying out their duties with empathy and efficiency every day to keep us all safe.
16:33
We know that people want to feel safe in their communities. They want to know that, when they call the police, they will come, and they want visible officers on their streets who know their neighbourhoods, know the issues and can act early to prevent harm.
When people tell us that they no longer feel comfortable walking after dark, and when surveys show that the sense of safety is at its lowest recorded level, we must listen. The issues that are raised in our motion today are the concerns that people are bringing to us: local shops are being repeatedly targeted; parks and community centres are being damaged by vandalism; and there is a sense that visible policing in their communities has thinned out. We know that officer numbers have fallen and that in many areas stations have been closed or had their hours restricted, eroding the visible local footprint that is a key part of community reassurance and confidence in policing.
The reality is that reductions have fallen hardest on local divisions, leaving fewer officers available for front-line roles. Although benefits from the centralisation of policing exist, we cannot ignore the impact on people’s confidence and on the prevention of crime. Officers are expected to cover far more than core policing work. They respond to mental health crises, spend hours in A and E—because other services are simply not available—and backfill gaps that are caused by systematic delays elsewhere in our justice and health systems. In 2024, Chief Superintendent Derek McEwan, former divisional commander of Fife, said to local councillors that most of the work was now non-crime related. Every hour that is spent on such duties is an hour not spent on preventing crime, building relationships or reassuring communities.
I hear regularly from constituents about persistent antisocial behaviour, including in bus stations, on high streets and in parks. Local community safety partnerships are working hard with Police Scotland, but the scale of demand remains acute. Vandalism, deliberate fires and hostile behaviour are not minor nuisances but the daily lived reality for many families and businesses, and they come with clean-up and repair costs.
Shoplifting and retail theft are another source of concern. They have a particular impact on small and local retailers. It is no comfort to victims to be told that a crime is low level when it affects their livelihood and contributes to a wider sense of disorder. I am a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, and during USDAW’s freedom from fear week, I spoke to retail workers in my local co-operative and heard about the daily challenges that they face.
In Mid Scotland and Fife, there is also the long-standing issue of off-road bikes and quad bikes, which I have raised many times with the Government. The vehicles are used in ways that threaten pedestrians, intimidate families in their local parks and disrupt daily life. Unfortunately, that is a persistent issue in Fife, and it has recently been raised with me again in Methil. Good local work is taking place, but police simply do not have the capacity to respond as quickly or as consistently as they would like, leaving people who report those activities frustrated at a perceived lack of response.
Community policing—where officers are embedded in their wards, know the people in those places and work with partners to intervene early—is one of the most effective tools that we have to reduce harm before it escalates. A new divisional commander, John Anderson, recently took up post in Fife. He has spoken of the shift to an operating model that moves away
“from reactive policing to prevention and problem solving”.
Having dedicated community and crime prevention officers would make that shift. Community policing works when officers are visible, accessible and able to act early. It is about prevention and enforcement, knowing who the repeat offenders are and knowing the young people who might be diverted from trouble.
We must also look beyond policing to improve the justice system, so that officers are not tied up in court for extended periods, and ensure that our mental health services have the capacity to respond effectively, so that responsibility does not always fall on police officers.
Our police officers work extremely hard. They want to be out in communities, preventing crime and keeping people safe. We owe it to them and to the public to make sure that that is where their time is spent.
16:37
I remind members of my declaration in the register of members’ interests that my wife is a police sergeant in Moray.
I always come to debates on this topic keen to praise the efforts of our hard-working and dedicated officers locally and across Scotland while seeking to contribute their views to the debate. A number of points that I will raise have come directly from officers who are concerned.
However, if those officers are watching the debate or intend to catch up later, they should be aware of their Government’s position. I want to make it very clear what the SNP is asking MSPs to vote for tonight—and I will give way to Angela Constance if she would like to explain her reasoning. The Government’s amendment deletes wording from the motion, and I am not sure what is wrong with that wording because it is 100 per cent factually correct.
Why does the justice secretary and the SNP Government want to delete the sentence that says that the Parliament
“regrets that cuts to police officer numbers have disproportionately fallen on local divisions, reducing the number of officers on the frontline”?
Will the cabinet secretary explain her rationale for deleting that? We know that what it says about officer numbers is true, so does the SNP justice secretary not regret the falling number of police officers on the front line?
Angela Constance is not looking at me and does not want to engage in a debate, but I am using my four minutes to offer a debate, so I ask the justice secretary again—
I will use my five minutes to sum up, as is my right.
I am offering my time to the cabinet secretary.
I think that it is clear that the cabinet secretary is not seeking to intervene, so I suggest that you continue, Mr Ross.
I do not think that that is clear, which is why I am going to give the cabinet secretary another opportunity. She has taken a clear position to delete those words, which suggests that the SNP Government, along with every SNP member who supports the amendment, does not regret cuts to police officer numbers or the impact that they are having on local policing and local divisions.
Because the cabinet secretary has moved the amendment in her name, I ask again: does this SNP justice secretary not regret the falling number of police officers in Scotland or the impact that that is having on local policing?
I think that it is clear now that the cabinet secretary is not seeking to intervene. The member has only four minutes, and we are at two minutes 36 seconds.
I am happy to use my time in this way, because the silence is telling. Angela Constance gave a speech in which she said that everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about, but there is something to worry about. If our justice secretary in Scotland has no regrets over the number of police officers falling or the impact that that is having on local policing, that is an issue. It is an issue if SNP MSPs vote for an amendment tonight that deletes that point, because the cuts are having an impact.
I asked local officers in Moray about the level of policing in the area and I was told that, just a few years ago, before the establishment of Police Scotland, we had eight officers per shift in Elgin, but we now have eight for the whole of Moray, and sometimes even fewer. For one town, we had eight officers. Now, for Elgin, Forres, Lossiemouth, Buckie, Keith and all the rural communities, we get eight in total, yet we have a justice secretary who does not regret that.
Will the member give way?
I am sorry—
The member is concluding.
I know that. I do not have time.
It has been telling that, even in my four minutes, the justice secretary would rather stay silent about the cuts than admit that. If she does not regret them, she should.
16:41
I am pleased to contribute to this debate on community policing, which speaks directly to how people across Scotland experience safety, reassurance and connection in their everyday lives. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of community policing, which, at its heart, allows security, trust and partnership to flourish in communities across the country.
With that in mind, the Government remains firmly committed to investing in policing and public safety, as we already heard from the cabinet secretary. The funding in this year’s budget enables Scotland to maintain one of the highest ratios of police officers per capita in the UK. As of December 2025, more than 16,400 officers were serving communities, which gives Police Scotland the scale and flexibility that are needed to respond effectively to local and national demands. That strong foundation matters, because community confidence grows when people see officers who know their area, understand local concerns and engage regularly with residents. That is something that everybody who has spoken in the debate is agreed on.
When I think about North Lanarkshire, and particularly my constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston, I do not recognise a lot of the descriptions that other members have given. I am not saying that I disagree with what other members have said, because it might well be the case in their areas. However, I associate myself more with the remarks of Rona Mackay. I have good relationships with the local police officers in my constituency, and I see the work that they do. They are in and out of schools and youth services. They are often involved in football tournaments with local kids. They are around and visible. They have good relationships with local councillors and the like. That collaborative approach helps to identify emerging issues, supports preventive action and builds lasting trust.
Initially, I had concerns about police officers being in schools, but those concerns were quickly eased when I met officers in Coatbridge high school and St Andrew’s high school in my constituency. The officers are not there in the typical police fashion; they are there to support young people who might be experiencing difficulties. That works really well—they have great relationships.
To give another example, Coatbridge community police officers have hosted community drop-ins and even worked alongside the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies in delivering the junior cop good citizen programme, which seeks to inform young people about respecting the community, fire safety, online safety, respect in relationships and road safety. Loads of good work is going on. In fact, when primary schools in my constituency have had issues with online bullying or whatever, they have got the local community cops to speak to the young kids to great effect. That has happened on at least a couple of occasions.
The Scottish Government has also invested in modern technology to support officers in their work. As Pauline McNeill mentioned, the roll-out of body-worn video cameras and digital evidence sharing systems is improving efficiency, enhancing officer safety and strengthening public confidence. By reducing administrative burdens and streamlining processes, those innovations will allow officers to spend more time in their communities, engaging directly with the people that they serve.
Support for community policing relies on recognising the wide range of situations that the police respond to every day. In the Criminal Justice Committee, we have looked at the issues around police officers responding to mental health crisis incidents. I agree with Pauline McNeill about that—the Criminal Justice Committee has done a lot of work on it and we need to look at areas where there is overlap with NHS services and how they can work jointly to take demand away from the police. I know that it is often a particularly difficult set of circumstances for officers to deal with.
Targeted initiatives demonstrate how focused investment can deliver tangible results. For example, the retail crime task force was supported by £3 million in funding and it has already made a measurable impact in tackling shoplifting and supporting retail workers. By combining visible policing with intelligence-led operations, the task force has strengthened safety and confidence across Scotland.
Mr MacGregor, you need to bring your remarks to a close.
Sorry, Deputy Presiding Officer—I ended up talking so much about the local—
Please bring your remarks to a close.
I will close there. Thank you.
16:46
I thank Pauline McNeill for securing this debate. Although we will not be supporting her motion at decision time, I share her frustration at the persistence of certain types of crime and the feeling, shared by too many, that our streets are not as safe as they once were.
As the debate draws to a close, I return to a simple but powerful truth: safety—that safety that we wish would return to our streets—cannot be separated from justice. A society that leaves people behind, that criminalises distress and that tolerates hatred will never be a truly safe one, no matter how many officers it deploys.
I do not agree that having officers in every ward is necessarily the panacea that it is presented to be. I do not believe that we can talk about community policing without talking about the wider systems that shape it. If our officers are spending hours in A and E with someone who is in a mental health crisis, or supervising individuals in delayed court processes because there is nowhere else for those people to go, that is not a policing success story but a sign of systemic failure. Too often, police officers are left to pick up the pieces because mental health services are overstretched, community support is underfunded and justice processes are slow. That is unfair on officers, on those in crisis and on the communities that lose preventative, relationship-based policing as a result.
If we want genuine community policing, we must free officers to do that work. That means properly resourced mental health provision, investment in youth work and community services and serious action on poverty and inequality. We all know that it is much better to prevent crimes happening in the first place than having to deal with the consequences of crimes that have happened. Safety is not delivered solely through enforcement—it is built through prevention, dignity and care. That is where we believe that our focus should be.
We also have to confront the issue of trust. Policing by consent depends on communities believing that the police will act fairly, proportionately and consistently. Where there is perceived overreach against peaceful protest or perceived inaction in the face of racist intimidation, trust is eroded. Where the application of laws around harassment or stirring up hatred appears to be inconsistent, communities take notice. Police Scotland must be willing to reflect honestly on that: accountability is not an attack on policing, it is essential to strengthening it. Protecting the right to peaceful assembly, safeguarding those targeted by hate and recognising patterns of harassment before they escalate are not optional extras but are central to public safety in a democratic society.
Finally, we need clarity about risk. Although debate often centres on street violence, many of the most significant and growing threats are digital: online fraud, coercive control, radicalisation and cybercrime. Community policing in the 21st century must adapt to that reality. Resources and training must be focused where harm is actually occurring, not simply reflecting the headlines that are the loudest or the most sensational.
My politics are rooted in social justice. I believe that safety and justice are inseparable. A society that tolerates racism, neglects mental health or leaves people in poverty will never be truly safe, no matter how many officers we throw at the problem. If we are serious about safer communities, we must invest in prevention, uphold everybody’s rights, challenge hate and rebuild trust. That requires courage, consistency and compassion. That is the standard that we should set and the responsibility that we all share.
I call Sharon Dowey to close the debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives.
16:50
Throughout the debate, we have heard from members across the chamber about the sheer importance of the role that policing plays in our society. We have rightly heard about officers’ bravery, selflessness and commitment to keeping us, our friends, our family and our neighbours safe, but we have also heard how brutally undervalued they are. It is hard to think of a job in modern Scotland that is more dangerous and less rewarded and appreciated than that of a police officer.
Some reasons for that are not necessarily the fault of the Scottish Government alone. Police officers operate in a dangerous world, where people are less respectful and more prepared to take dangerous action against them. In addition, crime is evolving, and the range of threats that the police and the people they protect face is growing at an alarming rate. Liam McArthur spoke about the increasing complexity of crimes and the need for urgent action. Liam Kerr cited the statistics on the rise of serious crime. Recorded crime has gone up by 2 per cent, violent crime has gone up by 3 per cent and sexual crime has gone up by 7 per cent. Claire Baker spoke about the issue of retail crime.
However, many of the challenges that police officers face are a direct consequence of the Scottish Government’s choices—its present choices and those that it has made over many years. It seems a very long time ago that the Scottish National Party, as a party of Government, committed to recruiting an extra 1,000 police officers on the street—a decision that it came to after being persuaded by the Scottish Conservatives. The latest statistics show that that work has been undone, as the number of extra officers on the front line has dwindled back down to an unacceptably low level, and things are projected to only get worse. Douglas Ross highlighted the fact that the SNP amendment seeks to delete the line in the motion that says that the Parliament
“regrets … cuts to police officer numbers”.
The SNP is staying silent about the cuts.
Jo Farrell, the chief constable, told ministers exactly what she needed from the recent budget in order just to keep the show on the road. Instead, the Scottish Government delivered significantly less than that. It has been warned that that move will lead to even more job cuts at Police Scotland.
The budget has not yet been passed. What amendments will the Conservatives seek to make to it to increase the justice budget? Where will that money come from?
We could certainly cut the waste in the Scottish Government. The chief constable asked for a figure that would enable Police Scotland just to stand still, but the figure in the budget is £15 million short of that. It did not even get that.
That was not an answer.
It was an answer.
Members! Please listen to the member who has the floor.
It is not just the officers who have felt the brunt. The Police Scotland estate is also being subjected to a fundraising fire sale, as Davy Russell mentioned in his contribution. All over Scotland, local stations are closing, which is resulting in the disappearance of a police presence in towns and villages that have enjoyed having strong local officers for generations, and the buildings that are left over are in dire need of repair. It is a disgrace that police officers are expected to operate from such despicable environments, especially at the end, or in the middle, of unbearably gruelling shifts on the front line.
As the motion suggests, community policing is being deliberately and relentlessly eroded. That means that impressionable young people who might be on the fence when it comes to getting involved in offending have fewer positive role models nearby who might just talk them out of a life of crime. Officers who might have been able to build positive relationships in sometimes challenging communities are simply not there any more. Pauline McNeill spoke of the increase in young people carrying knives, which is a huge concern.
The SNP’s inexplicable destruction of our police force has no winners. It leaves officers ill-equipped, underprepared and overburdened, which puts them at an unacceptable risk on the front line and leaves them more vulnerable to ill health, both physical and mental. Ultimately, it leaves communities exposed to criminals in a world in which crime is becoming less predictable and more devastating. After almost two decades of negligence, officers and the people they are charged with protecting deserve more.
I call the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs to close on behalf of the Government. You have up to five minutes, Ms Constance.
16:55
I always listen very carefully to all members’ contributions in any debate, and I rarely read out a pre-prepared speech when closing—instead, I am always trying to read my own handwriting. Also, I refuse to play games—I am too old to fool around—and I certainly do not let anyone, or, indeed, any man, put words in my mouth. I will exercise my right to use my five minutes in this debate as I see fit.
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Absolutely not—no thank you.
I want to make the point that, when I listen very carefully, I also take a close interest in what people are not saying or doing. To the best of my knowledge, there were no justice asks in the negotiations or discussions that Opposition spokespeople had with the finance team. Instead, what I hear in the chamber is people opting out and then complaining. Every member in the chamber has to recognise that they all have power and influence that can make a difference.
As some members have mentioned, we have Labour’s tax on jobs with the increase in the employer national insurance contribution, which has certainly represented a financial cost to policing. Further, there is the bill for the protection of VIPs during the state visit last summer. I have not seen anyone standing up to Starmer on those issues.
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
No, I will not.
The other thing that Opposition members will never say is by how much they will increase the policing resource or the head count. Instead, we will get figures plucked from thin air and discussions about how they would release officers back to the front line.
What always strikes me with sadness is that, when we have a justice debate, particularly a debate on policing, we tend to debate the past as opposed to the future.
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Absolutely not.
I will be even-handed and balanced on the issue of police-recorded crimes. Serious assault and attempted murder have dropped by 60 per cent; housebreaking has dropped by 77 per cent; theft of motor vehicles is down by 69 per cent; vandalism is down by 73 per cent—those are all figures from 2006-07 to last year—and homicide is at its lowest level since records began, in 1976. Further, more people report feeling safe while walking in their own community.
In contrast to that—this is where I will be even-handed, as always—reports of violence against women and girls are up. Is that because of confidence in our justice system? In part it is, but could it also be because it remains a hidden issue?
Cybercrime is a growing concern, as is online safety. Shoplifting is also a growing concern, which is why we are prepared to invest £3 million every year in that area for the next three years.
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Nope—no thank you.
Of course, as we have seen from evidence submitted by Police Scotland, increased specialism is required to tackle serious organised crime, which Police Scotland, I can assure members, does very well. Increased specialism is also required to investigate sexual crimes. National security and counter-terrorism activity also place a demand on policing in Scotland.
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
No.
At the same time, we have to ensure that we have a balance between those areas and good community policing, which is about prevention. There is a connection between specialism and policing on the ground in our communities.
Therefore, let us start having a debate about the future of policing in Scotland, as opposed to the past.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer, which I genuinely think this is. The cabinet secretary was very clear that she does not use pre-scripted remarks and that her closing would be a summation of everything that was said in the debate. She went on to reference things that were not mentioned in the debate, such as the cost of VIP policing. If the Official Report shows that that was not mentioned in the debate, despite the fact that the cabinet secretary claimed that her remarks were unscripted, would that require a clarification to the Official Report?
I thank Mr Ross for his contribution. That is not a point of order. The chair is not responsible for the contributions of other members, including cabinet secretaries.
Further to that point of order, it was not about the rubbish that we heard from the cabinet secretary. If she said that subjects were previously mentioned whereas they were not, would that require a correction to the Official Report because she was making things up?
Mr Ross, as I have already explained, the substance of the contributions of members, including the cabinet secretary, is not a matter for the chair. It was entirely a matter for the cabinet secretary to contribute in the way that she chose. That is not a point of order.
17:01
I am pleased to close the debate on behalf of Scottish Labour. We brought it forward to talk about the reality of policing in Scotland in 2026, the issues in communities across Scotland and ideas for the future of policing in Scotland.
Pauline McNeill and other members have emphasised the importance of local policing. I join many members in thanking our dedicated and brave police officers for the work that they do. In particular, I praise Chief Inspector Iain Farmer and his team at K division in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde for their important work in tackling speeding and dangerous driving in the local area.
As I know from engagement with my constituents—as many members likewise will—they feel safer when police officers are visible and actively involved in their communities in responding to such concerns. They also have greater confidence in Police Scotland to tackle crime when it is properly resourced.
I recognise the important work of our police officers across the country, yet our constituents and communities feel less safe. I say to the cabinet secretary that the number of people across Scotland who say that they feel safe after dark is at the lowest point on record. Less than half expressed confidence in the police in their local area—down from 60 per cent more than a decade ago. Overall, recorded crime rose last year, with violent crime up by 3 per cent, together with a worrying 7 per cent spike in sexual crime. Claire Baker talked on behalf of USDAW about the impact of retail crime.
The police are doing everything that they can in difficult circumstances. However, it is the first duty of a Government to protect its citizens. On that count, the SNP Government is failing, because the reason why our constituents and communities feel less safe is due to the Government’s failures on policing.
The truth is that, despite the Scottish Government having come to power on a promise to increase police officer numbers, it has failed to protect those. There are now more than 1,000 fewer police officers than when Police Scotland was formed in 2013. I mentioned K division, its important work and the difficult circumstances that it has to face; it has 76 fewer police officers than it had then. Continued cuts to police officer numbers have involved the loss of another 25 officers in recent months, adding to the loss of almost 100 in the past year.
In addition, those cuts disproportionately affect local officer numbers. Ahead of the budget, as many members have said, the chief constable requested an additional £33.7 million to bolster front-line policing through the recruitment of an extra 850 officers. The Scottish Government failed to provide that investment, which means that we are likely to see further cuts in officer numbers at a time when crime is on the rise and confidence in local policing is failing. The recent best value report on policing in Scotland highlighted that workforce planning remains underdeveloped and that there is no evidence that the current officer numbers are sufficient to deliver an effective service.
As other members have highlighted, Scottish Labour will restore local policing to improve community safety. We will restore at least 360 officers to the front line in local divisions, ensuring that officers are once again visible and active participants in every community across Scotland. We will bring back crime prevention officers, who will work to proactively prevent crime rather than simply being reactive.
In the first weeks of a Scottish Labour Government, new strategic police priorities will be set out to rebuild public confidence in local policing. That is vital to ensuring that we have effective local policing across the country.
Members have raised other pressures that affect local policing capacity that the Scottish Government has failed to address. One of those pressures is the fact that officers increasingly find themselves dealing with mental health-related incidents. Scottish Labour will act where the Scottish Government has not, by creating a dedicated mental health emergency response division, which will result in a reduction the number of police call-outs.
Another pressure on local policing capacity is the amount of time that officers have to spend in courts. The chief constable previously indicated that up to 420 officers a day were in courts across Scotland. That takes officers off the streets and out of their communities. Scottish Labour will seek to address that with the roll-out of new technology in the court system and by reviewing the scheduling of cases.
Perhaps the biggest pressure on local policing capacity is the stress and other mental health issues that many officers face. The number of officer absences due to mental health and stress increased by more than 50 per cent between 2021 and 2024. More than 1,700 officers have quit during the past two years, leaving at a rate of more than 16 every week.
Scottish Labour will seek to improve pay, working conditions and mental health support in Police Scotland to retain existing officers and attract new recruits.
I would be grateful if colleagues who are joining us could do so quietly.
Particularly because the cabinet secretary said earlier that she wanted to talk about the future of policing and we are presenting ideas that the Scottish Government is failing to deliver on.
Members have also highlighted the negative impact that the loss of police stations has had on community safety. Around 180 stations and buildings have been lost up and down the country since the creation of Police Scotland. In my region, we have seen the recent closures of Milngavie station, Bishopbriggs station and, even more scandalously, Ferguslie Park police station. Ferguslie Park has some of the greatest socioeconomic needs in the country.
More police stations are under threat, as Davy Russell mentioned, and he was right to raise that issue. Even those that are still operational are in a state of significant disrepair, including Paisley and Greenock, which are in my West Scotland region. My colleague Katy Clark has raised that issue consistently. Scottish Labour is clear that we must properly fund the repair and maintenance of our stations to ensure that they are fit for purpose and able to serve local communities.
Today’s debate has rightly focused on the importance of ensuring that policing is properly staffed, resourced and firmly rooted in local communities. However, it also illustrates the choice at the election in May—more decline and more crime with the Scottish National Party, or a new direction and support for our police with Scottish Labour.
I urge members to support the motion.
That concludes the debate on community policing.
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