Revealed: Nation loses 800 officers since formation of Police Scotland

The Herald Scotland

21-05-2025

The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) has warned the force is "stretched to breaking" with the Chief Constable facing the prospect of having to "cannibalise" the service to hand hard working officers what it calls a "proper pay rise".
It comes as a row brews over those supporting police officers pushing for a 4.5% pay increase for all pay points and all ranks for 2025/26. It includes a claim for a 15% pay restoration rise to make up for losses caused by inflation.
But the negotiators have been told that meeting the claim would result in an estimated recurring costs of £186m - the equivalent of around 3,300 officers.
It is understood that the official side comprising Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), and the Scottish Government, have already rejected any notion of a pay restoration rise. That had been described by the Scottish Police Federation as "unacceptable".
And the association said: "It is a really important time for policing in Scotland, and there needs to be investment in the profession. We need to show police officers that we value the role that they play in society, because that's the only way we're going to continue to attract candidates that meet those exceptionally high standards of professional behaviour that we set for officers.
"A recent report suggests that a quarter of officers with under five years' experience are considering leaving policing altogether, and many of them say that's due to financial stress. If we keep going like this we're going to lose the very people who should be the future of the service. The last thing we want is a flight of our top-calibre people as a result of a lack of investment in the service."
Police Scotland (Image: Police Scotland) Scottish Police Federation sources have said that the cost of the claim "merely reflects years of real-terms pay erosion imposed on the workforce that has no right to strike".
Last year police officers in Scotland withdrew goodwill in protest at a pay offer representatives said shows "contempt" for their work.
Officers in Scotland are prohibited by law from taking industrial action or withdrawing labour, but the decision meant they would stop shifts at their scheduled time and not commence shifts early.
The decision was made out of what the Scottish Police Federation said was "sheer disappointment" with a pay offer of 4.75%, compared to its request for a 5.7% increase.
READ MORE by Martin Williams
'Mismanagement': Public cost of Ferguson Marine hits £750m amidst overspends
'Disrepair endemic': 100,000 Scots private rented homes not fit for human habitation
Ministers rapped for 'complete failure' in Scots water body public spending scandal
'Lack of focus': Forbes anger over latest £35m costs hike of ferry fiasco vessel
But in January the dispute was resolved with the intervention of arbitrators Acas.
Today (Wednesday) the ASPS president Rob Hay will say at the police staff association's annual conference that while the number of police officers in Scotland is falling demand for them has not.
And he says that Chief Constable Jo Farrell faces a 'Sophie's Choice' when it comes to the future of the service: reduce police officer numbers even further or cut police officer pay.
He says that policing in Scotland needs more government investment, adding: 'Talks of a 'record policing budget' don't account for inflationary pressures, and the policing budget has not kept pace with the demands on the service either.
'How do I know that? It is no secret that the Chief Constable has spoken about the dilemma she faces in this year's pay negotiation.
"Without assistance from the Scottish Government, the chief faces the stark choice of cannibalising the service to afford to offer a pay rise that is above inflation. Simply put: reduce police numbers or reduce pay. This is a choice no Chief Constable should have to make.'
According to an ASPS survey, only 27% of respondents thought that the demand placed upon them in their role is manageable, and only 31% said that Police Scotland's executive actively supports them in their role.
Superintendents and Chief Superintendents are also concerned about how often they are on-call, and how little they are paid for it. Being on-call is predetermined requirement for officers or staff to be available, outside of their normal working hours, to attend or undertake duty.
Two thirds (66.7%) told the survey that there was an increased frequency of on-call, and zero respondents thought the current compensation for on-call is fair.
Mr Hay continued: 'We look back at 2013, at the birth of Police Scotland, and note almost every pay point, at every rank is worth less now in real terms. And we look at equivalent professions in the public sector, whose pay growth has outstripped policing by 13% and even higher in some cases.'
'Given the over-reliance on on-call to provide essential policing functions and the uncomfortable reality that it is a non-compellable, voluntary duty, not covered by the police regulations, this is a clear message and a challenge to the police service and Government.
'Colleagues have already spoken to me of superintendents 'voting with their feet' and deselecting themselves from on-call duties.'
Rob Hay (Image: NQ) He is also highlighting an 'alarming rise' in the numbers of ASPS members suffering from mental health challenges, as the strain of increasing workloads and scrutiny takes its toll.
The ASPS says the force as a whole has seen an 85% increase in sickness absence for psychological illness and injury over the past four years.
Mr Hay says that superintendent ranks must be given 'the time, the tools and the support to ensure we are creating a positive working environment that lets people deliver their absolute best'.
He urged Police Scotland to implement technology that would help officers work smarter, not harder, such as introducing an app to record duty hours accurately.
Police Scotland was formed in 2013 after the Scottish Government decided to combine Scotland's eight regional police forces, the serious organised crime unit and the police services authority.
Officers were to cover a patch of more than 30,000 square miles and a population of 5.3m people with a beat ranging from the housing estates of east end Glasgow to the islands of Shetland and Fair Isle.
At the time the Scottish Government pledged there would be no compulsory job losses having previously stated that having 1,000 extra police officers on the streets was a priority.
In 2011, in its gameplan for the future delivery of public services, ministers said the creation of a single Scottish police service would "maintain our commitment to put 1,000 extra police on the beat".
Police Scotland and the Scottish Government have been approached for comment.