Police numbers set to fall

David Knox • Published 3 Sep 2010 09:30 0 Comments

See also:

UP to 50 police officers in the Borders could lose their jobs next year in the wake of huge spending cuts.

But it’s not just staff under threat - the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has revealed to the Peeblesshire News that police stations could also be lost.

Support staff from across the region also face the chop.

Jackie Muller, Secretary of the Lothian and Borders branch of the SPF, said: “These cuts are going to impact on every force, including G Division in the Borders.

“One of the things that is being looked at is the footprint of stations and the impact of keeping them open.”

Nearly 500 officers are facing the axe from Lothian and Borders, Scotland’s second largest force, as part of a money saving drive to cut £88.5 million of police funding across Scotland in 2011-12.

Lothian and Borders is expected to shed 484 jobs over the next 12 months.

The SPF, which represents rank and file officers, has revealed that the nine per cent funding cut they are facing is the equivalent of employing 2,808 officers. The cuts mean that policing levels would be at their lowest since 1995.

And worse will follow, as up to 24 per cent may be slashed from the police budget over the next four years - a saving of £43 million - that could leave up to 1000 police officers and support staff redundant in the Lothian and Borders area.

Les Gray, Chairman of the SPF, has warned that the Borders will be particularly hard hit by the cuts.

He told the Peeblesshire News: “In rural communities the loss of one police officer is a huge blow.

“I know from experience that rural areas don’t expect a lot from their police - it’s different to the city where there are constant call-outs - when you get a call in the countryside it is because there is a genuine need for assistance.

"If the police force is cut as predicted then people may simply be told that there is no-one available to go and help them, or that they have to wait a few days to be seen.

“The Government keep telling us that we have to do more with less - yet we will be paying more in taxes and receiving a lot less. I’m not scaremongering, it’s not a complicated equation to realise that as police numbers fall crime levels rise.

“It’s frightening and it’s unacceptable.”

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.

Peeblesshire News Poll

Are you in favour of wind farms?

This Poll is now closed.

Yes (70.0%)

No (30.0%)

Follow @peeblesnews