Tories attack ‘worrying trend’ of police station closures

AT LEAST a fifth of Scotland’s police stations have either closed down or cut their opening hours in the past five years, new figures have revealed.

Statistics compiled by the Scottish Conservatives showed 56 stations across the country have shut since 2007.

This includes 26 stations in the Northern Constabulary area and 14 in the Strathclyde Police region.

Meanwhile, a further 23 police stations across the country – 20 of which are in the Lothian and Borders area – have reduced the hours that they are open to the public.

Strathclyde Police, Scotland’s largest police force, was unable to say how many stations had scaled back their opening hours.

Tory justice spokesman David McLetchie, who obtained the figures through Freedom of Information legislation, claimed the reduction in both stations and opening hours “did not auger well” for the introduction of a new nationwide police force.

It comes as ministers prepare to merge the current eight forces into one, a move which has already prompted warnings about centralisation.

McLetchie said: “With a single police force around the corner, local stations are all the more significant as they provide an important focal point for towns and villages across the country.”

He added: “Police stations play a vital role in local communities and should not be closed on a whim.

“The sheer number of these closures over recent years is a worrying trend that should be halted. This does not auger well for the introduction of the single force.”

However, the government spokesman said: “Crime in Scotland has fallen to a 37-year low, backed by record numbers of police officers on our streets. The location of police stations is rightly an operational decision for police and not ministers.

“In England and Wales officer numbers have fallen by almost 10,000 over the two years since March 2010, while in Scotland there have been an additional 1,000 officers since 2007.”