On the beat

Published on Tuesday 2 November 2010 16:50

DESPITE the Scottish Government putting 1,000 extra bobbies on the beat, people were not happy with the number of police seen patrolling communities.

More than a third of respondents said the police did not patrol their community regularly, while 56 per cent said they would like to see more police officers on the streets. That contrasted with their satisfaction with police performance when they did come into contact with them, which was up across the board. Police forces face difficult cuts when finance secretary John Swinney, pictured, announces his budget, later this month. It had been feared they could see a reduction to their budget of up to 25 per cent, over a four-year period, although figures in the UK government's Comprehensive Spending Review, suggested this will be less. Despite this police are determined to protect front-line officer numbers as much as possible.

Chief Constable Stephen House, Acpos lead on crime, said: "The fact the public want more police officers on the beat is not surprising and has been the cornerstone of our push to get more officers out on the beat. All forces in Scotland continue to be committed to putting officers on the street, however, in the current financial climate this may be a challenge.