Police chief tells force to expect 'radical' changes

Published on Saturday 26 June 2010 20:07

ONE of Scotland's most senior police officers has warned that forces must undergo "radical" restructuring in the face of savage funding cuts of up to 25 per cent to protect front-line services.

David Strang, the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders, who faces making savings of around 43 million, said the financial situation is so dire that he is considering merging every part of his operation, with the exception of front-line officers, with other public bodies or forces.

The Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) already tackles organised crime across force boundaries, and police training and forensic science work are also done Scotland-wide.

Strang believes this should be a template for firearms teams, specialist crime investigation units, and underwater search operations, as well as back-office services such as finance, procurement and human resources. Some should be amalgamated nationwide while others should be organised in "clusters" such as east of Scotland.

In his own force area, he is proposing sharing buildings and telephone call handlers, as well as further integrating work such as child protection, antisocial behaviour and issues around problem drinkers, where partnerships already exist with councils and health boards.

But he also concedes that some job cuts even among uniformed officers may be necessary, although they are likely to be from among the more expensive senior ranks.

Strang was reacting to the major public spending cuts signalled by last week's Budget. Although he insisted front-line policing had to remain "local", everything else within the police service had to be examined. "That's not to say everything will happen, but we would be foolish not to consider everything. We are saying: 'Let's be radical; let's lead the way here.'"

Those radical plans include the possibility of a shared public sector budget for Scottish regions, broken down by force or local authority area.

Strang said: "There is the possibility of a joint budget. If we are to make joint decisions we've got to have a governance model to say, how many police officers, youth workers, nurses, teachers, etc, do we need in this area?

"Sometimes it seems the current model is quite inward-looking. It's worth asking the question if there is a different way of delivering public services that can be more partnership-focused."

He says one way of doing this would be by having an executive board, including senior police, fire service, health and council leaders, who would meet and discuss spending in partnership.

"My responsibility is to continue to look to prevention of harm, for the long-term good of Scotland. If health is protected that makes our cuts worse. I'm not saying they shouldn't be, but that's a political decision."

Like all chief constables, Strang is determined to protect front-line policing. Senior police officers say the fall in crime and rise in public satisfaction can be attributed to the extra numbers of police officers on the streets.

The Scottish Government has hit its target of putting an additional 1,000 officers on the front line. Recorded crimes in the Lothian and Borders area fell by nearly 6,000 in 2009-10, with the number of reported offences dropping from 70,855 to 64,943. The Strathclyde region has seen violent crime fall by 10 per cent, and murders decrease by 30 per cent.