Police Scotland cuts: The in-tray facing Police Scotland's new chief constable Jo Farrell

Budget issues, crime rates, officer morale, and public trust are among the big challenges for Police Scotland’s new chief constable

It is not a job that would ever be confused with a popularity contest. But when Jo Farrell takes up her new post on Monday as the fourth chief constable of Police Scotland, she will face plenty of difficult decisions.

Ms Farrell, who has led Durham Constabulary since 2019, inherits a force under pressure. Compared to her previous post, where she oversaw less than 1,400 officers, she will take the reins of an organisation with more than 22,500 employees and a budget of nearly £1.3 billion.

Yet such numbers belie the scale of the challenge facing Police Scotland’s first chief constable. At a time when the force’s finances and officers are under unprecedented strain, she must find a way of placating her new political masters while modernising the force, and upholding its primary duty to protect the public.

On the ground, officers are contending with increasing demands. The force’s latest quarterly performance report shows violent crime is up nearly 5 per cent year on year, with the detection rate dipping. There have been increases in sexual crimes, assaults, robberies, and housebreakings, with a 90 per cent spike in recorded threats and extortions. On top of this, about 80 per cent of officers’ time is spent on non-crime incidents, according to Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents.

Tom Wood, a former deputy chief constable with the Lothian & Borders legacy force, said helping officers meet day-to-day demands is one of the immediate tasks Ms Farrell must resolve. “In the short term, her greatest challenge will be to keep a viable policing plan with enough boots on the ground,” he said. “Without that, nothing works.”

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, agreed: “The chief has to push for properly paid police officers, properly resourced so that they can have a real impact on crime and supporting the victims of crime,” he said.

Ms Farrell, who will be in charge for a fixed term of four years, will also need to build public confidence in her force. That vital commodity was shored up during the pandemic – no mean achievement given the controversial regulations officers had to enforce – but there can be no complacency. The force’s latest survey data shows a declining proportion of people think the force is listening to their concerns, or dealing with issues that affect them.

Solving that depends largely on maintaining visible policing levels. The force had 16,600 officers at the end of June, way down on the 17,496 in place at its formation, and things could get worse. Last month, its deputy chief officer, David Page, told MSPs that it may have to cut 600 officers – and 200 other staff – by April if forced to find £50 million in savings.

“Capital expenditure per officer is the fourth lowest in the UK, despite being the second largest force, covering almost one third of the UK’s landmass,” reasoned Mr Hay. “Demand for policing has grown beyond the service’s capabilities.”

Mr Wood said there was no way to sugar coat such grim fiscal realities. “The financial situation of Police Scotland is dire,” he reasoned. “Especially the capital budget, with kit , buildings and so on. One of her prime tasks is to ensure her organisation is funded.”

Ms Farrell is also being urged to improve pay and support for existing staff. The SPF has spoken out at length around issues such as a lack of equipment, and the impact it has on officers, whom Mr Kennedy said are reporting sick due to being overworked, and cannot get time off due to rest days being cancelled.

Mr Hay said the increasing absence levels and falling detection rates suggested “the myth of delivering ‘more for less’ has run its course”, and warned further cuts risk “changing the character of policing in Scotland”. He also pointed out the number of superintendents has fallen to its lowest level in modern memory, with retirements among senior-ranking officers doubling last year.

“Vital corporate memory and hard-won experience continues to leave policing,” he said. “Command resilience and how to maintain the vital local partnerships, connections so valued by Scotland’s communities, will concern Chief Constable Farrell.”

If morale is to be bolstered, and redundancies avoided, Ms Farrell will require another key skill – the political acumen to obtain more than a flat-cash budget settlement from ministers. It is a battle Mr Hay believes is essential to win. “The service needs her leadership and support more than ever, to fight the case for investment, protect the public, and deliver the service the people of Scotland deserve,” he said.

That interplay between the new chief constable and Holyrood will also be a factor when it comes to controversial legislation, such as the incoming Hate Crime Act. There also is the small matter of Operation Branchform, the force’s probe into the SNP’s finances. In his final interview, Ms Farrell’s predecessor, Sir Iain Livingstone, stressed it was impossible to know how long that investigation would take.

Ms Farrell, who is no stranger to political controversy, having been in charge of Durham during the ‘Beergate’ and Dominic Cummings scandals, will not be afforded the same luxury. It is not the only legacy issue she inherits; the public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh is set to resume hearings next month, and there remains disharmony around the culture of the force, which Sir Iain described as institutionally racist and discriminatory. The capital issues also means a further 30 of the building’s forces will be closed and sold.

It is, in short, a formidable in-tray to deal with. It is 32 years since Ms Farrell achieved her “childhood ambition” of joining the police. She has enjoyed a sterling career ever since, but her greatest challenge is about to begin.