Scotland's 'policing deserts' are a worrying threat to the rule of law

Falling numbers of police officers at a time of rising demands for their services is a recipe for disaster

In parts of Scotland, there are now “policing deserts” where there is “an almost invisible policing presence”, according to the chair of the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers. It is an assessment with which many members of the public will doubtless agree as they try to remember the last time they saw a once-traditional ‘bobby on the beat’.

Speaking at the federation’s annual conference, David Threadgold publicly upbraided Justice Secretary Angela Constance – who was at least there – telling her: "Please do not try and fool the public into believing that Police Scotland being forced into closing police stations in rural communities or in areas of extremely high policing demand is anything other than a reactive financial decision being made to deal with that chronic lack of investment from your government.

"... our fear is that we create a situation where we lose the ability to deliver the most basic of policing functions across Scotland, and that should rightly concern us all.”

Police officers were once a common sight on the streets but their numbers have dwindled (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

He added that the number of officers had fallen from 17,496 when Police Scotland was established in 2013 to fewer than 16,000 now, although the force itself says there are 16,631. Either way, that’s a significant decrease at a time when cybercrime and the shocking state of other public services, such as mental health, are increasing the demands on the police.

His complaints will be familiar to many doctors, nurses, teachers and others in the public sector who feel overworked, stressed out and unhappy with their working conditions. In many cases, particularly in the health service, a major complaint is about the quality of service they are able to provide to the public. Heartbreakingly, the hardest working can feel they are letting the public down, even though the fault is not with them, but with our government.

If Threadgold’s complaints are even partially justified, it seems policing may be going the same way as the NHS and education in Scotland – downhill and rapidly.

The rule of law is vitally important to any country and the police are crucial in its enforcement. Their complaints must be taken seriously.