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A NEW single police force must be in place by the Commonwealth Games in 2014, Scotland’s most senior officer has warned, after the Scottish Government unveiled its plans to shake up public services.

Kevin Smith, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said the new body must be “match fit” for the Games in Glasgow, and not “disrupted by continuing reform”.

He described First Minister Alex Salmond’s announcement of a move to a single Scottish force as “the most significant change in our entire history”.

He admitted he had opposed the move – as did several chief constables, the Scottish Police Federation, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) and the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Asked if there was a danger the Scottish Government would have too much control over a single chief constable or police commissioner, he said: “That would be one of my concerns”, adding that “clear blue water between politics and policing would be something we would want and demand”.

However, both police and fire chiefs – who also opposed their move to a single service – have promised to make reform work for Scotland.

In the Scottish Parliament yesterday, Mr Salmond also promised legislation to tackle sectarianism at football matches and on supporters’ online forums, after high tensions last season that saw bullets and explosives sent to key figures, including Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

The proposed new act will carry a maximum five-year sentence for offenders.

The Scottish Government confirmed it would bring back minimum pricing legislation to tackle alcohol abuse, which is estimated to cost the country up to £4.64 billion a year through its impact on the NHS, police, prisons and the economy.

Other planned legislation will bring in a new council tax levy on empty homes, enshrine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scots Law, update enforcement provisions at fisheries and create powers intended to “add strength and clarity” to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Justice secretary Kenny Mac-Askill will today give more details about the reform of both police and fire services.

Mr Smith said: “April 2013 has been put forward as a realistic possible date for legislation to be put in place. But even if it all went swimmingly well, my best guess would be some point later than that.

“In 2014, we have the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.We will want to be match fit in providing service for that. We will not want to be disrupted by continuing reform.”

The Commonwealth Games is expected to be the biggest police operation in Scotland since the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles.

The challenge the Scottish Government faces is uniting a service that has been divided over the best course of reform. Mr Smith admitted: “I personally would have supported a three- or four-force model.”

A Ipsos Mori poll published yesterday found 54 per cent of Scottish adults opposed a single force, while only 34 per cent backed it.

Pat Watters, president of Cosla, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the announcement. “Despite what they claim, there is no certainty that this reform will protect and improve local services,” he said.

Martin Greig, convener of Grampian Joint Police Board, one of the most vehement opponents of a single force, said: “This is one of the most tragic days for Scottish policing. At a stroke, the excellent service of our regional forces and boards will be removed.”

However, others have backed the move, with the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (Asps) saying it represented a “golden opportunity”.

“It is now time for all the police family, stakeholders, partners, communities and the Scottish Government to develop and introduce a policing model that will serve us well into the 21st century,” said Asps president Chief Superintendent David O’Connor.

Gordon Meldrum, director general of the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency, said: “Operating as a single national service will allow us to share information, knowledge and resources in a more effective way and, even as spending reductions bite, help us to sustain the fight against the organised criminals who threaten our communities and our economy.”

Mr Salmond hinted that further reforms would take place across the public sector as it sought to cope with the slowdown in spending, saying that if public services were to be maintained “we need to do things smarter and better”.

The Scottish Government is expected to publish a response to the Christie Commission on public sector reform imminently. The independent commission called for ministers to spend more money preventing social problems, rather than on the consequences of those problems.

Mr Salmond said the old days, with different parts of the public sector working separately from one another, had to end.

“Our public services cannot operate in silos,” he said, adding that reforms would lead to more joint working between the NHS and social care.