Chief constable warns police officers working overtime is unsustainable

Police in Scotland cannot keep working overtime to offset falling officer numbers, the country’s chief constable has warned.

Sir Iain Livingston indicated that having fewer officers is having an impact on service, including responsiveness to calls from members of the public.

The warning comes after a report earlier this month showed that officer numbers in Scotland are at their lowest level since 2008.

There were 16,610 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in the nation as of June 30 this year, according to the Police Officer Quarterly Strength report.

It represents a significant drop from March 2020 when police officer numbers reached their highest level in seven years.

A 5% pay increase was agreed for officers with union leaders earlier this month after the withdrawal of goodwill as part of a dispute.

Speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), Livingstone said that the force would need to assess the sustainability of high levels of overtime.

A financial repot put to the SPA has projected there to be 452 fewer officers than previous budget assumptions had predicted.

Sir Iain has previously raised concerns that officer numbers could continue to fall as a result of real-terms funding cuts.

“We are seeing the impact in our service of having fewer officers across a range of operational areas including a responsiveness to calls from the public,” he said.

“Our forecast for the year shows we will run at an average of over 450 officers below our budgeted establishment of 17,134.

“The underspend on officer pay hasn’t quite been offset by a significant increase in overtime and some of the inflationary pressures.

“We are, of course, keeping a close review of the sustainability of high levels of overtime. Not only to ensure that we maintain a balanced budget, but vitally to ensure the safeguarding and wellbeing of our officer and staff and their families.

“We cannot continue to use overtime and place that burden on officers and staff of Police Scotland.”