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Police numbers at record high
03/03/2009
For the fourth quarter in a row the number of police officers serving Scotland's communities has increased - and now stands at a record high.
The most recent police quarterly strength figures covering the period October 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008 show that there were 16,675 police officers in Scotland, the highest figure ever recorded.
This is an increase of 149 officers compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 441 since March 2007.
The latest quarterly increase includes 131 more officers in the Strathclyde force, 22 in Lothian and Borders and 10 more in Grampian.
The 450th additional police officer promised by the Scottish Government this financial year will pass out of Tulliallan police college later this month.
Commenting on the figures before meeting a community police officer in Edinburgh, Kenny MacAskill said:
"When the 450th new centrally-funded police recruit we pledged for this financial year passes out of Tulliallan later this month it will once again underscore our commitment to make an additional 1,000 officers available in our communities.
"With another increase in the number of officers serving our communities and policing our streets we are delivering a more visible policing presence, deterring crime and reassuring our citizens.
"This continuing increase is in part the result of our direct recruitment of new officers, over and above the recruitment plans of our police forces. We are also working with forces on retention and redeployment of officers.
"Our Chief Constables should be congratulated for redeploying their officers and delivering more police on our streets as this Government delivers record numbers to our police forces.
"We inherited the lowest recruitment since devolution with many officers due to retire. Although the numbers continue to rise thanks to decisions made by this Government, there remains much work to be done.
"The key to the police service's ability to respond is not just its size, but its capacity. The right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time. That's why this Government is focussing on building the capacity of the police service in Scotland - not just the numbers.
"We have set out plans to deliver a more visible policing presence on Scotland's streets and make an additional 1,000 officers available in our communities. Every milestone we have set has been met.
"We are not just delivering on this but going substantially beyond, by also looking at recruitment, retention and redeployment."
The Finance Secretary announced on January 23, 2008 an extra £40 million would be made available over the next three years for policing. This is in addition to the £54 million which was announced in November. This will result in the recruitment of 1,000 additional officers by the end of March 2011.
In addition to the 150 additional recruits which were recruited in 2007-08, a further 450 additional officers have been recruited this financial year, 200 additional officers in 2009-10 and 200 in 2010-11. This will bring the total number of additional recruits to 1,000 over the life of this Parliament.