Police Scotland has decided to cancel its plans to hire 200 new recruits in January as part of cost-saving measures after facing a potential £19m overspend. The force will also redeploy personnel from the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, Fife, to support frontline police officers during the upcoming busy festive period. The decision has also led to all college training between December and January being suspended.
The budget pressure has forced senior officials to make challenging decisions, however, the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has expressed its disappointment over the move. MSPs have also raised concerns, with Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Foysol Choudhury, calling the decision a “shambolic failure of leadership” that puts public safety at risk.
No offers to candidates for the postponed intake of probationers, which was scheduled for 8 January, had been made as of yet, but the force has confirmed that applications will continue for 2024. The force has had to reduce its budgeted officer numbers from 17,234 to 16,600 this year, with Deputy Chief Constable designate Fiona Taylor stating that “hard choices” will need to be made to maintain effective policing within available funding.
The financial challenges faced by the police in recent months include the rising cost of energy, inflated spending on overtime and inflation. The Scottish government has claimed that it is operational for the chief constable to decide on matters of recruitment, but it should be noted that the number of police officers has dropped by nearly 1,000 since 2013, warning of a potential public safety crisis.
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