SNP put record number of police on streets

Figures released today show that at the end of June this year there were more police officers in Scotland than ever before.

The most recent police quarterly strength figures covering the period April 1 - June 30 this year show that there were 16,339 police officers in Scotland. This is an increase of 118 officers compared to the previous quarter and the highest figure ever recorded.

This increase includes 32 more officers in Lothian and Borders and 68 more in the Strathclyde force.

Commenting on the figures before meeting Lothian and Borders police officers, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:

"These figures once again demonstrate the Scottish Government's commitment to increased policing in Scotland. We are committed to a greater visible police presence, deterring crime and reassuring our citizens.

"This welcome increase in the number of officers is in part the result of our direct recruitment of new officers, over and above the recruitment plans of our police forces.

"Last year, as we promised, 150 officers were recruited and paid for by the Scottish Government and are currently working in Scotland's communities. This year we are directly funding the recruitment of another 450 over and above forces' previous plans.

"We inherited the lowest recruitment since devolution with many officers due to retire. We've tackled that challenge head on, and although these latest figures are reassuring, there remains much work to be done. But we are confident that the resources and policies now in place will deliver improved policing for Scotland.

"Furthermore, 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. We are not just delivering on this but going substantially beyond, by also looking at recruitment, retention and redeployment."

The Finance Secretary announced on 23 January an extra £40 million would be made available over the next 3 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 will be recruited by the end of 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.

Note: In the last few days, during the final preparation of these figures, Grampian Police have made us aware that some of their previously supplied police workforce figures for 2007-08 may have included a small number of officers on career breaks. This would have the effect of slightly overstating the officer numbers in the historic figures when compared to the methodology used for the most recent figures. These staff are now explicitly identified and excluded from the 2008-09 totals, so this issue does not impact upon the figures released today, but it does mean that the change in officer numbers for Grampian from previous quarters will be slightly underestimated.