West Scotland needs more police

A Conservative voice BY WEST SCOTLAND MSP PAM GOSAL

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Earlier this year, I sat down with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) to hear about the challenges facing frontline officers, and how those were impacting not just them but communities across the country.

Their warnings were stark: resources have been cut to the bone, there aren't enough cops, and those who still remain in post are overstretched, overworked and underrewarded.

The effect on policing as a career, and for the officers and their families, was profound, and showed little sign of getting better.

But they also said, beyond the welfare of officers themselves, that the severe reductions to police budgets since the formation of the single force would soon filter through to communities.

This week, with the annual release of Scotland's crime statistics, those predictions were proved unequivocally correct.