MP alarmed at fall in local Police numbers

Police officer numbers in Dumfries and Galloway have fallen by 22 per cent since 2020 according to Galloway and West MP Finlay Carson.

- SHARON LIPTROTT

And, raising the issue in Holyrood this week, he sounded an alarm for potentially more cuts to come and called on the Scottish Government to "come clean".

Quizzing Justice Secretary Angela Constance over the potential impact the sharp reduction in officers has had on rural communities over the past five years, he highlighted a situation that "many fear" will ultimately result in even more rural police officers leaving the force - or transferring.

The Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP said: "Now, the Government is starting to impose new occupancy charges on officers living in police-owned accommodation - a policy that was first consulted on more than a year ago - and the Scottish Police Federation warns that even more rural officers will leave.