POLICING FEARS GROW AS ONE IN 20 OFFICERS ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE

Shock figures reveal scale of manpower issues looming at Police Scotland

- Richard Elias

ONE-IN-20 police officers in Scotland will be eligible to retire by next summer, shock new figures have revealed.

It has led to fears that an already overstretched force could reach breaking point unless something is done to tackle the issue. The latest figures showed that as of June 30 this year, Police Scotland had 16,427 full-time equivalent officers.

However, data released under Freedom of Information to the magazine 1919, showed that 914 officers are eligible to retire by the end of June 2026.

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said it was inevitable that "exhausted" officers would opt to leave.

He added: "People don't see the service as what it was. That's the reality.

"In a different climate, you might see people who are eligible for retirement who don't want to leave the force because they don't have to.

"If they felt happy in their job, I think they might stay but they are not going to." Mr Kennedy went on: "That's why they're leaving - because they're exhausted.