By Jo Farrell
Chief Constable
Right across Scotland, we’re deploying hundreds of officers as part of planning for Bonfire Night, a major European football match in Glasgow, and potential protests.
Communities will notice a visible police presence, with firework control zones also active in some areas.
I want to thank the officers and staff, including those from UK police forces, who stand ready to support fire and ambulance colleagues, protect the public, and respond to violence and disorder.
In what has been a relentless increase in demand for policing, large-scale deployments come at a financial cost, but also a human one of changed rest days, and additional pressure on our workforce.
Follow-up investigations and the resulting criminal proceedings place further strain right across the system.
Appalling violence across the bonfire period in 2023 shocked communities and led to dozens of officers being injured.
Since then, strengthened deployments have helped to maintain greater control around the period. We’ve followed through with investigations to charge dozens of people, securing custodial sentences.
Police Scotland will always prioritise that emergency response to prevent harm and maintain the safety of our communities.
But the absence of crime is the true indicator of resilient, cohesive communities where individuals and businesses can thrive.
So, ahead of recent bonfire nights, along with partners, we’ve worked to engage with young people. We’ve also followed up intelligence to find and seize stockpiles of fireworks that might otherwise have been used in criminality.
Investment in prevention and early intervention reduces the need for enforcement and the long tail of cost through the criminal justice system. It can also reduce the human cost of people becoming involved in criminality and the demand on police officers and blue light colleagues.
Balancing responding to today’s emergencies with preventing tomorrow’s trouble lies at the heart of our new approach to local policing.
I want the public to have the best possible local policing, whether that’s the response to an emergency, reliable and timely support around non-emergencies, or cops who know their beats and work with communities to solve problems, help people feel safe, and prevent crime.
I want our fantastic police officers who are under too much pressure to have the support they need to deliver for the public we serve.
We looked at demand data, and held more than 1,000 conversations with officers, staff, members of the public, and key local partners, to understand where we needed to change local policing.
Our new approach draws clearer lines around the role of response officers, introduces a community investigations team, and will introduce additional community police officers across the country.
Areas already operating the new approach are keeping far more local policing appointments, which were often cancelled when officers had to respond to emergencies. We are also responding more quickly to non-emergency reports and reducing some pressure on response officers.
But even with a more efficient model, community policing and prevention are still at the back of the queue when emergencies and events and protests require officers elsewhere.
Policing needs more resource. So, last week, we set out a case for investment in written evidence to the Scottish Parliament.
The evidence outlines what is needed to meet pay assumptions and inflation. It also calls for support for more than 500 officer and staff posts, including in community policing, preventing violence against women and girls, and tackling counter state threats.
I know the challenges of public finances and the implications for public services.
Policing’s case is not from a standing start.
Parliament and the Scottish Government recognise the substantial savings delivered through police reform, and independent scrutiny has confirmed the value policing delivers.
Contrary to broader Scottish public sector trends, our workforce has reduced, from around 24,000 in 2013 to just under 22,500 now.
Improvements like mobile working, a single crime system, and a national network have achieved impressive efficiencies along with financial savings, for example through sharing buildings with partners.
Those efficiencies have helped protect service levels while policing responds to increasingly complex challenges – the violence against women and girls emergency, the expansion of technology and AI which enables online radicalisation and criminality, and increased protest and disorder.
There are opportunities to reduce policing’s role in responding to mental health incidents where no crime has been committed, while digital efficiencies can get quicker, more efficient outcomes for victims and witnesses, including police witnesses.
However, the sweeping savings already achieved by policing in Scotland cannot be repeated – and we need some of them re-invested.
I know the quality and commitment of our officers and staff. I learn of another hero made in policing every day. My commitment is to provide them with the team, the time, the kit and the leadership to deliver for Scotland.