By Gemma Fraser
Head of content
Police Scotland spent £3 million on overtime in just one month as it admits it is struggling to meet increasing demands.
A rise in policing serious and organised crime, as well as “unprecedented” levels of protests and events, has placed additional pressures on the force.
Officers are being called in on days off as there is no other way to meet the extra workload.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell told members of Holyrood’s criminal justice committee: “We are cancelling more time off to meet the requirements. If we cannot give our officers the days back within 90 days, the regulations say that we need to pay them for that time.
“That is set against the reduction in the number of police officers, so we are seeing pressure on the organisation and on the people – we are cancelling their time off, paying overtime or subsequently paying them additional recompense three months later.
“That is putting stress and strain on people, and it is not a sustainable position in terms of the impact on individuals and on the budget.
“In effect, we are having to use the budget for this year – we are overspending in relation to our overtime because of those additional demands. We can see that impact.”
Chief Constable Jo Farrell
Farrell has previously warned of the increasing pressures being placed on her officers as a result of protests and counter-protests across the country.
Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs told members: “As the chief constable said, we are drawing on people’s own time and we are paying overtime, which is having a negative impact.
“At times, we are drawing officers away from communities.
“In the month of September, our overtime spend was £3 million, a large part of which was driven by the demand that is being placed on services.”
1919 revealed earlier this year that £28.15 million was spent on overtime for officers in 2024/25, plus an additional £3.4 million for police staff – a combined 10 per cent rise on the previous year.
Police Scotland is asking for a minimum £104.9m uplift from the Scottish Government in next year’s budget in order to maintain the current number of officers after covering unavoidable costs such as pay awards and increased national insurance contributions.
Opposition politicians have accused the SNP of failing to invest properly in policing.
“This staggering spend exposes the immense strain that Police Scotland are under thanks to years of sustained SNP cuts and mismanagement,” Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr said.
“Officers are being stretched to their limits and are constantly being asked to go above and beyond to plug gaps in staffing.
“Instead of taking decisive action, SNP ministers have allowed police numbers to fall to woefully low levels whilst resources become even more scarce.
“It is simply not sustainable for ministers to rely on the goodwill of officers doing more and more overtime as a substitute for proper investment in policing.”
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill added: “This is a huge bill – picked up by taxpayers – all because of the SNP’s careless mismanagement of our justice sector.
“They have failed to protect police officer numbers, with those on the front line being stretched to breaking point as a result.
“Officers and staff are going above and beyond to paper over the cracks, while the SNP play fast and loose with the safety of our communities.”
September’s overtime bill may have included payment for officers drafted in to police the largescale operation surrounding President Donald Trump’s visit to Scotland at the end of July.
There were also a series of high-profile events throughout summer which required additional policing, including TRNSMT festival, the Royal Highland Show, and the sold-out Oasis concerts at Murrayfield.
DCC Speirs told 1919: “Over the last 12 months, the demand has increased both in respect of policing serious and organised crime, as well as an unprecedented level of protests and events.
“Officers and staff are working incredibly hard to deliver for our communities and keep people safe, the organisation is incredibly grateful for all their hard work.
“The nature of policing is unpredictable, and overtime is a flexible mechanism which can help to ensure we maintain an effective service for all our communities.
“We remain in discussion with the Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Government about funding allocations for 2026/27, which we have outlined will have a direct impact on our ability to strengthen frontline policing.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scotland’s police officers and staff do an outstanding job and we are grateful for their dedicated work to keep our communities safe.
“We have invested a record £1.64 billion for policing this year, and our continued investment enabled Police Scotland to take on more recruits in the last financial year than at any time since 2013.
“With further intakes planned during 2025/26, Scotland has more police officers per capita than England and Wales.
“We will continue to work with Police Scotland to understand their 2026/27 budget requirements.”
