By Cordelia O’Neill
Police Scotland is facing a “crisis” in recruiting and retaining officers following a sharp drop in the number of people applying to the force.
Figures obtained by 1919 reveal applications have fallen by 1,273 in just two years.
At the same time, increasing numbers of officers have resigned in recent years.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr described the figures as “damning evidence” of “neglect and underfunding” of Scotland’s police.
And Scottish Police Federation (SPF) chair David Threadgold called for more “honesty” about the demands of the job from Police Scotland when recruiting new officers.
The Scottish Government insisted that a budget increase will “support policing capacity and capability”, pointing out that Scotland has more police officers per capita than England and Wales.
However, recent years have seen a decline in officer numbers – falling to the lowest level since 2007 in the middle of 2024.
A minimum police officer total of 17,234 was set by the government in 2007, which was later abandoned and the figure now hovers around the 16,600 mark. The latest quarterly statistics show a 0.5 per cent increase from the second quarter of last year.
In September, Police Scotland launched its biggest ever recruitment campaign designed to “encourage potential candidates to view Police Scotland as an employer of choice”.
Costing more than £100,000, it is running over social media, digital advertising and print and broadcast media.
Threadgold said: “Logistically, the service needs more people than ever before. We need to collectively ensure that standards of recruitment, training and support are in place to retain people.
“I think public perception in policing is damaged. We are not as present and relevant in communities as we used to be.
“When people come in, they don’t know they have to work shifts, they don’t know they have to work nights or weekends and can be held on duty. People are saying ‘it’s not what I thought it would be’. They don’t have the job satisfaction they used to.”
As 1919 revealed in December, a recent study carried out by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) highlighted that new probationers are often disappointed by the reality of policing versus the expectations, while more established officers with at least three years’ experience found the role has not “fully measured up to the job they envisaged”.
Threadgold added: “Policing is still the greatest job in the world, but we need to take this opportunity to ensure we get things right.
“Police work is demanding, and you have restrictions on your private life that other jobs don’t have. People are saying ‘I can’t do it anymore’. It’s relentless. You have to be aware of that and make sure that people aren’t being ground down to the point that they break.”
Figures obtained by 1919 using a freedom of information request have revealed that constable applications to Police Scotland fell by 17 per cent between 2022/23 and 2023/24, down by 652 from 3,841 to 3,189.
“If the SNP doesn’t get on top of this recruitment and retention crisis then it is only likely to make our streets and communities less safe”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr
Numbers have also fallen considerably in 2024/25, although the financial year is not yet complete.
Meanwhile, resignations from the force have increased from 176 in 2019 to 260 in 2023 and 215 last year. Dismissals increased from one in 2019 to 11 in 2024.
Scottish Conservative MSP Liam Kerr, the party’s justice spokesperson, said: “If the SNP doesn’t get on top of this recruitment and retention crisis then it is only likely to make our streets and communities less safe.
“Ministers must finally show some common sense and back frontline policing and pull out all the stops to make it as an attractive career as possible.
“This is damning evidence that the SNP’s neglect and underfunding of Scotland’s police is making it a less attractive proposition to potential new officers.
“It is hardly surprising when they see current hardworking officers pushed beyond breaking point and they aren’t given the resources to investigate every crime.”
Pauline McNeill, Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson, added: “Serving in the police should be the brightest of careers, but after years of the SNP… neglecting its development as a single force, it’s understandable that many potential recruits are choosing less stressful routes.”
However, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have ensured record police funding of £1.62 billion during 2025/26, an increase of £70 million on 2024/25.
“This means Police Scotland will take on more recruits this financial year than at any time since 2013; the Chief Constable has stated that officer numbers reached 16,614 on January 16.
“The increase in funding will support policing capacity and capability, the delivery of Police Scotland’s three-year business plan, and its estates masterplan, and enable progress on delivering key priorities including delivering body-worn video cameras for officers.
“Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales and this continues to be a safe place to live, with recorded crime at one of the lowest levels since 1974 and down 40 per cent since 2006/07.”
“The service needs more people than ever before”
Police Scotland DCC Alan Speirs said: “Our recruitment pipeline is healthy and the latest intake of probationary constables brought officer establishment to 16,614.
“We are recruiting 1,300 officers this financial year, with a further 200 probationers scheduled for our next intake in March, to keep numbers at our budgeted establishment levels of around 16,600.
“Policing is a job like no other – it is a way of life and a hugely rewarding vocation.
“As with all sectors, people leave policing for all sorts of reasons. However, retention levels within Police Scotland are very high compared with other organisations.
“The proportion of officers leaving through resignation has not changed significantly in recent years. In fact, fewer officers resigned in 2024 compared to the previous year.”