At five-storey Perth police station, the lift has been out of order for months, forcing officers – some of whom are pregnant or have mobility issues – to take the stairs.
The old kennels have fallen into disrepair, wires hang down from ceilings and windows, and the toilet lid in the female bathroom is held up by a single piece of parcel tape.
“I have worked here continuously for the last three years and seen absolutely no improvement during that time,” said Inspector Kris McCall.
Pointing to his lengthy list of snags, he added: “Some of these are about health and safety, others more of a quality of environment issue.”
The problems at the Barrack Street facility mirror those unfolding across the country.
They prompted the Scottish Police Authority to call in global real estate firm Knight Frank to assess the state of play.
Its conclusion was that the maintenance backlog of the Police Scotland estate runs to potentially hundreds of millions of pounds, and will take 30 years to fix.
The report states: “Police Scotland recognises that the estate has not had the required investment to make improvements over the last decade.
“A combination of a large proportion of estates coming to the end of their economic life and long-term underinvestment has caused a backlog maintenance bill of £245 million.”
The estates consultation also proposes shutting up shop at the famous Fettes base in Edinburgh, and selling off a number of other police stations across the country.
But in Glasgow, officers continue to live with a challenging environment.
During heavy rain in recent years at the dog training centre in Pollok Park, which sits between two bodies of water, staff have used boats to transport themselves and the animals, while a changing area was built on stilts.
Gordon Cumming, the Scottish Police Federation’s west area committee secretary, said: “The pressure on the budget means that very little planned preventative maintenance gets done.
“People report issues and they don’t get fixed, so they no longer report them. The age of the estate means just about every building was designed for policing activity 50 years ago, not now.
“Police Scotland always takes the opportunity to remind officers of the standards that are expected of them, but these standards are a one-way street.
“If you want to know what your employer thinks of you, just look at the environment you’re expected to work in.”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr said poor building conditions “fundamentally undermines the police’s efforts to keep our communities safe”.
He added: “This damning report exposes the true scale of Scotland’s crumbling police estate on the SNP’s watch.
“Instead of turning a blind eye, SNP ministers must listen to officers and ensure the resources are in place to repair these buildings and finally show them that they are on their side.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson told 1919 the force wants to “continue to adapt to changing demands” and that it will annually review its estates masterplan accordingly.
They added: “In the first 11 years of Police Scotland, our capital budget investment has only supported reactive critical maintenance, primarily focused on compliance requirements to keep buildings operational.
“A backlog maintenance bill of £245 million has built up as a consequence.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While decisions around the police estate are operational matters for the Chief Constable, we have more than tripled the policing capital budget since 2017/18 and we are investing a record £1.64 billion for policing this year.
“The Scottish Government welcomes the development of Police Scotland’s estates masterplan and decisions on future policing budgets will be taken as part of the annual Scottish budget setting process.”