Officers needlessly being called to court is costing Police Scotland around £22.5 million in “lost productivity”.
New evidence to MSPs has revealed the scale of the resource impact on the force from court citations.
More than 500 officers on average are summoned to court every day, with only around 10 per cent ever required to give evidence.
The Scottish Police Federation has previously warned that one of the biggest resource drains is officers turning up to court to give evidence in trials that are no longer going ahead.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell said connective technology can help address the crisis.
“I think the time it takes for victims to get justice in the system is far too long,” she told a conference on digital policing.
“I’m passionate about improving criminal justice experiences – outcomes for our victims, our witnesses, police officers and police staff who are key to the system.
“Witnesses, including police witnesses, are repeatedly cited to court and they don’t give evidence.
“I have consistently underlined the impact that criminal justice inefficiencies have on Police Scotland’s operational capability, our overtime bill, and the wellbeing of our officers.
“That’s the challenge and we’re working closely with court services, the prosecutors and government to use technology to drive improvements.”
“Witnesses, including police witnesses, are repeatedly cited to court and they don’t give evidence”
Separately giving evidence to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee, she added: “Some 400 or 500 officers a day are in court and, if only 10 per cent of them give evidence, that means that 90 per cent of that figure is wasted capacity, as those officers are not performing their core roles.
“For our response officers, for example, there is only a one in five chance that the court date will align with a rest day, because they are on either early shifts, day shifts or night shifts, and then there are two shifts that are off.
“There is a move in the right direction in this regard but, because no cognisance is currently being taken of other matters when the trial dates are set, the date often falls on rest days and annual leave days, which has an impact on the front line of policing.”
Police Scotland’s chief financial officer, James Gray, added: “Just to give you an idea, I can say that 500 officers cost the taxpayer approximately £25 million a year. If 90 per cent of that is not effective, that represents £22.5 million of lost productivity.”
Police Scotland’s overtime bill for officers attending court exceeded £3 million last year.
There are ongoing efforts to streamline the process such as a new scheduling app and a case management pilot scheme which has reduced officer citations.
The Chief Constable said the rollout of a new digital evidence sharing capability (DESC) system following its successful trial in Dundee can have a material impact on witness time.
“The benefits include fewer victims and witnesses having to attend courts and it reduces the time for cases to come to court and reach conclusion, which saves police time and saves money and resources across the system,” she said.
Earlier this year, 1919 revealed that police officers had been summoned to court to give evidence against someone who had passed away.
In another case, an officer on maternity leave with a 12-week-old baby was given a last-minute citation due to the fact a colleague was on holiday and had been excused.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has acknowledged that unnecessary citations are a “waste of resources”.
“If we use the technology right and in an efficient way, then you will see justice earlier and be reassured that perpetrators will feel the full weight of the justice system”