Caithness concern over impact of loss of 27 police posts in the Highlands and Islands area
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CAITHNESS could be impacted by budget cuts which will reduce the number of police in the Highlands and Islands by 27.
That is the concern expressed this week by local MP, Jamie Stone, Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor, Matthew Reiss and retired police officer, Iain Gregory.
They are worried about the loss of 24 officers in the Highlands and three from the Islands with councillor Reiss saying the "thin blue line is getting ever thinner."
He said nine posts have already gone while others will be happening "within months" and is dismayed that 600 vacancies throughout Scotland are not going to be filled.
He is also unhappy that as part of a project being piloted by police in the north east of Scotland some minor crimes will no longer be investigated and said that is setting "a very dangerous precedent."
"The thin blue line is getting ever thinner and it is the elderly and vulnerable that are affected the most. If an elderly person gets a stone put through a window that may be regarded as minor but it is anything but minor to that person."
Mr Reiss expects that Caithness could have cuts of around 10 per cent which could mean the loss of between two and three officers. "The public wants to see police officers walking and driving about and it has an immensely reassuring effect on the public. The police have warned about the consequences of budget cuts and this is the hard reality. I am hopeful Caithness may be spared because of its remoteness. The loss of an officer is significant and there is concern there will be more cuts next year," he added.
Mr Gregory, a former area commander, is "deeply concerned" police numbers "face the axe in the Northern Division of Police Scotland."
He stressed that when he came to Caithness in 1977, the county had police stations at Dunbeath, Lybster, Watten, Castletown, Halkirk, and Reay.
"Wick and Thurso offices were open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, with a sergeant in each office, both with a team of four PC's, along with CID and community involvement officers, and numerous support staff. There were listed phone numbers for all the stations, and the public had immediate access to local officers."
The rural stations have all been closed and 'walk-in' access across the Highlands is "a thing of the past."
"Today we have a small number of highly capable and dedicated young police officers, and Special Constables, who are expected to meet the needs of the entire county, and I am well aware of the pressures they are under – and indeed the risks they face daily – and I sincerely hope and trust that no reductions will be made in Caithness and Sutherland."
He added: "Once again, loss of local control and the constant drive to centralisation has led to major issues, and, as always, the effects are felt most strongly in the remote areas. Policing should be a very major priority for the Scottish Government. Sadly, I doubt if it will be".
Caithness, Sutherland and easter Ross MP, Jamie Stone, a former member of the Northern Joint Police Board said:
"I am shocked – but sadly not surprised – to hear of these terrible cuts. The amalgamation of Scotland's police forces into one single force, accountable only to the SNP Government in Edinburgh means that a terrible decision like this to drastically reduce police numbers could be taken at the unaccountable flick of a Minister's pen. This would never have got through in the days before the police forces were amalgamated."
"But even more worrying is the fact that it is the elderly and vulnerable who have most to fear when the police numbers are reduced. A natural follow-on from this is that proper investigations of crimes are either delayed or not carried out at all."
However, far north MSP, Maree Todd, said policing has "always been a priority for the Scottish Government" and said there are 350 more officers now compared to 2007. She also pointed out that 1,280 new recruits have joined Police Scotland in the last 18 months.
But she added: " There is no doubt that these are challenging times for all public services and the Scottish Government budget has decreased due to the mismanagement of the UK economy by the UK Government compounded by over a decade of austerity."
The SNP MSP said the Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.
"Scotland also continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales," she said.
