Caithness faces eight per cent cut in police budget over four years, Thurso community councillors are told
Police in Caithness and other parts of Scotland face budget cuts of eight per cent over the next four years, Thurso community councillors were told at their meeting this week.
Members were quizzing Thurso-based sergeant Stephen Todd on anti-social behaviour, drugs and why roads had to be closed for between six and eight hours after recent accidents.
The police officer said that when there are serious injuries or fatalities following a road accident, specialist officers have to come up from Dingwall to carry out investigations and that takes time. Staff resources is also an issue, it was stated.
Thurso and Northwest Caithness Highland councillor, Matthew Reiss – a former police officer – said: "What you are hearing tonight is the reality about the thin blue line and what happens when you centralise an organisation."
He added: "There is going to be an eight per cent cut in the police over the next four years and you can draw your own conclusions about what that will mean."
Mr Reiss said accidents in Caithness are co-ordinated from Dundee, whereas in the past that would have been done from Caithness or Inverness.
He also noted that local police had attended a large number of concern for person calls in September and claimed other agencies should be helping out so officers can be deployed on other duties.
Sgt Todd explained that the police can get officers on secondment from other areas as accommodation for them is now available in Wick. "That helps to get more police here," he said.
When Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes set out her four-year spending review, she outlined a range of cuts to counter a projected £3.5 billion spending gap by 2026/27.
The Resource Spending Review prioritised health and social security, education, and tackling climate change but there will be an eight per cent cut in the justice budget, although it had been expected police resources would be protected in real terms.
Earlier, Sgt Todd said there had been over 100 calls in the Thurso area between September 3 and 22. They included concern for person calls while others related to drugs, assaults, anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse, traffic matters, neighbour disputes and two sudden deaths.
Community councillor Colin Johnston wanted to know why the road closures were so long after recent accidents. He said it was "frustrating for a lot of people," and mentioned some who had hospital appointments. Mr Johnston asked if drones could not be used to take photos of the accident scene.
Sgt Todd explained that local police do not have drones and said the roads have to be closed for the safety of the public and officers. He also stressed that specialist teams have to come from Dingwall when there are serious injuries or fatalities.
Ian Wright told the meeting he had to go to Inverness for a hospital appointment and arrived at the Kessock Bridge only to find it was shut and he had to be diverted by Muir of Ord.
"There was no warning of the closure and no diversion sign at the Tore roundabout," he said. Mr Wright got to Inverness at 4.35pm – more than an hour late for his appointment although he set off at 11.25am.
Morris Campbell asked what was being done to tackle drug issues in the Thurso area. He was told the police are aware of the problem and are taking a "pro-active" approach.