Single force would threaten local policing
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A SINGLE police force covering the whole of Scotland could pose a threat to local policing and lead to a centralisation of resources.
It would also be “costly, disruptive and intensely distracting”.
That was said this week by George Graham, the new chief constable of Northern Constabulary during an exclusive interview with the John O’Groat Journal at Wick Police Station.
He said such a structural change could impact on the level of services in communities across the North and stressed he has yet to be convinced that a move to a single force would save money.
“It would cost money in the first few years and pose a significant risk to some of the things I value,” said the chief constable.
He would prefer to retain the existing eight forces in Scotland although he would like to see more collaboration between them to save money.
“I think we should keep policing and the governance of policing essentially local,” he stated. Mr Graham is not in favour of a four-force solution either – one of the options being considered.
“That would pose the same kind of risks but at a less significant level,” he said.
The chief constable, who urged people to take part in the current consultation and make their views known, accepted the public sector cannot stand still and has to change, but does not believe that one force will improve the service.
He also acknowledged the financial challenges being faced by the police are “significant” and pointed out Northern Constabulary’s funding has been cut by 2.6 per cent in the current financial year. In 2010/11 it had a budget of around £65 million.
Concern has been expressed that the savings will result in the loss of 16 police stations, 25 police officers and 50 civilian jobs over the next year.
Mr Graham said he would be “very surprised” if the cuts do not have any effect on staffing levels but added: “We will be making earnest efforts to minimise the impact on people’s jobs and will be looking at where we can save money in other areas. We will work with communities to identify what we value the most, where can we afford to make cuts and where that is most palatable.”
He said the police, along with their partners in the emergency services, will examine how they can make “better use of the public pound”.
“There are no easy answers to this but we will do the best we can to ensure the level and quality of service delivered is maintained. Economies are fairly fragile here and it is particularly important to try and prevent the loss of posts and jobs,” continued the chief constable, who stated that around 87 per cent of Northern Constabulary’s budget goes on staffing.
He pointed out that the force has just published its 12-month strategic plan which includes objectives such as dealing with alcohol and substance misuse, antisocial behaviour and road deaths as well as helping to create safer communities and protecting vulnerable people.
“We also want to tackle serious and organised crime. The tendrils of organised crime do reach into the Highlands and Islands and we want to make sure this is a hostile environment for criminals,” he said.
Accompanying Mr Graham – a former deputy chief constable with the Dumfries and Galloway force – was new divisional commander Superintendent John Chisholm, who will be based at Wick.
He will be in charge of 189 police officers in Caithness, Sutherland, East Ross, Orkney and Shetland.
“The public expect to see officers on patrol and dealing with problems facing society, whether it be antisocial behaviour, misuse of drugs or whatever,” he said. “There is a clear expectation of what they want from the police and we are here to serve them in that regard.”
