Civilian staff have been taking over more of the functions of police officers since 1985. The question of just how far that process can be taken has become newly controversial in the row over how the SNP is to fulfil its manifesto commitment to add 1000 new officers to Scotland's police forces. Extending the role of civilians could help to conjure more officers for the front line, but the debate became polarised last November after David Mulhern, chief executive of the Scottish Police Services Authority, suggested Scotland should follow the English model of employing police community support officers (PCSOs) to free police officers from work which did not require their full powers. That provoked considerable opposition from the Police Federation.

Civilian staff have been taking over more of the functions of police officers since 1985. The question of just how far that process can be taken has become newly controversial in the row over how the SNP is to fulfil its manifesto commitment to add 1000 new officers to Scotland's police forces. Extending the role of civilians could help to conjure more officers for the front line, but the debate became polarised last November after David Mulhern, chief executive of the Scottish Police Services Authority, suggested Scotland should follow the English model of employing police community support officers (PCSOs) to free police officers from work which did not require their full powers. That provoked considerable opposition from the Police Federation.

Some may see a new pilot scheme in Falkirk, however, as a tentative step towards his idea that some police officers effectively could become managers overseeing civilians carrying out tasks such as taking statements and investigating thefts. The theory is that it will not only free police officers from routine, but time-consuming, inquiries, but also be more efficient as a result of having dedicated staff.

Investigations requiring separate interviews with half a dozen youngsters, for example, are interrupted and delayed if police officers are called to an emergency or move on to night shift. Civilians can complete inquiries more quickly, but there is a danger that they may fail to pick up other issues, such as child or domestic abuse or other types of crime. That is just one aspect of the argument made by experienced police officers: that regular interaction with the public is essential for building the trust that is required for people to provide information and come forward as witnesses. That trust risks being diluted if the use of "investigative assistants" with three weeks' training to deal with housebreaking, theft of cars and vandalism reinforces the notion that such offences are not treated with the seriousness they deserve, when they can be traumatic events for individuals.

Freeing officers from time-consuming investigations is designed to allow them to respond more quickly to emergencies and concentrate on more serious crimes. If that is the demonstrable effect of extending the role of civilians, it will gain the support of the public; if there is a perception that the police are not being used efficiently, while low-level crime such as the vandalism and minor thefts, which blight too many areas, is not being pursued rigorously, it will erode many advances made, such as in community policing.

Unlike the PCSOs introduced in England in 2002, the investigative assistants will not wear uniform and will not have a community role. That is welcome. There should be no confusion in the minds of the general public about who is a police officer or what their role is. The recent case of two PCSOs who refused to jump into a lake to save someone who was drowning because they had not been trained was a disastrous example.

Among the "civilian" investigative assistants in the Falkirk pilot scheme are two former police officers. At a time when one of the major problems facing the Scottish police forces is the large proportion of officers due to retire in the next five years, a system that makes use of their skills and experience while freeing them from the pressure of the front line works to everyone's advantage.