Scotland’s chief constable has warned the force is facing tough new challenges as it deals with a growing elderly population.
Phil Gormley spoke of the looming dementia timebomb in Scotland and how officers' workloads are rising dramatically as a result of dealing with increasing numbers of vulnerable elderly people.
He said the force now has to deal with dementia sufferers who go missing every year and these cases can be very time-consuming as well as having an impact on the already-stretched budget.
Read more: Analysis - why dementia sums up the new challenges facing policing
Elderly people can also be at greater risk of doorstep crime and telephone scams as well as causing disturbances when they become lost and confused.
Mr Gormley said: “Dementia is a very significant issue. If you talk to police and they will frequently bring up this issue, one that absorbs a lot of their time. I think we have a legitimate role.
“We have the ability to find people. But there is a broader challenge of supporting an ageing population and we should ask if we are doing other people’s jobs.”
Seeking elderly people has become a routine police job. Earlier this week one man, 83-year-old Henry Patterson of Bishopbriggs, died in hospital after being spotted by specialist search officers near the Forth and Clyde Canal. He had been missing for three days but doctors could not save him after he was found.
Mr Gormley wants to look at ways in which information on such vulnerable people could be better shared across emergency and other public services.
Read more: Analysis - why dementia sums up the new challenges facing policing
Charities are well aware that the police are acting as the public service of last resort for dementia. Alzheimer Scotland has been training professionals, including the police, to better understand people with the disease. Jim Pearson, its director, said: “The police play a particularly important role because some people with dementia may be at a higher risk of becoming victims of crime such as scams or door step crime or be at greater risk of becoming disorientated and lost.
“Police officers with a better understanding of dementia are better able to respond to the needs of people with dementia in the communities in which they work.”
Mr Gormley also admitted the force has a “real challenge” this year as it struggles with what amounts to an annual overdraft of around £11m.
But eight months after taking over from Sir Stephen House, Mr Gormley is confident he can straighten out police Scotland’s finances by 2019-2020.
His predecessor had warned the force needed “extreme measures”. Now Mr Gormley has hinted what those might be, suggesting that protecting missing people with Alzheimers or children at risk of sexual abuse would have to take priority over investigating routine vandalisms.
Read more: Analysis - why dementia sums up the new challenges facing policing
Asked about this year’s financial black hole could be plugged, Mr Gormley said: “We’re doing all we can. Will we be able top close it completely? Candidly, I am not convinced. This year is a challenge. There will be some difficult choices to be made around that. So we are working very hard with the police authority and talking to the Scottish Government about where we are.
“It is going to take a two-to-three-year adjustment period to get us in a state of permanent balance. I am really optimistic we can do that.”
Mr Gormley’s adjustment period is not just about finances. Along with his watchdog, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), the chief constable is looking at how to recalibrate his force for the next decade. Police Scotland will have fewer officers and perhaps more civilians.
This process will take time. The SPA has already confirmed that police numbers, despite reports to the contrary, will not fall this year. But the re-adjustment should end, Mr Gormley argues, with a service better place to deal with missing dementia sufferers, the rising number of women who report domestic violence or children at risk of online abuse.
Mr Gormley has repeatedly cited a study showing that 80 per cent of police work no longer involves a recorded crime - but deals with issues like Alzheimers or road accidents or mental health.
Read more: Analysis - why dementia sums up the new challenges facing policing
He said: “Sometimes when you try and explain this you are written off as being soft on crime. And that I am not.
“But we have limited resourced and changing and increasing demand. We are going to have to make those choices.
“The choice is between investing between protecting children in an ever more complicated environment or the routine attendance at criminal damage. It is never a binary choice. I would you say you need to prioritise protecting children. “
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