Police officers are "run ragged" as pressures on the force have mounted, the former justice secretary has claimed.
Expecting an officer to attend incidents such as "minor" vandalism can no longer be justified as they must prioritise serious crime, Kenny MacAskill said.
Writing in the i newspaper he said that "some things can no longer be provided" and suggested that private security firms could take over roles such as stewarding and cyber protection.
READ MORE: SNP Government in row after civil servant puts pressure on watchdog over policing report
Mr MacAskill, who was justice secretary from 2007 to 2014, said politicians and the public have to change what they expect police to do.
He wrote: "Terrorism, cyber crime and historic sexual abuse now take up a large amount of police resources. No wonder response officers are run ragged and there are fewer community officers."
He added: "These new pressures mean some things can no longer be provided.
"The priority has to be keeping people safe and investigating serious crime.
"Expecting an officer to attend incidents of minor vandalism where there are no witnesses can no longer be justified. An email acknowledgement for the insurance company will have to suffice.
"Private security has already taken over some aspects of policing and such services will also be needed in other areas, such as cyber protection or stewarding roles."
READ MORE: SNP Government in row after civil servant puts pressure on watchdog over policing report
He said that mental health was the biggest drain on police resources and suggested that the NHS should "step up to the mark" except when there was a threat to safety.
Mr MacAskill also said that Police Scotland, which was formally established on April 1, 2013, has been "blighted" by errors and suspensions almost from its inception.
The troubled police force is currently without some of its most senior staff, with the chief constable on ''special leave'' while one of his assistants has been suspended.
Last week the auditor general criticised ''unacceptable'' examples of poor governance and use of public money at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).
However Mr MacAskill said that a new chairman at the SPA, where Susan Deacon has just taken up the role, and a "hugely respected deputy" chief constable taking charge of the force, offer "signs of stability".
He also said the Scottish Government would not drop the commitment to maintaining officer numbers.
READ MORE: SNP Government in row after civil servant puts pressure on watchdog over policing report
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Police officer numbers are substantially higher than they were 10 years ago.
"The Policing 2026 programme will help ensure Scotland continues to benefit from a modern, responsive police service - increasing operational capacity and delivering the right mix of officers and staff to keep people safe and meet emerging challenges.
"This is being supported by our protection of Police Scotland's resource budget throughout this Parliament, alongside provision of dedicated reform funding.
"While the UK Government, having refused to act for the last four years, has now accepted that Scotland's police and fire services should be able to reclaim back VAT, Scottish ministers have made clear that they must repay the £140 million already taken from those emergency services."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel