SCOTLAND'S most senior frontline police have warned of "significant risk" to the smooth transition from eight forces to one unless a chief constable designate is appointed as soon as possible.
In the biggest shake-up of policing for 35 years, Scotland’s 17,000 police officers will come under one force from 2013. In the run-up to the decision in September, there was opposition from local authorities and some chief constables, with concerns about how to retain local policing and independence of the service.
The Bill to institute the changes is expected to reach stage one in the spring of next year and privately some officers have suggested a shadow chief could and should be appointed at that time. The Herald can reveal that the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (Asps) has written to ministers to call for a mechanism to be introduced “now” to allow for a shadow chief constable for the whole country.
Superintendents believe the new chief should be in place to ensure a smooth transition from eight forces to one and to ensure critical issues such as IT systems are all in place and running effectively on day one.
The consultation to look at how the single force might be constituted closes today. David O’Connor, president of Asps, said: “There is a significant risk to the whole reform programme, both now and in the future, if we fail to take early steps to appoint a chief constable designate. Such a move could be confidently managed to maintain public confidence and avoid any inference of political independence.
“Indeed a shadow command team would be a positive step and would ease the transition from the current model to the new Scottish police service in 2013.”
He told The Herald they are putting down an “early marker” on their views.
He added: “Failure to appoint a chief constable designate early in the process to work on the reform programme could lead to longer term repercussions which must be avoided.”
Scottish councils claimed that the English riots showed the importance of “quality policing”, and warned a rushed and costly merger could lead to fewer police on the beat.
However, with Scottish police budgets projected to shrink by up to £1.7 billion in real terms over the next 15 years, ministers have had to consider ways to save money, remove duplication and make forces more efficient.
Estimates suggested a single force would cost around £207 million to deliver over five years, but save £390m over the same period, and £1.9bn over 15 years.
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