The Scottish Government has been criticised for the mounting problems in Police Scotland, but Ministers have been consistent on what they believe is their key justice success.
Since 2007, the Government has ensured that there have been 1000 extra police officers compared to when Labour ran the Scottish Executive.
The current figure stands at 17,261 and Ministers regularly trot out the figure when under pressure.
However, while the number is technically accurate, it seems to be based on spin more than substance.
Internal figures produced by the force reveal that only around 10,300 of the 17,261 are classified as “frontline” and “operational”.
Part of the 7,000 gap can be legitimately explained but the “frontline” definition raises serious questions about whether officers are backfilling posts left vacant by civilian staff.
Voters are happy to have over 17,000 officers, but they want the police to catch criminals, not work on IT projects.
In England – despite huge cuts to police budgets – the data on police officer numbers is of a much better quality than in Scotland, which is vague.
As Dr Kath Murray, a criminal justice expert at Edinburgh University, puts it: “Unlike England and Wales, data is not available on rank or officer function. There is no data on officers available for duty, nor the numbers that join or leave the force.
“Meanwhile, the published totals include officers on maternity leave, long-term sick leave and on secondment. The net result is that officer strength in Scotland cannot be openly scrutinised or analysed.”
Similarly, when this newspaper asked Police Scotland a simple question – about the number of officers at the rank of chief inspector and above – we were told to submit a freedom of information request.
Of course, this is not the first time police-related figures have been shown to mislead rather than inform. We are told recorded crime is at a historic low, but the data on which this claim is made has not been endorsed by the UK Statistics Authority.
The lingering row on stop and search was also fuelled by questionable data even Police Scotland said could not be trusted.
An independent analysis which gives clarity over police officer numbers is a necessary first step towards securing public confidence on this vital issue.
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