ALEX Salmond has rejected calls to limit the powers of Scotland's chief constable, Sir Stephen House, following the outcry over his controversial policy of using armed officers on routine patrols.
Police Scotland this week announced it was ending the practice after complaints from the public and criticism from MSPs.
The U-turn prompted calls for the chief constable's operational independence - his freedom to set policing policy without the need to consult the force's oversight body, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) - to be more clearly defined.
But the First Minister dismissed the call and said the force should be applauded for listening to people's concerns.
It came as a leading legal figure warned the chief constable still had questions to answer over his pursuit of the policy.
Police Scotland said on Wednesday that in future armed officers would only respond to incidents where a suspected firearm was involved or there was a direct threat to life.
The move ended growing disquiet over the sight of officers carrying holstered side arms during routine town centre patrols.
Mr Salmond and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill had both defended the old arrangement on the grounds it was an operational decision for the chief constable.
However, during First Minister's Questions, Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said it was "time to codify the scope and reach of the chief constable's operational independence".
Mr Salmond: "I think the process that we have gone through on this issue has been a very good one.
"I think when a police service responds to public concern in a constructive way, I think it should be applauded for doing that and I would have thought that this process has come to a conclusion which I hope and believe that people think is satisfactory.
"Therefore, I think protecting the operational independence of the chief constable and his ability to deploy the resources he has to best effect to keep the people of Scotland safe from harm is something that should be strongly protected."
He added: "I would have thought this process vindicates the argument that we have a police service in Scotland which is held in the highest regard and public esteem, and responds also to public concern when it is voiced."
The chief constable's operational independence is regarded as a vital bulwark against potential political interference in day-to-day policing.
Yesterday Labour MSP Graeme Pearson said the SPA should have examined the options for armed policing before the decision to deploy them on routine patrols was taken.
He said Mr MacAskill should have ordered an SPA probe when the strength of public feeling became clear.
Mr Salmond defended his Justice Secretary's record, saying crime levels had fallen.
Meanwhile, Professor Alan Miller, who chairs the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said the matter wasn't closed even though the policy had been changed.
He said: "The issue of the armed policing has been an early test of the new governance frame-work set up on creation of PoliceScotland, but it hasn't immediately demonstrated that the framework is working adequately. So we await the outcome of the inquiries by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and the SPA."
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