SCOTLAND’S rural communities are no longer phoning the police “as they have little confidence of a meaningful response,” the Scottish Police Federation has warned.

The damning comments from the trade union for rank-and-file officers come after new figures revealed that 140 dedicated stations and offices have shut since the creation of the single force in 2013.

The federation said many of these were in rural areas, with staff redeployed to urban centres.

Calum Steele, general secretary of the federation, said: “I have spent the past few weeks talking to members of the public, councillors, MSPs, MPs, and our own members on this very subject.

“Without exception, they consider that retrenchment into more urban centres is having a detrimental impact on the policing of remote and rural areas, with many communities now not phoning the police as they have little confidence of a meaningful response.

“This is a devastating assessment and officers and communities in remote and rural Scotland deserve much better.

“The vital link that once tied police officers to local communities is being systematically eroded and we will all be poorer as a result.”

The figures were uncovered by 1919 magazine, published by the federation.

Last year it emerged that Police Scotland had made £28.5m after selling off 96 of its old properties.

At the time, a further 26 were either under offer, on the market, being prepared to go up for sale or for proposed community transfer.

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Jamie Greene said the freeze in Police Scotland’s capital funding in the last budget had left the force trying to find other ways to afford repairs.

He said: “What police stations are left are often in disrepair, with reports of mould on the carpets and buildings that are no longer wind or watertight.

“When Police Scotland tried to get the funding to make improvements, the SNP government handed them a real-terms cut to their capital budget instead.

“This pattern of neglect cannot continue. Our police need to have access to more, and higher quality, local stations.”

Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur said: “The SNP’s centralisation of Scottish policing was billed as a cost saving exercise.

“When those savings failed to appear it was estates and staff which bore the brunt of the cuts.”

Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr said said the force’s estate had “suffered from a historic lack of investment under legacy arrangements.”

He defended the closing of the stations, saying that many of the buildings were not fit for purpose or even in the right place.

He said: “Our policing strategy is designed to support our plans to enable officers to spend more time out in communities, such as the successful roll-out of mobile devices.

“Increases in fraud and other cyber-enabled crimes demonstrate that online policing is also increasingly a key part of frontline policing.

“Reform of policing in Scotland means communities are now served by stronger operational competence and better access to all policing capabilities than would otherwise be the case.

“Accessible policing is critical to our vital bond with the public from who we draw our legitimacy. Responsive policing tailored to local needs will always be at the heart of our mission and purpose.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The allocation of resources, including for the police estate, is for the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable to determine.

“However, the police capital budget has more than doubled since 2017/18, supporting continued investment in the police estate.”

Meanwhile, Police Scotland recorded 330 “call-room failures” in the last three years, according to new figures unearthed by the Scottish Conservatives

The party said these mistakes could “have serious consequences for public safety across Scotland.”

However, Police Scotland said, while important, they represented a tiny fraction of all calls handled by the force. 

A call room failure, or a notable incident, is defined as “any incident or event where the effectiveness of the C3 Division [service centres and control rooms] response is likely to have a significant impact on the reputation of the Division, Police Scotland or our partners and from which learning could potentially be obtained as a result of the manner in which it was dealt with.”

They include 53 incidents of “incorrect/missing information,” which could be the wrong address being taken by a call handler, or the wrong contact details for victims and witnesses. 

On 34 occasions, Police Scotland said there was a “failure to identify risk,” which includes “failing to properly identify domestic, child protection etc.”

That means that the response to that call for help has been “inappropriate”.

Mr Greene, said: “These are completely unacceptable failures, which could have serious consequences for public safety across Scotland."

He added: “These failures are the result of overstretched officers having to make up for the SNP Government's neglect."

Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins, said: "In 2021 we handled more than 2.5 million contacts from the public and 129 of those resulted in a notable incident being raised.

“While the number of these incidents is low, it is vital that, as a learning organisation, officers and staff have the opportunity to highlight them as we continue to improve our 101 and 999 services.”


 


However, Police Scotland said, while important, the call-room failures represented a tiny fraction of calls handled by the force.