CONCERNS have been raised about a police "brain drain" as it emerged Scotland is set to lose some of its highest ranking offices in the coming months and face a rank and file retirement boom.

Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr is leaving the force to take charge of Devon and Cornwall Police in the new year, while Assistant Chief Constable Kenny MacDonald is to retire in November.

Of the 11 remaining senior officers in the executive team, more than half have either served for 30 years, or are approaching that milestone, which is the point at which many officers have traditionally retired. 

A memo from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) states the force is “anticipating further senior officers may retire in the coming months”.

The SPA has also raised fears over the prospects of retirements among 1377 officers across all ranks who are affected by pension changes.

Official figures published in May found that police officers numbers had fallen below 17,000 for first time since 2008.

The quarterly strength statistics revealed there were 16,805 full-time equivalent police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2022, down by 312 since 31 December 2021.

In 2007, the then SNP leader Alex Salmond set out plans for 1,000 extra officers and promised to maintain the extra police number in the 2011 election.

His commitment meant that when Police Scotland was formed in 2013 there should never be less than 17,234 police officers.

The latest concerns are highlighted in the this month's edition of 1919 Magazine, published today.

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Jamie Greene said: “The SNP Government are presiding over a brain drain of senior officers departing Police Scotland.

“It is not just senior police officers who are leaving the force. Overall officer numbers are at their lowest level in Police Scotland’s history and the situation will only get worse with the SNP’s cuts to the policing budget, which break their own 2021 manifesto promise.

“Our officers are overworked and overstretched and ultimately many have left the force as a result of stress related to their job, which is an extremely sad situation to have reached.”

Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “The idea that the Conservatives want more cash for the police is like a bad joke, given that they denied the police a pay rise in England and Wales last year – meaning no consequential funding in Scotland.

“They have also cut the Scottish Government’s budget by over five per cent, allowed rampant inflation to eat away at everyone’s living standards."

Police Scotland’s executive team has one Chief Constable, three deputies, and nine assistants. Recruiting each new position costs between £10,000 and £150,000, with the salary for new ACCs in the region of £125,000.

Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone recently described the positions as “high profile and very demanding, requiring resilience and commitment”.

Deputy Chief Officer David Page has written to Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee outlining the impact of departures.

He said there are 1,377 officers of all ranks who were “affected by the recent pension changes and could leave earlier than would otherwise have been the case”.