Police office numbers are lowest on record

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged SNP ministers to get serious over the funding challenges facing policing as new figures reveal that police officer numbers are now at their lowest level on record.

Figures published today show that:

• There were 16,207 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 30 June 2024

• This is down by 148 FTE officers (-0.9%) compared to the previous quarter, and a decrease of 392 (-2.4%) compared to June 2023

• This is also less than the previous benchmark, set in Q1 2008, of 6,222 officers

• This is the lowest that police strength numbers have been in the 17 years for which we have data

In November, the Scottish Police Federation stated that the service had been “asset stripped and basically used as a cash cow.”

Mr McArthur said:

"There are no two ways about it, plummeting officer numbers put communities at greater risk.  

“Officers feel unsupported, overwhelmed and stretched dangerously thin. It is no surprise that so many are quitting.

"If the civil unrest that we have seen in other parts of the UK spreads to Scotland, the thin blue line will look very thin indeed.

“It is no wonder that policing bodies are warning of a public safety crisis. It’s time for the Scottish Government to listen and commit to resourcing the service properly."

Additional Information:

The Scottish Government’s Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics can be found here.