Police are taking longer to pass on criminal charges to prosecutors than at any time since the SNP came to power.
Research by the Scottish Tories revealed nearly one in five cases, where an accused has been cautioned and charged, is taking more than the target of 28 days to be processed.
The party said 81.4 per cent of cases had been sent in on time this financial year – the lowest level since 2007, and “significantly worse” than the
88.4% of 2010/11.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said it was evidence police have too much to do with fewer resources.
He said: “The SNP has cut budgets to the bone.”
Figures show 83% of cases were sent within the 28-day target period in 2017/18, with 82.6% sent on time the year before. Data for this year is only available up to January.
A spokesman for Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf accused the Tories of “hypocrisy in crying wolf over police numbers when in Scotland officers have risen by over 900 compared to a cut of 20,000 in England and Wales”.
He added: “The Scottish Government is committed to protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of this Parliament – a boost of £100 million by 2021.”
Chief Inspector Chris Stewart said the force recognised there had been
a “slight reduction in the number of cases reported within the 28-day timescale”.
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