PLUMMETING officer numbers have left Police Scotland “clearly” not coping, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation has warned.

Calum Steele said the service being so “overstretched” was having an impact on “investigative ability, quality of crime reports, and almost every single aspect of policing internally and externally”.

His comments came as the Scottish Government faced mounting criticism over the size of the single force.

According to the most recent police quarterly strength statistics, there were 16,570 full-time equivalent officers in Scotland on September 30, down by 40 in the last quarter and a drop of 662 in the space of a year.

It is also a significant drop from the 17,234 officers committed to by the SNP at the 2007 and 2011 elections. 

The Tories said the number of officers had fallen in every quarter since Keith Brown was appointed Justice Secretary in May 2021, when there were 17,289 officers.

In this month’s Budget, Deputy First Minister and Acting Finance Secretary John Swinney set funding for the Scottish Police Authority, which includes Police Scotland, at £1.449 billion for the 2023-24 financial year.

That was more than the £1.246bn suggested in the government’s spending review earlier this year, but Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone warned it still meant “hard choices lie ahead to deliver effective policing”.

Speaking to The Herald, Mr Steele said falling officer numbers was “more than a simple headline”.

He said: “Fewer officers in its own right adds to the demands of an already overstretched police service that is not meeting all of its existing demand. 

“Beyond that it impacts on skills, development, investigative ability, quality of crime reports, and almost every single aspect of policing internally and externally. 

“What fewer police officers mean is there is no longer any hiding place for the peddled narrative that the police service is coping. 

“It clearly isn’t and the public, victims of crime, and officers themselves will suffer as a result.”

Shadow justice secretary Jamie Greene said the drop in officer numbers “highlight once again how low a priority justice is for the SNP”.

He added: “The number of police officers is worryingly low – and only heading in one direction.

“Keith Brown ought to be ashamed that he has presided over these remorseless falls, but by giving his public backing to ditching minimum officer numbers it seems he has given up fighting for a properly-resourced Police Scotland.

“It’s little wonder violent crime is rising when police officers across Scotland are being asked to fight crime with one hand tied behind their back by the SNP government.

“Our police work tirelessly day and night to keep the public safe, yet they are being let down by the Justice Secretary. The SNP’s dangerous justice cuts are putting public safety at risk and must be reversed.”

Responding to the comments from the Conservatives, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The recruitment and deployment of police officers and staff is a matter for the chief constable.

“Scotland has a higher number of officers than there were in March 2007 – and more per head of population than England and Wales, with Police Scotland welcoming around 900 new recruits in 2022.

"Despite UK Government austerity, we have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17 and have invested more than £13 billion in policing since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.”

One of the biggest drivers behind the falling size of the force is a substantial spike in the number of officers retiring.

According to Scottish Police Federation analysis, the number is reportedly 70 per cent higher than usual.

That figure, according to the body that represents the rank and file, is partly down to conditions and partly down to new pension arrangements that allow an officer over 50 to retire after 25 years’ service without a financial penalty, on half-salary and with a tax-free lump sum of up to £300,000.

The change in terms comes after a successful court challenge to public sector pension changes introduced in 2015.

According to figures obtained by the Sunday Mail, 1029 officers retired between January and October – a rate of three a day.

Of those, 456 were taking advantage of the new pension rules.

Meanwhile, the number of people applying to join the force is also down significantly. There were 2,237 applicants in 2021-22, down from 5,611 the year before.

Police Scotland appointed just 442 new officers in 2021, well below the 1,017 new officers appointed in 2019, when there were 4,228 applicants to the force.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officer numbers are lower than they otherwise would be because of the consequences of Covid, the COP26 climate conference and increased retirals resulting from changes to pension arrangements.

“We have increased our recruitment plans to mitigate resource pressures in the short to medium term and recently welcomed more than 300 probationers into Police Scotland, with the total number joining the service this calendar year standing at 900.

“The chief constable has been clear that hard choices lie ahead to deliver effective policing within the revenue budget available and we continue to work closely with the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Government to serve our communities and keep people safe.”