The public "isn't getting the service they deserve" from the police in Scotland, according to a whistleblower who says staffing cuts have left officers at breaking point and quitting the force.

The senior officer painted a grim picture of policing claiming the area he worked in often had as few as seven police covering a population of around 250,000 people.

He said three of four "good cops" a month were quitting and around 40 officers had been absent with stress-related illness over the past two years.

He fears it will take a serious incident such as suicide for the "relentless" working conditions to improve.

It comes after unions warned of a policing crisis as a proposed 3.7% cut in the workforce to deliver a balanced budget will mean over 200 police staff and over 600 officers cut.

The officer contacted the Herald after reading our story about a new approach to overnight policing on the Isle of Bute that has angered the community.

The Herald:

Officers are now on call rather than on shift from 12am to 8am during the week and from 2am to 8am at weekends.

READ MORE: Police were 'afraid of night duty' on island trialling new approach 

The whistleblower said he sympathised with islanders and officers involved in the three-month pilot.

"As a police service at the moment we are a complete waste of time," he said.

"The public isn't getting the service they deserve and the police aren't getting the job they deserve. 

"The area we cover has a population of around 250,000 and nine times out of 10 we have about seven or eight cops covering that area.

"When I started, around 15 years ago, it would have been normal to have about 20-25 on a shift.

"If one area is short they'll take from another which leaves them short.

"Ultimately we can't do our job and police are genuinely broken.

"I spoke to somebody who said it's going to take the suicide of a cop before they realise 'we've got to do something here'.

"I hope it never happens but I think it will.

"Over the past two to three years, we've had about 40 staff in one area off with stress-related issues.

READ MORE: Public safety fears over Police Scotland cuts as force faces £10million funding black hole 

"It's just accepted that staff are going to go off for six months, come back for three or four months, get burnt out then go off again."

The SNP administration entered two Holyrood elections with a manifesto commitment to deliver 1,000 extra officers on 2007 levels, preventing the number falling below 17,234.

But the pledge to maintain those levels was dropped by Nicola Sturgeon in 2016.

The police officer spoke on the condition of anonymity saying he wanted the public to know what conditions officers were working under and linked some of the problems to the nationalisation of the force in 2013.

The Herald: Police Scotland

He said a new computer system to record crimes was time-consuming and "way behind" the technology used 20 years ago and claims officers were using their own cars to attend call-outs this week because force vehicles are "never out of the garage".

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents officers of all ranks, said the whistleblower had painted an accurate picture of working life for many officers.

The union has asked for a pay increase of 8.5% but no agreement has been reached.

David Kennedy, the federation's general secretary, said: "We have had a reduction in 1000 officers which means there are far fewer frontline officers than there has ever been.

"The constant increase in legislation has also had a negative effect in the resourcing available.

"Police Scotland has not been adequately funded in both capital and revenue an example being that we are still without body-worn video. 

"Paying police officers fairly is an investment in public safety.

"When officers feel valued and fairly compensated, they can better focus on their duties and have the morale and motivation to serve the communities in Scotland effectively.”

READ MORE: Alan Simpson: We urgently need more police, even if they are afraid of the dark

The whistleblower said 90% of the calls officers were responding to now are mental health related.

"I don't think it's our job but you want to help the person but we just aren't getting to them," he said.

He said he would leave the job now were it not for the pension.

"I enjoyed my job, you want to help folk but it's relentless. I'm in charge in one of our areas and there are cops in tears on every shift."

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, Russell Findlay said: “This whistleblower's worrying account cuts through SNP government spin and confirms the stark reality of Scotland's thin blue line being stretched to breaking point.

"Police officers are operating in a pressure cooker environment and constantly being burdened with additional work which only increases the chances of harm to their own mental health."

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said the safety and wellbeing of staff was a priority for the force.

She said officers are not permitted to use their own cars on the job and said the force was rolling out new technology to improve the recording of crime.

She added: "Policing is a relentless but rewarding vocation which places significant demand on physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

"We range of mechanisms to support our people across their psychological, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

"This includes a 24/7 employee assistance programme, a network of wellbeing champions, post-trauma risk assessment and we are a key partner within Lifelines Scotland, a wellbeing resource tailored to our blue light emergency responders."

Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs said: “While operational matters and staffing priorities are for the Chief Constable, policing is and will continue to be a priority for this government.

"We have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing  more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.  

"This means Scotland has more police officers per capita than England and Wales."