Police officer numbers amongst lowest levels since 2008

Following new figures that show police officer numbers at some of their lowest levels since 2008, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged the SNP/Green Government to invest in policing and reverse the decline.  

The Scottish Government’s Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics, published today, show that:  

• There were 16,600 full-time equivalent police officers on 30th June 2023, which represents the second lowest number of officers since 2008.  
• These numbers also represent a drop of 831 police officers since before the pandemic in March 2020.  
• The number of police officers has fallen consistently over the past four quarters, having decreased from 16,615 in March 2023 and 16,610 in June 2022.  

Mr McArthur commented:    

“SNP Ministers used to parade police officer numbers as a badge of success. Those days are now long gone, as numbers continue to fall.

“We know many officers feel unsupported, overwhelmed and stretched dangerously thin. The risk is that the service loses even more experienced and skilled officers, with knock on consequences for the service and our communities.  

“The Scottish Government must commit to urgent action to turn this situation around. That means resourcing the service properly and placing the welfare and voices of officers at the centre of decisions about the future.”