Scottish political parties agree to maintain officer numbers

THE leaders of Scotland’s main political parties have pledged to maintain or increase police officer numbers while maintaining police pay.

In a contrast to south of the border – where 17,000 officers have been lost – The Scottish National Party (SNP), Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have all committed to maintaining more than 17,000 police officers in Scotland.

And they have agreed not to attack police officer pay.

The leaders of the political parties were speaking at the Scottish Police Federation Conference, where the England and Wales Winsor pay and conditions reforms were discussed.

Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: “On pay, probably every public sector worker shares the concerns about the erosion of their pay.

“But in respect of police officers, I need to remind everyone why the police should be considered a special case. Police officers have unique occupational restrictions on our working and private lives.

“Police officers spend large parts of their working lives dealing with society’s drink and drug addicts, those who assault their spouses and children, rapists, robbers, paedophiles, the criminally insane and occasionally murderers.

“Police officers do not have a normal job, they are insulted, assaulted, abused and spat at. They are threatened with weapons, punched, kicked and head butted. We have had colleagues stabbed, shot and murdered.

“Officers see terrible things as a result of fires, accidents, suicides and murders. They deal with violent life and violent death and are then expected to go home and ‘be normal’.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the event at the Turnberry resort that the Winsor reforms were “insulting”. She also reconfirmed SNP plans for there to be a new Police Negotiating Board for Scotland, which will include legally binding arbitration on pay.