Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2026 [Last updated 15:26]
I am grateful to David Torrance for looking at the issue through that lens. It is important that we recognise the challenges of different types of crime and Police Scotland’s important role in keeping our communities safe. That is why we are investing record funding in Police Scotland of more than £1.7 billion this year, which is an increase of £81.5 million, or 5 per cent, compared with the published autumn budget revision figure. That includes an uplift of £59 million in resource and £16.3 million in capital funding.
One key thing to think about is that that budget will allow Police Scotland to look at front-line service delivery and to make key areas of transformation a priority, as it wishes to do.
Some of the specifics that David Torrance might be particularly interested in include: funding of £3 million per year over the next three years to support Police Scotland’s successful work in targeting retail crime; an additional £2.7 million this year to support Police Scotland’s work in the detection and disruption of child sexual abuse and exploitation; and continued close work with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to manage the police budget provision and ensure that sustainable and preventative policing is available.