Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2026 [Draft]
Throughout the debate, we have heard from members across the chamber about the sheer importance of the role that policing plays in our society. We have rightly heard about officers’ bravery, selflessness and commitment to keeping us, our friends, our family and our neighbours safe, but we have also heard how brutally undervalued they are. It is hard to think of a job in modern Scotland that is more dangerous and less rewarded and appreciated than that of a police officer.
Some reasons for that are not necessarily the fault of the Scottish Government alone. Police officers operate in a dangerous world, where people are less respectful and more prepared to take dangerous action against them. In addition, crime is evolving, and the range of threats that the police and the people they protect face is growing at an alarming rate. Liam McArthur spoke about the increasing complexity of crimes and the need for urgent action. Liam Kerr cited the statistics on the rise of serious crime. Recorded crime has gone up by 2 per cent, violent crime has gone up by 3 per cent and sexual crime has gone up by 7 per cent. Claire Baker spoke about the issue of retail crime.
However, many of the challenges that police officers face are a direct consequence of the Scottish Government’s choices—its present choices and those that it has made over many years. It seems a very long time ago that the Scottish National Party, as a party of Government, committed to recruiting an extra 1,000 police officers on the street—a decision that it came to after being persuaded by the Scottish Conservatives. The latest statistics show that that work has been undone, as the number of extra officers on the front line has dwindled back down to an unacceptably low level, and things are projected to only get worse. Douglas Ross highlighted the fact that the SNP amendment seeks to delete the line in the motion that says that the Parliament
“regrets … cuts to police officer numbers”.
The SNP is staying silent about the cuts.
Jo Farrell, the chief constable, told ministers exactly what she needed from the recent budget in order just to keep the show on the road. Instead, the Scottish Government delivered significantly less than that. It has been warned that that move will lead to even more job cuts at Police Scotland.