Justice Secretary agrees to meet Edinburgh and Lothian MSPs over concern about police numbers
Justice Secretary Angela Constance has agreed to meet Lothian MSPs over police numbers in the region amid growing concern about crime, from gang violence to shoplifting.
Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs raised the issue with Ms Constance during questions at the Scottish Parliament. He said that despite its growing population, Edinburgh had seen a decline in numbers for several years.
He said: "Edinburgh now has one of the lowest police to population ratios in Scotland. That has been the case for years now, at the same time as we are seeing a growing population, three times faster than the Scottish average. It is also resulting in many of our police stations having to close their public counters more and more regularly and in Edinburgh’s city division having fewer officers available now than it had in 2017.
“It is clear that pressures here in Edinburgh are impacting on our police services and the ability to police the Capital."
He asked if Ms Constance would meet with Lothian MSPs to look at the challenges facing the police, especially given the Capital status of Edinburgh.
Ms Constance said the deployment of police officers was a matter for the chief constable, based on operational priorities. But she said record Scottish Government investment in policing had enabled Police Scotland to take on more recruits than at any time since 2013.
As of September 30, there were 1,106 officers deployed to Edinburgh and 888 to Lothians and Borders, more than in the previous quarter and broadly similar to figures for the same time last year.
She said: "I am of course happy to meet Mr Briggs and other colleagues, as long as they are very aware of the clear divide between ministerial responsibilities and operational matters."
Earlier this year, independent Edinburgh Eastern MSP Ash Regan called for more police in the Capital after a rise in gang violence. She said: ""Edinburgh residents have the right to reassurance from visible, proactive policing and the right to not be left at the risk of being caught up in gang warfare."
And Lothian Tory MSP Sue Webber backed her, saying: "These events should concentrate the minds of the Scottish Government regarding the on-going under-resourcing of policing in the Capital.”
After his exchange with Ms Constance in parliament, Mr Briggs welcomed her agreement to a meeting and said he hoped the police would be able to attend as well as MSPs.
He said: "Edinburgh is not in a good place on police numbers. There are so many policing issues in the city - and things are just getting worse - from shoplifting to youth disorder and we were probably quite lucky on Bonfire Night that there wasn't more trouble.
"These are issues which MSPs from all parties have been concerned about, but the government seems to be burying its head in the sand."
*We’ve got a huge Black Friday subscription offer happening right now and there’s never been a better time to be a subscriber. Get a full year of the Edinburgh Evening News for just £1 a month for 12 months and unlock full access to premium reporting, insightful analysis and unlimited digital access for less than the cost of a weekly coffee.
The offer is only around for a limited period of time, so be quick and grab your discount now when you subscribe to our website. https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions