First Minister told police public counters plan is based on flawed figures

The case for closing public access to some police stations is undermined by outdated and flawed figures, according to Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.

Some details date to 2009 and the future of one public counter is based on survey guesswork, she told Alex Salmond during First Minister’s Questions.

“For some rural stations, a footfall analysis wasn’t done at all they just guessed,” she said, referring to what she called an internal police document on the future of counter provision.

“It’s no wonder that this document itself says that the accuracy of the returns submitted and the ability to draw significant and accurate data is caveated due to the varying quality of the returns.

“In other words, police stations are set to close to the public because of out-of-date information which might never have been right in the first place.

“The First Minister’s case for closing these police counters is based solely on the numbers.”

Chief Constable Sir Stephen House is considering scrapping public counters at 65 of the country’s 214 stations in an attempt to offer “value for money” in the new national service.