Tayside police officers have been left “broken” amid a surge of physical attacks against them, a whistleblower claims.
The frontline officer warned staff shortages have left the police demoralised and put their personal safety at risk.
The explosive claims – which have been backed up by the representative body for rank-and-file officers – come after figures showed Tayside Police has the second highest number of police assaults in Scotland.
‘Tayside division is broken’
In an anonymous letter to The Courier, a response police officer wrote: “Tayside division is broken, the officers on the beat are broken.
“Staffing levels are critically low, even worse than that.
“Tayside has a disproportionate amount of police assaults compared with the rest of Scotland, this is not rocket science.
“This is a direct consequence of not having sufficient staffing.
“These assaults would not happen in these numbers if we had sufficient numbers on the ground – officers would attend risk calls in numbers which would prevent violent unrest getting so bad that folk were assaulted.
“Officers are shouting on assistance as incidents get out of control and there is no back up available, these assaults often occur while they try and deal with it with reduced numbers.”
Police assaults in Tayside
A report from the Scottish Police Authority in May showed Tayside Police Division had one of the highest rates of police assaults in Scotland, second only to Lanarkshire.
The report showed from January to March 2021, there were 134 assaults on Tayside police per 1,000 head, which was four times more than divisions such as Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Responding to the letter David Hamilton, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), highlighted the number of police officers in Scotland has remained at around 17,200 for 14 years, despite an increased demand on the service.
‘Chronic under-resourcing’
Mr Hamilton said: “The issues articulated in this letter show just how deep the funding crisis in policing has become and how widely it is felt.
“For this is not just a Tayside problem.
“Chronic under-resourcing in local policing across Scotland is an issue that the SPF has been raising with the force executive for months, and with a revised urgency in the last few weeks.
“What is depressingly clear though is there are no quick fixes – something
that only adds to the frustration of managers and of our members.
“While much is made of the fact that police officer numbers have been maintained at 17,234, this 14-year-old figure masks the massive increase in demand society has put
upon the service.
“Population growth, human trafficking, cybercrime, historical child abuse inquiries… all require additional officers, officers that only ever come from one place- the frontline.
“It’s no surprise that we’ve hit the bottom of the barrel.”
Links to high crime rates?
In their latest issued, 1919 magazine, funded by the Scottish Police Federation, revealed assaults on officers ranked third highest in the reasons for sickness absence, according to Police Scotland health and safety statistics.
Figures showed a 36.7% yearly increase in assaults on officers, from 754 in 2019/20 to 1031 in 2020/21.
On average, officers were off sick for five days per assault, with a total of 225 days lost during that time, the study revealed.
This year, Dundee had the worst crime rates in Scotland, despite offences nationally dropping to among the lowest rates in decades.
Perth also saw the third-highest increase in crime rates in Scotland.
Continuing focus on safety
Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins said: “The safety and welfare of our officers and staff are absolute priorities.
“It is disgraceful and deplorable when our people are subjected to violence during the course of their duties.
“Being assaulted is not simply part of the job.
“The Chief Constable has underlined his commitment to providing officers and staff with the tools they need to do their jobs, with a continuing focus on their safety.
“Policing, so often the service of first and last resort, will never step away from those who are in crisis.
“There are pressures which exist across many other services, agencies and sectors, and when the health service, local authorities and other key partners come under significant strain, demand is diverted to policing.
“However, Police Scotland prioritises emergency 999 calls and these are answered within less than 10 seconds, on average.
“When normal levels of demand have returned, alongside the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, we continue to boost numbers in local policing divisions across the country, including Tayside, by freeing up officers from back office or national units.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:
“The deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable.
“We have a higher number of officers than at any time during the previous administration, with 17,289 officers in post as of 30 June 2021, an increase of 1,055 police officers from the position inherited in 2007.
“No-one should be the victim of abuse or violence at work, and assaults on police officers are completely unacceptable. The health and safety of Police Officers is also a matter for the Chief Constable, who has made a commitment for 2021/22, that he will continue to take action to reduce the impact on officers and staff of violence in all its forms, including psychological injury and hate crime.”
The Scottish Police Authority have been approached for comment.