Day-to-day policing could be “almost forgotten about” as soaring Covid-related absence rates hit Police Scotland, it has been claimed.
A serving officer says the force may have to put more minor incidents on hold to focus on emergencies as nearly 3,000 Police Scotland employees are currently absent due to Omicron.
The Courier can reveal that 2,877 employees are off work – roughly 12% of the entire workforce – with 1,784 of those related to coronavirus.
At the moment, anyone with Covid-19 or a household contact with the virus has to isolate for 10 days, though consideration is being given to reducing the isolation period.
The officer believes Police Scotland will be forced to focus on fewer minor incidents and search warrants, to minimise contact with the public.
Police Scotland has insisted it is capable of moving staff around quickly to deal with absences and continue providing a “highly effective” service to the public.
‘Frontline police really have been hit hard’
The officer, who did not wish to be identified, said: “There are some shifts which are decimated and a lot of that is down to people isolating.
“Frontline police really have been hit hard. A lot of officers have caught it or been in close contact or [told to isolate by] track and trace, so absences are high, and with this variant it looks like that will continue or get worse.
“But I think a lot of the absences are more down to isolating than people actually having Covid. The case numbers since Christmas across Scotland have been horrendous.
“If [staff levels] get that bad, then they’ll start to prioritise I would reckon.
“You would only go to urgent calls, so day-to-day things get pushed back and almost forgotten about.
“More is being done over the phone too in terms of reporting crime. That saves time for cops who don’t need to go out, and stops them having to go inside people’s homes.
“But then that can be seen as the public not getting the service they deserve, people not getting to see officers face-to-face.
“I think calls will be taken for people reporting a crime, and if it’s not serious or ongoing then someone will be told they’ll get a phone call back. But when that will be, who knows.”
‘They won’t want to be bursting into people’s houses’
The officer continued: “There’s a chance things like drug warrants could be put on hold again too if the numbers keep on rising – unless it’s absolutely urgent.
“They won’t want to be bursting into people’s houses, that’s just a whole can of worms.
“During the start of the first lockdown in 2020 they stopped all warrants. You weren’t going to people’s houses unless it was an emergency.”
Officers ‘let down’
David Hamilton, chair of the Scottish Police Federation – which represents about 17,000 police staff – called the absence figures “concerning”.
Mr Hamilton also feels that officers have been “let down” by the Scottish Government, having not been prioritised for vaccination.
He said: “It’s a significant amount of officers who are off, and support staff too, who we also have to rely on. So that is a concern to us, yes.”
OMICRON Safety advice for Scottish Police Officers pic.twitter.com/M9azd0KW31
— ScotsPolFed (@ScotsPolFed) December 17, 2021
Mr Hamilton says staff will be moved from some office functions into more “front-facing” policing roles to help minimise the impact.
He said: “The task is balancing the demand coming in with what we can actually do.
“For example, not having the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration, we don’t need as many resources for that so can use them in other ways.
“But there still will need to be a police presence in Edinburgh city centre, because the bars will still be open.”
Discussing the role vaccination plays, he said: “Police officers are by the very nature of the job exposed to Covid – they can’t maintain physical distancing in an arrest situation.
Vaccination: ‘Police weren’t prioritised’
“People will see a high level of masks getting used, but we still do have officers who are out and unvaccinated or have not been fully vaccinated, and that’s a major concern.”
Mr Hamilton claims Scotland’s 10,000 or so frontline officers could have been vaccinated “in an afternoon” if the will had existed.
“It’s been a huge bone of contention because we asked the government to prioritise police officers, once the vulnerable group had been done. They feel let down,” he said.
“Our frontline officers, who are most at risk, are the younger officers who are in their 20s.
“They were much, much later in the vaccine cycle in getting their vaccines.”
Police can ‘flex’ resources if needed
Assistant chief constable Alan Speirs said the Omicron variant is having a “significant effect” on all parts of society, including the police.
But he stressed there is “sufficient capacity” to protect the public and fulfil all the duties required of Police Scotland.
He said: “The welfare of our officers and staff is paramount and throughout the pandemic.
“We are working hard to maximise the availability of officers and staff in front line policing duties to ensure that we continue to provide a highly effective policing service to our local communities.
“Police Scotland is following Scottish Government and health guidance and where cases of coronavirus are identified, we work with the local health board and adhere to Test and Protect procedures.
“We have sufficient capacity and as a national service Police Scotland can flex resources should there be a requirement to do so.”
Work of police ‘greatly valued’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We greatly value the work of Scotland’s police officers and staff in keeping communities safe and have liaised closely with the Scottish Police Federation and other police and justice partners throughout our response to the pandemic.
“We have adhered to the priority list devised by the independent expert Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which was designed to target those at greatest risk from this virus.”
