A Fife MSP has called for a review of Police Scotland in the wake of a number of controversies.
Labour member Alex Rowley has written to Justice Minister Michael Matheson urging him to review the force’s effectiveness and the impact on communities on the move to a single police service.
The move by the Cowdenbeath MSP follows a Labour motion at Holyrood this week calling on Sir Stephen House to quit as chief constable.
Mr Rowley has questioned the ability of Police Scotland to respond to the needs of local people since its creation.
“In Fife we have seen the closure of local police stations and an increase in the numbers of complaints,” he said.
He added: “Many constituents have told me that police officers responding to call-outs explain they are covering large areas and we are seeing a rundown in the numbers of community police and indeed police available in local areas.”
Figures released by Labour last week revealed more than 53,000 working days at Police Scotland were lost to stress in the last two years.
The statistics, released following a Freedom of Information request, also showed that between January and March this year, 10,016 working days were lost due to a stress related condition, an increase of 84% compared to the same period last year.
Mr Rowley said: “Many in local government were less than convinced by the move to one national police force and many of the fears expressed at that time now seem to be happening.
“I have also highlighted the fact that in April this year there was a failure to pass on a call to police in Fife about an incident in Cowdenbeath and Police Scotland made clear then this was unacceptable.”
That incident involved police failing to respond to complaints about naked youths rampaging through the town after calls from residents were not logged properly.
The MSP also pointed to the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill in a car crash on the M9.