A Fife councillor has joined calls to save local policing by rejecting proposals for a single Scottish police force.
Andrew Rodger, a member of the council’s police, fire and safety committee, said he was “totally opposed’ to the idea and called on the public to put pressure on the government to scrap it.
Mr Rodger was speaking just after Fife Constabulary hailed an 11% drop in crime thanks to the development of a new way of working with communities.
Chief Constable Norma Graham said the force had transformed the way it tackled crime and she was pleased with the results.
The idea of a single force was outlined in a government consultation on the future of the police.
Other options include a reduction in the number of forces or a more streamlined version of the existing system, and ministers will announce their preferred choice after Holyrood’s summer recess.
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) has urged people to write to justice secretary Kenny MacAskill and First Minister Alex Salmond indicating their opposition to a single police force.
Backing the call, Mr Rodger said, “I believe we have six weeks to save local Scottish policing. In the last consultation the government did regarding going for one force, 90% of respondents were not in favour.
“The Scottish Police Federation, which represents 98% of officers, are not in favour of a single force and most Scottish police chief constables are opposed or unconvinced.”Public’s prioritiesAdding that it would cost Scotland at least £300 million to restructure policing, the independent councillor said, “Do we really want a police force that’s like the Metropolitan Police?
“We would have one chief constable and one justice minister and that would make me feel really uncomfortable as it will just be the two of them to report to.”
He added, “We have made major reductions in crime in Fife. It’s probably the best performing force in Scotland and I don’t want that to be diminished.
“The community engagement model that is used throughout Scotland was started in Fife.”
Mr Rodger said, “The public was asked what their top three priorities were and once we started to address that we started to make a big difference in communities.
“Local knowledge is important and we don’t want to go back to a scenario where we are waiting for a decision from the centre to be cascaded down.”
He added, “This is being rushed through and I have very grave reservations about it.
“CoSLA have claimed the move towards a single Scotland-wide force is more about centralising power than delivering better community safety and better value for the people of Scotland.”