The Scottish Conservatives have been accused of making an “unfounded slur” against police by a senior figure who represents officers.
David Hamilton, Scottish Police Federation north area committee chairman, attacked the party’s justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell after The Courier revealed a catalogue of errors outlined by Scotland’s chief statistician, including Tayside Police only telling the public about breach of the peace offences which had been solved from 2004/5.
Ms Mitchell said the discrepancies suggested either “gross incompetence” or “manipulation” by those collating the crime figures.
However, Mr Hamilton hit back, describing the discrepancies as “minor” and pointing out the report highlighted difficulties in collating data from eight different forces and 50 different IT systems, with no suggestion figures were manipulated.
He said: “Hard-working police officers in Tayside will find Margaret Mitchell’s comments suggesting ‘potential manipulation’ of crime figures an unfounded slur on their integrity and professionalism.
“Crimes have been accurately recorded and were thoroughly investigated, which is why these errors were able to be identified and subsequently amended.
“The public in Tayside can be proud of the contribution their officers have made in driving Scottish crime down to its 40-year low and be reassured that we act with fairness, integrity and respect in all our of duties.”