Health-related call-outs are consuming up to 60% of Scottish police capacity, severely hampering the force's ability to tackle crime across the country. David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), described the situation as the "biggest external inhibitor" to delivering effective policing services.
The crisis has transformed officers into "default security guards" at accident and emergency units nationwide, according to Threadgold. He told delegates at a Scottish National Party (SNP) conference fringe event in Aberdeen that officers routinely spend hours dealing with health-related incidents due to systematic failures in Scotland's health services.
Community safety minister Siobhian Brown, who attended the same event, branded the situation "unacceptable" and acknowledged that police time should not be consumed by health matters. She said the Scottish Government must "grab the bull by the horns" to prevent police resources being diverted from core duties.
Police capacity crisis deepens
Threadgold warned that operational supervisors are losing half their available resources to health-related calls they cannot control. "If I am an operational supervisor and half of my time to deliver safer communities to deal with online child exploitation, to deal with anything that you can think of that the police might be involved in, if we lose half of our extent or more because of something we cannot control, then there has to be reform across the public sector in Scotland," he said.
The handover process between police and health services has either "broken down or is indeed non-existent", according to the SPF chairman. This breakdown is forcing officers to divert attention away from crime prevention and investigation activities.
Youth justice system under fire
Threadgold also criticised Scotland's under-25 guidelines, which reduce the likelihood of young offenders receiving prison sentences. While supporting the policy in principle, he argued the implementation was "way off the mark" and had eliminated any deterrent effect for young criminals.
"Having spoken to youngsters and having spoken to cops this morning who are dealing with these situations time and time again, the deterrent value of being caught in Scotland is largely non-existent," Threadgold said. The SPF chairman called for Police Scotland to gain powers to borrow money and carry budgets forward between financial years.
Brown defended the youth justice approach, emphasising that under-25s can still receive jail sentences and will face appropriate punishment for criminal behaviour. She confirmed that addressing emergency services pressures remains a priority for her and Justice Secretary Angela Constance.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
