South Scotland MSP Brian Whittle is challenging the SNP to back Scottish Conservative plans for a new Local Policing Act to get more officers out on patrol in Ayrshire.
Brian’s call comes as new figures from Police Scotland show that 840 divisional police officers have been lost since the regional forces merged in 2013.
Since the merger, the number of officers in Ayrshire has fallen by 49, with 18 of those in the last year alone.
Brian criticised the SNP Government for making decisions that have weakened local policing and for their lack of action in response to rising numbers of violent crimes in recent years.
He also set out his support for the Scottish Conservative party’s plan for a Local Policing Act, which would see more police patrolling Ayrshire’s streets and give local communities more of a say in how the area is policed.
Brian Whittle MSP said;
“The SNP have failed to support local policing since they came to power and never more obviously than when they created Police Scotland eight years ago.
A strong connection between police officers and their local community has always been a vital part of protecting and reassuring the public and that connection has become badly eroded on the SNP’s watch.
Under this Scottish Government, people are seeing fewer and fewer officers patrolling the streets in Ayrshire and that has to change.
That’s why I’m urging the SNP to back the Scottish Conservatives’ plans for a new Local Policing Act. This Act would get more cops out on the beat, give local communities more of a say in policing decisions and give officers more of the support they need.
Police officers across Scotland have gone above and beyond for us all during the pandemic. A new Local Policing Act would be one positive step SNP Ministers could make to recognise the value of cops in our communities.”
