...makes the world go around - or so the song goes. If that is the case, the Police should call for a cessation in the revolutions of this planet thus allowing them to get off.

It is becoming clear that the service will suffer financially over the foreseeable future.  Budgets will be seriously squeezed and "efficiency savings" will be required to maintain a standstill position. ACPOS has said it is working on the basis that these ‘efficiency savings' will have to amount to 12% in real terms over 3years from 2011 to 2014. No Government has ever managed to save more than 1% in a year so interesting times lie ahead to say the least.

If there is any chance of this happening in a service which spends 88% or thereby of it's funding on staff - no prizes for guessing where the cuts will land.

You have to accept that the public purse is a finite entity and can only go so far.  But there are a few special cases out there which deserve to be protected.  In my book the Police are one such case. All residents of Scotland have an entitlement to live in safety and security.  They also have a right to an education, and to be healthy. To ensure a good level of education it requires a properly funded, staffed and equipped education service. Same with health. Same with the Police - who will of course be required to deal with the brighter and healthier crook!

In the simplest of terms there are services which should be sheltered from financial cuts that would impact on the frontline and I have identified three.  I am going to resist the temptation to identify where I think cuts should be made - but we will all have our own targets - and the information on which we will base our targeting is going to become a lot clearer.  A truly worthwhile reform was born in the Scottish Parliament yesterday where a promise was secured that the Scottish Government will, on a monthly basis, publish online details of all items of expenditure above £25,000. Now that's genuinely open Government and it will allow every Scottish citizen to scrutinise what's being done with their taxes.

Today there are more Police officers in Scotland than ever before and there are sound arguments that even more are required. Stephen House Chief Constable of Strathclyde seems to share that view.  He told his police authority last week that he would try to maintain officer numbers for as long as he could and even increase them in 2010-11.  It would be great if more of his colleagues were working towards the same thing.

Disaster lies in heading backwards with a significant reduction in capacity.  It would lead to increases in every aspect of criminality. We all know fewer Police equates to greater crime.  And it's not just crime that increases, it's public disorder and anti-social behaviour too. This increases public concern and fear of crime, it even reduces property values. What the public need to know is that the Police are there for them.  The Police prevent crime and make communities feel safe.  Safe communities thrive. That is why continued investment in the police service is essential.

Note: The views expressed in The Station Blog are written by neither a Federation representative nor an employee and are not necessarily those of the Joint Central Committee of the Scottish Police Federation.  If you want to comment on the content please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it