Leaders of Scotland’s police force must “urgently” agree a long-term plan to deliver expected savings of more than £1billion, a public sector watchdog has warned.
Audit Scotland said in a report it is “not clear” how the target for 2026 will be achieved, and has called on the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland to come up with a detailed strategy by next March.
The auditors also argued that planning for the reorganisation was hampered by “poor baseline information” and “difficult relationships” between senior officers and politicians.
The report further states that a Scottish Government commitment to maintaining police officer numbers will pose a “continuing challenge” in terms of balancing the books in the years ahead.
Last night, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill insisted the report was merely a “snapshot” of the reform process from earlier this year and did not reflect “considerable work” that had been undertaken since then.
But opposition parties described it as a “damning” critique of the controversial restructuring from the old regional model to a single force.
Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, said the creation of the national body was “one of the biggest reforms” in the nation’s public sector since devolution.
She said: “Much was achieved over a short timeframe and front-line operations were maintained throughout.
“However, a lack of good information in non-operational areas like finance and staffing, and differing views on how the new arrangements would work in practice affected planning for the move to a single police service.”
She added that the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland will find it “challenging” to deliver the savings expected.
“There are a number of reasons for this, including limited flexibility with police officer and staff numbers.
“They need to urgently agree a long-term financial strategy and savings plans.”
The auditors also found that crime figures from Police Scotland may be “more selective” than those submitted by the previous eight regional forces to local joint police boards.
There has been a 1.4% year-on-year drop in recorded crime and a 16% drop in serious crimes since the formation of the single force, according to Police Scotland figures.
Cabinet Secretary Kenny MacAskill argued the SPA and Police Scotland have made “very good early progress”.
He added: “Strong local policing and priorities are and always will be the bedrock of the service.
“All areas of Scotland now have equal access to specialist expertise, equipment and investigation teams.
“Better responses to local issues are being delivered through 32 local authority policing plans and 353 ward level plans across Scotland.”
Mr MacAskill added that, since police reform, the number of elected members involved in local scrutiny arrangements has actually increased from 146 to 367 councillors.
He said: “We have always said that reform is an ongoing process, change of this scale is almost unprecedented and there were always going to be challenges.”