Fresh fears have been raised that cutbacks are forcing frontline police officers in Moray to spend much of their days filling-in forms instead of catching criminals.
The claim was made after new figures revealed the number of firearms inquiry officers covering Moray, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire has plummeted from 10 to two since the birth of Police Scotland.
Last night, alarmed local politicians raised concerns that the axing of such staff meant frontline officers in the region were increasingly being landed with time-consuming paperwork.
And there were claims that the pattern of under-pressure bobbies being taken off the beat to perform administrative roles may be more prevalent across Scotland than was previously believed.
But the police insisted that the mix of front-line and civilian staff managing the application and renewals of firearms licences had led to a more “effective service” and offered value for money for taxpayers.
Highlands and Islands MSP David Stewart obtained the statistics under freedom of information laws, having previously found out that all 10 legal document officer posts in the region had disappeared since April 2013 – when the single force came into operation.
The Labour politician is now concerned that the amount of extra duties being pushed onto frontline officers could be far greater than he originally feared.
He said: “We have hard-pressed and over-worked front line bobbies, who despite all the cuts and extra work placed upon them, now also carry out yet another role that they stopped doing in the 1980s.
“There was far too much emphasis on cost-cutting and with the SNP government insisting 1,000 extra bobbies be retained, the only place left for the police to cut was support staff.”
Mr Stewart added: “There can be no denying now from Police Scotland, that police officers are continuing, and will continue to do, the work previously carried out by civilian support staff.
“Support staff were a valued asset of our police, which allowed officer to concentrate on their main roles. It would be fair to assume if this is happening in one division it is likely happening across Scotland.”
The Scottish Police Authority has stressed that any suggestion that budget cuts are affecting officer numbers is “incorrect”.
And last night, police insisted demand for firearms inquiry officers fluctuated “considerably” and that their duties had always been carried out by a mix of front-line and support staff.
Licensing officer, Superintendent Derek Mateer, said: “In order for Police Scotland to be efficient and provide best value we must ensure that police staff and officers are employed to their capacity at all times.
“Police officers who are trained to carry out firearms licensing enquiries do so as part of their duties. This aspect of their work does not have a detrimental impact on other areas of services.
“These new structures are fully supported by the new administration process and the deployment of a mix of police officers and staff to manage inquiries has led to a far more flexible and effective service that is fit for purpose for the future.”
Supt Mateer stressed that since the police’s new model of working was introduced the compliance rate for firearms licenses is 90%.
The Scottish Government said staffing decisions were a decision for the chief constable and area commanders, and that they intend to deliver a £100million boost to the force’s budget by 2021.
A spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland are working on a long-term strategy for a flexible, modern and sustainable police service, building on the recently-published strategic policing priorities.”