MICHAEL MATHESON has told police chiefs they can only cut officer numbers if frontline patrols are protected.
The Justice Minister has warned the Scottish Police Authority that plans to cut 100 jobs as part of a massive savings programme cannot go ahead unless the number of beat officers is maintained.
However, his intervention has renewed concern over political interference in operational police matters.
This latest move comes only months after the minister and his staff were accused of bringing improper influence to bear on both the Scottish Police Authority and the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.
It is understood Mr Matheson is sceptical about plans to cut 100 officers to help Police Scotland save £2.7 million.
The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has said the cuts will be made by “freeing up” officers in “back office” roles.
But they have been told to show that those in administrative jobs have resumed frontline roles before being allowed to axe jobs.
One source said: “The Government said the authority has to be able to demonstrate they have 100 more officers back on the streets before it would countenance a reduction.”
Another source confirmed it was the Scottish Government’s view that the SPA “can’t wind down police numbers” without sorting out how officers are organised.
The SNP promised to increase police numbers by 1000 to 17,234 when it first came into government in 2007 but the pledge was dropped in the run-up to the 2016 Holyrood election.
Police Scotland had 17,256 full-time equivalent officers on December 31 2017, according to the most recent figures.
The SPA draft 2018/19 budget allows for 17,134 police officers. In its report, the SPA insisted the country “will continue to receive the same level of front-line policing as it has for the past 10 years, but at a lower cost to the taxpayer”.
But the plans have been criticised by the association representing rank and file officers.
Scottish Police Federation general secretary Calum Steele questioned whether the savings would fully materialise and highlighted daily complaints he receives about the demand already placed on officers.
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He said: “We have not seen any evidence that 100 officers being returned to frontline has actually materialised.
“It’s astonishing that regarding police numbers, from a political as well as a resilience perspective, no one has asked for any evidence.
“The SPA seems to be more concerned about balancing its budget than delivering a police service.”
Earlier this year we revealed that the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner had to warn one of Justice Secretary Michael Matheson’s senior civil servants to back off after he attempted to persuade her to delay the publication of a damning report.
It followed claims that Mr Matheson went beyond his remit to block former Chief Constable Phil Gormley’s return to work while investigations into his conduct were ongoing.
Mr Gormley has since quit but former SPA chairman Andrew Flanagan told MSPs in January he felt obliged to reverse a board decision allowing the Englishman to resume his post.
Labour’s justice spokesperson Daniel Johnson MSP said: “Under the SNP Government, police officers have been forced into back office roles. That means there have been fewer officers doing the front line policing the public would expect.
“This move merely exposes that fact – and if the police can spare 100 back office officers, why has this resource not been made available to front-line policing?
“However, the public will also be concerned that once again the SNP are faced with the allegation of interference in the organisationally independent police.
“The reality is, Michael Matheson has repeatedly lent on the SPA, forcing it to reverse decisions made in good faith.
“He must immediately clarify whether or not that is the case in this instance.”
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Tory shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr added: “There’s no point in the SNP creating an independent police oversight body if it’s going to repeatedly dictate what it should do.
“Maintaining police numbers on the frontline is essential. If the SNP properly resource the single force, it won’t need to tell the SPA what to do.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said the Policing 2026 strategy would lead to a “rebalancing of the workforce” with more specialist staff being recruited with expertise in the likes of cyber crime.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said that officers numbers would remain significantly higher than the level inherited by the SNP when it came to power in 2007.
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