Get our bobbies back on the beat says MSP

Local MSP Tess White is urging the SNP to put Tayside bobbies back on the beat with a Local Policing Act.
Tess White MSP wants to see police back on the streetsTess White MSP wants to see police back on the streets
Tess White MSP wants to see police back on the streets

New figures have revealed how police numbers have been cut by 48 officers since the SNP created Police Scotland in 2013, which centralised eight local forces.

And the North East Scottish Conservative MSP says the SNP have decimated local policing and have “stood idly by” while violent crime has continued to increase in recent years.

The plans for a Local Policing Act by the Scottish Conservatives would see more police patrolling the streets in Tayside, give communities more of a say on policing decisions and ensure brave officers in the region would always be fully resourced.

Ms White said: “Our hardworking officers on the frontline in Angus and Dundee deserve to be fully resourced by the SNP Government. Instead, since the creation of Police Scotland, they have decimated local policing. They have stood idly by while violent crime has increased.

“That is a trend that must be reversed immediately. That is why I am backing Scottish Conservative plans for a Local Policing Act, to put bobbies back on the beat.

"A Local Policing Act will ensure more police are patrolling our streets in Tayside, will give communities more of a say in policing decisions, and guarantee proper investment in supporting our officers.

“The SNP’s centralisation has failed to deliver the policing required across the region and it is time our communities saw more of a visible police presence again.”

Divisional officers are the core local resource who patrol streets and respond to calls. The numbers exclude specialist officers who are shared by different divisions.