‘Save our force’, say North cops

A HUGE number of Northern Constabulary officers have voted against a single force in an internal staff survey on Scottish policing reform.

Almost 800 questionnaires were filled in by officers, with almost 87 per cent voting against a single force and 70 per cent favouring the retention of Northern Constabulary in its current structure, or as a larger regional police force.

Just over 13 per cent voted for a single force and nearly 14 per cent favoured Northern Constabulary being merged into a regional model.

Chief Constable Ian Latimer, a keynote speaker at the Holyrood Policing Summit this week, said: "I have made my professional view well known. That being, the retention of a high performing, locally accountable police service for the Highlands and Islands and the North of Scotland is in the best interests of our communities and the existing police officers and support staff who deliver our services within the largest geographical force in the United Kingdom."

He added: "It is important that each member of police staff and officer has the opportunity to be directly consulted on the future of policing in the Highlands and Islands, where they live and work. The results of our staff survey are overwhelmingly in favour of Northern Constabulary being retained at the centre of a regional force for the Highlands and Islands."

Mr Latimer stressed the importance for communities to take part in the consultation.

He said: "I welcome the decision to formally consult with communities across Scotland on the future of policing. It is imperative that all forces, their boards and members of the public, are engaged and fully consulted on any proposed change which, without a doubt, will affect policing and jobs within their communities."

Vice Convener of Northern Joint Police Board, Councillor Ian Ross, told the summit: "The Northern Constabulary has clearly proved itself to be a resilient and high performing force which enjoys a strong approval from communities across the Highlands and Islands – a particular strength is the ability to work effectively with partners and contribute to the delivery of common goals. There is almost a clear inevitability of change to police structures in Scotland, but it is crucial we have a future structure which has a clear understanding of the challenges, needs and circumstances of the Highlands with an emphasis on resilience, retained capacity and meaningful local accountability - this is vital for the Highlands and Islands."

Convener of Northern Joint Police Board, Norman MacLeod encouraged members of the public to make their views known. He said: "The staff survey result of over 86 per cent clearly demonstrates that a one force model is not the best way forward for policing in the Highlands and Islands."