Earlier today, MacAskill told the Scottish Parliament a consultation will be launched to discuss three reform options for both the police and fire services: eight separate boards with enhanced collaboration, a regional structure with fewer boards and a single service.
The Justice Secretary said the Scottish Government wanted to move towards a single fire service and he set out the arguments for the single force and regional force options for police with the objective of achieving a consensus on the way forward for both services.
MacAskill stressed that the current structure of fire and police services in Scotland was “not tenable” and must be changed to ensure local services in all of Scotland’s communities are “maintained in the face of the impending financial challenges” imposed by Westminster.
The separate consultations on fire and police reform will run at the same time, and their conclusions submitted to the Christie Commission to help inform the wider work being done to reform the public sector in Scotland.
32-year low in recorded crime
MacAskill explained: “I once again pay tribute to the outstanding contribution made by our police and fire services on a daily basis to our communities. We have delivered one thousand additional police officers in our communities, and that has helped result in a 32-year low in recorded crime.”
He added; “We have also seen fire deaths in Scotland continue to fall over the long term, and these are real successes of which we should all be proud.”
However, in order to maintain those successes in the face of unprecedented budget cuts from Westminster, the status quo is no longer tenable.
“Moreover,” said the Justice Secretary, “the current configuration dates back to the 1970s. Structures need to be able to cope with the challenges of the 21st Century. Accordingly, we need to look at how we effectively structure our police and fire and rescue services to protect the frontline delivery that’s essential to our communities.”
Policing by public consent
Historically – and correctly – both policing and fire services in Scotland have been by consent. “That’s how we want it to remain and why are consulting,” outlined MacAskill.
There has already been some limited public comment, but MacAskill feels it’s now appropriate that the debate is widened.
“We wish to try and see if we can reach a consensus as a country on the structures for our fire and police services for the 21st Century. Therefore, I’m announcing plans for a consultation on the future options for both the police and fire and rescue services.”
Labour and the Conservatives are known to support a single police force for Scotland, but the Liberal Democrats remain opposed.
First Minister Alex Salmond, whose Government has pledged to boost additional police officers by 1,000, has famously said that if faced with having to cut costs he would put “Bobbies before boundaries”.
Budget cuts of GB pound 1 billion
Scotland boasts around 17,000 police officers across the eight forces, and the Government has said about 25% of the policing budget is spent on headquarters-related functions.
With the total Scottish Government annual budget facing a cut of about GB pound 1 billion, MacAskill said the idea was to reduce headquarters bureaucracy and deliver more autonomy to the frontline.
Scottish police chiefs all recognise that savings need to be made, but many have indicated they would actively challenge any plans deemed to be a compromise on ‘effective policing’.
For its part, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) has called for other public bodies (including Scotland’s 32 local authorities) to be included in public sector reform.
