General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 7 November 2024.
I refer members in the chamber to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as my wife is a police sergeant in Moray.
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with Police Scotland, and what issues were discussed. (S6O-03903)
Ministers and officials meet regularly with Police Scotland. My most recent meeting was on 31 October, with the chief constable and the chair of the Scottish Police Authority. We discussed Police Scotland’s three-year business plan, focusing on the implementation and oversight of the plan and how it will positively impact on policing in our communities.
Regular discussions take place on police workforce numbers to ensure that putting front-line policing in the strongest possible position is a priority. Police Scotland is taking on more recruits this year than it has at any time since its formation in 2013, and the chief constable has stated that she expects numbers to reach 16,600 this week.
The First Minister told me in the chamber that
“levels of crime in Scotland are currently at 40-year lows”.—[Official Report, 26 September 2024; c 13.]
In the six weeks since he said that, he has made no attempt to correct the Official Report , but the Scottish Government’s own figures show that crime has increased by 4 per cent.
Has the Scottish Government published incorrect figures, or has the First Minister misled Parliament?
It is important that, in exploring both the long-term trends and the year-on-year increases in crime statistics, we all fully understand those appropriately and properly. When we look at long-term trends, the fact remains that Scotland is now a safer place than it was when we took office.
The member raises an important point in that the nature of crime in this country is changing, which means that the response from policing also has to change. That is why my engagement with the chief constable and the Scottish Police Authority is so pivotal.
Given the very distressing scenes in my constituency that occurred over the bonfire night period, what more support could be given to Police Scotland to combat that? Does the cabinet secretary agree that the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 must now be implemented in full, as a matter of urgency, to help to protect those communities?
I appreciate the member’s commitment in this area and the work that she has undertaken in years gone by, in particular around the 2022 act, the vast majority of which has now been implemented.
I acknowledge that many Edinburgh MSPs, and other MSPs across the country, will be working hard to reassure anxious constituents who have had to put up with considerable disorder over the past few days. I record my thanks to the emergency services—the police, the fire service and the Scottish Ambulance Service. Although injuries to police officers this year have, remarkably, reduced, the level of hostility towards our emergency services is, nonetheless, utterly unacceptable. I take the opportunity to remind members in the chamber, and offenders at large, that there is a major investigation on-going and every endeavour will be made to—
Pardon me: I will put my teeth in. Every effort will be made to find the culprits who have caused considerable anxiety and disorder in our communities.