Mridan » Travelogue Entry » Case of the missing police as 200 quit force in 8 years

Case of the missing police as 200 quit force in 8 years

MORE than 200 police officers have quit the Lothian and Borders force in the past eight years.

Figures produced for MSPs studying the need for extra police resources showed across Scotland 989 policemen and women, including probationers, resigned voluntarily between 1999-2000 and 2006-7.

And more qualified officers quit in Lothian and Borders last year than in any other force.

Jackie Muller, secretary of Lothian branch of the Scottish Police Federation, said one factor in the large number of resignations was the increasing workload.

She said: “There are fewer people to do more work. Governments introduce new legislation, but they don’t consider how many additional police officers will be needed to implement it.

“When I joined the force 20 years ago there were about 20 people on my shift, now there will be ten or 12.”

The Scottish Parliament’s justice committee will consider the statistics when it meets on Tuesday. The figures for Lothian and Borders showed over the eight years since 1999-2000, 37 officers quit during probation, 119 in the first two to ten years of service, 39 after 11-20 years of service and seven after more than 21 years’ service.

Last year no probationers resigned from Lothian and Borders; but 24 officers quit with less than ten years’ service, more than any other force; and ten with 11-20 years’ service, again more than any other force; while two officers with over 21 years’ service resigned.

Iain Whyte, convener of the Lothian and Borders police board, said he agreed officers now had more work to do.

“That’s why I support a general increase in funding for the service so we can get more officers.”

But he said he was not convinced the workload was the reason for officers leaving.

He said: “If there is an indication more people are leaving in Lothian and Borders than elsewhere, I suspect it could be to do with the jobs market in Edinburgh and the Lothians which is very buoyant and there are lucrative opportunities out there. People who have been police officers will have skills other employers would value as well.”

Ms Muller said changing attitudes in society meant people were more ready to change jobs.

She said: “I don’t think people join the police, as they used to, seeing it as a lifetime career. They don’t see it as something they’re going to be in for 20 or 30 years.

“Careers advisers at school now tell people they are likely to have two or three careers.”

But she said exit interviews had recently been introduced on a trial basis, asking those who quit about their reasons for leaving.

“That will help give us a better idea if they are leaving because they never intended to stay, because there are better opportunities elsewhere, or if it’s more to do with pay and conditions.”