CRAIG Hoy, a Conservative MSP for South Scotland, has “warmly welcomed” the Scottish Conservatives pledge to recruit 1,000 extra police officers.
The MSP’s remarks came after Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross made the commitment during his keynote speech to UK Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
On the SNP’s watch, police officer numbers in Scotland have fallen to their lowest level since 2008, with the number employed by Police Scotland standing at 16,600.
Police Scotland have warned that a further 600 officers could be lost from the force in 2024, bringing numbers to the lowest level since the SNP Government came to power.
Craig Hoy MSP says this would only put those living in East Lothian at greater risk of being victims of crime, and shows that fully funding the police is “simply not a priority” for the SNP-Green government.
Based on current officer allocation, the proposals from the Scottish Conservatives would deliver an extra 900 officers for Midlothian, East Lothian, West Lothian and the Scottish Borders assuming they will be based locally.
The South Scotland MSP says having police “on the beat” in East Lothian is essential to helping people feel safe, and that this commitment more than offsets the fall in officer numbers under the SNP.
The MSP said: “Hard-working police officers in East Lothian do terrific work every single day to keep our communities safe.
“However, thanks to SNP cuts, they are being pushed to breaking point and asked to tackle crime with one hand tied behind their back.
“Across Scotland, the SNP have presided over a reduction of 700 officers in recent years. That is why I am delighted to support my party’s plans to recruit 1,000 more officers, which would result in 900 extra police officers in the Lothians and Borders.
“Having police on the beat is essential to making people feel safe, and this commitment would help address the plummeting number of officers under the SNP and Humza Yousaf.
“Growing the size of our police force will also mean officers can tackle the crimes that blight our communities on a daily basis and ensure offenders are properly punished.”
