Police chiefs have demanded an extra £140million in next year’s budget to crack down on online sex offenders, rising organised crime and extremists radicalising children.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell said Police Scotland was ‘at a crossroads’ financially and it would have to slash officer numbers if ministers short-changed it.
She told MSPs that without a ‘minimum’ of £105million, there would be an immediate recruitment freeze and the already stretched workforce would ‘shrink further’.
By March 2027, there would be fewer than 15,500 officers, a record low under the SNP, which inherited 16,265 officers when it came to power in 2007.
The result would be ‘a significant reduction in visible policing, prevention work, delays in responding to calls from the public and a severe impact on our ability to respond to major events,’ Ms Farrell said, adding: ‘Difficult decisions will be required.’
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘This stark warning from Police Scotland’s top boss cannot be ignored by SNP ministers.
‘Officer numbers are already at woefully low levels and the force can ill-afford to lose anymore.
‘A lack of police presence in our communities puts public safety at risk and allows criminals to go unpunished.’
Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell says the force is at ‘crossroads’ financially
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr
Ms Farrell was speaking to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee about hiking Police Scotland’s £1.6billion budget in 2026/27 to cope with mounting pressures on staff, increasingly complex investigations and growing street protests.
Last month the force revealed the number of Scots children accused of attempted murder had trebled, deepening concerns about crime games exploiting vulnerable youngsters.
Almost a quarter of attempted murders between April and June involved an accused under 18, with 17 cases involving 20 children, compared to five cases in the same period in 2024.
The surge coincided with a spate of apparent gangland attacks across Central Scotland which led to more than 60 arrests as part of Operation Portaledge.
Ms Farrell said the single police and fire services were the only Scottish public bodies to suffer a ‘reduction in resources’ since being formed in 2013.
‘We need some of the savings of reform – over £2.5billion, more than double initially proposed – invested back into policing,’ she said.
Warning against a ‘flat cash’ settlement that failed to account for inflation, she said: ‘We would immediately stop recruitment to reduce workforce numbers through retirement and resignation.
‘A minimum £104.9million uplift in cash terms enables us to stand still after accounting for pay awards, increased national insurance contributions, non-pay inflation, and other unavoidable costs.
‘Any allocation below that will mean our workforce will shrink further.’
The Chief Constable said fewer police would hit public confidence and pile pressure on remaining officers.
Rather than a shrinking force, she pushed for a better one to meet changing needs.
‘Poverty, geopolitics, cybercrime, and civil unrest is driving a high level of demand and the challenge for policing is evolving rapidly – illustrated by increasing online harm and threat, violence associated with organised crime, and a high level of protests. The threat is now.’
She said a further £33.7million would help the force get on the front foot and added: ‘I want to strengthen our response to digitally enabled and globally connected crime to target sex offenders, organised criminals, and extremists who are radicalising, recruiting, exploiting and abusing children and bringing illegal drugs and violence to the streets of Scotland.
Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeil
‘I want to underpin this with additional local police officers to give communities identified contacts, put more hours into street patrols, help communities to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, and give victims a better a response.’
She stressed: ‘We are still keeping the people of Scotland safe, but we are at a crossroads. My ask is that there is some reinvestment of some of the money that was saved so we can meet those threats.’
Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: ‘The Chief Constable could not be clearer about the impact that ministers’ failure to give Police Scotland the funding it desperately needs would have.’
Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said: ‘The SNP’s failure to support Scottish policing for the past eighteen years is coming home to roost.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘We will continue to work with Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority to understand their 2026/27 budget requirements. Decisions on the Scottish Budget will be laid out on 13 January 2026.’
