AROUND 15,000 crimes a year will not be investigated by police as part of “dangerous” plans to expand a scheme launched in the North East.
The proposals could see crimes such as thefts from gardens or other minor crimes such as vandalism left unsolved.
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Last year, Police Scotland announced that some minor crimes in the North East where there was “no associated threat, risk, harm or vulnerability” would not be probed.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell told the Scottish Police Authority the pilot had been a success and said the investigation of crimes must be “proportionate and appropriate”.
Chief Constable Farrell said the move would see “alternative approaches” to how crime is managed by police and would free up officers to investigate more serious crime.
But the Scottish Police Federation and opposition politicians said the move was due to “savage and sustained cuts”.
At the meeting, Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said each report of crime is still assessed individually, but many will go no further than being recorded on the system.
He said: “If there are no lines of inquiry that can be pursued, then we shouldn’t be, in some ways, setting up an expectation of the things that police can do – we can’t pursue lines that don’t exist, and in some respects, it’s as simple as that.”
He added that around five per cent of reported crimes would be left uninvestigated. In 2022/23, around 290,000 crimes were recorded in Scotland, meaning around 15,000 would never be looked at by cops.
Mr Graham added: “We would put far more resources into murder or a rape investigation than would be put into a report of antisocial behaviour in a local community.”
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And said that work was underway to check how much additional time officers were gaining from the move.
However, David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation which represents rank-and-file officers, savaged the move.
He said: “This strategy is being driven purely by finance and not by basic policing principles – and that’s a problem.”
And Scots Tory justice spokesperson, Russell Findlay, blamed “SNP cuts” and the government’s “weak justice agenda” for the decision.
He said: “It should be a source of shame for ministers that this dangerous pilot scheme looks set to be rolled out across Scotland.
“The public are not even being told what crimes will not be investigated nor how these decisions will be made.
“Our hard-working police officers did not sign up for this. Communities don’t deserve it. The only winners are the criminals.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The Proportionate Response to Crime pilot concluded on 20 November 2023, we have undertaken a full evaluation and we are now engaging with partner organisations before considering next steps.”