Police funding warning as reports of online child abuse doubles

Jo Farrell has been chief constable of Police Scotland since October 2023

Online child abuse reports have more than doubled in a year, Scotland's top police officer has told MSPs.

Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell said the national force received 1,500 reports in 2024-25 compared to 700 in the previous 12 months.

Ms Farrell was making the case to Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee for increased funding in next year's budget.

She said other significant threats included terrorism, serious and organised crime, cyber-crime, fraud and money laundering.

Ms Farrell also said the number of protests had "increased rapidly", from about 1,000 a year to more than 2,000 over the last three years.

She told the committee this had an impact "predominantly at the weekend".

The chief constable, who took over from Sir Iain Livingstone in 2023, also highlighted "increased violence around football matches" and added officers' time off was being cancelled to meet requirements.

She said her officers were monitoring 90 serious and organised crime groups made up of 1,000 people, including children.

Ms Farrell said Police Scotland needed a minimum £104.9m uplift to maintain the current number of staff after accounting for factors such as pay awards and increased national insurance contributions.

She warned: "Any allocation below that will mean our workforce will shrink further."

Lynn Brown, the force's head of finance, told the committee: "If we don't get the funding it essentially leaves a funding gap.

"We would need to find the savings if that settlement was less."

The latest figures show Police Scotland had 16,441 full-time equivalent officers as of 30 September

Ms Farrell said she was often asked if she could keep Scotland safe within the funding available.

The chief constable said: "Scotland is safe and it will remain so.

"We do, and always will, prioritise our response to those who face the greatest threat, risks or harm.

"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 added a further £33.7m cash terms uplift - equivalent to a 2.2% increase - would allow her to strengthen the workforce.

Ms Farrell concluded: "It is a crossroads, not a crisis.

"But decisions must be taken now to enable policing to deliver fully, and at the pace needed, on our vision of safer communities, less crime, supported victims, and a thriving workforce."

The latest figures show Police Scotland had 16,441 full-time equivalent officers as of 30 September.

A government report said that while officer numbers had "increased slightly" these were still at lower levels than the first three months of this year.

Deputy chief constable Alan Spiers said more than 1,300 officers were deployed last week to police sporting events and protests

Ms Farrell went on to warn a so-called "flat-cash" budget settlement - where the cash allocated to the police remains at the same level as the current year - would see officer numbers fall.

She told the committee such a settlement would see Police Scotland "immediately stop recruitment, to reduce workforce numbers through retirement and resignation".

However, she said this would not achieve the savings needed.

She said: "This attrition would further reduce officer numbers to fewer than 15,500 by March 2027, with a significant reduction in visible policing, prevention work, delays in responding to calls from the public, and a severe impact to our ability to respond to major events."

Ms Farrell also said the force was the only public sector organisation - with the possible exception of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service - that had seen a "reduction in resources" since being set up.

Police Scotland papers submitted to the committee said cumulative savings of more than £2.5bn had been delivered since the national force replaced the old eight-force model in 2013.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs told the committee that more than 1,000 police officers were working at planned sporting events last weekend, including the Old Firm cup semi-final at Hampden.

A further 300 officers were deployed to cover protests.