by BILL HEANEY
Crime is on the rise and Police Scotland is already stretched to breaking point – but the SNP has let Police Officer numbers fall yet again, according to Scottish Labour’s Justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill, right.
She said: “The SNP’s reckless approach to crime is putting communities at risk. On the SNP
’s watch, there are fewer police on the streets and more criminals being let out of prison early.
“The SNP must stand up for our communities and make sure Police Scotland has the
staff and resources it needs to do its job.”
Justice Directorate statistics on police officer quarterly strength, which gives the number of full-time-equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland, were issued today.
Scotland’s Chief Statistician has published statistics on Police Officer Quarterly Strength, which gives the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland.
The key findings of the statistics are:
- there were 16,402 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 30 June 2026
- police officer numbers decreased by 29 FTE officers (-0.2%) in the last quarter from 31 March 2026
- police officer numbers decreased by 25 FTE officers (-0.2%) in the last year from 30 June 2025
- This is an increase of 168 FTE police officers (+1.0%) from the 16,234 FTE police officers recorded at 31 March 2007
Police officer numbers have decreased slightly, remaining at a much lower level than last year
Chart 1: Total number of Police Officers (Full-time Equivalent) in Scotland, 2007-26
Chart 1 shows the total number of police officers (full-time equivalent) in Scotland between Q1 2007 and Q2 2026. The number of FTE police officers has been on a downward trend between Q2 2021 and Q2 2024, then increased between Q2 2024 and Q1 2025. In Q2 2025, it then dropped back to similar levels as Q3 2024 and has remained around this level since.
The statistics are based upon quarterly returns made by Police Scotland to the Scottish Government, and are a by-product of live administrative processes, generated directly from the HR systems.
The data return provides a snapshot of police strength at the end of the quarter. The published police officer figures are sourced from Police Scotland’s personnel records and, as such, the quality and reliability are good.