On Thursday, Kenneth asked Community Safety Minister Ash Denham MSP how many police officers are currently deployed in Ayrshire and how the impact of the increase in officers on crime levels in Ayrshire. She replied that there were 826 officers in the Ayrshire division, supported by 1,512 officers who are deployed across the west region and by 1,495 officers who provide support nationally. The latest police officer quarterly strength statistics, which were published on 7 May, show that there are 17,251 police officers in Scotland, compared to 16,265 in the second quarter of 2008. Overall, police numbers in Scotland are up by 81 officers over the last year and are now higher than at any time during the previous Administration, even prior to 2007. Meanwhile, police numbers in England and Wales have since 2007 fallen by almost 20,000 under the Tories. Between 2008-09 and 2017-18, the volume of crimes recorded by the police in Ayrshire fell by 39 per cent, from 25,641 to 15,696 crimes, compared with an equivalent fall of 35 per cent across Scotland as a whole over the same period. To watch my exchange with the Minister, click on the video.
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