'Public safety is at risk!' Humza Yousaf blasted for using Scottish police as 'cash cow'

WATCH: Douglas Ross grills Humza Yousaf at FMQs 

Speaking ahead of the Scottish Parliament's criminal justice committee which will discuss the police budget tomorrow, Kennedy said: "Over these 10 years, we have seen around 140 police stations closed, and we are now virtually 1,000 officers short of our highest ever number of 17,496 which we had in 2013.

"We have been asset stripped and basically used as a cash cow.

“Our current funding difficulties started in 2013 when Police Scotland was formed from the previous eight forces.

"At that time, over £200 million was removed from the annual cost base of policing. That has never been returned so essentially that £200m has been returned to the public purse every year since and this now amounts to around £2 billion."

Yousaf's government has claimed the police budget has gone up in recent years.

But Kennedy dismissed the claims, warning the situation is now "critical".

He said: "When the First Minister and others show figures of annual budget increases, they ignore the £2 billion we have lost, and their figures barely cover annual increasing costs.

"In our assessment, the situation is now critical and public safety and security are at risk.

"We have been policing with one hand tied behind our backs and public service is suffering.

"I don’t think you would find many people, whether members of the public or police officers, who would say that Police Scotland has been a success.

"Undoubtedly, if we had been properly funded we would have done a better job, but I regret to say that right now our budget problems are causing huge difficulties."

The Scottish Police Federation warned: "Operational Base Levels are regularly breached, and this has significant implications for public and police officer safety".

"If this situation persists it is only a matter of time before a tragedy is caused by this.

"A drastically reduced overtime budget can have perverse effects.

"At the end of shifts, enquiries are passed to incoming officers, and this risks mistakes and misunderstandings."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The 2024-25 Budget has not been set and funding decisions will be made as part of the Scottish Budget in December. Policing is a priority for this Government, which is why, despite difficult financial circumstances due to UK Government austerity, we have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, with £1.45 billion being invested this year.

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“The Scottish Government has invested more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013. There are over 370 more officers than in 2007 and around 1,480 new recruits have joined Police Scotland since the beginning of 2022.

“Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales and following the agreed pay deal of 12% over two years, our officers continue to be the best paid at all levels.”