Figures released under Freedom of Information show that over a five year period Police Scotland incurred almost £13million in overtime costs for officers cited for court on days off or annual leave.
Chief Constable of Police Scotland Jo Farrell(Image: PA)
Cash strapped Police Scotland have paid out almost £13 million in overtime costs over the last five years for cops cited for court – even though 85 percent are never called to give evidence.
Shock figures released under Freedom of Information show that the total costs for police witnesses between the financial years 2020/2021 and 2024/2025 was £12,856,013. Of that total £9,071,020 was spent paying officers to attend court while on annual leave.
In many instances cops are being called to give evidence several times in the same case, thus creating multiple overtime claims. Often they turn up court to discover the accused has pled guilty or the case adjourned.
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Scottish Labour Justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said “These are huge sums of money at a time when policing is stretched to breaking point.
“Despite knowing this remains a very serious problem there is no sign the Scottish Government is actually doing much about it.
“Our courts system is in chaos and this is just one example of the knock-on effects this has on our entire justice system.
“Too often police officers find themselves hanging around for hours or even days waiting to give evidence in court instead of being out on the streets keeping communities safe.
“The SNP must work with the Courts and Police Scotland to ensure things are running smoothly and officers’ time is being used well.”
Scottish Labour Justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill(Image: Getty Images)
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP added: “Attending court to give evidence is an important duty of any police officer, but the cost of overtime and pressure on officers stretch well beyond these court appearances.
“We are seeing rocketing bills for overtime across all aspects of police work. It comes against the backdrop of falling officer numbers, the closure of police counters and officers being run ragged.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur(Image: Getty Images)
David Kennedy, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: “Officers are continually called out on days off and annual leave to give evidence in court. More needs to be done to stop this happening.
“Officers should not be cited on annual leave particularly when there is an 85 percent chance they will not be needed.
“Police officers don’t have a choice. If they are cited to attend they have to attend.”
David Kennedy, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation.(Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record)
In the last five years the police were served with 1.4 million court citations. Of that total 735,888 were recitations were officers were being called for a second time or more to give evidence.
During that same period 19,841 cops had to attend court during their holidays with an average overtime cost of £457 per officer.
In October Chief Constable Jo Farrell told MSP’s that the demands of court attendance was placing a strain on officers’ family lives as well as costly overtime payments.
Appearing before Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee she revealed that up to 500 officers are taken away from their duties every day to appear in court with only 15 per cent of officers giving evidence.
She added “The demands by the criminal justice system is one of the largest elements that saps away the capacity of policing in Scotland.”
Last month it was revealed that Police Scotland is spending £32 million annually on all types of overtime as the force seeks to plug the gap created by a fall in recruits and and a rise in workloads.
Latest figures show there were 16,427 police officers in Scotland on June 30 this year, down by 126 since the end of March.
A Scottish Government spokesperson added: “We are supporting partners to reform and modernise our criminal justice system and make it more efficient.
“Initiatives such as Digital Evidence Sharing Capability and Summary Case Management has helped reduce the number of victims, witnesses and police officers having to attend court to give evidence and the unnecessary scheduling of court cases.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Policing is relentless, and right across the country, officers and staff are working incredibly hard to keep people safe and the organisation is deeply grateful for all their hard work.
“Overtime is a flexible mechanism which can help to maintain effective policing for all our communities and it is important our people are rewarded for the work they do in line with their terms and conditions.
“Our Chief Constable has been clear that criminal justice system must work in partnership to improve the experiences of victims and witnesses, maximise frontline policing and tackle more crime.”