RANK and file police officers in Scotland are privately discussing taking strike action as anger over their pay and conditions reaches unprecedented levels.
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that many officers want the 88-year-old legal ban on industrial action by police overturned by the courts.
Anger has been mounting for years over increasing police workloads, but a recent government pay offer of just
over 2% has left many constables on the verge of open revolt.
The Scottish Police Federation, which represents officers up to the rank of chief inspector, is increasingly the focus of anger among members after ruling out moves towards industrial action, warning it would be a "disaster".
One Strathclyde officer, who asked not to be named,
said: "It is time to act. For years we have bent over backwards to dig the government out of trouble and this is how we get repaid. We should get this ban lifted and then put the strike threat to a ballot. I, for one, have no doubt what the outcome would be."
He added: "Over the years we have been slowly stripped of every benefit we have had, from dental and housing help to plain-clothes allowance.
"The government is not interested in listening to us because they know that, at the moment, we are unable to fight back. There is nothing we can do to fight our own corner."
The ban on industrial action by police was introduced in 1919 following strikes by constables which, in some areas of Britain, led to "an orgy of looting and rioting".
Many police complain that their workload has increased massively in recent years without a corresponding rise in pay. The introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights added new duties, as have government crackdowns on issues such as using mobile phones while driving.
Ministers believe police are well paid. A police constable starts on £23,454, rising to £32,985 for the same rank after 10 years' service.
The government's latest pay offer of 2.3% - instead of the 3.9% demanded - has been described as the "straw to break the camel's back".
A Lothian and Borders officer, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said: "Our federation bosses need to understand the mood of their members. Many of them, including myself, think they are just toothless.
"Anyone can see the government is using the fact that we cannot currently strike to browbeat us into accepting a totally unacceptable offer."
The source added: "It is simple what they should do: employ a leading QC, go to court and get this ban overturned. Even if that does not work, it must, in this day and age, be illegal under the Human Rights Act to prevent us from taking such action."
One experienced Dumfries and Galloway officer said the calls for the possibility of strike action had become much louder in recent months.
He said: "We have had problems before but we have always managed to reach some sort of agreement, but this is different. The lads who I work with are very, very annoyed.
"Now we are realising that the only way we can ever have any power to prevent being pushed around is to have this ban on strike action removed. We need that power. Without it, we will always be in this situation."
Joe Grant, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, refused to comment on the calls among members for industrial action, except to say having the right to strike "would be a disaster". But he conceded police officers had a right to be angry.
"Gordon Brown tells us one thing but does another," he said. "He says we do a fantastic job and we should be treated specially, but he has torn up our pay deal."
The federation is trying to defuse pressure for industrial action by urging officers to directly petition their MSPs. It is providing a detailed letter which individual officers can fill in and send to the Scottish Parliament.
South of the Border, Jan Berry, the Police Federation chairman of England and Wales, warned that, despite the union's opposition to strike action, it could eventually be the only route open to their members. She said the government could be "on course for an all-out war" and added: "I believe it would be a tragedy for policing if police officers were ever forced to go on strike - it is the last thing police officers want, but push them any further and the last thing they want might just become their only option."
Glen Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation was more blunt, saying: "Officers are bloody angry. They feel they are being treated really badly."
A Home Office spokesman said: "The government recognises the vital and hard work which our police carry out every day.
"That is why pay has increased by over one-third in the last 10 years. That is 36%, to be precise. That is 10% above inflation. Pay agreements must be fair and affordable for the police force and the taxpayer."
