FMQs: Humza Yousaf accused of allowing ‘open season for criminals’ in north-east
Humza Yousaf has been accused of allowing an “open season for criminals” in the north-east of Scotland as a new policing pilot means some crimes will not be investigated.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said communities in the north-east were being used as “guinea pigs”.
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Hide AdHe told the First Minister the move was “a direct consequence of SNP funding cuts”. But Mr Yousaf said the Tory leader was “seeking cheap political headlines”.
The pilot will see crimes where there is no risk, harm or vulnerability, and which have no positive lines of inquiry, logged but no further action will be taken.
The plans have drawn criticism from opposition politicians and the Scottish Police Federation, with police claiming budget cuts in recent years had led to the decision.
Police Scotland said hard choices were being made “to deliver effective policing within the funding available”.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, Mr Ross said: “This pilot is unfairly treating communities in the north-east as guinea pigs. They will receive a poorer service, despite paying their taxes like everyone else.”
He added: “First Minister, this is a direct consequence of SNP funding cuts. Officers don’t have the resources to do their jobs, people who report crimes will be told ‘tough luck’ and it’s open season for criminals under the SNP. Why is the First Minister telling offenders that they can break the law and get away with it here in Scotland?”
Responding, Mr Yousaf said: “Douglas Ross, with that question, demonstrates why he should never, ever be allowed to be first minister of this country. Panicking people, alarming people, sensationalism – all for cheap political headlines.”
The First Minister added: “What we are interested in is results – those results see more police officers in Scotland than other parts of the UK per head. What we see is further investment in our police in comparison to the previous year. What we also see is lower recorded crime rates here in Scotland than when we took office.”
The number of crimes reported to police dropped from 459,032 in 2007/08 to 289,352 in 2022/23, according to Government figures.