Police Scotland is grappling with a critical backlog of nearly 11,000 unexecuted arrest warrants, a situation that is diverting vital resources away from frontline community policing. The warrants relate to serious offences including murder, rape, domestic abuse, and assault.
Surge in Warrants Piles Pressure on Officers
Official figures reveal a 22 per cent increase in warrants received by Police Scotland from 2023 to 2025, with a staggering 10,906 still outstanding across the country. This surge, reported in the justice publication 1919 Magazine, is creating unsustainable pressure on police officers.
In a report to the Scottish Police Authority, Assistant Chief Constable Wendy Middleton conceded it is becoming “increasingly difficult” for officers to keep pace with the volume of warrants they are expected to pursue. Currently, there are 7,587 individuals with one or more warrants against their name, with 5,869 (54 per cent) relating to failures to appear in court.
Impact on Frontline Policing and Community Safety
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, has sounded the alarm on the operational impact. SPF General Secretary David Kennedy stated that each warrant represents officer time abstracted from local policing, prevention work, and visible community presence.
“Instead, time is diverted into repeated attempts to trace, arrest, convey and then repeatedly attend court,” Kennedy explained. This diversion of resources means officers are being pulled away from their primary duties of serving and protecting local neighbourhoods.
Political Reactions and Calls for Support
The crisis has sparked fierce criticism from opposition parties, who blame systemic under-resourcing. Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr argued the backlog is “the product of a justice system which has been starved of resources.” He highlighted that the burden ultimately falls on officers to chase warrants and sacrifice time attending court repeatedly.
Echoing the severity of the situation, Scottish Labour justice spokesman Pauline McNeill declared, “Scotland’s entire justice system – from frontline policing to courts to prisons – is at breaking point under the SNP.”
In response, the Crown Office stated that prosecutors seek warrants only where necessary and appropriate. The Scottish Government emphasised that the issuing of warrants is a matter for the independent courts, while execution is an operational matter for Police Scotland, who remain focused on investigating crime and keeping communities safe.
