Police Scotland officers are being "encouraged not to arrest people" because there is no room to detain them, the head of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has claimed. New figures show there were 15,451 fewer arrests where an accused had been brought to a police cell in 2025-26.
SPF: No capacity to arrest
David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, said the national constabulary does not have the "capacity" to arrest the amount of people it used to. He said: "The criminal justice system changed. What's happened is officers are encouraged not to arrest people. That's the reality. That's what's happened, and with the amount of police offices and stations closed, the custody suites are no longer there."
"They don't have the capacity anymore to arrest the amount of people they used to arrest. So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy that's happened because if they were to arrest continually, they can't. They do not have the amount of cells they would require to do so."
Station closures and new facilities without cells
Multiple police stations have been closed or downgraded since the formation of Police Scotland in 2013, while new facilities have since opened with no holding cells. A new police station in Ayr was opened in 2023 with no custody suite, with those arrested in the town and its surrounding area sent to Kilmarnock, Saltcoats and even Stranraer.
Concerns over declining arrest numbers
Kennedy's comments came after Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, wrote a letter to the press which warned: "The decline in arrest numbers should concern the public." His letter was in response to Chief Constable Jo Farrell's annual report to the Scottish Police Authority in which she revealed there had been 15,451 fewer arrests where an accused had been brought to a custody centre in 2025-26.
Farrell said there were 83,765 instances of people being taken to a custody centre, down from 99,216 in 2024-25.
Public faith in officers but not organisation
Kennedy assured the public they should continue to have "faith" in Police Scotland officers - but "not necessarily" in the organisation itself. He explained: "That's down to the fact that they've been stripped of the financial capability to make sure that we have enough police officers to do the job they're meant to do, and the reality is at the moment we don't. The problem is the organisation can't cope. We don't have enough police officers."
The Record has asked Police Scotland and the Scottish Government for comment.
