Draft article: Lucy Jackson 2026-08-11 09:26

OFFICERS are being “encouraged not to arrest people”, the head of the Scottish Police Federation has said. General secretary David Kennedy said Police Scotland does not have the “capacity” to arrest the amount of people it used to. He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Breakfast show: “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.” File image