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North
Ayrshire has the highest rate of any Sub Division in Strathclyde and merits
more police consequently.
Using October as an example, police in North Ayrshire
dealt with an average of 695
incidents each weekend.
Local Labour MSP Allan
Wilson wants more police resources for North Ayrshire following discussions
with Strathclyde Police Chief Constable Willie Rae.
“North Ayrshire has the highest rate of any Sub Division in Strathclyde and
merits more police consequently” says Mr Wilson.
“We know this by virtue of the newly centralised system of recording calls
by Strathclyde Police. It is the only division with two talk groups
(wavebands/channels) because of the volume of calls” said Mr Wilson
“Using October as an example, police in North Ayrshire dealt with an average
of 695 incidents each weekend”
“The geography of the area also creates problems. If a car has to be sent to
Largs from Saltcoats for example, this journey takes 25 minutes each way
plus the time taken to deal with the incident” said Mr Wilson
“A change in shift patterns by the police themselves is scheduled to assist
however. If agreed by the Police Federation, more police will be rostered at
nights and weekends and this will help to cope with the large influx of
young people at weekends from outside the area”
“Ayrshire is the next Division scheduled for the roll out of the new shifts
should they be agreed” said Mr Wilson.
“Mr Rae would like more resources across the board but accepts that incident
recording does strengthen the case for North Ayrshire”
“Strathclyde Police numbers are at record levels but the changing
demographics of the force, including a new age and gender profile, present
new operational challenges that require to be met by better matching an
increased resource to areas of highest demand like North Ayrshire” said Mr
Wilson.
“It is also important that we ensure our Police Forces are equipped with all
the necessary new technology to assist them in fighting organised crime in
the area and I will be pressing my colleague Cathy Jamieson, the Justice
Minister to ensure the Strathclyde Force is resourced sufficiently to meet
it’s national security obligations at Prestwick and Hunterston for example,
as well as meeting local demand for their services” concluded Mr Wilson
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