Murdo has raised concerns at the number of police officers who have had to take time off work due to a stress-related illness.
He was commenting on the supply of data by Police Scotland to the Scottish Conservatives through Freedom of Information which show that 105 officers in Fife had to take time off work through stress, other stress or post-traumatic stress over the past three financial years, compared to 33 in Perth and Kinross during this period.
The statistics mirror national figures recently released by Police Scotland which revealed that 239,507 police days were lost since 2020 – around 23% – in relation to officers suffering from stress and mental health problems.
Commenting, Murdo said: “I am very concerned that Fife has seen 105 officers off sick due to stress-related illnesses in the past three financial years. Police Scotland’s budget has come under pressure in recent years, and this, combined with asking officers to look into the likes of Non-Crime Hate Incidents has put more pressure on them.
“We are seeing a vicious cycle here of police officers being overwhelmed by a heavy workload and shortage of numbers and having to take time off work because of stress. This then in turn puts stress on their colleagues who may well fall ill too.”
Murdo continued: “These damning figures on officers having to take time off due to stress underlines how the SNP Government are failing to support our police force. In October, Police Scotland announced that they might have to axe 1,300 officers and staff if SNP Ministers do not increase funding to the force in the forthcoming Scottish Budget.
“Police Scotland warned SNP Ministers this would see officer numbers cut to between 15,100 and 15,200 by March 2026 - down from the 16,207 total recorded at the end of June this year. In a submission to Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee, the police force said that this would have ‘an immediate impact on communities across Scotland’ and on their ability to keep people safe.
“I know some constituents feel that we need to be tougher on crime and we have recently seen shocking anti-social behaviour in the North Muirton area of Perth, so it is vital that our police force has all the resources it needs in order to tackle this.”
