SNP Hollow Pledge
The SNP pledged last year in its election manifesto that they would put 1000 extra police on the beat.
That like many other SNP promises has been exposed as a sham.
Retirement of officers has reached 535 this year and will almost double to 970 next year. Simply maintaining the force’s present strength will be a challenge beyond the capabilities of Kenny (let them free) MacAskill the floundering no-Justice Secretary.
As soon as the SNP took office the target of 1000 new recruits was reduced to 500, until the Tories forced a deal to restore it. To secure this150 additional officers were to be recruited each year. Both MacAskill and Salmond told Holyrood that this figure had been met; it turns out the real number of extra recruits was just 97.
So for all the SNP’s grandstanding the truth is that the thin blue line is getting thinner. And the cracks are beginning to show in smug Salmond’s façade.
