Senior officers’ fears for overhaul of forces

Some of his proposed areas for centralisation, including officer recruitment, have already been publicly supported by Mr MacAskill.

The document will fuel the already heated debate about how Scotland's police service is managed and structured.

Chief Constable Colin McKerracher, Acpos president, said: "I am aware of the discussion paper from HMIC which sets out a number of potential ways in which services can be delivered in the future.

"We continue to work closely with the SPSA on the transfer of Information and Communication Technology which is due to happen in April.

"In the meantime the three elements behind policing in Scotland - the government, the police authorities and the chief constables - will continue to work together with the SPSA to ensure that the police service plays its part in delivering a safer stronger Scotland."

Councillor Paul Rooney, convener of Strathclyde joint police board, said: "It particularly concerns me that the HMICS themselves are highlighting in their own report that the taxpayer in Strathclyde could receive a less effective policing service as a result of some of these proposals."

The Herald revealed last year that David Mulhern, chief executive of the SPSA, wanted to bring more services within the remit of his organisation.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) said the authority had not yet proved value for money. It warned policing was in danger of being undermined because too much power is being drawn to the centre, partly as a result of the way that the SPSA was set up.

Mr Dickson's report is far reaching and caused consternation among senior officers.

In it he suggests criteria to assess each police function and whether or not it would work more efficiently under a national body or supra-force.

Mr Dickson said: "Catching criminals, keeping the peace and responding to emergencies are not always the biggest headaches of modern policing but criminal justice processes, traffic congestion and firearms licensing often are.

"These are proposals for the kinds of functions that should be considered for provision above force level."

He commends community policing but argues that some areas, partly because of the drive for efficiency savings and the changing face of national security, may have to be dealt with nationally.

He makes it clear that Strathclyde, Scotland's biggest force, may currently be the only one able to deal with the scale of specialisms demanded of modern policing.

The issue of SPSA accountability and the transfer of police work to the authority is to be debated today at the Strathclyde joint police board meeting in Glasgow. Members of the board have expressed concern about proposals to increase the powers of the authority.

Joe Grant, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, believes a much broader national debate is required.

"This will ignite discussion and debate, but HMIC is obscuring the fact that we need to have a much broader debate on the purpose of policing in the 21st century," he said.

"Once we have wrestled with that we will be able to determine what elements of policing should be retained in order to achieve that purpose."

Areas and Arguments for centralisation outlined
by Malcolm Dickson:

Motorway Policing
Recommends a single national agency. In England most care and congestion issues are taken care of by the Highways Agency. Forces are likely to argue that this is an essential part of intelligence gathering and that disparities between rural and urban needs means it should be handled locally.

Serious Fraud
Report states: "Only the three largest forces have anything like regular experience of these investigations so when fraud is suspected in other force areas, experienced investigators will be assigned." Forces may agree for this to be moved to the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.

Air Support
Only Strathclyde has a helicopter, but it is shared. Recommends the helicopter be held by one body. Strathclyde is expected to oppose this.

Specialist Firearms
Concern from HMIC about "lack of specialist firearms cover in Scotland, primarily concentrating on 24-hour response to spontaneous incidents". HMIC recommends combining air support and 24-hour police firearms.

Counter Terrorism
Recommends a dedicated operational capacity. Senior officers divided as to whether this would be best dealt with by the SCDEA or in force.

VIP Protection
Protected VIP movements by road involve several forces. Forces may argue the Scottish Police Services Authority needs to bed down and prove itself.

Investigating Police Corruption
Recommends this should be handled by SPSA to ensure consistency of approach.

Lost and Found Property
The report suggests this could be passed to post offices.

Back Office Services
The storage of evidence should be organised nationally, the management of police cars etc could be managed centrally.

'Staff numbers to be cut due to efficiency'

England: Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Home Office's adviser on policing, said it was not necessary to have 140,000 officers in England and Wales and proposes a number of changes to bureaucracy to make the police more effective.

He said up to seven million hours of police time each year - the equivalent of 3500 officers - could be released if levels of red tape were cut back.

"Maintaining police numbers at their current level is not sustainable over the course of the next three years," the report said. "I am persuaded that we would not be making the most effective use of the resources if police officer numbers were sustained at their current level."

Sir Ronnie predicted that financial settlements for the police over the next three years would be tight.

He said with workforce costs taking up 80% of police budgets, maintaining police numbers at current levels was not sustainable.

He said that there would be a slight reduction in the 140,000 officers but refused to say how many would go.