Labour claims 2,500 drug cases unsolved due to forensic service cuts
Thousands of drug cases remain unsolved due to cuts in forensic services in Scotland, according to Labour.
Thousands of drug cases remain unsolved due to cuts in forensic services in Scotland, according to Labour.
MSP Graeme Pearson, a former director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) Forensic Services have 2,500 drugs cases in their current workload.
They include cases being worked on and those yet to be started and, according to Mr Pearson, it could take a year to clear the backlog.
He said the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police support staff working in forensic services has fallen by nearly 50 (almost 10%) since 2011 while the budget has been cut by over £350,000 since 2007.
Mr Pearson, the party's justice spokesman, said: People need to know the police will be there when they call and that cases will be dealt with swiftly.
Scottish Labour want to reform the system so that the needs of the victims are put first. An investigation dragging on can only add to a victim's anxiety.
Since the SNP government won a majority in 2011 we have seen the number of staff working in forensics services plunge. This is just another example of SNP cuts to civilian staff in our police service.
The SNP say we should judge them on their record. Their record on forensics is one of staffing cuts and stalled cases.''
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: These claims are misleading. Drugs cases are being dealt with efficiently, making maximum use of Scotland's world-class forensic services.
The SPA works closely with Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to manage the testing of drugs and prioritise cases appropriately.
We have invested £73 million to create the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh and Scotland now has one of the leading DNA facilities in Europe as a direct result of that investment.''
An SPA spokesman said: Demand for forensic science continues to change with a major increase in demand for drugs services and a growing complexity in drugs analysis due to the rise of new psychoactive substances, otherwise known as 'legal highs', which now account for 10% of drugs submitted for testing compared to only 1% just a few years ago.
NPS substances are particularly challenging because the chemical compounds used get amended regularly to try to keep ahead of changing legislation so that they remain 'legal'. When the drugs tested turn out to be entirely legal, it makes prosecution challenging.
The Scottish Police Authority has to work within the public spending challenges all public bodies face but the revenue budget for forensics in 2015-16 has seen a slight increase this year.
However, funding the future need for forensic services is an area we are currently considering within the overall demands on the wider policing budget.'