POLICE CALL CENTRES: FINNIE CRITICISES BACKWARD STEP
Responding to the announcement by Police Scotland that emergency call handling will cease later this year at centres in Inverness and Aberdeen, Highlands and Islands MSP John Finnie, Justice spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said:
"HMICS's autumn report of call-handling not only provided a reprieve for Inverness and Aberdeen it also provided the very reasons why they should have been permanently retained, to guarantee resilience.
"Police Scotland's 'we've started so we'll finish' approach is very disappointing. Whilst they may believe that have resolved their well-documented difficulties with call-handling it's entirely fair to record that many who have had cause to telephone the police, myself included, have been disappointed by the response received.
"This is a backward step in police communications."