Dumbarton’s MSP has issued a plea, urging the SNP Scottish Government to back the police.

Jackie Baillie warned that the SNP’s failure in policing is placing communities at risk.

She called for the Scottish Government to back frontline officers and accused incompetent ministers of hollowing out Police Scotland, leaving the organisation “a shell of its former self”.

And she told how the Scottish Government is playing “fast and loose” with the safety of both communities and rank-and-file officers.

Data reveals that there were 536 officers to police L Division – Argyll and West Dunbartonshire – in quarter three of 2025.

There were 1342 officers in the region and 1671 available nationally – resulting in 3549 available officers.

But figures from the same period in 2020 show that Divisional Resources offered 553 officers – with 1562 in the region.

A further 1684 officers were available nationally, meaning a total of 3799 officers were available for the Argyll and West Dunbartonshire area.

So the number of officers available in the region has been cut by 250.

Jackie, also Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader, said: “Too many people have been left feeling unsafe in their communities and Police Scotland have been clear that they now face a stark choice in the crimes they investigate.

“The SNP have allowed police numbers to be cut to the bone, with fewer police officers on the beat.

“Residents are worried whether the police are going to be able to turn up to help them and officers are worried whether they will find back up if they need it.

“The figures show the extent of the SNP’s neglect of Police Scotland and their failure to protect either officers or communities.

“Scottish Labour recently revealed there are more than 10,000 arrest warrants outstanding across Scotland, including seven for murder, five for attempted murder and 40 for rape.

“The SNP cannot keep playing fast and loose with the safety of our communities.

“A Scottish Labour government will support policing, back our dedicated frontline officers and make sure our country has the police officers it needs.”

Data also reveals that, as of 30 September this year, there were 16,441 full-time equivalent police officers in Scotland.

When Police Scotland was created in 2013, there were 17,496 FTE officers.