The Scottish Government has been urged to drop plans to bring the British Transport Police in Scotland under the control of the single force.
After months of turmoil at Police Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives said it would be wrong to now hand over the power of policing the country’s rail network to the organisation.
Earlier this year the SNP said it wanted to transfer the BTP to Police Scotland’s remit, after the Smith Commission stated the responsibility could be devolved.
However, the reputation of Police Scotland has never been lower after a series of recent scandals, including two people lying undiscovered for three days after a crash off the M9 motorway.
The single force has also been dogged by problems surrounding stop and search, the routine arming of officers and the closure of front desks across the country.
And until Police Scotland can prove itself capable of handling the responsibility of policing trains and railway stations, Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said the plans should be shelved, allowing the BTP to continue as it is.
Senior officers within the BTP have already raised concerns about Police Scotland taking on their responsibilities.
They say that is the “most complex” route for the devolution of the BTP, adding that “transport policing is arguably more of a transport issue than a policing one”.
The Scottish Conservatives are supportive of the Smith report’s recommendations that the functions of the BTP could be devolved, but not necessarily straight to the remit of an under-fire Police Scotland.
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife said:
“Police Scotland is in meltdown at the moment. The last thing it needs is the extra responsibility of Scotland’s part of the British Transport Police.
“The British Transport Police is one of the most respected and successful arms of the justice system – so why would we hand it over to an organisation in crisis?
“The British Transport Police currently has 231 officers in Scotland based across the rail network with 11 local offices including at Perth and Kirkcaldy stations. I have been pressing Scottish Ministers to outline what impact the merger will have on the policing of our railways to make sure that the safety and security of passengers on our rail network is not compromised.
“The single force has proved itself utterly incapable of dealing with even the most straightforward of calls. It would be absolute folly to transfer this chaos onto Scotland’s rail network too.”