Scottish Liberal Democrat climate emergency spokesperson has today criticised
the Scottish Government's failure to invest in police equipment
and resources after it emerged that at least 20 police
stations in Scotland have electric vehicles, but no chargers
to recharge them, leaving them reliant on partner
organisations and public chargers.
Over the last three years, Police Scotland spent almost £20
million on a fleet of EVs. A spokesman for Police Scotland said
that it aims to be “a fit-for-purpose, efficient, effective and
sustainable 21st century police service.”
However, a Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information
request has now found that 23 police stations have electric
vehicles, but no charging points currently installed. There are
currently 21 sites which have just 28
chargers spread between them.
Scottish Liberal Democrats were approached by one police officer
who told them:
“Where I work they gave us five new electric vehicles but no
charging point….they had to charge them via one cable through an
office window and into a domestic three point socket…guess what
happened to the socket...now the five vehicles are being
deposited overnight in various council car parks across the town,
in the hope that no damage comes to them. Meanwhile, we are back
to using the old diesel cars, because at least we know where the
service station is”.
Mr McArthur commented:
“There is absolutely no point in spending millions on providing
officers with electric cars without the tools to power
them.
“Police officers having to attempt to charge cars from an office
cable through a window makes an absolute mockery of the
government’s pledges to tackle climate change.
“Officers can’t afford to be broken down, miles from the nearest
charging station, when they are responding to urgent calls and
trying to get on with the job of making Scotland safe.
“Right now, charging stations are few and far between. When
people do find one, there’s a good chance it may be broken down
or already occupied.
“The Scottish Government have consistently failed to invest in
the resources that a 21st century police service
needs. That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for
a massive expansion of our car charging network to include all
police stations across Scotland.
“We need to work towards a greener Scotland and enforce law and
order efficiently across the country. These are two equally
important priorities, and one should not be diluting the other.
"The Scottish Government should be leading the way by ensuring
that every newly purchased public sector vehicle is climate
friendly and installing the charging infrastructure to make that
happen.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request can
be found here.
