Police Scotland needs at least £178m to fund a programme of maintenance to fix its crumbling estate over the next five years, MSPs have been told.
The cash-strapped national constabulary has been forced to cut costs - while protecting the number of officers on the beat - but still faces a budget deficit of £44m this financial year.
Justice secretary Humza Yousaf has previously denied the Police Scotland estate is "falling apart".
But a series of embarrassing incidents have highlighted the precarious condition of some police stations.
A cop shop in Broughty Ferry was forced to close in January after part of its roof collapsed, while officers have taken to social media to share images of dilapidated equipement.
MSPs on Holyrood's justice committee today heard the national force is facing a £15 million hit this year due to the pandemic amid ongoing concerns over the force's ballooning deficit.
Chief financial officer James Gray said its income from policing events and airports has dropped by £8m while a further £7m has been spent on personal protective equipment (PPE).
Asked by Tory MSP Margaret Mitchell what this would mean for work on the police estate, Gray said: "We are still in position where it is largely reactive work, dealing with failure.
"Where we would like to get to is be proactive and have a proper planned maintenance schedule."
Gray added that it was estimated £178.8m of investment would be required over the next five years to allow "transformational work" that would "improve the quality of the estate".
But MSPs heard the force faces a budget deficit of £44m this financial year while a "highly indicative" baseline deficit of £50m is estimated in 2021/22.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPS) which represents rank and file officers, has repeatedly raised concerns about the poor standard of police buildings.
In written evidence to the committee, it said 2021/22 could be "the most challenging operational year yet" due to Brexit and the impact of Covid-19.
