Police officers are having to drive “barely legal” patrol vehicles that broke down on average once a day last year, it was claimed yesterday.
One van caught fire in recent weeks while another kept popping out of gear, and neither vehicle was watertight, the Scottish Police Federation said.
The state of Police Scotland's fleet is getting worse, according to official figures. The force said 349 vehicles broke down on patrol last year, up by 100 since 2017, and it emerged last month that more than 250 police cars are more than a decade old.
Senior officers have told the Scottish Government that some vehicles are having to be patched up with duct tape.
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Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: “The only thing surprising in these official figures is that they are so low. The condition of much of the fleet is nothing short of a disgrace.
“In the past few weeks we have seen a police van catch fire. Another needed a continual hand on the gearstick to ensure it didn’t jump out of gear whilst in motion, and both were incapable of keeping the rain out.
“The derisory capital funding for the service gives little hope things will improve any time soon.”
Steele said police were being asked to tackle unsafe vehicles while in “barely road legal” cars and vans themselves.
Scottish Labour justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said police were driving “clapped-out bangers” and his party would fund the service properly.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has accused rival parties of “crying crocodile tears” over police funding after voting against an SNP Budget that would increase it.
