Police Scotland officers worked almost four and a half million hours of overtime over the last five years, the Scottish Conservatives can reveal.
A Freedom of Information request by the party shows that officers worked 4,490,739 hours of overtime, which is the equivalent of almost 513 years’ worth.
In 2024-25 alone, officers worked 773,151 hours of overtime, which cost over £28 million. This is an increase of 54,131 hours on the previous year and represents two per cent of the total available hours.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr says the figures highlight the “immense strain” officers are under and that SNP ministers have stretched police resources to “breaking point.”
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “These figures expose the immense strain that Police Scotland officers are under, with millions of hours in overtime being notched up.
“Our hardworking police officers should be commended for their commitment to keeping the public safe.
“However, rather than taking action to support Police Scotland, SNP ministers have allowed police numbers to fall, stretching resources to breaking point.
“Ministers who have failed to act cannot continue to rely solely on the goodwill of dedicated officers to ensure our communities are protected.
“The Scottish Conservatives will always prioritise keeping the public safe, which is why we would back the police with the funding they deserve to help reduce the number of overtime hours officers are having to work.”
Notes to editors:
Over the last five years, Police Scotland worked almost four and half million hours in overtime. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Police Scotland officers worked 4,490,739 hours of overtime. This overtime cost £147,348,893. This is the equivalent of 512.6 years. (Freedom of Information request FOI 25-1335, 22 May 2025, available on request).
In 2024-25, Police Scotland officers worked over 770,000 hours in overtime – an increase to the previous year. In 2024-25, Police Scotland officers worked 773,151 hours of overtime. This represents 2% of the total available hours. This overtime cost £28,150,447. This is an increase of 54,131 hours compared to 2023-24. (Freedom of Information request FOI 25-1335, 22 May 2025, available on request).
|
Year |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
|
Number of OT hours |
539,998 |
1,226,088 |
1,232,479 |
719,020 |
773,151 |
|
OT as a percentage of total available hours |
1% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
|
Total OT paid |
£14,484,953 |
£36,719,250 |
£42,689,162 |
£25,305,081 |
£28,150,447 |
(Freedom of Information request FOI 25-1335, 22 May 2025, available on request).