Police officer numbers have risen slightly in Tayside, new figures have revealed.
The latest statistics from Police Scotland show that by the end of September this year, there were 945 officers working in the region.
That’s a rise of 10 since the end of June. However, the long-term picture shows a small drop in officer numbers locally.
Figures from the end of December 2013 show there were 968 officers distributed locally around Tayside — meaning that number has dropped by 2% to September’s 945 tally.
Gordon Samson, of the Dundee Pensioners Forum, said there’s still not enough police on the streets.
He said: “To say there are 10 more police in the last three months, that’s not solving anything — it’s still not enough. With the cutting back the police have had to do there are still not enough officers on the streets.
“And with the darker nights coming in and the poorer lighting in the city, plus buses being taken off routes with sheltered housing, it is a big concern for us.
“For a city with such high unemployment, surely there could be more people recruited into the police?”
Iain Livingstone, Police Scotland’s deputy chief constable, said there will be weekly fluctuations but insisted the force performs well to keep numbers consistent.
He said: “Overall, Police Scotland officer numbers have remained constant, and information is published regularly detailing our resources throughout the country.
“Police Scotland remains committed to maintaining officer numbers at the current level while we review demand, organisational profiles and skills to shape a service that can deal with new and changing requirements from our communities.
“There will be weekly fluctuations in numbers as a result of monthly retiral patterns but we continue to recruit — an intake of 150 probationers started in September with further intakes planned. Local policing is at the core of Police Scotland. Individual divisional commanders are responsible to their communities and as such are empowered to deploy resources according to local needs.”