Angus North and Mearns Liberal Democrats launched a local  campaign to Save Our Police this week-end across the constituency.

Reacting to plans by all three other major parties to centralise the police to a single force, Sanjay Samani, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Angus North and Mearns, commented:

“In my view the fight against crime in Scotland is now under threat from plans by the SNP and the other parties to centralise our police. Under their plans local police forces would be disbanded and every police officer would be allocated according to national directions not local policing need.”

“I am particularly concerned that by creating a national police force, the chief constable will come under the political control of a government minister and will lose their links with local communities.

“In addition, the cost of centralisation, building a new HQ and new IT systems will costs a fortune and will cost police jobs. The SNP has refused to answer repeated questions about how much their plans will cost, fuelling fears that police officers will lose their jobs to pay for the changes. Some chief constables have estimated it could cost the jobs of 4,000 police officers.”

Angus and Mearns Liberal Democrats want to keep policing local, help the local police to work with the local community and to keep the number of officers high.

“In the course of the next few weeks we will be distributing thousands of leaflets about our campaign across the constituency,” Sanjay continued, “and I would urge residents to sign and return our petition by Freepost, so their voice can be heard.”

“You can also support the campaign on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SaveOurPolice.”

Commenting on the proposals to centralise police decision making, by Holyrood, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott said:

“This is a slippery slope to one police force. For 150 years people in this democracy have worried about the government gaining political operational control over policing. The First Minister refuses to see that a National Police Board, appointed without debate in this Parliament – and with no basis in law – moves us down that dangerous road.”

“We need a police service that is responsive to local needs not subject to central diktat and centrally imposed targets.”

I am asking Forfar, Kirriemuir and Brechin residents to have their say on plans to change fire station provision in Angus. Tayside Fire and Rescue Board are proposing to switch a whole time night shift at Balmossie Fire Station to a whole time day shift at Forfar Fire Station. Currently there is no whole time provision in Forfar, Kirriemuir or Brechin. Instead, the stations are retained, which means that firemen are on call, but not based full time at the station.

I visited Forfar fire station with local Community Councillor and activist, Avril Simpson. As I understand it, the overnight crew at Balmossie fire station in Broughty Ferry were not called to a single house fire in the last 3 months of 2009, and were only called to two, relatively minor secondary fires between October and December. The Fire Board are arguing that a retained service overnight at Balmossie would be sufficient to meet the needs of local residents, based on 6 years of operational incidents across Tayside.

The retained fire crews across Angus and the whole of Tayside provide an excellent service, securing the safety of local residents.

The Fire Board noted that the peak time for incidents were during the day. They also stated that research indicates that prevention and early detection is the best way to save lives. They argue that a whole time day shift in Forfar would allow fire crews to carry out Home Fire Safety Visits, which the retained fire men are currently unable to do, due to their full time employment commitments.

Cllr Ken Lyall, Chair of the local Fire Board believes that this change will improve emergency response in Forfar, Kirriemuir and Brechin during the day, without impacting overnight cover in Broughty Ferry. The Board also believes that by conducting Home Fire Safety Visits, Tayside Fire and Rescue Service will be able to save more lives.

It is crucial that local people have their say on whether they would like these changes to go ahead. I will be distributing a Focus leaflet in Forfar and will ask local residents about their wishes. In the meantime, residents from across Angus can contact me with their views by commenting below. Or if you wish to keep your views private, you can email me at contact@sanjaysamani.com or by mail at Viewpark, Meethill Road, Alyth, PH11 8DE.