Almost 9000 rrest warrants for crimes ranging from murder to domestic violence remain outstanding according to Police Scotland
Thousands of criminal suspects across the country are on the run and wanted for serious offences ranging from murder and rape to domestic violence and drugs.
According to shock new figures, released by Police Scotland under Freedom of Information, there are currently 8,998 outstanding arrest warrants waiting to be executed.
Of that total 1,420 relate to Group One offences including crimes of violence such as murder, culpable homicide, attempted murder and serious assault.
The most wanted is Derek “Deco” Ferguson for the murder of barman Tam Cameron, who was shot dead in the car park of the Auchinairn Tavern in Bishopbriggs near Glasgow in 2007.
Police also want to quiz Deco about the murder of Billy Bates, 43, whose body was found in an oil drum the following month near the Erskine Bridge, West Dunbartonshire
Of all the outstanding warrants 816 are more than 12 months old including the one for Ferguson..
The figures also include 725 outstanding warrants for drugs, 64 for rape, six for murder including Deco, 11 for attempted murder and 97 for domestic abuse.
David Kennedy, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation yesterday blamed the figures on a chronic shortage of cops.
Police Scotland has around 16,430 officers, one of the lowest number since the force was formed in 2013.
Mr Kennedy added: “The police do not have the resources to deal with the warrants.
“Work is continually being put back and not pushed forward and the backlog is just getting bigger and bigger
“Unless they get more police officers they are going to struggle.
“We do not have enough officers to cope with the workload that we need to do.
“They are always chasing their tail. We are not even treading water we are drowning.”
There are also 159 warrants outstanding for fraud, 212 for offensive weapons, 147 for gross indecency, 129 for theft by housebreaking, 93 for police assault and 17 for hate crimes.
The most common outstanding arrest warrant is 1281 for assault with 1176 wanted for minor traffic offences, 883 for breach of the peace, 946 for theft and 472 for bail offences
Many of the warrants are issued when a person fails to appear in court.
In some cases an individual will have more than one against their name.
The arrest warrant figures are up to August 14 this year with the longest outstanding warrant for Deco.
Former police superintendent Martin Gallagher says too many officers are being diverted from frontline tasks to non policing roles such as aiding people with mental health issues.
Mr Gallagher added:”For these warrants to come down the police need to stop taking on the work of all other public sector bodies.
“With of 775,000 policing hours lost to mental health calls last year it is obvious that the police are being diverted from catching criminals, their reason for being.
“When will this end? The police simply cannot do everything, and they certainly can’t with 1000 less cops and 200 less police stations, as has occurred in the last few years.
“If you want these serious criminals caught you need to let the police get on with policing.”
Rape Crisis Scotland external affairs manager Nicola Love said: “One outstanding warrant for rape and sexual offences is one too many.
“Survivors already face unacceptable wait times in the criminal justice process without factoring in additional delays due to outstanding warrants.
“It is also really concerning to see this figure rising from the 40 reported outstanding warrants for rape in February this year.
“Deciding to report rape or sexual violence is an incredibly difficult decision for any survivor and this can damage already-fragile trust in the criminal justice system.”
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said: “These figures come as no surprise. It is clear that there is a crisis in the number of available Police Officers to carry out front line duties.
“Not nearly enough progress has been made in freeing up officers from welfare duties such as 101 mental health calls, as the criminal justice committee heard last week.
“I urge the SNP Government to act on this and to ensure that they are properly funding Police Scotland so that it has the resources required to keep our communities safe.”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, Stephen Kerr MSP said: Year after year, officers have warned they are overstretched and under-resourced
“With the Budget approaching, the SNP must finally put their money where their mouth is and give Police Scotland the resources it needs to track down these suspects and keep dangerous criminals off our streets.”
Scottish Lib Dems justice spokesperson Y-Pei Chou Turvey said: “These are worrying figures, especially when it comes to the most serious offences.
“The new Justice Secretary needs to come forward with a realistic plan to ensure the needs of the service are met.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “All arrest warrants are prioritised according to the threat, risk and harm and those facing arrest should be aware we’ll follow all lines of inquiry and use all resources to locate them as soon as possible.
“We deploy local and national, specialist resources and intelligence techniques to locate those who pose the greatest risk of harm and threat to communities and apprehend them.
“Some individuals will have committed multiple offences, and have more than one arrest warrant issued against them by the courts.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said:”The execution of warrants is the responsibility of Police Scotland, who remain focused on the investigation of crime and keeping our communities safe.
“We are investing record funding of more than £1.7 billion in policing in 2026–27 which will enable the service to recruit and maintain officer numbers at 16,500.
“Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales, and remains a safe place to live, with recorded crime having fallen by half since 1991.”
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