Police officer numbers in Edinburgh are “unsustainable” and could be cut despite “unprecedented” demands on overtime in order to keep a safe number of police on the streets, the divisional commander in the Capital has said.

Residents could also face more social unrest due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Chief Superintendent Sean Scott warned, which could be exacerbated by fewer “deployable officers” due to a lack of government money.

Critics said the Scottish Government’s approach to funding the police meant officers were doing their job with “one hand behind their back”.

In the Resource Spending Review, published in May, the finance secretary Kate Forbes confirmed a real-terms cut to the £95m police budget until at least 2027.

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