Police Scotland urged to review staffing levels at Edinburgh police station after 'damning' report
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An Edinburgh police station has been urged to review its staffing levels following inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
An Edinburgh police station has been urged to review its staffing levels after a “damning” inspection report found staffing pressures led to compromised routine tasks.
St Leonards Police Station in Edinburgh has been described as “significantly understaffed” after a joint inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) in September.
One of Scotland’s busiest police custody centres, St Leonards saw 7157 people held in custody in 2024-2025. With 34 cells, it is the main custody centre for Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian.
Staff reported limited ability to take breaks as well as arresting officers being forced to queue with their detainees.
Further highlighted challenges included sickness absence and delays in body armour provision that restricted the deployment of new members of the custody team.
And staff interviews confirmed that only hand and face washes were routinely offered to detainees at the station - something which they said had become common practice. The report stated that several detainees said they had not been offered the chance to wash or shower during their time in police custody.
Craig Naylor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said: “HMICS and HIS have now jointly inspected 10 police custody centres across Scotland, and during this latest inspection we identified a number of issues that we have previously highlighted elsewhere – including issues around staffing levels.
“We recently made a recommendation to Police Scotland that they examine staffing levels and make arrangements to ensure that appropriate staff resource is in place to maintain safe and effective custody centre operations.
“While we have not repeated this recommendation, it has relevance for the St Leonards custody centre.
“Consideration should be given to reviewing the rationale for the existing staffing model to ensure it remains suitable and fit for purpose.”
However, the inspection found there were issues around the recording of information on the National Custody System, including details relating to wellbeing observations of detainees, their meals, healthcare interactions, care planning and legal rights.
Limited management visibility was also raised by staff, with some expressing concern that Police Scotland was not responding effectively to pressures within the custody environment.
The joint custody report made 10 recommendations for improvement, including a number of healthcare-specific recommendations addressing infection prevention and control, training and the management of medicines.
UNISON said the report was “damning” and added that “dangerous understaffing’”at St Leonards had been raised repeatedly with Police Scotland.
UNISON Police Staff Scotland branch secretary David Malcolm said: “This report is damning and, sadly, unsurprising. The issue of dangerous understaffing at St Leonards Custody Centre has been raised by the union repeatedly with Police Scotland.
“The national staffing ratio of one member of staff to ten detainees isn't enough at one of Scotland's busiest locations.
“Routine care is compromised, staff can’t take breaks and recently a member of staff was assaulted in a poorly configured holding room. Alarmingly these issues aren't confined to St Leonards, but can be seen in custody centres across Scotland.
"Anyone detained deserves to be treated with dignity and custody staff must be safe while they work.
"UNISON will work with the force to ensure the report's recommendations are implemented. But the response so far has been wholly inadequate."
Chief Superintendent Chris Stewart, Criminal Justice Services Division said: "We welcome the findings of this inspection and will carefully consider its recommendations. We work closely with local policing colleagues to mitigate any delays to processing people through our custody centres, many of whom will have significant vulnerabilities and complex needs.
"We are already reviewing the staffing model for our entire custody estate, which includes resourcing, alongside improvements to policies, processes, and training, to ensure our custody provision provides a safe and secure environment for everyone"
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