In an abrasively-worded article on the SPF website, general secretary Calum Steele also claims that police dog-handlers had been called off from following trails for fear of running into overtime. He says that service quality has become a postcode lottery where “cash is king” in determining operational priorities.

On one occasion, Steele says, officers were told to “scour charity shops” to buy car sun blinds in order to keep out of view a child that was being driven in a police car.

“At a time when so much emphasis is being placed on the cost of policing, it’s long overdue that we had a real conversation about its value,” Steele writes.