The creation of a single police force in Scotland was “a mistake”, according to a think tank.

Reform Scotland said in a new report that changes must be made to reinstate local policing.

It also claimed Police Scotland’s civic watchdog is a government-appointed quango which is blurring transparency and accountability in scrutiny of the force.

The think tank recommended the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), a board of 11 ministerial appointees from the public and private sector, should be replaced by a much larger board including councillors from all local authorities.

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Reform Scotland also criticised the Scottish Government’s centralisation of police funding, insisting councils cannot have meaningful input on local policing unless they also control some of the revenue.

In a paper on reinventing local policing, Reform Scotland said: “He who pays the piper calls the tune and if local authorities are to have any meaningful input into policing in Scotland they must contribute toward the cost of policing.

“There needs to be a change back to the old system where there is roughly a 50/50 split in funding policing between local authorities and the Scottish Government.

“The Scottish Police Authority is basically a quango with members appointed by government, and this blurs transparency and accountability.

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“To ensure that the need for diversity and flexibility is accommodated by a single police force, it would be necessary to have a representative from each local authority.”

The think tank acknowledged a board featuring councillors from 32 local authorities would be very large but it has also recommended a review of council boundaries as part of a wider programme of reform.

Reform Scotland research director Alison Payne said: “The creation of Police Scotland was a mistake and in the absence of any further wholesale reform we all have a responsibility to make the smaller changes which can help recreate local policing.”

An SPA spokeswoman said: “A review of governance in policing, informed by the first three years of experience of the new arrangements, was published four months ago.

“The review considered the pros and cons of various models of accountability at home and abroad and concluded that the SPA was the right model for governing a national police service while also making a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening the existing arrangements.

“The review has been formally welcomed by the local government umbrella body Cosla, who have acknowledged the real commitments within it to encouraging localism within Police Scotland and enhancing local scrutiny and accountability.”

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said the report showed there was an urgent need to give councils more control over local policing.

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He said: “Officers, civilian staff and communities alike have been left counting the cost of these botched reforms.

“The SNP were warned time and again that centralising the police would damage local policing but they did not listen.”

The Scottish Government pointed to statistics showing recorded crime is at a 41-year low and violent crime had halved in the last decade as indications that Police Scotland was performing well.

A spokesman said: “Despite the inevitable challenges of implementing the most significant public-sector reform in Scotland since devolution – which was backed by cross-party support across the Scottish Parliament – policing continues to perform excellently.

“Police in Scotland are accountable to the SPA, not ministers – protecting their ability to continue to serve communities without political interference – a long-standing principle in Scotland.”