Who are you gonna call? Figures show how often cop shop is closed

Kirkwall Police Station was closed for a total of 112 working days last year, The Orcadian can reveal, as hours lost to sickness absence double.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the newspaper at the start of this year has disclosed that 784 working days were lost to officer sickness absence in 2025 – more than double the 357 days lost in 2022.

Also revealed were startling figures that Orkney’s only station was closed to the public for almost a third of the year in total – with people in need of assistance instead directed to call 101 or 999.

For the full story, see the latest edition of The Orcadian in shops and online.