ONE of Scotland's most senior policewomen has warned of a policing crisis within five years unless the new SNP administration ramps up its promise of 1000 extra officers as more female officers take maternity leave or go part-time.

Chief Superintendent Caroline Scott claimed more than 400 female officers in Scotland could be off the front line within five years and 500 by 2017 because they are pregnant, on maternity leave, part-time or on career breaks.

The Strathclyde Police officer based her figure on predictions that within five years 30% of officers will be women in the once male-dominated profession.

Scott, a mother-of-five, was the first WPC in Scotland's biggest force to return from maternity leave when she was put on front-line duty during the miners' strike after the birth of her daughter Jennifer in 1983.

But she fears the police's unique situation, which means it cannot recruit outside agency staff, unlike the NHS, has left it poorly placed to cope with law changes such as the new Work And Families Act which allows women nine months' paid maternity leave.

With forces already stretched, the officer called on the new justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, to increase his pre-election pledge to raise the number of officers by 1000. Scott told the annual conference of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents in Peebles last week the police had been so focused on issues such as institutional racism after the Stephen Lawrence case that gender issues had "crept up almost unnoticed".

She said: "If I advised you today that 300 officers predominantly performing a front-line role were to be permanently removed from your strength, I'm certain you would have taken notice. You would have noticed even more if I told you it was more than 400 or more than 500, because that's the projected figure as we reach 2011 and 2017."

Scott was one of the first female recruits after the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act opened up all areas of the service to both sexes. Last year 120 women joined Strathclyde, double the 50-a-year taken on between 1995-2000 and up 20 on the 100 recruited each year from 2000-2005. Figures also show women are tending to stay in the force after having children.

Across Scotland, 23% of officers are women. However, a large number of those are part-time or on career breaks: 167 (17%) with 16-20 years' service are part-time, while 367 (31%) with six to 10 years' service are on career breaks.

She warned the government will have to consider taking on agency "temps" to work alongside trained officers. She added: "The nature of our work does not allow us to get a temp in from outside. But as our maternity numbers increase, and efficiencies make us leaner in terms of resources, we're going to have to give this issue some thought."

Scott also fears women are being driven away from their careers by chiefs allocating them unrewarding desk jobs under the policy of removing expectant mothers from front-line duties during the early stages of their pregnancies.

She added: "I do not advocate that officers work a beat while pregnant, but we can be overly restrictive in how officers are deployed."

Her comments won support from the association president, Chief Superintendent Clive Murray of Tayside Police.

He told the Sunday Herald: "Everybody is avoiding talking about the issue of gender in the police, but nobody should feel guilty about having a baby or helping their children grow up."

The Scottish Executive said inevitably police staff would be absent on maternity leave for varying amounts of time, but "this does not mean these officers have left or intend to leave the service".