Figures show 10,064 warrants were active on 3 September, up from 9,071 last November. They include seven for murder, 42 for rape and attempted rape, five for attempted murder, 72 for domestic abuse, and more than 1,250 for assault. Others cover offences such as abduction, housebreaking, sex offender registration breaches and crimes involving offensive weapons.

Arrest warrants are issued when suspects fail to appear in court or are wanted in connection with investigations. But frontline officers say the scale of demand means serving them is not always treated as a priority.

David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: “The reality is that very often it isn’t simply because of the relentless demand on the officers who are trying to service them. The criminal justice system cannot cope with the demand.

“The sheer volume of warrants means the backlog won’t be cleared any time soon. Officers are under tremendous pressure. It is a large number of warrants and is another example of a diminished number of officers trying to cope with a huge workload.”

A Police Scotland spokesman commented: “All arrest warrants are prioritised according to threat, risk and harm. Some individuals will have committed multiple offences and have more than one arrest warrant issued against them by the courts.

“Those facing arrest should be aware we will follow all lines of inquiry to locate them as soon as possible. We also work closely with international law enforcement partners to apprehend those who have fled the UK.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “Police Scotland issues arrest warrants daily with figures continuously updated. Data is only accurate at the time it is extracted, but of course any increase could be a cause for concern.

“This year, we are investing a record £1.64billion for policing – an increase of £90million on 2024-25.”