Police Scotland seeks support from PSNI for Trump visit

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

However, the PSNI is currently facing its own challenges in the wake of recent race riots in the region and the start on July 12 of the busy "marching season" of Orange and Loyalist parades.
Police in the province have also been busy with security around the world's top golf tournament, The Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club which ended yesterday.
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It is not known if the PSNI will be in a position to offer assistance. The request from Police Scotland to the PSNI is currently being assessed.
A spokeswoman for the PSNI told The Herald: "There are well established processes for any UK based Police Services to request support from other services at times of peak demand.
"These requests are managed via the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) and we can confirm that PSNI have received a request to provide mutual aid to Police Scotland which we are currently assessing.
"The decision to provide officers under the mutual aid process will be considered against our own demands, ensuring that we retain the capacity to respond effectively to local issues and maintain our own operational competence."
Police unions in Scotland at the weekend warned of a severe strain on resources ahead of Trump's visit with thousands of officers expected to be deployed and major protests planned.
The White House confirmed last week that the US president will travel to his golf resorts at Turnberry and Balmedie between Thursday July 25 and Monday July 29, prompting one of the biggest policing operations in Scotland in recent years. Officers face cancelled rest days, extended shifts and deployment across multiple sites.
David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, told the Sunday Mail: 'It's a recipe for disaster. We don't have enough cops.
'President Trump is a magnet to certain groups. There will be protests. And just because the President is in one place doesn't mean that's where the protests will take place.
'With this event, it is survival mode. That's the mentality that will set in.'
He added: 'We'll survive but we shouldn't have to just survive. They will need plenty of help from the UK.
'All this costs money and Police Scotland's budget is already bust. Everybody working longer hours and days has a knock-on effect for months, if not years.'
David Threadgold, the Federation's chair, told Scotland on Sunday the service would need to ask for help from other forces: 'This is a huge policing event for Scotland and we will require mutual aid because of the huge demand on my colleagues.
'Very few, if any, cops will not be impacted by next week's visit and beyond.
'I suppose the natural comparison in terms of scale is previous presidential visits and COP26.
'We are talking about bespoke workforce plans because although this is a well-established workforce, we are cognisant we cannot deliver this without impacting on individual officers across the country.
'What that means in simple terms is some may be required to work 12-hour shifts, for example, which normally wouldn't happen.
'That is the type of change cops will see during this event. We also need to consider how officers will eat and drink and rest during this policing, which will be a challenge.'
He added: 'This is already a difficult time for Police Scotland as they are trying to organise and deliver this at short notice during a period of high annual leave.'
Police Scotland was approached for comment.