Police won’t cope if there are riots, says Sage
THE military would have to be deployed if tensions during lockdown bubble over into riots, Government advisers say.
A report by Sage claims police are in a “far weaker position” than in the summer of 2011, when 3,000 arrests were made and £200million of damage was caused by mob violence across the UK.
Increased terrorist activity, right-wing protests, rising unemployment and fury over local lockdowns are all cited as potential triggers for new riots. But the police’s ability to respond has been “significantly diminished” by budget cuts, according to Sage’s policing and security sub-group.
Their report states: “If serious disorder does develop, it will have a detrimental impact on public health, facilitating the spread of disease, making the re-imposition of measures to control the spread of COVID-19 next to impossible, and would be likely to require military support.
“The police are in a far weaker position in terms of capacity to deal with these threats than in 2011. The losses police have suffered are relevant – the closing down of custody suites and specialist prisoner-processing units, and the restriction of access to resources such as police helicopters.
“As a result, situational awareness as well as operational response capacity is significantly diminished.”
The report comes as police have found themselves dealing with a rise in protests, raves and other mass gatherings.