Armed cops for speeding offences
HOW TO COUNTER SURGE IN ATTACKS ON OFFICERS
Top brass could also issue more tasers and put armed cops on routine patrol
ARMED officers could deal with minor matters like speeding motorists in a major expansion of gun use by Police Scotland.
Plans to use more armed police and issue 500 more tasers will be presented to police chiefs next week in a direct response to a rise in violent attacks on officers.
But prominent human rights lawyer Aamar Anwar said the country was in danger of “sleepwalking into increased militarisation of our police”.
The move comes three years after former police chief Sir Stephen House was slammed for putting armed officers on routine patrol, with images of gun cops in supermarkets and town centres sparking fury among the public.
House vowed to limit armed response teams to incidents involving a gun or a threat to life.
But on Tuesday, the Scottish Police Authority Board will be asked to consider scrapping restrictions so more armed response vehicles can deal with routine calls and even operations against speeding drivers.
Deputy Chief Constable Johnny Gwynne said: “ARV officers will now support colleagues and the public by responding to a wider range of incidents with an emphasis on public protection, vulnerability and speed of response.
“They will also support local and national campaigns, such as drinkdriving and speed awareness activity.
“The deployment of these officers will at all times continue to be overseen by specially-trained inspectors across Scotland. This will ensure they will also remain available to be deployed to firearms and threat-to-life incidents.”
A roll-out of an additional 124 armed officers was completed in November.
DCC Gwynne said the current use of ARVs was “inefficient” and each decision to send armed officers to a call would be made by senior staff.
He added: “This move is designed to maximise public safety but we are aware that there have been concerns about the role of armed police officers in our communities and that previously we have not engaged as well as we could have when making decisions about how they are deployed.
“We have learned from that and have carried out extensive engagement with the Scottish Police Authority, elected representatives and key stakeholders to explain why we are doing this.”
The selection process to equip 500 conventional uniformed officers with tasers will begin shortly, with training to start in May.
The force say the move comes after 969 officers were assaulted so far during 2017, compared with 764 in 2016. DCC Gwynne said: “Our officers are facing increasing threats of violence from people with knives and other bladed weapons. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of officers attacked while carrying out their everyday duties.
“Ultimately, this move is about keeping the public safe, which is at the heart of what we do.”
Anwar said: “Our policing is supposed to be the envy of the world but if we take this approach there is a real danger of sleepwalking into increased militarisation of our police.
“When public confidence in Police Scotland is at rock bottom, the last thing we want is more weapons and especially armed patrols dealing with routine matters.
“The use of tasers in the US and the rest of the UK has shown they can kill.
“If such weapons were issued to frontline officers rather than specialists, it would be the first weapon of choice, escalate situations and increase danger to officers and members of the public.
“We can’t afford to take this increased risk of violence or a threat to life.
“The police have previously argued for tasers because of assaults on officers but they fail to specify how many of those assaults were serious, how many other officers were present and how the use of a taser could have stopped such assaults.”
Motoring experts welcomed the idea of more officers on the roads but said deploying armed officers to traffic duties could raise tensions.
Neil Greig, of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “One of the most common complaints we get is the lack of high profile policing on the road network. On one hand, the fact that there will be slightly more of these highly trained officers out there is good news.
“But it can be quite intimidating if they turn up in combat gear.
“If people are intimidated by heavily armed police, it can escalate a situation and police need to be aware of that.
“But having more traffic cars out there is a positive thing. It will come down to the training of the officers.”