Police response to Brexit should be delivered at UK level, chiefs say
The policing response to Brexit should be delivered at UK level while recognising Scotland’s “distinct constitutional arrangements”, police chiefs have agreed.
UK chief constables reached the agreement at a meeting on Monday, which Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone attended.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said it was agreed the response to Brexit should be delivered at a UK level, both in terms of the potential loss of law enforcement arrangements and preparations for any impact on opera-
tional policing, while recognising the distinct constitutional arrangements in Scotland.
Mr Livingstone also committed Police Scotland to doing everything it can to support colleagues across the UK, and particularly in Northern Ireland, in relation to operational policing.
Mr Johnson said: “We have no intelligence to suggest that there’s any likelihood of public protests or disorder in Scotland, but we will continue to assess this and will put measures in place to deal with any disruption or any increase in crime.
“Police Scotland has been doing a lot of work in preparation for the potential impact of Brexit and a small team has spent the past 18 months reviewing legislation, powers, processes and procedures, to understand what that impact might look like and what we can do to mitigate it.”