£18m police bill for Trump’s visit
THE police operation for Donald Trump’s visit to the UK is estimated to have cost nearly £18m, it has emerged.
Thousands of officers were deployed to cover the four-day trip in the largest mobilisation since the 2011 riots.
Sara Thornton, who chairs the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said it was a “significant operation”, with the US President visiting four force areas and protests taking place in many others.
She said: “Nearly every force supported the operation, with nearly 10,000 officers deployed from all over the country, performing over 26,000 shifts.
“The full cost of the operation is still being worked out, but an early estimate is nearly £18m.”
Ms Thornton said all forces reported “high demand” at the time of the visit in July, which coincided with the World Cup, hot weather and numerous events and festivals.
The senior officer added: “These demands affected local policing to differing degrees across the country, with the host forces most impacted.
“The majority of forces had to cancel officers’ rest days and extend the length of their shifts.
“Despite the challenges, the hard work of officers and staff made sure that the public were kept safe throughout.”
Making his first visit to the UK as President, Mr Trump held talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and met the Queen at Windsor Castle, before travelling to Scotland where he played golf at his family’s Turnberry resort.
The disclosure comes a day after another of the country’s most senior officers warned that policing had reached its “tipping point”.
West Midlands Chief Constable Dave Thompson said officers are not as fast at responding to emergencies and fewer offenders are being brought to justice after a 19% real-terms reduction in police budgets.
Summarising the latest Chief Constables’ Council, held in Cardiff this week, Ms Thornton said: “There was general concern about the strain that forces are currently under and the impact on core policing such as answering emergency calls, investigating crime and neighbourhood policing.”
She added that a recent Treasury announcement about changes to employee pension contributions means forces in England and Wales may need to find an extra £417m by 2020-21.
“This is equivalent to nearly 10,000 officers and grave concern was expressed about further reducing the sustainability of local police forces,” Ms Thornton said.
“This matter has been raised with the Government and discussions are being held.”