POLICE Scotland will have 360 officers on standby to deal with any chaos resulting from Brexit, the force has confirmed.
The extra PCs will be expected to deal with any protests and disruption at ports, and could even be sent to other parts of the UK.
Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr told the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) that this was “purely a contingency at this stage”.
He said it was being confirmed just now to give “officers the required notice about changes to their shifts”.
“These officers will be deployed to local policing duties when not required for policing purposes related to Brexit.
“We have taken this decision so that we have enhanced capacity to respond to greater policing demands during this period. Our principle focus is, and will remain, the safety of the citizens of Scotland.”
At an SPA board meeting in Kilmarnock last week, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone confirmed plans to cut 300 officers from the force had been dropped.
Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf welcomed the news: “Decisions around officer deployment, contingency planning and mutual aid are operational decisions for the chief constable, however, I welcome this prudent, sensible approach to contingency planning to ensure Police Scotland remains best-placed to keep people safe.
He also said it shouldn’t be the government in Edinburgh who pay for “any costs related to EU exit”.
But a UK Government spokesman said Scottish ministers had received £92 million “to support Brexit preparations as its Barnett Formula share of UK funding.”
“As policing is a devolved issue it is for the Scottish Government to decide what portion of this extra money should be given to Police Scotland,” he added.
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