A TEAM of more than 300 police officers set up for incidents relating to Brexit has been “very busy” since it started last week, Police Scotland has revealed.
The dedicated unit for Brexit-related emergencies has already been dispatched to deal with protests and “increasing febrile” behaviour in the streets, according to Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr.
Funding for the additional officers is a source of concern, with the force’s budget facing a large shortfall. But bosses have said the flexibility of the unit to respond to incidents across Scotland is proving useful.
READ MORE: Brexit will cause 'massive shortfall' in Police Scotland budget
Speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), Kerr said the reserve force, made up of 300 officers and 12 public support units, started early on Monday, March 18.
It “has already proven to be quite a prescient decision because it’s been operationally very heavily deployed and busy over the course of the last week and a half”, he said. “Last Friday alone there were three almost like flash protests at sites across Edinburgh, both March for Europe and a separate march at the Parliament.”
Kerr said he was concerned about “the very febrile, some very aggressive, some very hostile comments that we have seen on social media sites – [and] making sure that doesn’t translate to actual physical interaction and contact with our politicians as they go about their important business”.
Brexit-related policing costs have been estimated at £17 million but, in the SPA’s papers for the board meeting, SPA chief financial officer James Gray warned that “there is insufficient funding in 2019-20 to deliver the business case in full”.
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