CONCERNS have been raised that vigilante street patrol groups in Glasgow risk being mistaken for police officers.
It comes after Knights Templar International (KTI) – a far-right and militant Christian nationalist organisation run by Britain First co-founder Jim Dowson – revealed it will be providing funding to the groups, providing them with stab vests, bodycams and high-visibility security jackets.
The donation was announced on the Facebook page of Scots Active, which undertakes street patrols under the guise of protecting the local community and frequently attends anti-immigration protests in Glasgow.
The Daily Record has previously reported that members of Scots Active – who have been accused of targeting migrants – have a WhatsApp group titled "Get These C**** Out!", and The National has also seen evidence of the account referring to migrants as "c****".
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In the Facebook post, similar groups including LJS Security and North2South are also named as recipients.
The Ferret has reported that KTI – in a separate video – claims to have members in the UK, Eastern Europe, Canada, and the United States, whom Dowson thanked for providing financial support for the Scottish patrol groups.
But reacting to the donation and the post shared by Scots Active (below), in which two of the high-vis jackets can be seen, the Scottish Greens have expressed concern that the groups are “impersonating police officers”.
“Fake police officers patrolling our streets at night, intimidating people going about their daily lives, won’t make our streets any safer. If anything, this will cause more heightened tensions, anxiety and division in our communities,” Greens MSP Maggie Chapman told The National.
“By stoking tensions amongst our communities, hateful groups can justify to a wider audience their attacks and harassment on people of colour in our cities and towns.”
She added: “Let’s make it very clear: these ‘patrols’ aren’t about keeping women and girls safe; they are about targeting already marginalised people and making them feel unsafe in their own communities. The Scottish Government should take action against these bogus cops to actually keep our streets safe from their dangerous patrols.”
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The MSP went on: “It will only be a matter of time until a real emergency takes place and someone in desperate need of help finds an unqualified, fake police officer wandering the streets who is unable or unwilling to help them.
“We simply shouldn’t allow cosplay police to patrol our streets.”
In response, North2South said: “We are well noticeable to the public we wear hi vis vest with our patrol name on the back on front also. (sic) So definitely not the same as police. Do your research please.”
Scots Active, KTI, LJS Security and Police Scotland were also approached for comment.
