Police have attended 530 protests so far this year, senior officer says

Police Scotland has policed more than 530 protests in Scotland since the start of the year, a Scottish Police Authority meeting has heard.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell told the board on Wednesday he has seen an increase of around 50% in protests in the last 12 months

He said: “Over 40% of these protests relate to pro-Palestine support, around 20% of them relate to anti-immigration protests, and just over 10% relate to protests in relation to the war in Iran.

“We see lifetime reactions to international politics. We’re really acutely aware that our response both to the immediacy of the protests can impact upon community cohesion, but our role as a broader partner across Scotland is impacted in that space as well as the structures we’ve put in place.”

He said Police Scotland’s current means of handling protests involves local policing and colleagues backed by the force’s national resources.

“There will be exceptions to that, depending on the intelligence picture or the threat, risk and harm, but that’s the starting default position for us,” Mr Waddell said.

“We make significant use of police liaison officers, whose role it is to engage with those organising protests and those who are potentially impacted by it, to make sure that we are operating with a no-surprises approach, and we’re doing our very best to educate and work with people in this space to minimise the impact on our communities.”

Pro-Palestinian groups have also staged demonstrations against the UK Government’s proscription of Palestine Action.

In Falkirk, weekly demonstrations have been held between opposing groups outside the Cladhan Hotel which houses asylum seekers.

Mr Waddell said his team recently met with an independent police advisory council from around the UK to help with their policing of the Cladhan Hotel during protests, and they have also put their own measures in place to help with the issue.

He said: “We have conducted their own internal debrief to make sure we’ve got learning, lessons learned, and that we’ve got the benefit of lessons being shared from England and Wales, which we’re taking forward, and we make use of Jane Gordon, our human rights adviser, as appropriate in this space.”