THE debate over arming Scotland’s police officers is set to be reignited this week in the wake of the Westminster terror attack, with rank-and-file officers having an emergency session on carrying guns at the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) conference tomorrow.
Though not on the original agenda of the conference, it is now a certainty to debate when the federation meet at Trump Turnberry.
SPF general secretary Calum Steele said there would be a focus on Police Scotland’s ability to combat terror attacks.
Steele told BBC Scotland that the conference had now taken on much more significance.
He added: “It is inconceivable that in light of the events that have taken place in London over the past number of days, that delegates attending for the Scottish Police Federation conference would not be minded to have significant debates and discussions round about the state of readiness for policing in Scotland and how that is likely to impact on them as individuals.
“I have said repeatedly that the issue of firearms is a tactical response arguably towards the end of the scale and once something has taken place rather than trying to prevent and mitigate incidents in the first place.”
“Ultimately terrorism or the fight against terrorism does not start a few yards from the intended target, it starts with communities. And the importance of having police officers embedded in our communities, building trusting relationships, gathering intelligence and helping communities thrive is where the real fight against terrorism begins - and not by bolstering the numbers of tactical officers to deal with the event after it has taken place or as it is taking place.
“Surely it’s much better to invest in prevention than response.
‘‘Although in saying that, clearly it is vital that we have adequate tactical responses for the event of something going wrong as we saw in London.”
Police Scotland announced last year that it would be increasing its number of firearms officers by around a third in response to heightened fears.
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