Donald Trump visit to Scotland means police response times could 'double'
Police response times could "double" as a result of Donald Trump's visit to Scotland this weekend, the public has been warned.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said today policing across the country will be "seriously affected" by the arrival of the US President at the end of the week. The organisation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said it was inevitable the scale of the security operation required would have a knock-on effect.
David Kennedy, SPF chief, said: "Anyone who says it won't affect it (policing in Scotland), I can't believe that's the case. It will affect it.
"You may be waiting in the past for so many hours for a police officer to arrive, that could double now, you may be waiting for more time for them to arrive. Obviously, emergency calls will take priority, but it will affect communities in Scotland.
"We've been asking long and weary to have more police officers in our communities in Scotland and all this does is take them away from that at this time."
Trump is expected to land at Prestwick airport before spending time at his nearby five-star hotel at Turnberry. He will later fly to Aberdeenshire to open a second golf course at his Menie Estate.
Asked if the quality of policing will be impacted by the visit, Kennedy added: 'It will be seriously affected, it has to be. There's not enough police officers for it not to be affected.'
Concerns have also been raised about the cost of the policing operation, with officers likely to cancel rest days to ensure adequate staffing.
John Swinney said yesterday that talks are ongoing between Police Scotland and the Scottish and UK governments on funding
Kennedy also reiterated calls from Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond for those seeking to protest to do so peacefully.
'All I would ask is for protesters to remember the police officers that are there to protect them, make sure that any protests are safe and are free from violence, that is all the police officers want.
'We are used to policing protests in this country, we do it very well, and I hope the protesters realise that police officers in Scotland are friendly and we just want people and the public to be safe.'
Bond said: 'A policing plan will be in place to maintain public safety, balance rights to peaceful protest and minimise disruption.
'The visit will require a significant police operation using local, national and specialist resources from across Police Scotland, supported by colleagues from other UK police forces as part of mutual aid arrangements.
'Officers make sacrifices every day to keep people safe, and their dedication and professionalism is the reason we manage to deliver significant operations.'
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