Police in firing line over Highland guns policy as chief stands firm
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THE decision to arm up to 30 police officers in the Highlands is final - despite an outcry from councillors.
Elaine Ferguson, the national force’s divisional commander for specialist services and tactical firearms commander, said the Chief Constable’s decision came down to the number of rifles and shotguns in private hands and strategic threat and risk assessments.
More than 40,000 guns are owned in the Highlands where gun ownership per head is one of the highest in Scotland.
Chief Superintendent Ferguson said: “The Standing Order gets reviewed every quarter. I would doubt that the information would change so significantly within the next few quarters.”
The senior police officer journeyed from Glasgow to meet with councillors behind closed-doors earlier this week after the council voted overwhelmingly to call for a rethink of Police Scotland’s controversial gun policy.
Access was given to just one newspaper. The Scottish Provincial Press group, which owns the Ross-shire Journal, the Inverness Courier and 13 other Highland titles with a circulation near 80,000, was barred from entering the meeting by police press agents — sparking a raft of criticism online from the public.
Highland MSP and former police officer John Finnie said there was “something badly wrong with Police Scotland’s judgment, particularly, on this issue, which is of great importance to the public”.
David Alston, the council’s deputy leader, said a kitting-up demonstration by two police constables showed that it only took a couple of minutes.
“We saw what was involved in them putting on the protective clothing and loading the weapon. A lot has been made of the potential delay but I think it was clear that if the Standing Order was in the form that allowed officers to keep the guns locked in the boot of the car the delay in putting them on would be about two to two-and-a-half minutes.
"That’s how long it took them to check the weapons, load them and put them into the holster. It’s not a 20-minute delay.”
In an interview after the meeting, the Chief Superintendent insisted it would take longer if the officers were arming themselves under pressure.
It could taken up to 15 minutes because they would have to find a quiet spot and listen to a briefing. “What you do not want them to have at that time is some distraction going on around them.”
She said constables took courses in tactical and decision-making skills to make sure they were as safe as possible on the streets but no amount of instruction could help them decide whether to pull the trigger.
“That officer at that moment in time believes that somebody is about to kill or seriously injure a member of the public, another police officer or themselves. You can’t give somebody advice on that.”
Ken MacMillan from the Inverness & District Trades Union Council (STUC) is writing to Kenny MacAskill the Justice Secretary on the police guns issue. He is opposed to the Standing Authority.
He said: “This policy is just Charlton Heston-style policing. The STUC is neutral on the referendum question but I think this is tied up in the referendum. The SNP is in charge and I want to know if this is a foretaste of things to come if they win the referendum."
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP said today: “Armed police officers carrying out routine duties is fundamentally at odds with the principles of community policing. It is little wonder that there is real disquiet about this change. It completely changes the nature of the relationship between citizens and police officers.
"It is wrong that the view of the democratically elected Highland Council is not being listened to. Scottish Liberal Democrats warned that Scotland’s national police force would see power stripped from local communities. SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill consistently told us that a national force would continue to be flexible to local needs.
"Well, this is a real test of the justice secretary's mettle. Will he support the call for a review of this policy or will he yet again ignore the community and leave us to conclude that local responsiveness is a mirage?”
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