Cops accused of using heavy-handed tactics during Glasgow 2014

Friendly Games?

Police Scotland has been accused of deploying heavy handed tactics during the £90m Commonwealth Games security operation, that could cause a further erosion of public trust.

Unprecedented measures were rolled out under the auspices of making Glasgow 2014 safe for VIP guests, athletes and spectators.

With two-metre-high fencing thrown up around venues, blanket CCTV covering every inch of the city and legions of officers deployed on the streets, nothing was left to chance.

However, with Chief Constable Sir Stephen House already facing mounting allegations his fledgling force employs increasingly heavy-handed and unaccountable policing tactics, leading civil rights lawyer Aamer Anwar has accused Police Scotland of going too far.

He said: “The concern I have is it’s almost as if the Games were being used to set a precedent for cops on every street corner.

“There does not appear to have been any dialogue with the general public. All of a sudden we have moved from a position where there were no armed police to a far more extreme position.

“The concern I have is the Chief Constable believes he’s set a precedent.”

During the Games, Glaswegians and visitors were subjected to a saturation of security measures. Road blocks were thrown up around the city, armed officers were deployed on roof tops, and families were forced to endure airport style searches for potentially explosive devices.

But it didn’t stop there. Rank and file officers were bolstered further by the armed forces, 17 private security firms and Anglo-Italian arms company Selex ES provided surveillance cameras, security fencing and communications equipment for more than 20 of the venues.

Independent MSP John Finnie, who served as a police officer for 30 years, believes it’s essential such high-profile policing operations are done with consent. He said: “If something had gone wrong at the Games and measures hadn’t been in place then there would have been criticism.

“But, the most important power a police officer has is discretion, and not to immediately reach for their notebook.”

He added: “My understanding is Police Scotland has become very administrative and, as a result, there’s a potential for that informality to be lost. Community relations are built up over a long period of time, but can be broken in 10 minutes by someone being over-zealous.”

For operational reasons the total number of officers deployed during the Commonwealth Games has not yet been released, but it’s expected the final tally will come to more than 10,000.

Officers were drafted in from all over the country, all leave was cancelled and court business was put on hold.

Officials at the Scottish Police Authority have since revealed many officers claim they were forced to work intolerable

64-hour shifts over four-day periods. There have been claims some junior officers wet themselves as they were not allowed comfort breaks.

The officer in charge of Commonwealth policing, Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen, told us before the Games he wanted “the security operation to be an approachable, flexible one, professional but with a smile on its face”.

Yet THAT is exactly what many critics believe was missing from Police Scotland’s approach. It was the Friendly Games, but someone forgot to tell police top brass.

Ultimately, many will see the heavy-handed tactics as a missed opportunity.

One senior plain-clothes CID officer who travelled through to the Games with his young family to watch the gymnastics at the Hydro was “gobsmacked” at the number of officers on duty.

The officer, who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity, said: “There were officers from Police Scotland and British Transport Police everywhere. I came out of the Exhibition Centre train stop near the Hydro and was met by a small army of them, some of them with dogs and, while I personally didn’t find it intimidating, I could see other people did.

The Sunday Post put its findings to the force and, rightly so, they said their officers helped deliver a safe and secure operation which was “the biggest of its kind ever seen”.

Their spokeswoman added: “The safety and security arrangements were entirely appropriate for one of the world’s biggest sporting events, featuring thousands of athletes, officials, spectators and VIPs. Public confidence has been expressed in the security operation through many social media comments made to Police Scotland.

“Police Scotland delivered the safety and security operation at the same time as maintaining local policing across all 14 divisions.”