Scotland 'woefully under prepared' for Paris style terrorist attack

Scotland is “woefully under-equipped, under-resourced and under prepared” for a Paris-style terrorist attack, rank and file police officers have warned.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has called for more armed officers to be carrying their weapons in public following the Paris attack in which 130 people died.

The Scottish Government last night said it does not support the “routine arming of police on our streets”. Police Scotland said the deployment of armed police officers is “continually assessed”.

General Secretary Calum Steele was speaking after a meeting of SPF officials in Glasgow to discuss the current terrorist threat.

The current terror threat level remains at severe, a level the UK has been at for over a year.

Steele said: “We need only look at the recent horrific events in Paris and particularly the tactical capabilities and the speed at which they were deployed to come to the conclusion that Scotland is woefully under-equipped, under-resourced and under prepared.

“We want to be clear that this is not the fault of the exceptional officers prepared to undertake these onerous roles not least as you can’t train for scenarios that you neither have the equipment for or the people to deploy to.

“It is time to accept that Scotland simply cannot afford the luxury of keeping police officers out of sight as by the time they could be deployed could in itself be far too late.”

Senior officers took the decision last October to no longer deploy armed police officers to routine incidents, instead directing that those attached to armed response vehicles (ARVs) only be sent to firearms incidents or where there is a ‘threat to life’.

It came after Police Scotland faced sustained pressure to review their decision to extend a standing firearms authority in place in three legacy forces amid concerns over officers carrying out normal policing duties while still armed.

“Let me be clear, this SPF is not calling for a fully armed police service (at this time) but we do believe we need more trained officers routinely carrying their weapons in public,” added Steele.

“We clearly know our critics will point to events like Paris and observe that an armed police service couldn’t prevent attacks there and we recognise this.

“That being said unarmed officers have absolutely zero containment ability and whilst we restate that we can’t stop every single attack, we believe we should have some form of immediate capabilities to at least be able to try to mitigate the effects of one.”

Cuts to police budgets as part of an “austerity at all costs approach” have seen fewer officers in communities as well as buildings closed, Steele said.

“There can be no doubt that the time has come for a significant investment into training and equipment for the police service in this increasingly uncertain world,” he added, calling for budget cuts to be “stopped and expectations reassessed”.

Assistant Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicolson said people in Scotland “should remain alert, but not alarmed” as he reiterated that, while an attack is “highly likely”, there is no specific threat in relation to Scotland at this time.

“The structures established since Police Scotland, including the Scottish Crime Campus, provide capability and capacity for Counter Terrorism operations to support local policing divisions throughout Scotland,” said Nicolson

“The deployment of armed police officers is continually assessed and the numbers will reflect current information, intelligence and the threat level.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the single service are “actively reviewing their capability to deal with incidents” since the Paris attacks earlier this month, with ministers “in dialogue with them on this”.

She added: “Our police service is highly trained and highly professional. We do not support the routine arming of police on our streets – however, where there are life and death situations it is absolutely right that our police have the operational ability to respond appropriately.”

Graeme Pearson, Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson said: “The early lessons from recent events point in the direction of the need for better law enforcement systems to manage intelligence and intervene early in the planning of these tragedies.

“It’s unfortunate that the SPF should chose now to link domestic issues in relation to the routine arming of police officers with such a devastating event.

“On one hand we have the Scottish Police Authority and Chief Constable alongside the Scottish Government asking us to be vigilant but not fearful on the other the Federation suggesting a resource deficit a gap in our defences.

“ These are times for a unity of purpose and a commitment to maintain our way of life in the face of the threat. These are not times to lobby for resources”