1,000 police officers a day for COP26 in Glasgow

Police Scotland has said that approximately 1,000 officers will be deployed each day during the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, one of the largest policing operations undertaken in Britain.

Officers will be drafted from all divisions across Scotland, supported by a substantial number of colleagues from other UK police services as part of mutual aid arrangements. The security operation involves local policing officers from each of Scotland’s 13 divisions and specialist resources, including firearms officers, dog handlers, mounted branch, search teams and the marine unit.

COP26, the United Nations 26th Conference of the Parties, takes place from 31 October - 12 November at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow and will see world leaders and thousands of delegates come together to tackle climate change issues.

Detailed planning for the event has been under way for more than a year and Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr has said that Police Scotland is prepared for the unique challenges presented by COP26.

Kerr said: “COP26 will see world leaders, delegates, businesses, civil society groups and activists from all over the world come to Glasgow to discuss the future of our planet and take action on climate change. This is a significant operation for any police service and will involve one of the biggest mobilisation of police assets the UK has ever seen.

“Police Scotland has a long history of policing major events from the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships, to G8 and state visits. COP26 is no exception and we look forward to playing our part in this historic event.

“Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation and has a duty under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest, balanced against the rights of the wider community. We will provide a proportionate policing response to any protests and will seek to engage with known protest groups to ensure their rights to peaceful assembly and protest are met. Those wishing to protest have a responsibility to do so within the law and I would remind the small minority of people who may be intent on violent disorder or causing damage that we will deal with them swiftly and robustly.

“As part of our operation, we will implement a variety of security measures to ensure that people living in, working in, or visiting Glasgow feel safe. Police counter terrorist security advisors are already assessing venues and other locations associated with the event to consider any risks. A range of specialist police units will be deployed as part of the security operation, including armed officers, mounted police, the marine unit, road policing and air support. We will have visible security measures in place such as CCTV, hostile vehicle barriers, and specialist search officers and dogs will be searching key locations. While there is no specific threat relating to the event, we will be prepared for any eventuality.”