Chief Constable honours long service police officers and staff in Highlands and Islands

13th May 2014

The work of police officers and staff in the Highlands and Islands plays a vital role in keeping people safe, Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said today.

The Chief Constable was visiting the divisional headquarters of Highland and Islands Division in Inverness today (Tuesday 13 May 2014) to attend a ceremony honouring the long service of police officers and staff. He also met dedicated police firearms officers in the Division.

Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said:"I am delighted to be in Inverness today to recognise the long service of our officers and staff who play such an important role in protecting our communities and keeping people safe.

"Every member of our service contributes to protecting our communities and tackling the issues that people tell us are important to them where they live. Our local policing teams work closely with the communities they serve day in and day out and are a key part of local community life.

The Chief Constable also responded to criticisms from local politicians about operational policing tactics in the Highlands, including armed police officers.

He said:"Despite recent misrepresentations, the deployment of armed policing officers, where necessary and proportionate, has been a longstanding feature of policing across Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands. Previous shootings and other criminal incidents in the area demonstrate a real and continued operational need for a specially trained immediate response as and when required.

"Provision to enable a small number of specially trained Armed Response Vehicle officers to overtly deploy sidearms and other weapons as considered necessary allows them to deal with immediate threats without any delay. This means officers no longer have to stop on the way to an incident and arm themselves, a process that can take up to 20 minutes. They are now able to go directly to a scene and provide that immediate protection, which avoids unnecessary risk to the public and unarmed police officers."

"Earlier today I took the opportunity to meet with a number of officers who are on deployed on ARV duties, thanking them for their dedicated service and assuring them I will not do anything that will prevent them from continuing to protect members of the public and fellow police officers."

"Our officers have the right to be able to access specialist resource to protect their communities as and when they need it. The continued inference, for example, that the use of police horses are akin to anti-riot tactics is simply incorrect and ignores the effectiveness that these assets have in reassuring the public and reducing crime.

"Our officers can face daily challenges in protecting our communities. I would expect them to have at their disposal all the specialist resource and tactical support they need to help keep people safe."

Highland and Islands Divisional Commander Julian Innes said:"Our officers and staff are our greatest asset. By bringing together our local specialist knowledge with the access to specialist resources available across the country, we can ensure we provide the best level of service to our local communities as and when they need it."