Public support for Police Scotland’s approach to policing COP26

Sixty per cent of respondents supported the policing approach of Police Scotland during the climate change summit in Glasgow, despite the “difficult challenges” the force faced.

Police Scotland said its approach sought to deliver a safe and secure event for more than 100 international Heads of State, all delegates, participants, visitors and the people of Glasgow.

The force also aimed to “actively facilitate the right of individuals to peaceful protest and demonstration” while continuing to deliver “effective and responsive policing” across the whole of Scotland during the event.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: “COP26 was held safely and securely and the conference was able to consider the vital issue of climate change.

“Police Scotland led one of the largest ever UK policing operations and we consistently demonstrated our commitment to upholding people’s human rights. There was no significant violence, disorder or damage, no serious injuries and relatively few arrests.

“I am grateful to everyone who played their part in ensuring a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.”

The survey of 1,000 citizens in the Greater Glasgow area was commissioned by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to gather public views, attitudes and insights into “this period of very visible and intense policing in their city”. Mutual aid provision from across the UK saw up to 8,000 additional officers deployed in Scotland during the event.

The findings showed:

• 77 per cent thought that policing campaigners and protestors at events like COP26 was a difficult challenge for the police;
• 63 per cent thought Police Scotland had performed well in making sure marches and protests during conference were well organised;
• 65 per cent said Police Scotland had done well in making sure that those on marches and protests were allowed to make their voices heard; and
• 56 per cent thought Police Scotland had done well to limit any additional disruption caused by peaceful but unlawful protest tactics such as road blocking.

Tom Halpin, chair of the SPA’s COP26 Oversight Group, said: “The Authority gave its full support to the thoughtful rights based approach taken by the chief constable of Police Scotland to the policing of COP26 in November.

“The policing of this huge global event was the result of very many months of careful planning and preparation by Police Scotland and also with the Authority. The insights from this polling suggest that the public in Glasgow supported the approach which is welcomed.”

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken added: “Policing COP26 was an unprecedented challenge – and, from a city perspective, the impact on the day-to-day safety of our communities was every bit as important as the security of VIPs and managing protests.

“The fact that a strong majority of people across the region clearly believe all of those competing demands were managed well is another indication of how successfully Glasgow performed as host of one of the world’s biggest events.”

Across the questions asked, up to a quarter of respondents answered either ‘don’t know’ or ‘have no view’. When the responses of those who expressed a view were analysed the support levels are higher.

This representative sample of people living in the Greater Glasgow area found that 80 per cent of those respondents who expressed an opinion supported the policing approach taken during COP26. Support was greatest in the over 65 age group at 92 per cent and remained high at 60 per cent in the 16 to 34 age group. In general, women were more supportive of the approach at 84 per cent with men at 75 per cent.

The survey also sought views on the key aims of the policing operation – 84 per cent of respondents who expressed a view thought Police Scotland did very well or well in delivering a safe conference for the people of Glasgow and 89 per cent thought the same was true in delivering a safe conference for outside visitors.

When asked about the efforts Police Scotland made to limit the additional disruption caused by peaceful but unlawful protest tactics, such as road blocking, 68 per cent of respondents who expressed an opinion thought this had been done very well or well with 74 per cent of women supporting this view compared with 63 per cent of men who expressed a view.

In terms of balancing the ‘competing interests’, 66 per cent of those who expressed a view strongly agreed or agreed that the policing approach recognised the range of interest involved and 85 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that policing campaigners and protestors at events such as COP26 was a “difficult challenge” for the police.