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Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland

16 Recommendations on fifth element of remit - police costs

Introduction and summary

16.1 The fifth area of my remit covers police costs associated with policing processions. Those costs have always been felt to be significant and the first part of this chapter looks at what those costs actually are, the level of policing at processions and the impact that policing processions has on policing resources. I also look briefly at the numbers of arrests at marches and complaints about marches.

16.2 This area of my remit lead to some thought provoking discussion during the course of the Review and raised many interesting issues about the principles of whether organisers should be required to meet the costs of policing. I have concluded that it would be inappropriate, for a number of reasons, to require organisers of marches and parades to contribute to policing costs. However, I also recommend that local authorities should be able to take into account police costs when coming to decisions about march notifications although prohibiting processions on grounds of police costs alone is not appropriate. Finally, I look in this section at practical ways of improving police liaison with and understanding of organisations arranging marches to contribute to more effective operational policing.

Recommendations

Police costs

16.3 It has always been felt that policing processions represents a significant cost to police forces in Scotland. Figures supplied by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) show that the salary costs alone associated with policing over 1,800 processions across Scotland (in 2003/2004) are in the region of 1.5 million. This is the minimum cost to the police service in Scotland. Factoring in employers' pension liability (at 27%) means that police costs for salaries are in the region of 2 million and that figure does not, of course, include additional expenses incurred nor does it cover the costs of incidents arising from processions. If set against the overall annual police budget of 1 billion these figures might not sound all that much. But set in context, 1.5 million would pay for 10,000 days for a constable when that officer could have been involved in other policing duties (although of course, the figure of 1.5 million is made up of the costs of a range of officers). Anecdotally, I am told that policing costs associated with some of the larger marches is the same as the costs of policing an Old Firm game between Rangers and Celtic Football Clubs. The costs of policing such games vary depending on the time, game involved and other external factors at the time, for example a recent game at Hampden cost around 47,000 to police.

16.4 Overall some 62,000 hours (or over 8,200 working days) annually are used in the planning and policing of processions. A wide range of officers are involved, most usually chief inspectors, inspectors, sergeants and constables with occasional involvement from more senior officers. The amount of time necessary to plan and police different sorts of parades varies considerably. On average, an Orange walk or Republican parade might take around 39 hours, a procession by a youth organisation seven hours, a community event (a fête or a gala) 31 hours, a protest (anti-war or a union demonstration) 55 hours and a political march (CND or a far right party) 40 hours. However, the average figures do not do justice to the different levels of resources necessary depending on the size of the procession parade and the assessment of the associated risk to public order and public safety.

16.5 The detailed tables which follow show:

• the overall costs per category of parade - which shows the 700 Orange/Republican parades cost 345,732 to police, the 146 youth parades cost 63,712 to police, the 884 community processions 275,870 to police, the 106 protest processions cost 490,154 to police and the 12 political processions 359,080;
• a force by force breakdown of the total number of parades with which each force has dealt with over the year 1 September 2003 and 1 August 2004 and the number of planning hours which take place in advance of the procession and the actual number of policing hours at each procession - which shows 27,240 policing hours for Orange/Republican parades, 1,047 policing hours for youth parades, 27,449 policing hours for community processions, 5,848 hours for protest processions and 485 hours for political processions; and
• the proportion of parades and policing hours each police force deals with and the proportion of costs for each force based on the hours each force takes - which show Strathclyde Police has 56% of the costs, Lothian and Borders Police 19% of the costs, Fife Constabulary 13% of the costs; Tayside Police 4% of the costs, Northern Constabulary 3% of the costs, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary with around 2% of the costs, Central Scotland Police with around 1.5% of the costs and Grampian Police with 0.5% of the costs. Percentages have been rounded.

16.6 The statistics relating to the numbers of parades which require police involvement will differ from the figures supplied from local authorities used in Chapter 7 - The Number of Marches and Parades although they are broadly in line with those figures. It is important to note that they have been collected over a different time period. They also relate to all processions which required a policing presence. Local authorities supplied figures relating to the processions notified to them under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 whereas the police may have been involved in providing policing resources to processions arranged by groups which local authorities treat as exempt.

16.7 The figures must be regarded as an indicative only. They show the processions which had a central planning involvement by forces. There will have been additional instances where processions took place where local officers provided services with minimal abstraction as part of that day's duties and these have not been included in the overall costs.

16.8 Clearly the costs do not fall equally across the eight police forces. The types of processions they deal with and the time associated with them varies considerably. I have broken the costs down according to police force area based on the total policing hours taken up on the policing of parades.

Table to show the overall cost of each category of parade

Notes

• Officers rates are calculated based on annual salaries at September 2004 and are based on internal rates for Strathclyde police and reflect the costs of employing an officer on operation duty;
• There is no employers' pension liability included in these figures - which would add 27%;
• The costs do not include any additional expenses, for example travel costs, incurred;
• The costs do not include any costs related to incidents arising from processions, for example incidents occurring after the procession has finished.

Table showing a force by force breakdown of the number of parades, advance planning hours and policing hours spent at each parade

Table showing total proportion of parades in each police force area and proportion of total costs

(Note - percentages rounded)

Level of policing at processions

16.9 The nature of the procession dictates the number of planning hours and policing hours needed to handle the event successfully. Some processions can be easily policed by a couple of officers as part of their duty that day, others take a great number of officers away from their usual duties. A few actual examples of recent processions from Strathclyde Police force help to illustrate the variety of resources required:

• The Scottish Republican Socialist Movement notified their intention to hold a parade to commemorate the memory of John MacLean, a former member of the Socialist Workers Party. The notification was submitted on 14 September giving over six weeks notice of a procession to take place on 27 November which would involve a march and rally of 100 people including a Republican flute band. The supervision of arrangements for the parade was done through a dedicated police officer at the Operational Planning Unit. Policing on the day involved eight officers: an inspector, a sergeant and seven constables. These officers were from the Division and diverted from other operational street duties;
• The Springburn Ulster Defenders organised their annual anniversary parade to take place in the evening starting at 6.30pm on 25 June. The procession involved 100 people accompanied by a Flute band. The procession was escorted by six officers: one sergeant and five constables;
• The County Grand Orange Lodge of Glasgow holds an annual parade to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne. The County Lodge submits at least 18 separate notifications for the various processions which form the annual parade. The notifications are usually submitted months in advance. Through the course of the day some 1500 participants including 15 flute bands march through the streets of the south side of Glasgow. Supervision of the parade is arranged through a number of staff in the Operational Planning Unit and involves weeks of work in advance of the day. On the day itself some 236 officers are involved: six inspectors, 28 sergeants and 202 constables. These officers are from the Division and are diverted from other operational street duties. To ensure that sufficient resources are available for normal policing requirements, other officers have rest days cancelled; and
• The West of Scotland Band Association organised a procession in Wishaw in March 2004. There were 425 officers involved on the day; one superintendent, two chief inspectors, 17 inspectors, 51 sergeants, 354 constables.

16.10 The police deploys officers according to the perceived risk presented by the procession to public safety and to public order based on their risk assessment informing the operational policing plan. It is important that the police have sufficient officers present to deal with any incidents that arise during the procession.

The impact on resources

16.11 The police, like other organisations, have finite resources on which they can draw. They must balance the competing demands on their resources. When a procession poses a high risk to public disorder, the police will need to deploy or have available large numbers of police which can be a burden on budgets and resources. Officers who are detailed on procession duties are accommodated by means of duty, working rest days and overtime. From time to time it means that holidays and rest days need to be cancelled disrupting officers' personal lives. There are added costs if shifts need to be changed at short notice and overtime or disturbance payments incurred. Ensuring there are officers available to police the procession also has implications in abstractions which cannot be calculated financially, as an officer on duty at a procession is not available for other duties. Sometimes for larger parades, officers need to be drawn from other areas. Such abstractions require the realignment of police officers' duties. In extreme circumstances there could be detrimental effects on normal policing levels in communities. There is no doubt that ensuring processions are effectively policed can, on occasion, cause significant operation difficulties in planning to ensure that communities continue to enjoy a consistency of policing cover. The objective for the police is to ensure that there is a continuity of policing across their force area.

Arrests at marches

16.12 In general, the conduct of parades does not cause major concerns for the police. Participants follow the conditions set by many police forces on the conduct of processions. In 2003, ACPOS report that there were 119 arrests at Orange walks and Republican parades, those which are most often perceived by the public to be the most threatening and where most trouble occurs. It appears that the vast majority of these arrests were not of people participating in the parades but of those onlookers following the procession. All but nine of these arrests (which were in Central Police area) took place in Strathclyde. Given the number of marches that take place, that is not a large number of arrests. Most of these arrests are likely to be for minor street disorder offences.

16.13 Recent analysis by the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal service looked at 108 arrests that took place between June 2003 and December 2003 for offences aggravated by religious prejudice. In most cases the aggravation was added to offences of breach of the peace and assault. Of those 108 cases, 16 were found to have taken place at marches.

Complaints following marches

16.14 Like local authorities, the police receive very few formal complaints about marches. Following the County Grand Orange Lodge of Glasgow's annual parade in Glasgow in July 2004, the police received a small number of complaints from people who had been shopping in the city centre and who were upset at being held up by the procession. They also received two letters from the public complaining that the parade portrayed a poor image of the City due to its aggressive nature and drunken followers. There were no letters of complaint received following the annual Battle of the Boyne parade which, in 2004, took place in Blantyre involving around 12,000 participants.

Should organisers be required to pay for policing costs?

16.15 This element of my remit prompted an interesting debate about whether organisers should be required to pay for the policing costs associated with their parades. Views were, in general, mixed but strongly held. Some people thought that some organisers should pay or make a contribution to costs or else be allowed a certain number of 'free' parades, meeting the costs once that threshold had been reached. Others felt the principle of requiring people to meet policing costs was entirely wrong in a democratic society and, in effect, required people to pay to exercise their right to freedom of assembly.

16.16 The results of the telephone survey showed that over three quarters of people thought that organisers of political protests, Orange walks and Republican parades should be required to pay police costs and local authority costs. Around half thought organisers of gala events and processions in relation to local issues should also be required to meet those costs. There was general agreement that organisers should be required to meet the costs of repairing damage and the costs of insurance. In contrast, almost 50% thought that requiring people to contribute to costs would limit freedom of speech.

16.17 I do not think that it is appropriate to require people to make a contribution to the policing costs. I believe that policing costs must continue to be met from policing budgets. Any form of charging would undermine an individual's right to the freedom of peaceful assembly and potentially prejudice political freedoms. It would create a two-tier system of those who could afford to pay to process and those who could not. Smaller community groups or small charity or protest groups would not be able to meet those costs. Neither do I support a pro-rata system where organisers contribute if costs are over a certain amount or a quota system allowing a certain number of marches for free and then requiring organisers to contribute. The underlying principle is fundamentally wrong in my view and, in practical terms, it would be extremely difficult to operate. The police must be able to deploy the number of officers they consider appropriate to police the procession. It is important not to restrict that necessary operational policing flexibility by issues about charging. Imposing quotas could quickly lead to unhelpful disputes over policing levels.

16.18 The parallel has been drawn with the requirement on football clubs to pay for policing within their grounds. However, football clubs are commercial organisations which charge their fans an entrance fee to watch games. Police associations have also been looking at charging for police services provided to various events, applying a sliding scale of contributions according to the type of event whether it is commercial (for example pop concerts or sporting events), non-commercial (charity events or community fairs) or national community events (constitutional events). However, I consider there to be a difference in charging for people exercising their right of peaceful assembly. In principle, I think organisers of processions should not be required to meet policing costs.

16.19 Organisers should, however, work with the police to help reduce the policing costs associated with their processions. My recommendations, which look at ensuring effective and cooperative stewarding, Chapter 15 - Numbers and Effects on Communities (recommendation 32) should be helpful in allowing the police to look critically at the resources they need to deploy at processions. Requiring organisers to take out a behaviour bond when the risk assessment shows the possibility of damage to be high should also be helpful in underlining to organisers their responsibility for the conduct of the participants in their procession.

Recommendation 36

• Organisers of processions should not be required to meet policing costs.

Should police costs be taken into account when reaching decisions on processions?

16.20 There will always be competing demands on police resources and some processions demand a very significant burden on those resources. However, the human rights framework requires States to act on occasion to protect people's right to peaceful assembly, ensuring that, in cases where a demonstration could be considered to give offence, action is taken to ensure that participants do not fear that they will be subject to physical violence for holding their views. In itself, I do not think that banning a procession on grounds of cost alone is sufficient, rather it is the implication that the procession has for public order and safety. It is, however, proportionate to consider policing costs in coming to a decision about a notification and whether there are appropriate restrictions that can be imposed to reduce those costs to more proportionate levels. For example, changing the start time of a parade so that it does not clash with other events requiring a police presence, ensuring that it avoids sensitive times of day, or considering whether an alternative route would materially affect the number of police officers necessary and the associated costs.

Recommendation 37

• Local authorities should consider relevant police costs when reaching decisions about march notifications.

Ways of improving police liaison with marching organisations

16.21 The police in Scotland have had a long history of successfully handling the many processions which take place every year. The statistics show that there are few arrests and few formal complaints associated with marches. Operationally policing is both effective and efficient. Over time, the police have developed good relationships with organisers and try as far as possible to reach appropriate accommodations with them. In turn, organisers respect the police's role and follow what has been agreed and their instructions. That most marches pass off with little incident is testament to the commitment of the police, the organisers and participants. My recommendations should help to reinforce this success by formalising some of the discussions and ensuring there are opportunities to discuss and ease out any difficulties before they become grievances. It is important also that the police continue to learn from previous experiences and to develop their understanding of reasons why people want to march. This will build on initiatives that they already have in place to develop their understanding of different communities, such as Strathclyde Police's campaign 'Understanding Islam' which aims to promote a better appreciation of Islam amongst their officers.

16.22 Current operational briefing, provided for officers involved in processions on the day, is very good at explaining the human rights legislation and other legislation which applies. There is an opportunity to build into the briefing more information about the background culture and specific reasons for the march, ensuring that the police have a more rounded understanding of the marching organisations' perspective. This should help officers better understand likely flashpoints where trouble might occur and the likely potential reactions of onlookers and the community. March organisers have a role to play here too in explaining more about their organisation and the purpose behind the march.

Recommendation 38

• Police forces should ensure that there is appropriate briefing provided for officers policing processions and that it includes information about the reasons for the procession and the relevant background to the organisation involved.

Fifth element of remit: police costs - summary of recommendations

Recommendation 36

• Organisers of processions should not be required to meet policing costs.

Recommendation 37

• Local authorities should consider relevant police costs when reaching decisions about march notifications.

Recommendation 38

• Police forces should ensure that there is appropriate briefing provided for officers policing processions and that it includes information about the reasons for the procession and the relevant background to the organisation involved.

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