Police Scotland paid officers £500,000 in compensation for not being able to get time off last month.
With US President Donald Trump visiting Scotland in July, and his Vice President JD Vance also holidaying in the country in August, Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors said it has been a “very busy summer for policing in Scotland”.
She said Police Scotland, together with others, including police forces across the UK, had “ensured safety and security across a range of events”, most notably Mr Trump and Mr Vance’s visits.
Donald Trump enjoying a round of golf at Trump Turnberry last month. Pic: PA
DCC Connors claimed that at the same time as such events, “day-to-day policing continued for our communities”.
She told a Scottish Police Authority (SPA) meeting in Glasgow on Thursday: “It does put pressure on our resources and our staff who we know are very tired after a long summer.”
Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said that in July alone the force spent £500,000 to “buy back” time off in lieu (toil) from officers who had been unable to take this time due to the demands on the police.
Police officers surrounding Trump Turnberry. Pic: PA
Police Scotland mounted a major operation when Mr Trump spent several days in Scotland in July, in which he held talks with both UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney as he visited his golf resorts in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire.
Less than a month later, officers were needed to help with security arrangements when Mr Vance and his family flew in as part of their holiday.
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DCC Speirs explained police can either receive overtime payments, or if given toil have three months to take this before the force buys the time back from them.
He said: “Regrettably, the spend for us in the month of July alone was £0.5m because officers weren’t able to get the time back, which to me demonstrates there is a real demand on the service and it is largely through events.
“The trend around toil is quite significant, so we will continue to look at that on a monthly basis. It is a growing challenge for us, to manage that element of the budget.
“We don’t want officers at work when they should be off, so it is regrettable that we’re in that position of having to compensate them through payment for things like toil.”
His comments came as DCC Connors told the SPA board about the pressures on the force, saying police are dealing with an “increase in the volume of challenging protests and counter-protests”.
In addition, she said there are now more football matches that require to be policed.
She said: “Games that would be police-free, we are now having to police.”
