Police Scotland

[Seymour M Hersh]

The BBC, no doubt.

 

I think it was, so?

[Phil Dunphy]

It hasn't been a success.  Sturgeon and the two justice ministers who have presided over this cluster muck need to wake up.  They are trying to hide behind their statistics as politicians normally do, which makes it look like a success. When in fact police officers and the general public KNOW it's not working, especially with House in charge.  The public are not getting the service they deserve and are entitled to. As long as House and the politicians in charge keep to the party line and deny their failings then the service won't move forward and the police service in Scotland will most definitely be in crisis.  

 

In my opinion it would have been best to go from 8 police forces to 3 or 4.  Policing issues in Glasgow are very different than Edinburgh, which in turn is very different to that in the remote areas of the Highlands and Islands.  This one size fits all that House has been hired to implement isn't working just now, especially when it is driven by a man who will not listen and wants everyone to 'conform to his way of doing things'.  Police Scotland could very well work if someone with an open mind, who listens to his senior staff and is flexible with the way things are done in different areas of Scotland, comes in.

 

This perfectly sums up my experience from people i know who serve in the police.

 

The one size fits all attitude doesn't work I'm afraid.

[jake]

If it is fact then why do you suppose that's the case ?

 

I can see being a Police Officer now as being more stressful than ever

 

Because its easy to take time of when your paid for it.

Dont give me all that stress crap.

Traffic wardens take more abuse.

The amount of corrupt police who still get a big fat pension is out of order.

They remind me of stavros the leader of the daleks.

Never out their cars.

They do everything at a snails pace like most govt employees.

[jake]

That's a bit of a sweeping statement but there is a very small element of truth in it.

 

Lots of officers, especially the longer serving ones, suffer from 'burn out' i.e. years and years of high stress operational police work takes its toll and you just cant keep the level up.

If a cop does 30 years you'll be lucky if you get 23 good years. Its rare to find one who can work at full pelt for the full 30. If you want to equate that to simply being lazy then so be it.

Its got worse, far worse, since the forces amalgamated.

 

Sickness levels in the public sector are always pretty high. That's partly because, unlike most of the private sector, you get paid the same if you are off sick. That's open to abuse and there are always a certain element of people who 'malinger' and take advantage of the system.

 

Having said that we have a call centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh where the sickness rates are 32%, most of whom are off with stress related illnesses. All properly medically supervised and interviewed by medical officers (doctors) the police employ as soon as someone reports being off with stress. No doubt some are taking the piss, but there is a very serious problem when you have that level of sickness.

 

Lets not forget how bloody hard these jobs are. At that call centre they take horrendous levels of abuse from the public day after day, night after night, week after week. Its hardly any wonder that they start to fall of the perches, especially now given the lack of staff around them, the absence of leadership and support and the constant pressure that brings with it.

 

Boo hoo call centres stress.

Pah.

They get paid full pay for first 6 months.

Thats wwhyit has high levels of sick ddas for stress.

Dr im stressed blah blah blah.

Take two weeks of come back see me then.

 

 

Ive no doubt theres some good cops out there but theres a lot who do not deserve the uniform.

Not that id know first hand but words of my mates brother n law.

 

People police themsrlves .

Because you cant get a policeman out his car .

[Sten Guns]

Jake you're awful bitter.

 

Been in trouble a few times eh?

[Craig Gordons Gloves]

I get the feeling that Jake isn't a fan of the polis or believes that it's stressful being faced with aggression and threat on a regular basis as well as being exposed to the depths that humanity can sink to against their fellow humans.

[Ray Gin]

People police themsrlves .

Because you cant get a policeman out his car .

 

[GforGallo]

Was always on to drink on the street in Edinburgh, got stopped for it on Friday night (standing outside the conan doyle) when did that get changed?

[Bert Le Clos]

Thats simply not true. Only figures I can find is from the Scotsman saying over Scotland crime is down but housebreaking is up 14% in Edinburgh but given the sensationalist source I'd take that with a pinch of salt.

 

It simply is true. However the HB team was disbanded around 18 months ago. It is now back up and running and it's disbandment has nothing to do with the recent spate of housebreakings.

 

There have been additional resources dedicated to dealing with the housebreaking problem since around February and it has made a huge difference. Unfortunately these things tend to go in cycles and no matter how many resources you have, if 10-15 recidivist housebreakers are released from prison around the same time housebreaking levels are going to go through the roof until you get a handle on those committing them again.

 

However when the housebreaking team was disbanded around 18 months ago housebreakings went up in certain parts of Edinburgh by far more than the 50% mentioned by Seymour M Hersh.

 

 

My opinion on Police Scotland as a whole is you can either try to make huge budget savings, or you can implement massive force wide procedural and policy changes. You cannot do both at the same time. 

 

What PS have tried to do is make massive savings on the back of making sweeping changes to how each former force works. In a lot, but certainly not all cases, it has been to adopt the Glasgow approach to dealing with things. Expecting Police to completely change how they deal with incidents on the back of increased workloads and less resources due to budget cuts was always going to end up in disaster.

[CollyWolly]

Jake you're awful bitter.

Been in trouble a few times eh?

Jake clearly hasn't a day's stress in his life, or a bad day at work, or been abused for no good reason other than who you worked for. Or gone home in tears unable to face the next day of the constant shit that gets thrown at them.

 

I have family, close family, who do that job. I have seen what they were like before and I see what they are like now. Its heartbreaking.

If you don't like the police and you've had a bad experience at their hands then I understand your lack of sympathy. Hell you might even be celebrating what they are going through. But at the end of the day these are people with no agenda employed to answer our shitty abusive drunken phone calls, who tolerate being called a 'see you next Tuesday' on a daily basis and for the most part they do it because they are helping people out who need it.

 

The police are horrendously badly run, and everyone ought to be calling for Stephen House to be removed. He has lost the dressing room and he is unfit for the post. His staff know it. His senior team know it. The media know it but daren't run with it. The government know it but they daren't sack him because you just don't do that. But he has to go.

[siegementality]

It should be impossible but I seem to be able to rearrange the name Jake, and get the word Raver.

[jake]

Make faces accuse me of being a criminal .

So what.

 

People do police themselves.

 

Police pick up the pieces.

 

Resources should be put into child protection and halting violence in the home.

 

Not cars not helicopters not political policing.

 

To often policing in this country is concentrated on working class and not the real harm done to society.

 

So cant be bothered to scroll back to see your name .But poster who posts faces rammit .

[jake]

It should be impossible but I seem to be able to rearrange the name Jake, and get the word Raver.

 

Ooo ooo what rapier like wit

[jake]

The patter aimed at me on here is like sitting in the canteen at fettes.

 

Yeeeeeeeesssss !!!!!

[jake]

Jake clearly hasn't a day's stress in his life, or a bad day at work, or been abused for no good reason other than who you worked for. Or gone home in tears unable to face the next day of the constant shit that gets thrown at them.

 

I have family, close family, who do that job. I have seen what they were like before and I see what they are like now. Its heartbreaking.

If you don't like the police and you've had a bad experience at their hands then I understand your lack of sympathy. Hell you might even be celebrating what they are going through. But at the end of the day these are people with no agenda employed to answer our shitty abusive drunken phone calls, who tolerate being called a 'see you next Tuesday' on a daily basis and for the most part they do it because they are helping people out who need it.

 

The police are horrendously badly run, and everyone ought to be calling for Stephen House to be removed. He has lost the dressing room and he is unfit for the post. His staff know it. His senior team know it. The media know it but daren't run with it. The government know it but they daren't sack him because you just don't do that. But he has to go.

 

I get called a ***** everday so what.

As for stress what a load of shite.

Have a look at stress.

Soldiers getting sfa never mind 6 months full pay for being called a *****.

The police get no sympathy ifbyou are not hard enough dont join.

There in lies the problem.

[Craig Gordons Gloves]

I get called a ***** everday so what.

As for stress what a load of shite.

Have a look at stress.

Soldiers getting sfa never mind 6 months full pay for being called a *****.

The police get no sympathy ifbyou are not hard enough dont join.

There in lies the problem.

Feel free to take this the way it's meant, your talking shite man.

 

"If you're not hard enough don't join". Tell me Jake, what does this actually mean? Does it mean people need to 'man up' or does it mean that only people who like a fight should join the polis.

 

Doesn't surprise me that you get called a #### most days.

[rudolfskai]

They're ******s anyway, who cares?

[Bert Le Clos]

Make faces accuse me of being a criminal .

So what.

 

People do police themselves.

 

Police pick up the pieces.

 

Resources should be put into child protection and halting violence in the home.

 

Not cars not helicopters not political policing.

 

To often policing in this country is concentrated on working class and not the real harm done to society.

 

So cant be bothered to scroll back to see your name .But poster who posts faces rammit .

 

You mean something along the lines of launching a National Child Abuse Investigation Unit and naming tackling domestic abuse as one of the forces key priorities?

 

There's a whole lot wrong with Police Scotland but actually their priorities in terms of tackling crime are pretty much bang on.

 

I don't know anyone who knows anything about policing who doesn't think a helicopter is one of the most useful resources.

 

You wouldn't just be one of those people who like to criticise absolutely everything the Police do are you? glasgowskacel19 sounds the same.

[Deevers]

Was always on to drink on the street in Edinburgh, got stopped for it on Friday night (standing outside the conan doyle) when did that get changed?

 

Unfortunately this is the way things are done in Glasgow and Police Scotland now follows the "Glasgow model" with absolutely everything.

[TheMaganator]

Police Scotiand was created so that power could be centralised and controlled by the government. One man at the top of one force answerable to the Justice Minister.

 

The SNP are all about the centralisation of power.

 

You know it's been a failure when even some SNP supporters criticise it. Can you think of anything else that the SNP has done that their supporters have criticised?

 

Nothing will be done about it though.

[Deevers]

Police Scotiand was created so that power could be centralised and controlled by the government. One man at the top of one force answerable to the Justice Minister.

The SNP are all about the centralisation of power.

You know it's been a failure when even some SNP supporters criticise it. Can you think of anything else that the SNP has done that their supporters have criticised?

Nothing will be done about it though.

 

Things will get progressively worse. Nothing will change with this organisation with the present senior management in post. The whole ethos of the organisation is wrong. You can only hope that when there is a change in government here Police Scotland will be split up into three different organisations covering the East, West and North of Scotland and we get back to local solutions to local problems instead of "what goes in Glasgow, goes everywhere else".

[Erik]

If you don't like the police and you've had a bad experience at their hands then I understand your lack of sympathy. Hell you might even be celebrating what they are going through. But at the end of the day these are people with no agenda employed to answer our shitty abusive drunken phone calls, who tolerate being called a 'see you next Tuesday' on a daily basis and for the most part they do it because they are helping people out who need it.

 

Anyone who is 'celebrating' whats going on with police Scotland at the moment need to take a look at the bigger picture. There is absolutely nothing to celebrate about this current state of affairs - even for folk with an anti-police agenda, this should be cause for concern, not celebration.

 

With regards to the people in the contact centre who have to deal with the abuse and foul language and what not - i'm certainly not going to try and condone it..... but..... I can absolutely understand it. I suspect if I caught someone in the act trying to break in to my house or steal my property and I called the police to report it only to be told it'd be 3 days before someone could attend - I'd probably use some colourful language too.

 

Like I say - that doesn't make it alright, but the fact it IS an issue is neither the fault of the callers nor the call handlers.

 

Police Scotland have a duty to us all. A duty which they aren't currently fulfilling.

 

Every morning I waken up and leave my flat, my thought process is along the lines of...... is my car still there? Yes, good. Does it have everything attached to it that was there last night? Yes? Good. Is it still in one piece?? Yes? Pheeeew.

 

That's an absolutely shite state of affairs.

[Franco Fascione]

Someone on this thread hates the police - it shines through.  His credibility is worse than those he hates.  Absolute waste of a human being.

[The Real Maroonblood]

I get the feeling that Jake isn't a fan of the polis or believes that it's stressful being faced with aggression and threat on a regular basis as well as being exposed to the depths that humanity can sink to against their fellow humans.

Try being a Prison Officer and you'll find out about stress.

[The Real Maroonblood]

Someone on this thread hates the police - it shines through.  His credibility is worse than those he hates.  Absolute waste of a human being.

Your last sentence is disgusting.

[Sten Guns]

Jake, nice poems. Any more?

[jake]

I dont hate the police.

And the only one i know shares much of the sentiment ive expressed .

[Sharpie]

Try being a Prison Officer and you'll find out about stress.

 

I think in fairness only police stress was mentioned because that who is the subject of the thread.  Stress is prevalent in all the emergency services, and positions which include the sufferings of others. e.g Firemen/women, ambulance personnel, nurses, and even social workers.  There are some things in life that the regular, 9 to 5 citizen will never see or experience, sure they hear about it, but to see and experience tragedy as a participant can live with you forever.   As a small matter of interest I have experience as a prison officer and police officer.  The prison stress was more immediate, an actually at work thing, what I saw as a police officer actually in some ways still lingers.  As far as sick leave is concerned, this can be a significant indicator of low morale in any organisation.

[Craig Gordons Gloves]

Try being a Prison Officer and you'll find out about stress.

I've no doubt. Just to clarify, I agree with what Bob says above about all the emergency/protective services being stressful.

[CollyWolly]

I dont hate the police.

And the only one i know shares much of the sentiment ive expressed .

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.

[Deevers]

There are a few myths that are being banded about as fact on this thread and I have heard some of them in all the discussions about the formation of Police Scotland. The biggest one is about Strathclyde Police not having the same areas to cover as the other forces, which is total bull, it covered a massive area with some very remote communities as well as the massive housing schemes inside Glasgow. Another is about the closing down of certain offices and services, these were places and systems that were hardly ever used but were taking up large amounts of cash, if they are not actually helping reduce crime then why not close them?

 

I believe that the formation of the force itself was not a bad idea, there are many cost savings that could be made in centralising, however things do not appear to have been implemented very well in some areas and there have been some very public mistakes made. For me this means that the man at the top should carry the can, lets not forget that the Justice Minister has been replaced already, time for Mr House to follow and to get some fresh approach to it.

 

 

I think one of the main causes of dismay is that it has become quite apparent that the whole organisation marches to Strathclydes beat of the drum. There has been an almighty effort to make one size fit all. Conventions and practises that have worked in other areas have been rubbished and replaced. From speaking to the peopleI know both cops and civilian staff it's quite evident that moral is at rock bottom. The whole concept has been badly thought out and the way the organisation has been moulded has been simply dreadful. House should go, but the Scottish Government who wanted this should be thoroughly ashamed and heads should roll there too.

[southcap]

Was always on to drink on the street in Edinburgh, got stopped for it on Friday night (standing outside the conan doyle) when did that get changed?

There is a byelaw stating that it is an offence to refuse to stop drinking when asked to do so by a police officer in certain designated areas.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk//download/downloads/id/1308/byelaws_prohibiting_consumption_of_alcohol_in_designated_public_places

 

The only areas I could find that are under this designation are Bristo square, Hunter square, Nicholson square and parts of Porty beach.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/179/council_and_police_use_the_power_of_the_bye-law_to_discourage_anti-social_drinking

 

I think there is a law about using containers from licensed premises but if it was a can/bottle and you weren't causing a nuisance, there is no legal reason for them to ask you to stop. 

[Deevers]

Heads have rolled  in the Scottish Government, the Electorate get the chance to remove more of them in May next year.

 

Things are not as bad as the Press and many others are making out

Well, they certainly seem to be given the conversations I have had recently - and these views comes straight from the proverbial horses mouths.

[Maroon Sailor]

Common abbreviation Salary[26]

 

Chief Constable CC ?208,100

Deputy Chief Constable DCC ?169,600

Assistant Chief Constable ACC ?115,000

Chief Superintendent C/Supt. ?77,988-?82,272

Superintendent Supt ?62,921-?74,322

Chief Inspector C/Insp. ?52,308-?54,459

Inspector. Insp ?47,256-?51,258

Sergeant Sgt ?36,885-?41,451

Constable PC ?23,493-?36,885

 

 

 

Seem to be on a decent salary - especially the Executive Officers ..... Mr House must be laughing all the way to the bank ! Earns nearly 40 grand more than anyone else !

[Phil Dunphy]

There is a byelaw stating that it is an offence to refuse to stop drinking when asked to do so by a police officer in certain designated areas.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk//download/downloads/id/1308/byelaws_prohibiting_consumption_of_alcohol_in_designated_public_places

 

The only areas I could find that are under this designation are Bristo square, Hunter square, Nicholson square and parts of Porty beach.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/179/council_and_police_use_the_power_of_the_bye-law_to_discourage_anti-social_drinking

 

I think there is a law about using containers from licensed premises but if it was a can/bottle and you weren't causing a nuisance, there is no legal reason for them to ask you to stop. 

 

Causing a nuisance is subjective I suppose.

[jake]

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.

 

First of all im not your son.

Secondly i do not think police or call centre workers are grotesque.

 

What i do think is what has been told to me by a serving officer.

To many lazy police and to many who go on the sick.

 

If you join the force you have to be mentally tough there should be no doubt.

 

If your not leave it to people who are.

 

I appreciate different aspects of policing require different skills.

And in dealing with society's seedier side its bound to affect you.

 

As for call centre workers being called names etc.

Please spare me i bet the likes of power suppliers call centre get swore at more .

And i bet traffic wardens take more abuse.

 

Anyway i shall bow out and would like to apologise if you or anyone else has felt offended.

Looking back at my posts its maybe not surprising that ive came across anti police.

[CollyWolly]

First of all im not your son.

Secondly i do not think police or call centre workers are grotesque.

What i do think is what has been told to me by a serving officer.

To many lazy police and to many who go on the sick.

If you join the force you have to be mentally tough there should be no doubt.

If your not leave it to people who are.

I appreciate different aspects of policing require different skills.

And in dealing with society's seedier side its bound to affect you.

As for call centre workers being called names etc.

Please spare me i bet the likes of power suppliers call centre get swore at more .

And i bet traffic wardens take more abuse.

Anyway i shall bow out and would like to apologise if you or anyone else has felt offended.

Looking back at my posts its maybe not surprising that ive came across anti police.

Pretty sure my last post went right over your head.

 

Never mind.

 

Someone who holds the views that you do, based on whatever experience you have, probably none whatsoever, and repeats them several times, doesn't need to apologise for being offensive. Offensive is the least of your problems, after ignorance, dismissiveness and all round lack of compassion.

[jake]

Pretty sure my last post went right over your head.

 

Never mind.

 

Someone who holds the views that you do, based on whatever experience you have, probably none whatsoever, and repeats them several times, doesn't need to apologise for being offensive. Offensive is the least of your problems, after ignorance, dismissiveness and all round lack of compassion.

 

You are right it did so i googled it.

Its Jack Nicholsons speech in a movie.

 

I hold many views on many things aandi may be many things but up my own arse isnt one of them.

Thankfully.

[Bert Le Clos]

Heads have rolled  in the Scottish Government, the Electorate get the chance to remove more of them in May next year.

 

Things are not as bad as the Press and many others are making out

 

Not everything reported in the press is as bad as they make it seem.

 

However some things are worse and plenty not reported at all.

[CollyWolly]

You are right it did so i googled it.

Its Jack Nicholsons speech in a movie.

I hold many views on many things aandi may be many things but up my own arse isnt one of them.

Thankfully.

Fair do's. Entitled to your opinion.

[siegementality]

Heads have rolled in the Scottish Government, the Electorate get the chance to remove more of them in May next year.

 

Things are not as bad as the Press and many others are making out

You have got to be joking. Police Scotland is a farce and I hear the house is about to tumble down.

[Maroon Sailor]

You have got to be joking. Police Scotland is a farce and I hear the house is about to tumble down.

Sounds like he should be put under house arrest

[JamboX2]

Westminster budget cuts made it inevitable.

 

The merger was a massive money saver.

No they didn't. This had been a plan in development before a Coalition government began slashing budgets. Equally, it was seen as was to "share administration" between 8 forces and a lot of nations with a population size of Scotland's have a single force.

 

The issues of Police Scotland are systematic:

 

- lack of effective oversight from local and national politicians

- too much power vested in Sir Stephen House rather than a committee system of leadership

- a force which acts as though Strathclyde Police were expanded to the whole of Scotland, I.e. a lack of respect for local and regional differences which lead to different policing methods and polices.

- a lack of respect for local by-laws, see moves to limit Edinburgh's tolerance zones on prostitution and brothels and the approach taken toward outdoor drinking.

- too much power vested in one man.

 

It's a broken system and its not fit for purpose.

 

The failings on armed police (no democratic consent at local or national level for such a change) and on stop and search are appalling. So much so that the Scottish Human Rights Commission have reported the failings to the United Nations. Police Scotland are a shambles.

[JamboX2]

There are a few myths that are being banded about as fact on this thread and I have heard some of them in all the discussions about the formation of Police Scotland. The biggest one is about Strathclyde Police not having the same areas to cover as the other forces, which is total bull, it covered a massive area with some very remote communities as well as the massive housing schemes inside Glasgow. Another is about the closing down of certain offices and services, these were places and systems that were hardly ever used but were taking up large amounts of cash, if they are not actually helping reduce crime then why not close them?

 

I believe that the formation of the force itself was not a bad idea, there are many cost savings that could be made in centralising, however things do not appear to have been implemented very well in some areas and there have been some very public mistakes made. For me this means that the man at the top should carry the can, lets not forget that the Justice Minister has been replaced already, time for Mr House to follow and to get some fresh approach to it.

MacAskill wasn't sacked for what amounted to a series of absolute failings under his watch as Justice Minister (failing out with the courts, alienating the legal profession, a dogs dinner on corroboration and a botched job on setting up Police Scotland), he left as part of Salmond's departure in which a few ministers also left on their own accord. He should've been sacked, but he was allowed to linger on through the referendum period and then allowed to depart the scene quietly.

 

As for the resources of the force, offices and control centres, a lot of local knowledge from regional control centres have been lost. Staff in the Fire and Police services, back room staff who keep the ball rolling, had to apply in some cases for their own jobs as part of downsizing the force. Closing local desks in some stations also deteriorates the local and perosnable face of the force and alienates it from communities to a degree.

 

But essentially on closed desks and other local facilities, it comes down to two things: 1 a centralisation of power away from local communities and 2 removing local and accessible resources for communities to access a public service easily in person and making it a remote service at the end of a phone.

 

What good is that for folk?

[CollyWolly]

As for the resources of the force, offices and control centres, a lot of local knowledge from regional control centres have been lost. Staff in the Fire and Police services, back room staff who keep the ball rolling, had to apply in some cases for their own jobs as part of downsizing the force. Closing local desks in some stations also deteriorates the local and perosnable face of the force and alienates it from communities to a degree.

 

But essentially on closed desks and other local facilities, it comes down to two things: 1 a centralisation of power away from local communities and 2 removing local and accessible resources for communities to access a public service easily in person and making it a remote service at the end of a phone.

 

What good is that for folk?

The closure of public desks and local stations was going on long before Police Scotland was born, probably in preparation for centralisation right enough but it started happening years ago. The old L&B force centralised their call centre for minor crime reporting etc etc many years ago and stopped sending officers out to such calls. That's where the rot started to set in because local communities never saw a cop on the street for months at a time and the force became just a response force which was a massive loss in my opinion, nothing whatever to do with Police Scotland and the current issues though.

 

Since Police Scotland they have been shedding highly paid staff by dangling massive redundancy packages at them. That's why they are losing all the experience. That's why more and more cops are taken off the street and into admin roles. Add to that the resentful (in all other areas except Glasgow) imposition of Strathclyde practices and approached and Strathclyde software which no one has been trained on

[Howdy Doody Jambo]

So can you drink alcohol on the street in Edinburgh but not in Glasgow? Just wondering am t total

[doctor jambo]

Even the Strathclyde successes such as the violence reduction unit- that was a Glasgow success for a Glasgow problem but when translated does not fit anywhere else

[OmiyaHearts]

So can you drink alcohol on the street in Edinburgh but not in Glasgow? Just wondering am t total

No drinking in public in Glasgow. Unless the Orange Walk is on then the cops turn a blind eye.

[CollyWolly]

So can you drink alcohol on the street in Edinburgh but not in Glasgow? Just wondering am t total

The Edinburgh bye-law permits it unless and until you are asked to desist by the police. The offence is only committed if you refuse to stop when asked.

I'm not in the habit of drinking in the street regularly but I am told Edinburgh cops have to been told to strictly enforce the bye-law by not tolerating drinking in the street and telling people to stop no matter the circumstances. Not really what the Edinburgh council were trying to achieve but its Police Scotland's decision on interpretation and enforcement and they have decided its the Glasgow way.

[The Real Maroonblood]

No drinking in public in Glasgow. Unless the Orange Walk is on then the cops turn a blind eye.

Especially the orange lodge members.