Partial Policing

I woke to 68 messages last Sunday morning.

Not that unusual to most of you I expect, but this was a bit different. Police Scotland had decided to go door-knocking about half-ten on Saturday night to the house of a family man and haul him off to the local cop shop.

But surely he must have done something wrong, I hear you think? Well, while I can’t discuss specifics, not really.

I am a volunteer Legal Observer with the Scottish Community and Activist Legal Project (SCALP). I will discuss them more here, but in short, we watch the police at protests and demonstrations to make sure they are following the rules, not being too heavy-handed, and doing their job properly. This is necessary as, shocking as you may find it, police sometimes don’t follow the rules the same way for everyone.

Saturday was a perfect example of this.

For the past year, there have been demonstrations in Aberdeen calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for divestment from companies investing in weapons bound for Israel. These demonstrations have been calling for peace and justice in the Middle East. More here.

On Saturday a group of demonstrators went to a local mall and hung flags, chanted a little and read a statement. They then walked through the mall and out to St Nicholas Square, all without incident. It was in St Nicholas Square, a public space flanked by shops on Union Street, central to street life in Aberdeen, that the fun started.

As we arrived, my colleague and I donned our Orange Hi-Viz vests that mark us out as Legal Observers. We got out our notebooks and pencils and started collecting the numbers of the police officers in the square. There were 8 officers there including a sergeant and two wearing the blue jackets that denote they are supposed to be performing the role of community liaison, a [supposedly – Ed] more friendly, approachable face of the police.

Also in the square, belting out Adele numbers on a Karaoke machine was a young woman who had been there since 11.00. She was accompanied by her father, and an assortment of friends and supporters. Superdry and sportswear, about a dozen in total, a couple of prams and one pit bull dog. They are often in the square for several hours on a Saturday.

Across from her was a gathering crowd of Palestine Solidarity supporters and peace activists, chanting calls for peace and an end to genocide in the Middle East. There were banners, flags and a portable sound system. This group probably numbered around 100 folk.

Completing the fun triangle for the afternoon, (this was about 3pm) was a rather bemused African gentleman espousing the merits of Jesus. He stopped his broadcast as the other two groups began a battle of volume across the square. He was joined a little later by a few gentlemen who seemed especially keen on shouting as loudly as possible, though their contribution was a lot less peaceful.

This is where the police began to fail. They had initially positioned themselves in two groups, four at the entrance to Marks and Spencers (we must protect property!) and four across on the other side of the square. Almost immediately tempers in the crowd began to flare. There was clearly a potential conflict brewing. Did the police attempt to mediate? Did the two community liaison officers attempt to calm the situation? Not even a little. The officers stood around the edge of the square as tempers frayed and heated theological debate broke out.

This was a clear failure of the police to do their job. There were multiple times when a quiet word, or perhaps a bit of mediation could have stemmed the situation. But no, standing around was the priority of the day. This is particularly galling with the blue-jacketed officers. Their role is supposed to be to smooth over potential issues. Instead, they did virtually nothing.

Most noticeable to me from a SCALP perspective was the clear difference in the action of the officers towards the groups around the singer and the preacher on one hand, and the Palestine and peace demonstrators on the other. Interactions with the Christians and the singer’s group were placatory, soothing and full of understanding. Interactions with the Palestine solidarity side were hostile, stern and intimidatory.

At one point there was the unedifying scene of a line of three constables smirking at two consultant doctors who were berating the police for their racist actions. Because that’s the rub. The big difference between the groups was that many of the people who had turned out to call for an end to genocide in the Middle East happened to have brown skin. Some of the women had head scarves.

At one point the crowd were literally chanting, “Racist Police!”

Now, I’m almost positive that the cops who were in the square on Saturday are probably not racists. They are probably not members of white nationalist or supremacist organisations. However, their actions were racist on Saturday. They clearly responded differently to one group of people, and from where I was standing that was largely down to the colour of those people’s skin and the cultural symbols they chose to wear.

This is then compounded by going to a family home late on Saturday night and hauling a father off to the police station. Was there really nothing else for the police to be doing in a busy city centre at 22.30 at night on a Saturday? Was it really necessary to be causing fear and alarm to this man’s wife and children late into the night? It couldn’t have waited until the morning?

Whatever the thinking behind this late night raid on a family home, it only serves to alienate people further from Police Scotland. The officers concerned need to have a long hard think about their actions.

What a shining example of community police work!