Extra officers will be drafted in along with security supplied by the Metropolitan Police in a massive police operation totalling more than 100 officers for the Queen’s visit to Perth in July.
With the monarch’s visit set to coincide with the annual T in the Park music festival at Balado, Kinross-shire, around 120 officers will be deployed to police her visit on Friday July 6, including from Grampian, Lothian and Borders and Central police forces.
The festival begins on Thursday July 3, with around 85,000 revellers expected to attend each day at the weekend.
Events have been taking place all over the UK to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee, and Her Majesty’s visit to Perth in July was arranged as part of the longer-term celebrations. Perth was awarded city status on March 14 after winning a UK competition marking the jubilee.
With a series of high-profile events in Perthshire including the Scottish Game Fair and the Rewind Festival, Superintendent Jim Leslie of the community policing division said it is shaping up to be the ”busiest” summer he could remember.
With Fife Constabulary also providing help for T in the Park, Mr Leslie feels his force will cope and that policing will not be stretched, but he emphasised the importance of the assistance of extra police in the security operation regarding the royal visit.
”In terms of the Queen’s visit, the planning is well established,” he said. ”Obviously we have a big impact with T in the Park, so we get support from neighbouring forces. In this case Grampian, Lothian and Borders and Central police forces will help for the Queen’s visit and we will be looking to rotate officers so we can deal with any eventuality, without impacting on normal policing.
”That will involve around 120 officers for the Queen. The Queen always has Met officers with her, so obviously we have been liaising with them in terms of planning.”
Mr Leslie added that Tayside Police have attended T in the Park for a number of years and are ”well experienced” in dealing with it, and he does not foresee any problems.
It has been estimated that there are around 450 officers policing T in the Park over the course of the whole event and this number does not surprise Mr Leslie.
”We provide cover 24/7,” he said. ”We are there from the Thursday (July 5) but the police numbers vary from day to day.”