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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today announced a new “standing army” of specialist police officers to get a grip on the ongoing violence.
This is nothing to do with the actual army – which ministers have insisted is not required, because there are enough police to tackle the outbreaks.
Forces sending public order officers to other areas to cope with big events already happens regularly and is called “mutual aid.”
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Overseen by the National Police Chiefs Council, in the past few months various police forces have sent specialist officers to London to police pro-Palestine protests following the 7 October terrorist attacks.
These arrangements are also used to police big sporting competitions and national events such as the Queen’s funeral.
A senior Downing Street official said this “standing army” would be an enhanced version of mutual aid “so there are officers forward deployed to hot spots quicker”.
There are many thousands of public order officers, and police forces sound confident about their office numbers – although they will inevitably be diverted from other duties.
It’s not a new idea, but the prime minister insisted: “We will have the officers we need, where we need them.”
The next challenge will be bringing anyone arrested to justice, with the backlog of outstanding cases in the Crown courts and the Magistrates courts at a record high, according to figures released in June, and nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.
The sector blames a decline in criminal lawyers, court staff and…
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