Rise in protests costs police more than £1m in overtime, figures reveal

An increase in protests across Scotland has left the police with an overtime bill of £1.1m, with 3,000 days off cancelled for officers, new figures have revealed.

Police Scotland chiefs warn the force is under increasing pressure, describing the demand as “intensive and consistent” and warning of a “significant impact” on officer welfare.

The number of protests where officers were deployed rose by 19% in 2025 compared to the previous year, with 2,190 requiring a police presence.

And 2,888 ‘rest days’ have been cancelled to police protests since last August, when Operation Leste was set up to deal with the new pressure.

In the 2025/26 financial year, this resulted in an overtime bill of around £1.1m, with the cost sitting at £330,000 in the year to date.

Most protests take place in Edinburgh and Glasgow, but the spread of activity across Scotland has grown so much in the last 18 months that towns not usually associated with public gatherings are now playing host to them.

There have been nearly 150 anti-immigration protests, often triggering counter-protests.

This includes incidents outside the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk, which has housed asylum seekers.

At the end of July, a large scale protest and counter-protest took place in Glasgow, with around 1,700 people in attendance.

The police force has said masked suspects targeted people for the colour of their skin as a peaceful anti-racism demonstration was held on Glasgow Green.

David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, raised concerns about the number of cancelled rest days, describing the situation as “unsustainable”.

He told policing and justice publication 1919 Magazine: “On every single one of these occasions, a cop who is planning for a day off to see their families, to recover, to rest, is seeing those plans interrupted at short notice by the service because they have to respond to this demand. That has the obvious impact of increased stress and sickness.

“It’s unsustainable. This is a relatively new policing demand. We didn’t have this level of pre-planned protests two or three years ago, so the service is having to respond to it.

“The consequences of the delivery of policing these protests across the country has a huge ripple effect.”

In a recent presentation to the Scottish Police Authority, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell said: “Since 2025, Police Scotland has experienced a significant change in the protest landscape, with officers managing the direct impact of, and real time reactions to, international conflicts, UK incidents and public and political commentary.

“In 2025, Police Scotland deployed resources to 2,190 protests, representing a 19 per cent increase compared with the previous year. This demand has continued into 2026.”

He continued: “This sustained demand has a significant impact on officer welfare and wellbeing, particularly where scheduled rest days are repeatedly cancelled, often at short notice.”

Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill warned of “extreme pressure on our police officers”.

“It is absolutely essential that people are able to protest freely and safely – and police presence is a significant part of enabling this – but protesters and police officers should not be subject to violence or abuse at these protests,” she said.

“Peaceful protest is an essential part of our democracy and they should be supported to happen.
“Where rest days are consistently cancelled and the workload on individual officers is not sustainable, this is unacceptable.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey added: “When you look at numbers like these, it’s little wonder so many police officers feel overwhelmed and unsupported.”

She called for the justice system and the needs of officers and staff to be “properly resourced”.

And Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Stephen Kerr said: “The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of any democracy. But the sheer volume of protests now taking place is placing an increasingly unsustainable strain on Police Scotland…

“Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that peaceful protest remains exactly that. When demonstrations descend into violence and disorder, as we saw in Glasgow last month, the pressure on policing increases exponentially, diverting even more officers and specialist resources away from protecting communities across Scotland.

“Police Scotland will always step up when required. But a service that is continually expected to do more with less cannot provide the resilience Scotland needs.”