Edinburgh tourist tax could be used to fund more police for city centre
Money raised by Edinburgh's tourist tax would be used to fund police officers for the city centre under the latest proposals to be considered by the council.
The officers would be part of a new unit being set up by Police Scotland, dedicated to central Edinburgh and comprising one inspector, three sergeants and 45 constables.
The proposal is that £1 million of the revenue from the Visitor Levy would go to pay for 18 constables.
A report to councillors says the officers would be a reassuring presence for the public, but also make increased use of stop and search tactics.
The council used to give Police Scotland money to fund community-based police officers, but stopped doing so in 2020 amid complaints that officers were often required to cover elsewhere, Edinburgh's overall complement was being cut and the council was subsidising an under-funded Police Scotland.
A report to the council's culture and communities committee next week sets out the new proposal: "Police Scotland is seeking support to create a City Centre Policing Unit (CCPU), providing additional police officers dedicated to proactively patrolling the Capital’s city centre.
"It is proposed that funding from the VL is allocated to support Police Scotland in delivering a safe city to live, work and visit."
It says the move would help ensure Edinburgh remained a world-leading attraction for visitors by increasing public safety in the city centre; reassuring communities through a visible police presence; preventing crime and antisocial behaviour in the city centre; reducing demand on frontline officers in other areas of the city; and providing support to planned city centre events and festivals and an early response to spontaneous challenges, like unnotified protests.
The report continues: "As with many other UK cities, Edinburgh’s city centre has experienced a rise in violence, retail crime and antisocial behaviour. The public have said that they want to see more police officers in the community and for police to focus on areas of highest threat, risk, and harm.
"Therefore, these upward crime trends have generated public, media and elected representative scrutiny, presenting a reputational risk to the city, and risking public confidence, tourism, commerce, and income generation."
And it says the proposed staffing levels would allow three teams of one sergeant and 15 constables to cover seven days a week, early and back shifts, with start/finish times varied to target peak demand in the city centre and support events and the night-time economy.
"These officers will be dedicated to prevention, proactivity and problem-solving, delivering a visible and reassuring presence across the centre of Edinburgh.
"Officers will be in the right place at the right time to deal with threat, risk and harm, to manage dynamic and critical incidents and focus on preventing crime and antisocial behaviour.
"These officers will exploit proactive opportunities to detect and prevent crime, including an increased use of stop & search tactics that will lead to positive recoveries of drugs and stolen property, and remove weapons from our streets."
It says there would be foot, bicylce and vehicle patrols targeting crime and antisocial behaviour hotspots, but with a focus on high-visibility foot patrols.
And it lists hotspots as including Princes Street, the North Bridge/South Bridge/Nicolson Street corridor, Hunter Square, Waverley Mall, the St James Quarter, Lothian Road, Grassmarket and Cowgate.
The report also says the new city-centre unit would benefit all parts of the city. "No existing police posts will be moved into the city centre from other areas of the city to resource the CCPU. In fact, establishing a CCPU will reduce the current trend where police resources are required to temporarily relocate into the city centre to manage peak demand."