£107,000 cost of policing 'Orange' walk

Jenny Foulds • Published 25 Aug 2009 12:00

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March day saw highest number of town centre crimes in FOUR years

THE cost of policing the controversial 'Orange' walk through Dumbarton has weighed in at a massive £107,000.

The bill is more than what it costs to pay four beat cops for a year.

Instead, the cash had to be used to marshal a two-hour event, which has brought with it a wave of bad feeling on both sides of the religious divide.

The Reporter also understands that on the Saturday of the march the number of crimes reported in the town centre were the highest for a Saturday in four years.

Around 240 officers were drafted in to police the march, including mounted units dog handlers, a helicopter and a marine unit.

In an official Strathclyde Police report, 23 crimes linked to the parade by the Provincial Grand Black Chapter of Scotland are listed.

These range from men allegedly urinating in public to one man being bottled, and another allegedly stabbing himself in the face.

This strain on police resources by the march has been condemned by community representatives, who believe that although the extra manpower was needed to manage the 3,000-plus marchers, something should have been done to alleviate this expense.

Dumbarton Councillor George Black said: "The amount the parade cost definitely concerns me."

Strathclyde Police refused to comment on the cost of policing the Dumbarton walk, but confirmed that a meeting between Strathclyde Police and the Scottish Police Authority, relating to the policing of all Orange walks in the Strathclyde area in 2009, is due to take place next month.

This article appeared in Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter 25 Aug 09

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