THE demand placed on frontline South Yorkshire Police officers will escalate when President Donald Trump lands in the UK in June.<\/p>\n
The Presidential visit will add to the demands around Brexit and summer policing pressures, South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.<\/p>\n
And uncertainty around the President\u2019s itinerary and continued confused messaging around Brexit is making it difficult to plan ahead, said Federation Chairman Steve Kent.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe can\u2019t have cast iron planning about what\u2019s going to happen with Brexit because we don\u2019t know when it\u2019s going to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs with Donald Trump \u2013 we know at some point our resources are going to be required to assist. It\u2019s just a case of not knowing when.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then when those resources are required, you will tend to find that officers are quite happy to go and do it, but it then leaves officers on the frontline even more stretched because colleagues are having to go all over different parts of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The media saying \u2018extra officers\u2019 will be on duty to police the President\u2019s visit is not accurate, he added.<\/p>\n
Steve explained: \u201cWe need a change in language with that. We need to say that officers are being redeployed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a recent leave embargo which didn\u2019t end up being required because of the proposed Brexit date.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be another one when Brexit\u2019s decided. And that will be a case of ensuring we have enough coverage to cover the officers who are being redeployed en masse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can expect the Presidential visit to involve having another heavy police presence and it will be a more significant affair than last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, officers are quite happy to help. It\u2019s a change of scene, to do something different. Officers are can-do people. They\u2019re always willing to help. It\u2019s just that what it leads to back at district, especially as the weather is starting to turn if it gets better and nights tend to draw out, we see an increase in anti-social behaviour. It could have a knock-on effect on that.\u201d<\/p>\n