Less crime but Highlands faces other big challenge says former Met cop

He referenced the wild fires that hit last year "at a very unusual time' in early May and severe flooding in Aviemore which saw officers emptying campsites at 3am on the Spey because they were under 3ft of water.

The village of Golspie, on the north coast, is now said to be in survival mode.

Changing weather patterns and rising sea levels mean that around 100 homes on the promenade are at imminent risk of flooding. 

The Highlands is more vulnerable to climate change for a number of reasons including; 

Floods in Aviemore (Image: PA) CS Shepherd said there is a need to consider a long-term plan about how police are resourced to manage extreme weather conditions, "before it becomes Scotland and UK-wide and not just the Highlands and Islands."

This could include specific training for officers to deal with floods, storms and wildfires, which they are not currently offered.

CS Shepherd took over a regional commander two years years ago after 20 years with the Metropolitan Police where his 20-year stint including roles in counter terrorism and where adverse weather amounted "a very hot day on Tube."

"I suspect you wouldn't get consensus of agreement that it was climate change and Highlands and Islands does have a history of having some quite extreme weather conditions over decades but in only two years of me being here we've seen a very wide range of extreme weather that is likely attributed to changing climate," said the police chief.

"I say that without any political manifesto - my interest in purely in the policing and impact and challenge of that.

"Two years ago in Shetland we had the extreme snowfall that was so bad it brought down the power cables. The response to that was very much led by police.

"Last May there was a series of forest fires at a very unusual time in early Spring that caused significant damage and was caused by very different climatic conditions than we would normally see at that time of year.

The Highlands experienced forest fires 'at a very unusual time' (Image: PA)

"It led to some quite worrying moments with our partners in regard to how fast and far these fires were spreading and the potential to have to evacuate.

"Then we saw extreme snow last winter close the A9, we had motorists stranded and our mountain rescue officers checking on driver welfare because the snow gates were shut.

 "They provide very interesting police challenges.

'This is Scotland, it isn't the Arctic' (Image: Police Scotland) "And you know, this is the UK, this is Scotland, it isn't the Arctic Circle," he added. "It's how quickly it can change.

 "I've got my officers driving on a bridge that looks like a massive lake and actually it's a raised road over fields," he added, referencing the severe flooding that hit Aviemore last year.

"When I saw those pictures [on a BBC documentary about policing in the Highlands] around Aviemore and how often the Spey breaks its banks I thought, we need canoes, boats, kayaks in case we need to rescue people from houses we need to get to but then I remember that's not our role - at that point our colleagues in the fire service need to be available but what if they are not available because quite a lot of the fire service is a retained force."

He said the public might be surprised to learn that police play such a major role in wildfires and floods.

"It's not something that we specifically train our recruits for," he said.

"At 3am in the morning when we are having to empty campsites on the Spey because they are under 3ft of water it is the police that end up doing it, supported by our ambulance and fire service colleagues."

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A report, published earlier this month, painting a worrying picture of the impact climate change will have on the region.

Some of the key findings from the report state that the GDP of the Highlands will be down 1.5 percent per year by the 2050s, rising to -3.3% by the 2080s. There will also be serious impact from flooding which could increase costs from the £11 million per year it currently costs to deal with.

Highland Council declared a climate and ecological emergency in 2019 and is taking a number of steps to build resilience.

"I think there needs to be long-term thinking UK-wide," said the police chief, "with support from academia and experts in weather change to look at a wider strategy heading forward to make sure we have the right equipment, resources and training to respond to climate emergencies and all the different facets of that.

"If it's going to continue to be a police role then that's no problem but we need to ensure we are equipped at trained at a strategic level to coordinate it and also on the ground and does that need to form part of the training we do longer term as it becomes a Scotland and UK problem rather than just Highlands and Islands."

Huge wildfire burning on the hills near Cannich in the Scottish Highlands (Image: Peter Jolly)

"North Scotland and Highland specifically has had more activations of our resilience network than the rest of Police Scotland put together over the last couple of years."

He said "week after week" the emergency services were still cases of people going up mountains without being adequately equipped for rapidly changing weather.

"I always say that if it [Ben Nevis] was a theme park, they would close it," he said. 

"A lot of people come to this part of the world because of that scenery but that scenery is treacherous and doesn't necessarily get the respect it deserves.

Glencoe (Image: PA)

"We had a number of deaths last year of people who just weren't equipped for the journeys.

"But we can't police the mountain side."

He believes Highlands is among the best policed region in the UK because of the geographical challenge and the fact that officers have to be a 'Jack of all trades'.

He said; "The operational competence and grip and general understanding of how to do their jobs up here in Highlands and Islands compared to anywhere I've worked is absolutely phenomenal because they are so reliant on each other, because they have the limited resources and lack of resilience where they are spread over large areas.

"They can deal with things at such a high level. It's hugely impressive."