Police Scotland removes posters reminding staff to 'pause' test and protect app

Posters encouraging Police Scotland staff to 'pause' the test and protect app at work have been taken down, with the force admitting they weren't clear.

An image of one in a Dundee control room surfaced yesterday, raising concerns employees had no say in it.

But David Malcolm from Unison, which represents police staff, says that's not the case.

"Some people will want to turn that off, it'll be that'll suit them, and for other people it may not," he said

"There's absolutely no requirement to turn off or pause the app while working for Police Scotland.

"A large part of the workforce could receive an activation but actually, in reality it's perhaps only affecting one or two members of staff who are required to isolate while others are protected by taking care of themselves and following the procedures of wearing face coverings."

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: "The safety and welfare of our officers and staff has been a concern and high priority since the pandemic began and any suggestion to the contrary is both misleading and wholly inaccurate.

“We have worked tirelessly to ensure our people have the support they need as they continue to play a vital role in the national effort to combat coronavirus.

"Police Scotland fully supports the Protect Scotland app and officers and staff are encouraged to download it on personal devices.

"The Scottish Government introduced a pause function on the app to avoid people receiving alerts when they would not be at risk from the virus, such as when PPE is worn, or physical distancing is maintained.

"Staff within our command and control centres were advised to activate the pause function, in line with Scottish Government guidance, when phones were stored in lockers or in jackets to avoid large numbers of people being wrongly alerted to self-isolate."

Scottish Lib Dems leader Willie Rennie raised concerns that staff were being instructed to turn the devices off.

"We owe a huge debt to all the people serving on the front line of public services throughout this crisis," he said.

"After last week’s reports of teachers being told to turn the app off in school, news that police officers and staff are being told similar is alarming. This is no way to treat them.

“This app is an essential part of the puzzle that is meant to keep us safe. It is inexcusable that they are being told to turn the contact tracing app off while they are around others and without PPE.

“Alerts need to be acknowledged and acted upon, not callously dismissed. If notifications are getting in the way, more mitigations need to be put in place.

“While it should be complemented by social distancing and other measures, the app should not be treated as disposable.

"The Justice Secretary should immediately disavow this practice and make clear that no employer should order their staff to turn off the tracing app at work unless risks have been properly addressed and it is clinically approved.”

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