Police Scotland is mounting its biggest operation since last year's visit by US President Donald Trump, with as many as 1,700 officers on duty across the country for Bonfire Night.
Specially trained public order officers will be deployed under Operation Moonbeam, the force's annual response to firework-related violence and disorder, working alongside the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. In the toughest areas, police will escort fire crews to callouts to protect them from attack.
Senior officers said the force "absolutely has enough" resources to tackle firework-related crime and anti-social behaviour on Thursday night, despite the scale of the deployment.
Fire crews given police escorts
The decision to pair firefighters with police escorts reflects the dangers emergency workers have faced on recent Bonfire Nights. Crews attending fires in some neighbourhoods have been pelted with fireworks, bricks and bottles, and vehicles have been damaged while firefighters worked.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has repeatedly described attacks on its staff as unacceptable, and both services have spent weeks planning joint responses to the busiest night of their year. Control rooms expect hundreds of calls, many of them to deliberate fires set in parks, wasteland and wheelie bins.
Firework Control Zones are in force across parts of Glasgow and Edinburgh, making it a criminal offence to set off fireworks in designated areas, including in private gardens. The zones were introduced after councils asked for powers to curb the disorder that has plagued some communities every November.
Control zones and calls for a sales ban
The zones are part of a wider crackdown that began with new laws restricting when fireworks can be sold and used. But the Scottish Greens said on Thursday that the measures do not go far enough, and called for an outright ban on private firework sales to stop what they called "dangerous, unorganised displays".
The party argues that moving the public towards organised displays would cut injuries, reduce the strain on the emergency services and spare pets and vulnerable people weeks of noise. Ministers have so far resisted a full ban, pointing instead to the licensing and control zone system.
Animal charities renewed their annual plea for people to keep pets indoors, while doctors urged anyone handling fireworks to follow the safety code. Hospital emergency departments traditionally see a rise in burns and hand injuries on and around 5 November.
A night that tests the emergency services
Bonfire Night has become one of the most demanding dates in the Scottish emergency services' calendar. Last year crews faced hundreds of incidents in a single evening, and police made dozens of arrests for firework offences and disorder.
Community groups in areas that have seen the worst trouble have spent the week running diversion activities for young people, from organised displays to sports sessions, in an effort to keep teenagers away from illegal bonfires.
Police have also warned parents to know where their children are on Thursday night, and reminded shops that it is illegal to sell fireworks to anyone under 18. Officers will have powers to stop and search people suspected of carrying fireworks in the control zones.
What the law says
Under the rules in force in Scotland, fireworks can only be set off in private between 6pm and midnight on Bonfire Night itself, with tighter limits at other times of year. It is illegal to set them off in public places, including streets and parks, outside organised events.
Anyone caught misusing fireworks faces fines of up to £5,000 or a prison sentence, and police can issue on-the-spot penalties for lesser offences. The sale of the most powerful categories of fireworks to the public is banned altogether.
Officers said the vast majority of people would enjoy the night safely at organised displays, and urged anyone with information about planned disorder to contact the force. "We want everyone to enjoy Bonfire Night, but we will not tolerate the kind of behaviour that puts our officers, firefighters and communities at risk," a Police Scotland spokesperson said.
The operation is expected to run through the weekend, with the force warning that the days around 5 November often bring as many incidents as the night itself.
