Police chiefs have defended their decision to deploy an armed response unit to a siege at a Perth homeless hostel.
Officers in riot gear were called to Greyfriars House in March after reports that a man had barricaded himself inside.
A teenager was arrested in connection with the incident and is due to appear in court at a later date to face allegations that he attacked seven police officers and threw items including a fridge and a sink out of a window.
Now, police chiefs have been quizzed by councillors over their decision to send an armed response unit to the council-run facility.
At a meeting of the council’s community safety committee, it was put to Chief Superintendent Eddie Smith that the move could have been seen as a “heavy-handed” knee-jerk reaction.
Mr Smith told the committee members: “There are strict criteria as to when we would deploy armed officers and that is based on risk assessments.”
He said that the decision was taken after it was perceived there was a risk to police and the public. “I’m delighted to say that this is a relatively rare occurrence,” he added.
“Our armed officers are highly trained and, at the end of the day, there was a successful conclusion.”
Housing and community care executive director John Walker said: “In these circumstances, we would try to talk this individual down and, at the same time, get in touch with our police colleagues and describe the situation to them.
“In that description, there would be an element of the unknown, so that’s perhaps the reason the police responded in the way they did.”
Mr Walker added: “The staff acted in a very professional manner. They did everything that was asked of them.
“Although it was a rare occasion, it really was business as usual. We are dealing with people who are routinely coming from chaotic backgrounds and I wouldn’t want to say that as a knee-jerk reaction because of the presence of an armed response unit we need to retrain our staff. They already know exactly what to do in these situations.
“We normally review an event like this but I haven’t heard anything back to suggest that there is an issue here or a gap that needs to be addressed.”
Councillor Alexander Stewart who initially raised concerns that the armed response may have been perceived as heavy-handed and that it caused alarm to some residents said he is satisfied with the responses from police and council leaders.