Item 7a - Police Scotland Scrutiny Report Q4
West Dunbartonshire Council · 7 May 2025
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 7 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL West Dunbartonshire Performance Summary Report Reporting Period: April 24 to March 25 Total Crime 131 Crimes Incidents 26,388 Dishonesty Crimes 1780 Domestic Abuse Inc 1448 +4.9% -6% +12.7% +7.3% +19.8% -32.4%* Road Deaths & Serious Injuries 23 -11.8%* Sexual Crime 266 -1314*PYTD +45*PYTD, +129*5YR AVG -113*PYTD, +229*5YR AVG +163*PYTD, +150*5YR AVG +98*PYTD, +241*5YR AVG +44*PYTD, +43*5YR AVG -11*on PYTD -469*PYTD Violent Crime 1435 Missing People 333 Counter Terrorism +26*PYTD +8.5%* -47*PYTD, -50*5YR AVG Common Assault 971 -28.7% Housebreaking 117 Disorder Complaints 3496 The National Terrorism Threat level is SUBSTANTIAL This means that an attack is likely. *PYTD = Previous Year to Date *5YR = 5 year average +1.3% -4.7% ITEM 7a
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OFFICIAL SECTION PAGE NUMBER Introduction 2 Executive Summary 3 Demand Analysis 4 Acquisitive Crime 5 Public Protection 6 Road Safety 7 Serious Organized Crime 8 Violence 9 Antisocial Behaviour 10 Public Confidence - Complaints & Allegations 11 Introduction I am pleased to present this performance summary report to the West Dunbartonshire Housing Committee for its information and consideration. The Reporting Period for this report is cumulative for Quarters 1 to 4 of 2024/25, with available figures being shown from 1st April 2024 through to 31st March 2025. Please note that all data included in this report are management information and not official statistics. All data are sourced from Police Scotland internal systems and are correct as of date of publication. Unless stated otherwise numerical comparisons are against the previous year to date and the previous five year average for the same data period specified. Crimes and offences are grouped under recognised categories for statistical purposes. The Scottish Government defines these categories, as follows: Group 1 - Non Sexual Crimes of Violence Group 6 - Miscellaneous Offences Group 2 - Sexual Crimes Group 7 - Offences relating to motor vehicles Group 3 - Crimes of Dishonesty PYTD - Previous Year to Date Group 4 - Fire Raising, Malicious Mischief CYTD - Current Year to Date Group 5 - Other (pro activity) Crimes
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OFFICIAL PRIORITY AREA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Acquisitive Crime At the end of Qtr. 4, acquisitive crimes have reduced by 6% from 1893 to 1780 crimes compared to the same period last year. Increases in both shoplifting and fraud crime has been offset by continued reductions in theft by housebreaking at residential properties and also common thefts. Public Protection Group 2 sexual crimes have seen an increase of 19.8% with 266 crimes recorded compared to 222 at the end of 2023/24. This is largely due to a rise in number of rape crimes and sexual assaults recorded rising from 46 to 65 and 77 to 94 crimes respectively. Just over half of all crimes were non-recent in nature. Increases in such offences are always concerning but with over 50% of reports relating to historical incidents, it evidences an increased confidence in Police Scotland to make such reports after sometimes considerable passages of time. Road Safety & Road Crime The number of fatal road traffic collisions within West Dunbartonshire has seen a marginal reduction at the end of Qtr. 4 (-1), with only 1 collision recorded in the current period. Road traffic collisions involving serious injuries have reduced from 32 to 22, and collisions involving slight injuries have also decreased from 30 to 29. Serious Organised Crime At the end of Qtr. 4, drugs supply crimes show an increase of 5.3% from 76 to 80 crimes while possession charges continue to see a reduction from 567 to 462. Across Argyll & West Dunbartonshire 18 persons linked to serious and organised crime (SAOC) have been arrested and £3,496,132 (as at Feb 25) seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). Violence & ASB At the end of Qtr. 4, Group 1 crimes of violence have increased by 7.3% with 1337 crimes compared to 1435 the previous year to date, while anti-social behaviour (ASB) related crimes have also risen from 879 to 1062 due to increases in breach of the peace/threatening abusive behaviour (+136) and consuming alcohol within a public place (where appropriate bye laws exist) (+36). 1. Acquisitive Crime 2. Public Protection 3. Road Safety & Road Crime 4. Serious Organised Crime 5. Violence & Anti-social behaviour WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE POLICING PRIORITIES 2023-2026
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OFFICIAL CRIME PYTD CYTD INCIDENTS PYTD CYTD Total Crimes & Offences 9768 9899 Total number of incidents 27,702 26,388 DEMAND ANALYSIS - * PYTD - PREVIOUS YEAR TO DATE CYTD - CURRENT YEAR TO DATE * * * * The total volume of crimes and offences recorded within West Dunbartonshire has seen a slight increase when compared to the previous year while the current figure is also slightly above the previous 5-year average (+2.9%). Crimes of violence (+7.3%), sexual crimes (+19.8%) and anti- social offences (+20.8%) continue to see an upward trend compared to the previous year. Crimes of violence and sexual crime both remain above the previous 5-year average which is in line with the post-covid trajectory. Crimes against society such as drug and weapons offences have reduced by 4% with the year- end figure (1480) also 5.6% below the previous 5-year average (1567). Both acquisitive crime and crimes relating to damage and reckless behaviour have also seen a reduction on last year from 1893 to 1780 (-113) and 907 to 871 (-36) crimes respectively.
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OFFICIAL ACQUISITIVE CRIME Shoplifting crimes continue to see an increase compared to the previous year from 736 to 790 and remains above the previous 5-year average. Year to date, 54 more shoplifting crimes have been detected. This is in line with the national picture across the rest of the Force. At the end of Qtr. 4, thefts of motor vehicles have increased by 16% from 56 to 65 crimes, while the current figure is also 16% above the previous 5-year average (56). Approximately 29% of crimes related to taking/driving a vehicle without consent of the owner, while a further 14 crimes involved thefts of motorcycles. The detection rate has remained fairly consistent from 49% to 48.3%. There continues to be an increase in fraud crimes at the end of Qtr. 4 from 199 to 254 crimes, which is above the 5-year average of 199. The increase is largely due to a rise in frauds involving stolen credit/debit cards (+22), social engineering frauds (+12) and bank account takeovers (+11). The detection rate for fraud crime is currently at 12.6%, which is a decrease from 25% PYTD. Many perpetrators of fraud offences generally are based out with the UK. Common thefts have seen an 11% reduction compared to the PYTD down from 480 to 427 crimes and remain in line with the 5-year average of 429. The detection rate has reduced slightly from 28.3% to 24% year on year. The overall reduction in acquisitive crime by 6% from 1893 to 1780 crimes compared to the same period last year is encouraging and higher than the 4.9% reduction at the end of Q3. We continue to target those involved in shoplifting offences, many of whom are linked to organised travelling crime groups. We have successfully identified a number of such travelling criminals via our partnership with Retailers Against Crime (RAC) who assist with the identification of these individuals. Our pro-active work to protect the public from fraud continues. We are delivering inputs to groups and utilising our social media presence to maximum effect. Our relationship with our colleagues in Trading Standards is strong and we are installing call-blockers to landlines when appropriate which is a device to add a level of protection against the automated type of fraudulent call. We, as part of the Alcohol & Drug Partnership (ADP), have engaged with the Fife ADP to gauge their success in reducing addiction driven criminality and re-offending through a funded in situ arrest referral scheme to then make a decision on a similar funded service within Clydebank Custody Suite.
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OFFICIAL Our PPU has realigned staff to create a single Domestic Abuse & Rape Investigation Unit (DARIU) to better triage risk and prioritise enquiries which can be allocated to an increased number of officers working across enquiries within the same unit. Given the volume of historical offences reported, the increase in rape detections is especially notable. This level of work is bringing matters to a speedier conclusion for victims and allowing for safety measures such a bail conditions to be put in place to protect these individuals from further harm. The creation of this unit will also increase our capability to target perpetrators of domestic violence which continues to be an issue across West Dunbartonshire. We are working daily to break this cycle including work within the schools’ delivering inputs on consent, misogynistic behaviours among young males and working with partners at The Rosey Project who are delivering online sexual violence presentations. We have engaged with GP surgeries in the area providing advice and guidance on the Herbert Protocol which is a pre-prepared information pack for those living with dementia who are at a higher risk of going missing. We have asked the pack to be provided or discussed with families at diagnosis. The information can be provided immediately to police should the person go missing. At the end of Qtr. 4 2025, Group 2 crimes have increased by 19.8% (+44) compared to the same period last year. The increase is largely due to a rise in rape offences from 46 to 65 crimes, while sexual assaults have also risen from 77 to 94 (+17) year on year. Approximately 85% of rape crimes occurred in a private place and 80% were committed by persons known to the victim. Similarly, around 68% of sexual assaults also occurred in a private place with 74% committed by persons known to the victim. Approximately 55% of rape crimes during this reporting period relate to non-recent reports, which is consistent with the position during the previous YTD. The detection rate for rape crime is currently at 54.8%, while the detection rate for sexual assaults has decreased from 58% to 40.4% year on year. Detection rates are impacted by the volume of non-recent reports. Crimes relating to indecent images/communications have also seen a marginal increase compared to last year from 71 to 75 crimes with the majority being committed by strangers via online platforms. The number of domestic abuse incidents has increased by 12.7% compared to PYTD from 1285 to 1448, while the number of crimes recorded have also risen from 805 to 1049 as at the end of Qtr. 4. The crime/incident conversion rate has remained fairly consistent from 51% to 49.7%. A total of 333 missing person reports have been recorded by the end of Qtr. 4, which is an increase of 8.5% from 307 last year. PUBLIC PROTECTION
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OFFICIAL At the end of Qtr. 4, the number of fatal road collisions in West Dunbartonshire, has seen a marginal reduction from the position in the same period last year (-1). Both serious and slight injuries have also reduced by 31.3% from 32 to 22 (-10) and 3.3% from 30 to 29 (-1) respectively. Offences relating to motor vehicles have also seen a slight reduction of 1.1% from 2736 to 2707 (- 29). Unlawful use of motor vehicle offences such as using a motor vehicle without a test certificate and insurance offences have seen the highest reduction (-119) followed by neglect of traffic directions (-38) while crimes relating to drink/drug driving (+48), careless driving (+19) and vehicle defect offences (+96) have all seen a notable increase compared to the previous YTD. Road Traffic Casualties 2023/24 2024/25 Number of persons killed on our roads 2 1 Number of persons seriously injured 32 22 Number of persons slightly injured 30 29 Number of children seriously injured 1 1 Continued high visibility specialist traffic patrols across the main trunk roads and B roads are daily business for the traffic officers based at Dumbarton. Their presence is a contributory factor to the reduction in speeding offences. We are also working with the Safety Camera Partnership to have their speed detection van deployed at various locations again to deter and detect those intent on speeding. Drink and drug driving has risen yet again which is a concern but also reflects the pro-active approach being adopted by all officers when on patrol. People who continue to drink or drug drive are highly likely to be caught and prosecuted. Our intelligence department is regularly producing briefings regarding alleged illegal driving practices which are all actioned to a conclusion. These briefings will also include licence and insurance offenders. We utilised social media to warn against the fatal-5 and advertise our motorcycle safety campaign during this reporting period. The fatal-5 being drink/drug driving, speed, distraction, no seat belt and careless driving. These campaigns were also enforced by our traffic officers. We are continuing to see the benefits of our partnership with The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and the combined inputs from the partnership at events is receiving very positive feedback and indeed a number of local drivers have now signed up to IAM advanced driving courses. All work making our road safer for all users. The Preventions Team have now agreed dates with education to deliver a multi-agency young driver awareness and educational day at all five of the secondary schools in the next quarter. This will involve a hard-hitting real-life footage film of driving standards prior to a fatal crash narrated by the deceased sister. We will also be utilising VR headsets from the Safety Camera Partnership which puts the participant within a vehicle involved in a distracted driver crash and the aftermath of such an occurrence. Numbers and feedback will be reported at the next quarter meeting. ROAD SAFETY AND ROAD CRIME
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OFFICIAL Across Argyll & West Dunbartonshire, 18 persons linked to serious and organised crime have been arrested and £3,496,132 (as at Feb 25) has been seized under POCA since 1st April 2024. At the end of Qtr. 4, drug supply charges have increased marginally from 76 to 80 crimes and is in line with the previous 5-year average (82). Drug possession charges have seen a reduction of 18.5% from 567 to 462. The work of our Serious and Organised Crime Team continues to impact on the criminal activities of those involved. The seizure of £3,496,132 under POCA since 1st April 2024 is a very significant amount of money. Money that will not be re-invested into further illegal activity including the supply of illegal drugs which brings so much misery to many. This sum of money is a 34.5% increase on the sum arrested by the end of Q3 which was £2,595,658. Drug supply charges has again risen year on year which is often the result of weeks or months of dedicated work. The Violence Reduction Unit Lived Experience speaker delivered inputs to S3 at Our lady & St Pats, Dumbarton which was very well received. Topics covered included the involvement in gangs and the possible links to drug activity. Drug deaths are thankfully decreasing year on year and this in part is down to the ongoing work between us and many of our partners across the Third Sector who are referring, supporting, signposting and diverting those involved in criminality to fund an addiction. Police Scotland continue to contribute to the Alcohol & Drug Partnership, Drug Death Review Group, Rapid Action Drug Alerts & Response (RADAR) Group to reduce the number of people dependent on drugs and alcohol while supporting those impacted by the individual’s addiction. SERIOUS & ORGANISED CRIME
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OFFICIAL VIOLENCE & ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Robbery offences continue to be robustly investigated and that is reflected in the increased detection rate which now sits at 69.2%. Analytical products are being produced and utilised to best inform our resource deployment plans to maximise the likelihood of impacting on those involved in violence. Our officers are pro-actively visiting licensed premises across West Dunbartonshire ensuring licensing laws are being adhered to, and that patrons are not being sold alcohol beyond reasonable levels of intoxication. The increases in both robberies and serious assaults are minimal, but we are continuing efforts to bring these figures down. The involvement of drugs and alcohol in violent crime is something we are very aware of, and work is continuing with partners to impact on the number of people dependent on substances. The Police Custody Staff are now all trained in the Arrest Referral Scheme and Divisional Champions are in place to best ensure persons in police custody with addiction issues are offered a referral into our 3rd Sector colleagues. Once referred the person would hopefully engage and it would be the first step in addressing their dependency on drugs or alcohol which, in turn, would reduce their addiction related offending and remove that individual from the criminal justice system completely. Levels of violence in West Dunbartonshire have increased by 7.3% from 1337 to 1435 (+98) crimes. Approx. 57% of all crimes took place in a private place. Furthermore, 38% of public space crimes were committed by persons known to the victim. Robberies have increased marginally from 36 to 39 crimes, 24 occurred in a public place (16 on a public street and 8 at commercial premises). The remaining 15 crimes occurred within residential premises. Eighteen robberies were committed by persons known to the victim and 21 were committed by strangers. The detection rate for robbery has increased from 55.6% to 69.2%, which equates to an additional 7 crimes being detected year on year. Serious assaults have also seen a marginal increase from 71 to 74 crimes with crimes being largely spilt 60/40 in terms of public/private space and 63% were committed by persons known to the victim (6 were domestic related). Nearly half of all crimes were committed with the victim and/or offender being under the influence of alcohol/drugs or both and 53% of crimes involved the use of a weapon. The detection rate has reduced slightly from 76.1% to 71.6%.
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OFFICIAL Common assaults have increased slightly by 4.9% from 926 to 971 and are currently above the 5-year average (842), while common assaults on police and emergency workers have also risen by 5% (+9) compared to PYTD. Around 58% of common assaults occurred in private space settings and in 45% of public space crimes, offenders were known to victims. The detection rate for common assaults overall has increased marginally from 55.7% to 58.5%. Across the recording period the number of ASB related calls to Police Scotland has reduced by approx. 9.5% compared to last year. Anti-Social related offences (Group 6) have increased by 20.8% with 1062 crimes recorded compared to 879 PYTD, however the current figure remains 18.7% below the previous 5-year average (1306.2). VIOLENCE & ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR All operational officers are briefed daily prior to deployment to furnish them with the intelligence and information required to be able to identify those involved in violence and ASB. This will include known weapon carriers, violent individuals and those subject to specific bail conditions that have been granted to restrict their activities. Our officers are pro-actively patrolling these areas and people with the intention of reducing their negative impact on the community and the likelihood of them re-offending. The reduction in ASB related calls is pleasing and we continue to work daily with our colleagues at the WD ASB & Housing Teams to great effect. We are pro-actively visiting problematic tenancies with the ASB Team to impact on any ASB at the earliest possible opportunity. The Preventions Team at Dumbarton are in daily contact with the ASB and Housing Teams and during 2024 provided feedback to approximately 500 enquiries relating to ASB across West Dunbartonshire. These responses can range from a single email to a full disclosure which is required when legal action is being taken against a resident. WD applied for, and were granted, 5 ASBOs against individuals during 2024. The powers provided to the police through these ASBOs includes restrictions on persons consuming any alcohol, attending certain areas or addresses and associating with certain individuals. The partnership work between WD and Police Scotland is a very strong effective partnership.
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OFFICIAL PUBLIC CONFIDENCE: COMPLAINTS & USER SATISFACTION Overall satisfaction with Police Scotland User Satisfaction results show that locally, public confidence levels remain high within Argyll and West Dunbartonshire with overall satisfaction levels at 74%, which is slightly above the position as at the end of the 2022/23 reporting period. Met West Midlands Police Scotland GMP West Yorkshire Average answer time (seconds) 20.46 5.99 10.65 5.66 5.8 Total 999 Calls 153682 50634 50244 39873 33832 153682 50634 50244 39873 33832 20.46 5.99 10.65 5.66 5.8 100% 100% February 2025 Clydebank Town Hall played host to the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, and the West of Scotland region's MSPs at an event to celebrate the youth work within West Dunbartonshire. Police Scotland Youth Volunteers were in attendance and spoke at length with their MSPs and the Presiding Officer to highlight the volunteering work they had undertaken in their community and to express what being in the PSYV meant to them and how it had helped them develop their life skills. The PO and MSPs were very impressed by what the youths had to say, and by the variety of their roles and overall number of hours they had put into volunteering for their communities. Total of 557 responses 74% Satisfied/Very Satisfied