Police Scotland Argyll & Bute Performance Summary Report - Reporting Period: April - December 2025
Argyll and Bute Council · 5 March 2026
Back to Community Services Committee — 5 March 2026 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 x Argyll & Bute Performance Summary Report Reporting Period: April to Dec 2025 Total Crime 655 Crimes Incidents 14,406 Overall Dishonesty 631 Domestic Abuse Inc 534 +9.3% +1.6% +4.3% +2.4% +30.3% -40%* Road Deaths & Serious Injuries 29 -0.8%* Sexual Crime 228 -735*PYTD, -1474*5YR AVG +52*PYTD, +143*5YR AVG +10*PYTD, +63*5YR AVG +22*PYTD, +27*5YR AVG +19*PYTD, +147*5YR AVG +53*PYTD, +53*5YR AVG -19*on PYTD -10*PYTD Violent Crime 814 Missing People 135 Counter Terrorism +34*PYTD +33.7%* -10*PYTD, -23*5YR AVG Common Assault 610 -21.3% Housebreaking 37 Disorder Complaints 1290 The National Terrorism Threat level is SUBSTANTIAL This means that an attack is likely. *PYTD = Previous Year to Date *5YR = 5-year average +13% -4.9%
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL SECTION PAGE NUMBER Introduction 2 Executive Summary 3 Demand Analysis 4 Acquisitive Crime 5 Public Protection 6 Road Safety 7 Serious Organised Crime 8 Violence 9 Antisocial Behaviour 10 Public Confidence - Complaints & Allegations 11 Introduction I am pleased to present this performance summary report to Committee for its information and consideration. The Reporting Period for this report is cumulative for Quarters 1 to 4 of 2025/26, with available figures being shown from 1st April 2025 through to 31st December 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 – Anti-social offences Group 2 - Sexual Crimes Group 7 – Miscellaneous Offences Group 3 - Crimes of Dishonesty Group 8 – Road traffic offences Group 4 – Damage and reckless behaviour PYTD - Previous Year to Date Group 5 – Crimes against society CYTD - Current Year to Date
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL PRIORITY AREA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Acquisitive Crime At the end of Qtr. 3, acquisitive crimes have seen a slight increase of 1.6% from 621 to 631 crimes. This has largely been driven by an increase in common thefts throughout Argyll and Bute (+19.4%), while shoplifting (-26) and housebreaking offences (-10) have both seen reductions year on year. Public Protection Group 2 sexual crimes have also risen by 30.3% from 175 to 228 crimes. Sexual assaults have seen an increase of 24 crimes year on year while rape offences have reduced marginally by 5. Crimes relating to indecent images/communications have also continued to record a considerable increase (+41 crimes) compared to the position in 2024/25. Road Safety & Road Crime We continue to record a positive reduction in the number of casualties involved in road traffic collisions within Argyll and Bute compared to last year. The number of fatal road traffic collisions within Argyll and Bute has reduced slightly from 6 to 3 as at the end of Qtr. 3. Road traffic collisions involving serious injuries have also decreased from 42 to 26 and slight injuries reduced from 65 to 50. Serious Organised Crime At the end of Qtr. 3, drug supply offences have reduced slightly with 23 crimes compared to 28 the previous year, whilst possession charges have shown a notable increase of 10.5% from 313 to 346. Across Argyll & West Dunbartonshire 20 crimes linked to persons associated with serious and organised crime have been recorded and £109,226 has been seized under POCA since 1st April 2025. Violence & ASB At the end of Qtr. 3 Group 1 crimes of violence have increased by 2.4% with 814 crimes compared to 795 the previous year to date, while anti-social behaviour (ASB) related crimes have increased by 14.6% from 734 to 841 crimes. 1. Acquisitive Crime 2. Public Protection 3. Road Safety & Road Crime 4. Serious Organised Crime 5. Violence & Anti-social behaviour ARGYLL & BUTE POLICING PRIORITIES 2023-2026
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL CRIME PYTD CYTD INCIDENTS PYTD CYTD Total Crimes & Offences 4989 5644 Total number of incidents 15,141 14,406 DEMAND ANALYSIS - * PYTD - PREVIOUS YEAR TO DATE CYTD - CURRENT YEAR TO DATE * * * * The total volume of crimes and offences recorded within Argyll and Bute has increased by 13% from the previous year and is currently above the previous 5-year average (4949). This is down from 19% in the previous reporting period. With the exception of a marginal reduction in crimes relating to damage and reckless behaviour, all crime types have experienced a rise in figures compared to the position in 2024/25 as at the end of Qtr. 3. Road traffic offences have seen the highest increase (+329) followed by Group 5 crimes against society (+111) and Group 6 anti- social offences (+107).
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL ACQUISITIVE CRIME Common thefts have experienced the highest increase in terms of acquisitive crime from 155 to 185 crimes, which is currently above the 5-year average (171). In Argyll various thefts have occurred in/around Oban town centre relating to thefts of used cooking oil, while various thefts of machinery, power tools and construction materials have also been recorded at building sites and boathouses/marinas throughout the local authority. The detection rate for common theft has reduced from 33.5% to 26%. Shoplifting crimes have reduced by 14.4% with 155 crimes recorded compared to 181 the previous year. The current figure remains above the previous 5-year average (122) however. The detection rate has reduced slightly from 70.7% to 61.3%. Fraud has risen marginally in Argyll and Bute compared to last year, from 145 to 149 recorded crimes. Increases in social engineering and identity frauds have been offset by reductions in bank account takeovers and frauds pertaining to bogus workmen. The detection rate for fraud has reduced slightly by 3.4% from 27.6% to 24.2%. Acquisitive crime remains a local priority in Argyll & Bute. The year-to-date figures remain impacted by the spate of cooking oil thefts mentioned in preceding reports, but there have been no further such offences since the previous report to this committee. Over the festive period we conducted dedicated high visibility patrols within our communities in support of local businesses and our officers carried out targeted stop searches on individuals known to be involved with acquisitive crime. One shoplifting during Q3 was notable in that clothing worth almost £3,000 was taken from a high- street store in Oban. A 41-year-old man was arrested and has been charged. There were also series of break-ins at commercial premises in Oban between September and November 2025, with a 29- year-old man identified and reported to the Procurator Fiscal connected with six offences. Frauds continue to be the main financial loss for our residents, which is a trend consistent with the national picture. In direct response to these being reported, our Partnerships & Preventions Team provide additional support and signposting to partner agencies for affected victims, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Recently there has been one report of counterfeit currency within Argyll & Bute which we are monitoring as a potential emerging trend, and communities are advised to remain vigilant.
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Public protection is often complex, and we work in partnership to increase public awareness and confidence. Many offences are non-recent. In November 2025, a former social care officer at a residential unit for looked after children in Oban was convicted of sexual offences against two girls between 1999 and 2001. Alexander Boyd was given a 10-year extended sentence following an investigation by Oban CID. There is a growing issue, reflected nationally, of children sharing indecent images online. They are also becoming vulnerable to sextortion, whereby offenders threaten to share the images to demand money or more content from victims. We are tackling this through awareness, early intervention and working with schools. Our Youth Engagement Officers play a key role in this work. Missing persons are a key area of focus for us and after a person is found, we always explore what measures can be taken to prevent the missing episode from recurring. We do this by understanding the reasons and then working with partners to signpost to appropriate support mechanisms. At the end of Qtr. 3, Group 2 crimes have increased by 30% with 228 crimes recorded compared to 175 (+53) in the same period last year. Sexual assaults have increased by 38% from 64 to 88 (+24), while rape offences have reduced slightly from 38 to 33. Crimes relating to indecent images/communications have also increased considerably from 52 to 93 crimes with approx. 65% involving children and 83% being committed via online platforms. Approximately 56% of sexual assaults occurred in a private setting and 82% were committed by persons known to the victim. Around 31% of sexual assaults reported related to non-recent crimes. Similarly, approx. 83% of rape offences occurred within a private space and 87% were committed by persons known to the victim with 15 crimes being domestic related. Domestic abuse incidents have seen an increase of 4.3% compared to last year from 512 to 534, while the number of crimes recorded has remained consistent with 525 compared to 523. The detection rate for domestic abuse crimes has increased from 55.3% to 65.1% year on year. A total of 135 missing person reports had been recorded within Argyll and Bute as at end of Qtr. 3, which is an increase of 33.7% from last year (+34). MP reports relating to adults have increased by 28% from the position last year from 57 to 73. Reports relating to children have also increased from 22 to 47 (+25) although the number of MP’s for young persons in care has reduced marginally (-4). PUBLIC PROTECTION
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL At the end of Qtr. 3, the number of fatal RTC’s recorded in Argyll and Bute has seen a slight reduction from 6 to 3 year on year. RTC’s resulting in both serious and slight injuries have also decreased from 42 to 26 (-16) and 65 to 50 (-15), respectively. Road traffic offences continue to see a considerable increase of 21.8% from 1512 to 1841 (+329). Speeding offences have experienced the highest increase (+135) followed by vehicle defect such as construction and lighting offences (+72) and unlawful use of motor vehicle such as licence, insurance and registration offences (+53). The increase in vehicle offences is largely a testament to proactive policing within Argyll and Bute during the current reporting period. Road Traffic Casualties 2024/25 2025/26 Number of persons killed on our roads 6 3 Number of persons seriously injured 42 26 Number of persons slightly injured 65 50 Number of children seriously injured 0 1 Police efforts to drive down the number of people killed and seriously injured on our road’s focus on enforcement of the law; prevention through education and early intervention; and proactive, visible deterrents. Meanwhile, our partner agencies are responsible for influencing driver behaviour through the design, layout and overall infrastructure of the county’s roads. Our traffic detections continue to increase, which is testament to the proactive work by our specialist officers and our local policing teams. We continue to target those drivers putting people’s safety at risk. Durning this reporting period we conducted our annual festive drink and drug driving campaign over Christmas and Hogmanay. Many hundreds of motorists were stopped during this initiative by both local and specialist officers throughout Argyll & Bute. Of those, 16 people were charged while driving while unfit through drink or drugs. It is of course reassuring that most road users are clearly behaving responsibly, but the results nevertheless highlight that a significant minority of individuals put the lives of others at risk through their own selfish decisions. Prevention and education are essential components of our strategy to reduce road traffic collisions. In Cowal and Bute we will be conducting a ‘lose the blinkers’ initiative with specialist mounted officers, road traffic officers and local policing to raise awareness of driving near to or passing horses on the road. Our Partnerships and Prevention Team, in conjunction with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Institute for Advance Motorists (IAM), have also reintroduced our highly successful Road Safety Hubs for 2026. These sessions provide drivers with the opportunities to learn and understand how an advanced driver views the road space around them. The most recent event in Oban in January 2026 attracted 20 participants. In relation to enforcement, police can be anywhere but not everywhere – and communities have a key role to play in keeping our roads safe. Members of the public are encouraged to report anyone who is suspected of drink or drug driving within their community either in person, via 101, or via the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. It is important that police are called at the time of the offending so we can catch the behaviour taking place. This helps us provide key evidence to act and prosecute offending. ROAD SAFETY AND ROAD CRIME
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Across Argyll & West Dunbartonshire, 20 crimes linked to persons associated with serious and organised crime have been recorded and £109,226 has been seized under POCA since 1st April 2025. At the end of Qtr. 3, drugs supply charges show a slight reduction compared to last year from 28 to 23 crimes, which remains below the previous 5-year average (26). Drug possession charges however have seen a 10.5% increase from 313 to 346 and remains above the previous 5-year average (313). There are plans in place for 2026 to work more closely with Crimestoppers to increase awareness of anonymous reporting mechanisms in relation to drugs supply and Serious & Organised Crime in Argyll & Bute. You will see increased publicity about Crimestoppers as a direct result of this intensified campaign. It is vital that we continue to encourage and empower our communities to speak up about crime within their towns and villages because members of the public are our eyes and ears and have a crucial impact on police effectiveness. Our officers, whilst on high visibility patrols, conducted 189 proactive stop searches during this reporting period, the large majority of these being under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Around 28 per cent of those stop searches resulted in items being found and consequently 42 people were charged in relation to drugs offences. This work demonstrates that we are determined to deter those involved with serious and organised crime. Some examples of activity during this reporting period include – being successful in obtaining and executing a drugs warrant in Campbeltown in October which resulted in a significant quantity of cocaine and cash being seized. A 22-year-old man was arrested and a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. In November, a drugs warrant in Ardrishaig also resulted in the recovery of a large quantity of cocaine and cash being seized. A 49-year-old woman was arrested and a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. SERIOUS & ORGANISED CRIME
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL VIOLENCE While serious assaults are down, common assaults are up – with an almost 50:50 split between public and private place violence. The festive quarter often sees a rise in this type of criminality, largely associated with alcohol consumption, frequently occurring around our nighttime economy hotspots. We ensure patrols are in place around any premises causing particular concern and work closely with our licensing colleagues to ensure all venues are operating responsibly. During this reporting period we conducted almost 300 random inspections of licensed premises across Argyll & Bute. Many assaults are also connected to the key area of domestic abuse which continues to rise and which we attribute to greater confidence of victim-survivors to report. In explaining figures, it is important to note that heighted domestic assaults will not necessarily correlate with heighted victim numbers. Where a victim comes forward for the first time, reporting a history of different instances, these might necessitate being recorded separately, e.g. eight crimes coming from the one report, giving a false perception of increase in the figures. More infrequently, violence can be connected to other crime types such as drugs supply and organised crime. Our officers use analysis and intelligence to make full use of their stop search powers in targeted areas when it is justified and proportionate to do so as part of localised policing plans. Crimes of violence occurring within Argyll and Bute have increased slightly from 795 to 814 (+19) year on year while the current figure remains 22% above the previous 5-year average (667). Crimes were largely spilt 53% public and 47% private space with just over half (53%) of all public space crimes being committed by persons known to the victim. Much of the increase is attributed to a 9.3% rise in common assaults from 558 to 610 crimes (+52), while the majority of other Group 1 crimes of violence have experienced reductions or marginal change compared to the position at the end of Qtr. 3 last year. Approx. 53% of common assaults occurred within a public space setting and 47% within a residential premise. In 63% of public space crimes offenders were known to the victim and just over half of all private space crimes were domestic related. Common assaults on police and emergency workers have continued to see a reduction from 111 to 87 crimes year on year. The detection rate for crimes of violence overall is currently at 69%, which is unchanged from the position in 2024/25. In number terms an additional 13 crimes have been detected year on year however. The detection rate for common assaults has risen slightly from 63.6% to 66.2%.
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Across the recording period the number of ASB related incidents in Argyll and Bute have seen a slight increase of approx. 1.9% compared to last year. Group 6 crimes, which include ASB related offences have also increased by 14.6% with 841 crimes recorded compared to 734 the previous year. This is largely attributable to a rise in breach the peace/threatening and abusive behaviour from 662 to 749 crimes (+87) and alcohol related offences (+25) year on year. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR As is the case with crimes of violence, reports of anti-social behaviour tend to increase during Q3 as we see darker nights and emerging issues associated with annual events such as Bonfire Night, Halloween and the festive period. It is notable that this year (2025/26) Group 6 figures which include ASB and other miscellaneous offences are up by almost 15 per cent compared to the previous year – largely attributable to breach of the peace and threatening / abusive behaviour offences. While there is no pattern or trend identified, the figures would indicate robust enforcement by officers in response to such offending. We pride ourselves in our close partnerships and in preparation for bonfire weekend, our officers worked closely with colleagues from Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and A&B Council’s ASB and Housing and Trading Standards teams to promote safety and prevention. Our Youth Engagement Officers carried out joint inputs in local schools, and community teams visited premises selling fireworks to ensure they were complying with strict guidelines. We continue to target problematic householders who cause misery to neighbours and communities, to prevent escalation, which can lead to potentially sporadic acts of violence. We do this by working in partnership with housing providers and council colleagues to mediate, resolve and, if necessary, take enforcement action. Anti-social behaviour involving young people can cause concern for parents and the wider community. As part of our early intervention and prevention efforts, our Youth Engagement Officers continue to work with partners to address issues before they escalate – particularly as we head into the spring and summer months.
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OFFICIAL 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 74.5%, which is above the position as at the end of Qtr. 3 during the 2024/25 reporting period (73%) and the position in the West (71%). Useful Links/Contacts Argyll and Bute Community Directory - https://abcd.scot/ including warm spaces information Crimestoppers – Crimestoppers in Scotland (www.crimestoppers-uk.org) 0800 555 111 Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime – www.scottishparc.co.uk Women’s Aid - Home - Women's Aid (www.womensaid.org.uk) Citizens Advice – 0808 164 6000 Argyll and Bute Council Trading Standards – 01546 605 519 Argyll and Bute Council – https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/my-council/how-contact-us Transport Scotland – road related incidents - https://www.traffic.gov.scot/traffic-information/incidents Scottish Water - https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Contact-Us Local News • The recruitment and retention of officers across Argyll & Bute remains a local priority for Area Commanders – particularly our most rural locations. Several new recruits are due to join us in the next few months and notably three PCs are due to start in Campbeltown – which is great news as it’s one of our challenging towns to recruit to. • PC Wells, Dunoon & Bute’s dedicated Youth Engagement Officer was instrumental in driving positive change in 2025—her outstanding contributions were recognised at a recent police awards ceremony. Her initiatives, including Social 22 youth club, boys’ and girls’ running clubs, and vital school inputs on drugs and knife crime, continue to make a lasting impact. • From the 23rd February 2026 the new Area Inspector for OLI and MAKI will be Inspector Alasdair MacLaren. PI Maclaren will work alongside the Area Commander, Chief Inspector Lee Page, to oversee community policing across the OLI and MAKI areas. 74.5% Satisfied/Very Satisfied Total of 432 responses