Police Scotland Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 14 June 2022
Back to Helensburgh & Lomond Area Committee — 14 June 2022 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 Area Committee Report for June 2022 Police Scotland Inspector Roddy MacNeill Helensburgh & Lomond Thank you Chair, good morning to all present. New Area Commander for Helensburgh, Lomond, Cowal & Bute, CI Samantha Glasgow who has replaced Emma Grimason who has transferred to a new role. Police resources remain at a decent level to date with a further 4 probationary Constables commencing service with us during July 2022. Building, facilities and vehicle fleet are all in good order. I continue to engage in the Local Multi Agency ASB Group and Community Planning partnership. We have once again started multi-agency meetings as part of Operation Balaton. This is the operation to ensure we provide the most effective policing model to deal with the large increase in footfall across the area during the summer months. Very successful last year and has been effective so far again this season. Involves ourselves, BTP, SFRS, NP, Scotrail and the Local authorities. From this weekend officers will be deployed with the Argyll & Bute warden to carry out joint patrols at a large number of sites across Helensburgh and Cowal to engage with and educate visitors to the area and deter ASB. Local Authority funded. We have started our joint patrols with the NP Rangers on Loch Lomond to ensure loch users are acting responsibly, safely and in line with the park by-laws. Also allows for a police presence on the islands during the course of the shift. Very worthwhile given the substantial increase in the use of both powered and non-powered craft on the water. Police Scotland in partnership with the MDP are arranging a disco in October at MOD Drumfork Club at Churchill. Looking to have drug awareness talks included on the night as well as other inputs from partners.
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OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Police Scotland, working with Live Argyll, MDP and SFRS will be assisting at a weekly midnight football league at Hermitage Academy from June to August to keep youths occupied and to provide an opportunity to engage with those attending in an informal setting. Speeding as always is on the radar, various ‘hot spots’ around the sub division that we, assisted by our Traffic Dept. colleagues, are addressing to the best of our ability. Permanent speed camera now installed on Main Road Cardross, has been a delay in getting the unit powered up but that seems now to be resolved and I hope the camera is fully operational in the next few weeks. Crime figures are down year on year generally, fraud remains an issue nationally. PC Laura Evans in our Community Engagement Team is providing call blocker advice, liaising with elderly victims and offering advice and guidance. Training dates are being confirmed for officers to be trained in Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) In practice DBI allows front line services such as ourselves, to provide another level of support and care to distressed members of the public and for us to refer them on to qualified staff from partner organisations that can provide the help quickly and properly. It will hopefully allow for persons to be better signposted to the appropriate help while negating the need for officers to potentially take the person to hospital where they can be for some hours awaiting assessment particularly out with office hours. Once live, when officers come across a person in distress, they can discuss this with them, refer them and the next level of care partner will contact them within 24 hrs and take them on the right path. Qs??