Police Scotland Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 November 2025
Back to Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group — 11 November 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS 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. OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Division Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group November 2025 The priorities for your area are decided by data from our strategic assessment which details threats and risks, and also from feedback from local authorities, partners, and residents in the Local Policing Survey. The current priorities are: • Serious and organised crime • Crimes of theft and dishonesty (acquisitive crime) • Road safety and road crime • ASB & Violent crime • Public protection. Acquisitive Crime Acquisitive crime remains a local priority especially as we move towards the winter months where community members can feel more vulnerable during the darker evenings. Our preventions team continue to look for ways to raise the importance of crime prevention within in the community. Small steps and a review of personal routines can help reduce the likelihood of becoming the victim of opportunistic crime. 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. Between 01/07/2025 and the week commencing 06/10/2025 locally we have recorded 15 Shopliftings across out community which is down on previous months. We have had no reports of domestic housebreakings COWAL, BUTE & HELENSBURGH PRIORITIES 2023-2026
Page 2
OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS 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. OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS Digital evidence sharing capability, which revolutionises the way we collect and process digital evidence throughout the criminal justice system, is now live in Argyll. Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) is a programme designed to deliver an end to end service which will collect, manage and share digital evidence throughout the criminal justice process. DESC will allow members of the public/businesses to quickly and easily submit digital evidence online (via portal). Road Safety Overall, there is a reduction in the number of casualties involved in road traffic collisions within Argyll and Bute compared to last year. Speeding and driving complaints remain prevalent within Helensburgh and Lomond. We continue to support community concerns in this area through direct action, prevention and intervention work. Proactive speed checks have been carried out across the area and Between 01/07/2025 and the week commencing 06/10/2025, we have detected 157 seeding offences across out local communities. These drivers have been issued with fines or reported to the COPFs. During the same period 6 divers have been charged with dangerous driving and a further 21 drivers charged with driving without due care or attention. We have also detected 12 drivers who were unfit to drive through drink or drugs and have been reported to the COPFs. During this period, we have received a total of 107 reports of road accidents however from that number 25 were assessed as immediate response calls. ASB/Violence 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. It is very difficult to prevent sporadic acts of violence particularly indoors in private dwellings. We continue to engage with housing partners to identify problematic neighbour complaints to assess and target ASB which if left to fester may escalate to violence. We have robust policing plans in place to monitor those individuals released with specific bail conditions. The Preventions Team at Dumbarton are in daily contact with the ASB and Housing Teams to ensure we maximise our response through a partnership approach.
Page 3
OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS 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. OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS We continue to support our local night time economy by providing a visible deterrent in and around our licensed premises. Our officers will make full use of their stop search powers when it is justified and proportionate to do so. Between the dates reported we have charged 3 persons who have been found to be in possession of an offensive weapon within the community. We have 35 recorded minor assaults and 0 recorded serious assaults. We have proactively stopped 33 individuals who were found to be in possession of drugs, controlled under the misuse of drugs act. Public Protection We continue to support individuals through a victim centred approach. Our officers receive regular training and guidance to ensure that we are supporting those affected with a professionalism and empathy. Public protection is often complex. Policing on its own is not the solution. By working in partnership, taking a multi-agency approach, increasing public confidence and raising public awareness, we are better placed to identify threat, manage risk and prevent harm A scheme launched ten years ago by Police Scotland has seen over 19,500 disclosures made to people about their partner's abusive past. The Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS) was launched on 1 October 2015 following a successful trial in Ayrshire and Aberdeen city, and since then has received over 35,500 requests to ask about the background of a partner. DSDAS is an important preventative tool in tackling domestic abuse. Of the 35,847 requests received, 19,867 disclosures (55 per cent) have been made to tell individuals their partner has a violent or abusive past. Before the DSDAS scheme, there was no formal way of an individual finding out if their partner had a previous history of abusive behaviour. And similarly, there was no mechanism for police to proactively tell individuals if their partner posed a risk to them. The introduction of DSDAS has made significant changes and improvements to the violence against women landscape. It gives people the right to ask and police the right to tell individuals at risk of domestic abuse about the history of their partner. They can then make an informed decision about their relationship. The DSDAS form is available on our website: https://www.scotland.police.uk/secureforms/disclosure/
Page 4
OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS 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. OFFICIAL: POLICE AND PARTNERS Local News We are now planning for our seasonal winter safety campaigns which will involve high visibility patrols within the community to deter ASB and seasonal acquisitive crime. We will be providing various firework safety related inputs in conjunction with our partners at the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service. We will be working with our partnerships team to ensure that we maximise our media opportunities to highlight various crime prevention ideas to benefit our communities which will reduce the impact of acquisitive crime. Our officers are always willing to advise on crime prevention matters and we would encourage those of you who feel they could benefit from advice to get in touch. *The crime data referred to above is recorded between 1st July and 6th October 2025 Useful Links/Contacts • Argyll and Bute Communtiy Directory - https://abcd.scot/ including warm spaces information • Crimestoppers – Crimestoppers in Scotland | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) 0800 555 111 • Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime – www.scottishparc.co.uk • Women’s Aid - Home - Women's Aid (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 and road closures - https://www.traffic.gov.scot/traffic-information/incidents • Scottish Water - https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Contact-Us 0800 0778 778 • NHS24 (including mental health support) – 111 or https://www.nhsinform.scot/ Follow us on Social Media and help share loacl appeals and education messages • Facebook - Police Scotland Argyll and West Dunbartonshire • X (formerly Twitter) – PSOSArgyllBute and PSOS ArgWestDunb Sign up to Neighbourhood Watch to receive local alerts and bulletins for your community area - https://neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk/#0 Have your say on your local policing priorities - Your Police 2024-2025 - Police Scotland - Citizen Space