Police Scotland Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 February 2025
Back to Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group — 11 February 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 January/February 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 Across Helensburgh and Lomond shoplifting offences have seen an increase. Over the last three months we have seen a clear spike in shoplifting crimes where supermarkets have been targeted. This is however in line with a rise in this crime type across the West of Scotland. A number of these crimes have been attributed to a travelling group of young persons who have been targeting many supermarkets across the West. We are working closely with our analysts, British Transport Police and other policing divisions to share information and evidence to identify those responsible. Our detection rates this year (from April) are sitting at 70% and we continue to engage with the COPFS and the courts to ensure the community impact of these crimes are being realised. Our Preventions Team, Youth Engagement Officer and local policing teams are all providing support to local supermarkets and businesses within the local community. They are available to visit businesses and residents to provide crime prevention advice should it be requested. We remain determined to reduce the impact of acquisitive crime locally and we will continue to thoroughly investigate all reports. 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 Road Safety Speeding and driving complaints remain prevalent within Helensburgh and Lomond. Areas such as Cardross Road from the County Hotel to Mamis Eskin Wynd remain a concern for community members. Other areas such as West Montrose Street have also been highlighted locally. 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 01/11/2022 and the week commencing 20/01/2025, 39 drivers have been issued with fines or reported with speeding offences. In the same period our national festive drink driving campaign was running which resulted in eight drivers being stopped who were found to be unfit to drive. We are also aware that the removal of the average speed camera on the A82 has resulted in a few queries to our elected members. I have spoken with the Safety Camera Unit who confirmed that since the installation they have been inundated with complaints relating to HGVs slowing traffic on the road. They have confirmed that they will resume enforcing via their mobile vans along this stretch of the A82. They are also hopeful that these cameras will be re-introduced in the summer as a result in the increase in seasonal traffic. Our Preventions Team continue to be proactive on our social media streams and are planning a number of road safety road shows in the coming months which were well received in 2024. ASB/Violence Over the course of the festive period, we provided high visibility patrols throughout our villages and towns. We supported Christmas fayres and community events during the day and at night we provided a high visibility presence in hot spot areas providing reassurance and support to our nighttime economy. Our officers carried out over 50 visits to licensed premises across Helensburgh and Lomond during December which helped reduce alcohol related anti-social behaviour and violence. The number of recorded serious assaults have reduced based on the same time scales last year. We have seen a rise in common assaults across the area particularly against emergency service personnel, where we have recorded an increase of 70%. Attacks on emergency services personnel are unacceptable but we continue to work with staff to ensure they have sufficient training and support to make sure they are serving the community with confidence and the appropriate skills.
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 target problematic householders who cause misery to neighbours and communities. We work in partnership with housing providers, Argyll & Bute Council and Social Work services to mediate, resolve and where it is possible, deter further escalation. Domestic Abuse We continue to support individuals through a victim-centred approach. Our officers receive regular training and guidance to ensure we are supporting those affected with professionalism and empathy. We have an effective governance structure in place to ensure all reports are scrutinised. This ensures all investigative opportunities are considered by the enquiry officers before any report can be filed. We continue to robustly manage those domestic offenders released on Bail to ensure they are adhering to restrictions placed on them by the courts. We also have a range of ongoing prevention work which targets a wide age range of individuals from school pupils to the professional. One such initiative involves taxi drivers and providing them with training on how to report concerns or deal with an incident taking place in front of them. National campaigns in this area are also currently active that focus on recognising and changing offender’s behaviour. Youth Engagement Our Youth Engagement officer has been very active supporting schools and youth events across the area. She has been delivering numerous presentations including online safety, drug and alcohol awareness, road safety and keeping safe. She has delivered these presentations to a wide age range of young person’s where she acts as a mentor and role model, influencing decision making whilst also promoting personal safety. Looking Forward We continue to forward plan, looking ahead with summer action plans focusing on: • Seasonal ASB • Road Safety • Water Safety
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 We successfully applied for funding to purchase a new mobile police office. This mobile van will be utilised by our community officers and assist them travelling to and spending time in across our towns and villages. They will be able to deploy from this van on foot or bikes. This will increase our visibility supporting our communities and addressing local policing priorities. 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