The year end figures for Police Scotland, ‘V’ Division (Dumfries and Galloway) for 2014 / 2015 are now tallied and early indications are that the Division has once again performed to a creditable level.
Divisional Commander Mike Leslie said “It gives me great satisfaction to be leading a Division in Police Scotland where all individuals work with energy and enthusiasm as a team, committed in the first instance to preventing crime and where crime does occur ensuring they then pursue those who are responsible in a relentless manner. Our efforts have clearly been successful in that our crime figures continue to fall and our commitment to tackling those issues which our communities tell us are of greatest concern to them remains a priority for us.”
Chief Superintendent Leslie was quick to point out that these results are not achieved in isolation, “The success of driving down crime and maintaining good results, comes through sound, integrated, partnership working across all areas of the region, listening to and responding to the issues which have been identified by our communities as most concerning to them. Strong links and work in our local communities has been a key feature of our partnerships.”
Our challenge now is to maintain and where possible improve on the level of performance we currently enjoy.”
Highlights in the figures for 2014/2015 are:-
Group 1 to 5 recorded crime (includes crimes of violence, sexual crimes, dishonesty and vandalism) is down 372 (7%) on the previous year. In effect this means there are over 350 less victims of crime.
- Group 1 to 5 detections although down 4.3% from 68.5% to 64.2%, still means that nearly two out of every three crimes reported to us are being detected.
- Overall road casualties are slightly up, by 2.7%, or 10 casualties. Those killed on our roads in Dumfries and Galloway fell from 13 to 10, or 23.1%.
- Reports of domestic abuse incidents have showed a 5.8% increase from 1,162 to 1,229, 67 reports, and this remains a priority area for the Division, and one where the assistance of the national Domestic Abuse Taskforce and Divisional Investigation Units will collaborate to tackle.
Chief Superintendent Mike Leslie added “The concerns of the communities across Dumfries and Galloway are our concerns also. Violent crime, anti- social behaviour and alcohol-related disorder blight many of our towns and villages and our focus will remain firmly on tackling these issues in order to ensure we are keeping people safe.”
