Police Scotland report that around 5.30pm on Tuesday 13 November 2018 a 63 year old man was arrested in Sanquhar following a complaint regarding his alleged behaviour towards young females within the town in the previous few days.
Following his arrest, at a house in High Street in the town, a large crowd, estimated to be in the region of 90 person, male and female, assembled outside the house whilst officers were dealing with the arrest. As a result of this development Police Scotland deployed a number of resources to the location in order to deal with the ongoing incident.
Subsequently three local men, aged 21, 22 and 26 were arrested for public order offences. The crowd dispersed shortly after 7pm.
Chief Inspector Stuart Davidson, Dumfriesshire Area Commander said “this gathering had the potential to become a very serious incident following the arrest of the 63 year old man. Officers were deployed to the scene to ensure public safety. Shortly after the man was arrested the crown began to disperse. Reports are being prepared for the Procurator Fiscal.
“I am aware that mobile phones were used to capture footage of this incident and a number of these have been posted online. At this point in time enquiries are continuing into this matter and all forms of evidence is being reviewed in an attempt to establish whether other offences have taken place. Where evidence is found, further arrests may be made.
Officers carried out patrols in the area over the course of the evening to provide reassurance to the local community following this gathering, and will continue to do so over the coming days.“My message to the people of Sanquhar is clear. If you have any concerns about the safety of children then please contact the police rather than taking the law into your own hands. Police Scotland is fully committed to the investigation of all reports regarding the safety of children using all of its resources, nationally and locally, to protect Scotland’s children. If you are concerned that children may be at risk then please call 999 if you think there is an immediate threat, or 101 in any other case.”
