HALF YEARLY RESULTS
In announcing the half yearly performance report for the Dumfries and Galloway Division of Police Scotland, Chief Superintendent Bobby Moore, Divisional Commander commented “I am delighted with the figures recently published which clearly confirm that officers, special constables and staff in the Division remain committed to providing the very best policing service. Our focus is on keeping people safe and we do this in collaboration with our communities, by listening to what matters to them. The hard work and dedication of all our staff across the Division linked with the strong relationships we have with our partners and other community groups continues to be key element in this success.”
Some of the highlights in this report which covers the period 1 April to 30 September 2014, as compared with the same period in 2013 are:-
• Reported crime down by just over 20%, which equates to some 607 fewer crimes, and of course means fewer victims of crime.
• Detection rates sitting at a very healthy 65%, which means that nearly two out of every three crimes reported to us are solved.
• Crimes of violence, which include, all assaults, robbery and assault with intent to rob are down by 33% from 91 to 61 crimes, which is a drop of 30 crimes, and importantly 30 fewer victims.
• Dishonesty crime, which covers housebreakings, thefts, fraud and car crime is down nearly 19% or some 216 crimes, from 1149 to 933 crimes.
• Whilst those killed on our roads has decreased from 7 to 5 in the first six months of the year, those injured in crashes, either slightly or seriously has risen from 184 to 203 casualties.
Chief Superintendent Moore said that “these figure are nothing short of remarkable when you measure them against some of the transition we have seen across the force in the past 18 months or so. The creation of a single policing service has enabled us to build on best practice whilst improving our policing response, ensuring that we are able access specialist resources and expertise no matter when and where required across Dumfries and Galloway.
“As I go about the Division I am convinced that public confidence in policing in the region remains high. Our challenge now, as ever, is to maintain, and improve this level of performance. There are areas where we need to keep focused in order to deliver on our ‘keeping people safe’ aim. Domestic abuse figures are up from 509 cases in 2013 to 614 cases this year. Our focus is on a victim-centred approach, which is consistent across Scotland and we now actively seek out any criminal activity when an incident is reported. We are grateful for the support of the national Domestic Abuse Task Force in some of our more serious and complicated cases.
“I remain confident about the level professionalism in our local policing service and would want to take time to pay tribute to the officers, special constables and staff of the Division who, in collaboration with our communities and partners, deliver these positive results. Likewise I would wish to thank the members of the Police, Fire and rescue Committee of the council for their support in our endeavours.”
