POLICE ARE CONTINUING to declare Moray as one of Scotland’s safest places in which to live with new figures revealing significant reductions in crime.
Serious assaults dropped by 38% when compared with the April to June period last year – with the culprits detected in every case.
For violent crimes there was also a reduction of almost a half – 48% – with that being put down to the continuing ‘Operation PINE’ which concentrates on violence and anti-social behaviour. Other proactive intelligence-led initiatives such as Operations Regard and Witton has seen a fall in vandalism by almost 25% – while the detection of drug-related offences are at a five-year high.
The results were reported today to Moray Council’s Police and Fire and Rescue committee by Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson and Moray area commander Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie.
Chief Superintendent Thomson said: “Moray continues to be one of the safest areas to live and work in Scotland and I am encouraged by this report. It reflects the very positive work of police officers and police staff in Moray, the extensive partnership working with other agencies and the continued support from communities themselves.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chief Inspector Mackie and his team for their continued hard work.”
The improved performance continued with a 30% fall in crimes of dishonesty compared to the five-year average – and 13.5% compared to the same quarter in 2015. There was also a major fall in motor vehicle crime.
Chief Inspector Mackie said: “We have been working tirelessly with partners and communities to promote crime reduction messages and I want to thank the public for their support.
“The number of vandalisms has decreased by 23% with detection rates increasing by more than 5% thanks to the significant efforts of Operation Regard. We know vandalism affects the quality of life for those who live in our communities so it is important for us to take action to address that.
“Through Operation Witton we continue to focus on serious organised crime involving drugs as a priority and targeting those responsible who prey on the vulnerable in our society. In the last week alone we recovered £25,000 worth of cocaine in Elgin in addition to several other significant seizures.
“Our intelligence-led proactive enforcement has intercepted a considerable amount of controlled drugs which were bound for the streets of Moray, and I can assure you that officers are committed to making the area a hostile environment for those who choose to involve themselves in this type of unwanted activity.”