Lib Dems find nothing useful on part-time unpaid police officers who make up 2% of the best staffed force in the UK

From STV yesterday: Numbers of special constables within Police Scotland have fallen by 73% since the national police service was formed, the Scottish Lib Dems say. Figures obtained by the party through freedom of information show there were 383 special constables in 2023/24. This is a decrease from 1,394 in 2013. The special constabulary is trained to the same standard as the rest of the police service, however, it operates on a volunteer basis. Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “Special constables are an important link between communities and the police service because they can provide valuable local knowledge. … Continue reading Lib Dems find nothing useful on part-time unpaid police officers who make up 2% of the best staffed force in the UK

July riots – After 17 years without Labour, only Police Scotland had the ‘formidable resources’ to be able to help other forces deal with ‘extreme nationalists’

From BBC UK today: Police were unprepared for the scalebb of disorder that broke out in part of the UK following the Southport knife attacks, a police watchdog has found. Police intelligence did not predict the “rising tide of violent disorder well enough”, according to the review of their response to the worst UK unrest in more than a decade. Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke praised officers for their “immense bravery and personal sacrifice” while protecting the public. But he warned it was “clear” that police had missed opportunities to prepare for widespread disorder, and that earlier incidents involving … Continue reading July riots – After 17 years without Labour, only Police Scotland had the ‘formidable resources’ to be able to help other forces deal with ‘extreme nationalists’

British Transport Police report on 65 arrests on County Lines drug gang rail network using railways from London, to the end of the line in Thurso, for child drug couriers is not that interesting to BBC Scotland it seems

Only the Daily Record picked up on this from British Transport Police on 6 December 2024: British Transport Police (BTP) disrupted six County lines, arrested 65 people, and seized in excess of £80,000 in cash during a national County Lines week of action tackling drug supply across England, Scotland and Wales.  The week was coordinated by BTP’s dedicated County Lines Taskforce (CLTF) and the operations featured uniformed and plain clothes officers, dogs trained in passive drug detection and metal detection arches.  As part of the enhanced activity from Monday 25th November – Sunday 1st December during the national County Lines … Continue reading British Transport Police report on 65 arrests on County Lines drug gang rail network using railways from London, to the end of the line in Thurso, for child drug couriers is not that interesting to BBC Scotland it seems

Police Scotland Freedom of Information request regarding the unthinkable reveals no cases of it

I monitor Police Scotland’s Disclosure Log daily for anything that might be of interest. At first, I thought it best to pass this one by, but then wondered why indulge in the same censorship as BBC Scotland who, of course, will not be reporting this. From Reference: 24-2764 – Crime stats – Female Genital Mutilation – 2000 TD, published yesterday: A search of our crime recording system for Female Genital Mutilation offences shows there was 1 recorded offence in 2019, 2 recorded and 2 detected offences in 2020 and 1 recorded offence in 2022. All statistics are provisional and should … Continue reading Police Scotland Freedom of Information request regarding the unthinkable reveals no cases of it

Rape – how ‘your’ media choose to make you feel and how you feel affects how you vote

By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, the BBC Scotland News Editor (James Cook) chooses to include 2 rape reports in the 7 top stories. BBC England, Wales and Northern Ireland have none. Will that just be because there were none to report? There were 67 928 reported rape offences in England and Wales last year.1 There were 294 reported rapes and attempted rapes (rape offences) in Scotland, in the same year.2 There were, thus, 231 times (67 928 / 294) as many rape offences in England in Wales and even per head of population, rape offences were (231/11) 21 times as many. … Continue reading Rape – how ‘your’ media choose to make you feel and how you feel affects how you vote

Despite more crime, bizarre duties, already fewer officers and lower starting salaries, England’s police forces face ‘eye watering cuts’ under Labour according to Chief

By Professor John Robertson OBA in The Guardian today: Police service in London faces ‘eye-watering cuts’, says Met chief Mark Rowley Surely this is not possible in a country already stricken by high levels of crime with inadequate staffing levels and poor starting pay levels which inhibit recruitment. The details, you won’t see in Scottish media: The true facts are, from open, transparent, official, checkable statistics, in Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 30 September 2024, published today is: Police officer numbers increased by 220 FTE officers (+1.4%) in the last quarter from 30 June 2024 This is an increase of 193 FTE police officers (+1.2%) from the … Continue reading Despite more crime, bizarre duties, already fewer officers and lower starting salaries, England’s police forces face ‘eye watering cuts’ under Labour according to Chief

Latest research suggests Scots feel safer as assaults leading to hospital admission and fire-raising, plummet in last 17 years

By Professor John Robertson OBA Many of us, understandably are skeptical about the picture of falling crime painted by statistics based on police recording. Correctly, we point to the fact that much crime is known to be unreported and unrecorded. However, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), carried out by independent University-based researchers interviews around 5 000 Scots asking them to speak of ‘their experiences of, and attitudes to, a range of issues related to crime, policing and the justice system, including crime not reported to the police.‘ This is gold standard research and can be trusted to reveal the world as … Continue reading Latest research suggests Scots feel safer as assaults leading to hospital admission and fire-raising, plummet in last 17 years

Latest survey update of how Scots actually experience crime levels confirms huge falls including in violent crime and improved clear-up rates in last 17 years to lowest levels in the UK

By Professor John Robertson OBA Many of us, understandably are skeptical about the picture of falling crime painted by statistics based on police recording. Correctly, we point to the fact that much crime is known to be unreported and unrecorded. However, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), carried out by independent University-based researchers interviews around 5 000 Scots asking them to speak of ‘their experiences of, and attitudes to, a range of issues related to crime, policing and the justice system, including crime not reported to the police.‘ This is gold standard research and can be trusted to reveal the world as … Continue reading Latest survey update of how Scots actually experience crime levels confirms huge falls including in violent crime and improved clear-up rates in last 17 years to lowest levels in the UK

Since SNP came to power, homicide down by more than half, plummeting among young men by more than three quarters and among young women by nearly four fifths

By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scottish Government’s Homicide in Scotland 2023-24 Statistical bulletin on crimes of homicide recorded by the police in Scotland in 2023-24, released yesterday, the above graph and: The number of homicide victims has shown a downward trend since 2004-05. In 2023-24, there were 57 victims of homicide, five more than in 2022-23. Despite this increase, the number of homicide victims in 2023-24 was the third lowest since comparable records began in 1976 (and lower than all years from that point to 2020-21 inclusive). In 2023-24, there were 44 male victims, representing 77% of all homicide victims. … Continue reading Since SNP came to power, homicide down by more than half, plummeting among young men by more than three quarters and among young women by nearly four fifths

Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland but they want you to think a different story about your country

and September was almost 20% higher than in the same period last year. By Professor John Robertson BBC Reporting Scotland, in their own insert but also picked out as a special on life in Scotland for BBC Breakfast and extended on the BBC website, the above report of increased rape reporting to suggest Scotland is the rape capital of the UK to go along with the fake drug death capital story. No context whatsoever is reported to counter this shameful, exploitative narrative. Here is again: Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland The police in Scotland … Continue reading Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland but they want you to think a different story about your country