Police Chiefs celebrate 6 years of disrupting County Lines gang terror and the need for a Scottish Coordinator, ‘recognising the lines from England that impact this part of the UK’

The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and funded by the Home Office marks six years of disrupting County lines drug gangs, today.  Since 2018, 5 627 lines have been closed, more than 16,500 people arrested and 8,800 individuals safeguarded. Every policing region in England and Wales has a dedicated NCLCC Co-ordinator and analytical resource to measure this threat and access to the Continuous Improvement Team to support with their force response to County Lines. In addition, there is a programme funded Co-ordinator in Scotland, recognising the lines from England that impact … Continue reading Police Chiefs celebrate 6 years of disrupting County Lines gang terror and the need for a Scottish Coordinator, ‘recognising the lines from England that impact this part of the UK’

Latest research – Crime down 53% since first SNP Government began but police numbers slightly up on last Labour Government!

By Professor John Robertson From the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report : July 2024 edition, today: Crime has fallen by 53% since 2008-09. Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) show that around 1 in 10 adults were victims of crime in 2021-22 (10.0%) compared to 1 in 5 in 2008-09 (20.4%). The estimated number of crimes fell by 53% over the same period, and by 18% since 2017-18.  https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-july-2024-edition/pages/3/#page-top IMPORTANT – This is not based on police reporting which is known to understate the actual level of crime but on The Scottish Crime and Justice … Continue reading Latest research – Crime down 53% since first SNP Government began but police numbers slightly up on last Labour Government!

Police Chiefs launch three-year plan to disrupt violent English drug gangs operating in England, Scotland & Wales, to a media silence

The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) brings together and is funded by police forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the armed services and some British Overseas Territories. Yesterday, the NPCC announced: The NPCC alongside the NCLCC have today (9 July) launched the Disrupting County Lines Policing Strategy. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) County Lines and Gangs alongside the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) have today (9 July) launched the Disrupting County Lines Policing Strategy 2024 to 2027. The strategy aims to: Building on the success since the launch of the Home Office County Lines programme in 2019, … Continue reading Police Chiefs launch three-year plan to disrupt violent English drug gangs operating in England, Scotland & Wales, to a media silence

Crime slightly up in 2023/2024 but still falling in trend down 51% from the days of Thatcherism still scarring England

By Professor John Robertson From the Scottish Government today: Crime figures based only on police reporting do understate the actual level of crime and so we need to find out what people will report to independent researchers about their own experience of crime in their communities. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is based on 5 600 face-to-face interviews. This is a very large sample, scientifically constructed to represent all social groups. Compared with opinion polls with samples of around 1 000, this method is gold-standard for validity and reliability. It found an estimated 494,000 crimes in 2021/22 [Down … Continue reading Crime slightly up in 2023/2024 but still falling in trend down 51% from the days of Thatcherism still scarring England

Bradford drugs gang ‘recruited an 11 year-old to deal’ in Ayrshire town

The Metro today is reporting a survey of all UK police forces to find out how many under 16’s have been recruited to deal drugs by the County Lines gangs operating out of large cities in England and, in several cases, in small Scottish towns. They also asked about the age of the youngest child being exploited in this way and identified three 10 year-olds and numerous 11 year-olds – Primary School pupils. 1 Police Scotland did not respond to the Metro survey, but from social media comments by locals in Auchinleck and Cumnock (East Ayrshire) last November, it was … Continue reading Bradford drugs gang ‘recruited an 11 year-old to deal’ in Ayrshire town

Police Scotland trusted by public up to 53% more than forces in England

By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today: Only four out of 10 people in England say they trust the police, with the UK’s biggest force, the Metropolitan police, getting the lowest confidence score, research has found. The poll surveyed nine English regions, in eight of which female respondents had greater trust in the police than male respondents. But for the Met in London, hit by a succession of scandals, women trusted Britain’s largest force less than men. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/18/only-40-of-people-in-england-trust-their-police-force-research-reveals From the Common Weal in October 2023: A report by the Scottish Policing Authority has found that in this last quarter trust and … Continue reading Police Scotland trusted by public up to 53% more than forces in England

Police Scotland recruitment teams are experiencing a drop in candidate standard

By stewartb On recruitment, Police Scotland submitted a paper to the Scottish Police Authority dated 24 February 2024: ‘Recruitment and Protected Characteristic Impact Report’ (https://www.spa.police.uk/spa-media/pn0n522u/item-6-1-recruitment-and-protected-characteristic-impact-report.pdf ) It summarises police officer intakes across the period 2021/22 and 2022/23 up to 18 September: between intake dates of 18 June 2021 to 18 September 2023 there were a total of 1,924 new officer recruits. Police Scotland uses three metrics to monitor its recruitment ‘pipeline’: On application levels, between the year 2019/20 and 3 October 2023, monthly average recruitment rates each year have ranged from a high of 468 per month in 2020/21 (with no … Continue reading Police Scotland recruitment teams are experiencing a drop in candidate standard

Crime and police staffing in Scotland – Factcheck finds more officers than under Labour and only half the crime!

are making them feel vulnerable and sometimes unsafe. The Inspectorate of Constabulary says resources are a major concern, as well as the state of police buildings and disruption to days off. From Reporting Scotland this morning, the above. Note the word ‘feel‘ twice. We then hear from the Chief Inspector of Constabulary: It is glowing white hot. It is massive in the growth of demand and it’s more than I’ve ever seen. Resourcing is a challenge. You’re reducing the officer numbers. You’re reducing the amount of people available to work on a shift. It will cause problems because it will … Continue reading Crime and police staffing in Scotland – Factcheck finds more officers than under Labour and only half the crime!

Freedom of Information attempt and edited photies to put Sturgeon in police car

I don’t know if the above fake image is any better or worse than the one Princess Kate did of her own family but Nicola in a polis car clearly floats a few boats. Just last week, Police Scotland responded to this daftie: Your recent request for information is replicated below, together with our response. Under the Freedom of Information Scotland Act, I am interested to know if it was a Police Car that was used to take Nicola Sturgeon to the Covid Enquiry in Edinburgh this morning.   If so, why was this and also what was the cost involved … Continue reading Freedom of Information attempt and edited photies to put Sturgeon in police car

New SNP hate crime law – Tory prof and trade unionists have not a scooby

Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ Both the Scotsman and the Herald are running with the notion that the implementation of the SNP’s new Hate Crime law will make extra work for, and confuse, already hard-pressed officers, leading to possible wrongful arrests. Says who? First, the SPF, the police officers trade union has concerns because of ‘cutbacks’. They’re a trade union, I understand. When management tries to make you do something new, you resist. I felt just the same at … Continue reading New SNP hate crime law – Tory prof and trade unionists have not a scooby