More weapons off the streets in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde
Police in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde have taken more weapons off the street and targeted motorists who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
A proactive approach by Police Scotland officers has led to the number of recorded crimes relating to offensive and bladed weapons in the division almost doubling year-on-year.
A total of 155 such crimes were recorded between April 1 and June 30, 2020, compared with 87 in the same period of the previous year.
Officers also detected more of these offences, with the number of detections rising from 78 to 130 in the same period.
The Management Information figures released by Police Scotland today also showed that despite the restrictions in place during that time, driving offences also rose.
Officers continued patrols on the roads around Renfrewshire and Inverclyde in quarter one of 2020/21 and their work resulted in a small rise in driving offences.
The number of motorists caught driving while under the influence of drink or drugs rose by 50 per cent year-on-year (64 to 96) and there were 85 cases of people driving without a licence, up from 37 in Q1 2019/20.
The number of people injured in road accidents was down from 75 to 27 during the same period.
Cyber-enabled crimes also rose in Q1, reflecting a Scotland-wide increase in offences such as fraud.
The number of cases of fraud rose from 113 to 204, an increase of over 80 per cent year-on-year.
It comes as the Police Scotland Q1 Performance Report, introduced by Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor, showed that public confidence in policing was up by 20 percentage points during the first quarter of 2020-21.
Chief Superintendent Alan Murray, divisional commander of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, said: “Police Scotland officers have been working hard in communities across the division throughout the pandemic, tackling issues such as knife crime, drugs and road safety.
“As DCC Taylor said today, these figures cover an extraordinary period for Scotland with highly restrictive measures in place as we collectively sought to combat the spread of coronavirus.
“With quieter roads due to the restrictions in place, fewer people were injured, but it is disappointing that some drivers continued to break the law, driving under the influence, speeding or driving carelessly on our roads.
“Drink and drug driving has a devastating impact on victims, communities and drivers themselves and we will continue to focus on road safety in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.
“Officers have also worked hard to take more weapons off our streets and the increase in detections of crimes of this nature is testament to their efforts.
“We also work closely with our colleagues in our national, specialist units on issues such as fraud to ensure that we keep people safe in public, private and virtual spaces.”
