Release of Fife Division Q3 stats

Published 24 February 2020

Attempted murders, serious assault and a number of dishonesty offences have fallen in Fife according to the latest statistics.

Police Scotland's Management Information figures show that between April and December 2019, there were six fewer attempted murders in the Kingdom, equating to more than a 22 per cent reduction.

In addition, the number of serious assaults decreased by over 12 per cent, meaning there were 24 less victims that during the same period of 2018.

Overall, reports of serious violence increased from 380, to 443. However this rise is attributed to the number of crimes recorded under the new domestic abuse legislation, covering coercive and controlling behaviour.

When domestic incidents are removed from the rise in violent offences, the figures show that violent incidents fell by 10.5 per cent, which is 40 fewer reports, compared with the previous year.

Across Scotland, more than 1,300 crimes were recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, which created a single offence which covers the full range of abusive behaviours whether physical, psychological, financial or sexual.

The figures on violent crime show that approximately 1.6 per cent of Scotland's population have been subject to a single violent incident, with many victims being repeat complainers.

The percentage of the population which has never experienced a form of violence is 97 per cent.

Tackling acquisitive crime has remained a priority within Fife Division and encouragingly, domestic housebreakings have reduced by almost eight per cent - a total of 18 fewer break-ins to homes within the Kingdom.

Other positive results have also been observed with the reduction in the number of theft and shoplifting incidents, which both fell by almost nine per cent.

Furthermore vehicle crime has also been cut by over 12 per cent, or 66 less incidents.

One area of acquisitive crime that has risen, however, is the number of frauds being reported.

Between April and December 2019, 164 more incidents of fraud occurred in Fife and these involved a range of tactics aimed at obtaining money illegally from communities.

There have also been rises in the number of fatal and serious injury collisions taking place on Fife Roads, illustrated by the third quarter stats.

In total, the number of fatal collisions have risen from nine to 12, while serious injury collisions have also gone up from 75 to 84.

Casualty reduction on the Kingdom's road network will remain a priority as the division's Road Policing Unit looks to reduce these figures.

There have been more positive results in terms of reducing antisocial behaviour and vandalism in the Division, however.

Overall vandalism fell from 2116 incidents, to 1945 - a decrease of over eight per cent.

Fire-raising also fell by 31 per cent, or 36 reports, while there were more than 1600 fewer antisocial behaviour reports.

Chief Superintendent Derek McEwen, Divisional Commander for Fife, said: "It is extremely heartening to see such widespread reduction in the type of offences which can have significant impacts on our community.

"We know that violent crime can ruin lives and through Operation Path, we continue to target hotspot areas and conduct high-visibility patrols, to conduct proactive enforcement activity, remove weapons from those carrying them on their person and arrest those intent on carrying out crimes of violence.

"I am also delighted by the reductions we've seen in acquisitive crime offences, but we cannot become complacent with our successes so far and must continue to do all we can to reduce these figures further, including more work in tackling fraud.

"We will soon be participating in the Shut Out Scammers campaign, aimed at tackling bogus callers and rogue traders. This involves officers from across Scotland liaising with partner agencies to raise awareness and target offenders, who predominantly target vulnerable people within the community.

"Officers within Fife Division will conduct a week of activities within the communities, delivering a message in partnership with Trading Standards. Following on from this there were will be a two week social media campaign to maximize the engagement with the public.

"While the rise in fatal and serious injury collisions is undoubtedly a concern, we have are committed to promoting road safety and swiftly addressing any dangerous or criminal driving practices we observe.

"As part of Operation Paramount we have dedicated Road Policing Officers monitoring roads throughout the Kingdom and whenever they detect motorists driving in a manner that puts themselves or other road users at risk, they will take appropriate action.

"The fall in vandalism and antisocial behaviour incidents is testament to the outstanding work being carried out by community officers in Fife on a daily basis and one such area that has significantly benefited from continued police and partnership intervention is Levenmouth.

"Over a seven month period a project was launched involving Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Fife Council Communities Team. Together they were dedicated to collaborative prevention and enforcement activities in the region.

"As a result of this work, there has been a 60 per cent reduction in calls relating to anti-social behaviour and the use of motorbikes. In addition there has also been a 61 per cent reduction in fire-raisings.

"Because of the success of this initiative, funding has now been obtained to continue to work in 202. The funding will be used to support two full-time police officers who will be dedicated solely to the project between April and October.

"Further funding has also been obtained, which will be spent on, ancillary work with the approach working with partners including Kingdom Off-Road Motorcycle Club and Truth Nightclub. During the 2020 initiative there will be a higher level of focus on drug and alcohol misuse.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fife's officers for their dedication and professionalism on a daily basis and we will continue to do all we can to keep the Kingdom a safe place to live, work and visit."

The Police Scotland 2019-20 Quarter 3 Performance Report will be presented to the Scottish Police Authority on 27 February.