Assault and housebreaking fall in Dumfries and Galloway
Published 25 May 2020
Dumfries and Galloway continues to be a safe place to live as figures published today highlight reductions in serious assaults and housebreakings.
It also comes as a total of 41 offences in the first year of a new domestic abuse law were recorded in Dumfries and Galloway. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 was introduced to cover coercive and controlling behaviours and created a single offence covering the full range of abusive behaviours, whether physical, psychological, financial or sexual.
Of the 41 offences recorded, the victim was female in 36 cases and in five cases the victim was male.
The Performance Report, introduced by Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor, and Quarter 4 Management Information figures also highlight an increase in fraud offences being recorded, from 286 to 318. The increase in fraud is a trend being reflected across the country, with cyber-related offences contributing to the overall picture.
The Quarter 4 report also shows that the number of speeding offences is down from 4,355 to 4,025, however recorded dangerous driving offences are up from 141 to 150 and drink/drug driving offences are up from 190 to 208.
A reduction in common and serious assaults is also reported in the report, from 1598 to 1498 and from 93 to 78 respectively. There has, however, been an increase in common assaults on emergency workers, from 203 to 247.
Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, Divisional Commander for Dumfries and Galloway Division, said: “Protecting the public from risk and harm is our priority and Police Scotland officers continue to work hard in local communities to deter and detect crimes in order to keep people safe.
“While it is pleasing to see a reduction in serious and common assault offences, it is extremely disappointing to see an increase in common assault offences on emergency service workers being recorded. Being assaulted is not part of the job and we will continue to take action to protect our people.
“An increase in wildlife offences, from 10 to 24, has been recorded after an investigation in the Stewartry area resulted in a 64-year-old man being charged and reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
“Proactive patrols will also continue across our road network and in local communities to deter those intent on putting others at risk by driving dangerously or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“As DCC Taylor said today, we are here to help and support our fellow citizens to keep them safe in all aspects of their lives.”
Please note, the Q4 report contains Management Information figures and these are not official statistics.
