Improvements made to road safety in Fife
Police in Fife’s commitment to road safety has resulted in a fall in motoring offences and collisions within the Kingdom.
Police Scotland has today issued its Q2 Management Information data for the period of April 1, to September 30 2020, which demonstrates a successful approach to making the region’s road network safer.
There were two fewer fatal collisions and the number of collisions causing serious and slight injuries dropped year-on-year.
In the six-month period, there were 91 people seriously injured and 124 with slight injuries. This compares with 125 and 289 the previous year.
Similar to the rest of the country, fraud is on the rise and the number of recorded incidents has risen from 329, to 527. However, during the same period, 31 more crimes of this nature have been solved.
Proactive work in the division has resulted in 30 more drug crimes being recorded, with supply of drug offences raising from 82, to 112.
Online crimes continue to provide challenges for Public Protection Officers. During the six-month period, the number of offences recorded for possession of indecent images of children rose from 16, to 19.
In addition, there were four more crimes of threatening to, or distributing intimate images. However, detections for these incidents also increased.
Amid the ongoing challenges of coronavirus, officers in Fife have continued to target large numbers of offenders, intent on bringing harm to communities, and bring them to justice.
The overall detection rate for crime within the Kingdom has increased from 63.1% to 63.9%.
Solvency for common assaults has increased by over four percent, while the number of detections for vandalism has risen from 35.3 %, to 40.1%. Similarly, the number of detections for fire-raising has gone up from 30.6%, to 32.9%
There has also been an increase in the number of assaults on emergency service workers. Last year there were 200 incidents, with 29 more being recorded this year.
Chief Superintendent Derek McEwan, Divisional Commander for Fife, said: “We have seen significant success in improving road safety and this is down to the outstanding work of Road Policing Officers.
“Similarly, the work officers have undertaken as part of our drugs campaign, Operation Prospect, has seen increased recording of drugs crime overall and sends a clear message that illegal substances and those who distribute them, are not welcome in our communities.
“The data also demonstrates that, while crime levels are returning to normal, we are seeing some worrying rises in certain offences, such as attacks on emergency service personnel, including police officers.
“Assaults against any emergency service worker are disgraceful and the Chief Constable has underlined his commitment to this issue with a pledge to support their safety and welfare.
“The ongoing rise of online offences demonstrates that the internet is an area of growing concern for keeping the public safe, but as DCC Taylor has outlined, our cyber strategy gives clear direction as to how Police Scotland can tackle the threat, risk and harm of digitally-enabled crime.
