Promising picture for Ayrshire as serious assaults are down
Reports of serious assaults are down across Ayrshire and there have been fewer incidents of domestic abuse.
Sexual assaults are also down from 128 to 74 between April 1 and September 30, 2020 when compared to the previous year, and detection rates for Group 1 Crime are up from 68.4% to 78% against the same period.
There have been more crimes of carrying offensive weapons which have increased from 54 to 83, details of which can be found in the latest report by Police Scotland.
Ayrshire’s divisional commander, Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain said: “These figures paint a promising picture for Ayrshire’s communities and mirror the sustained efforts of officers’ commitment to keep them safe.
“We know instances of many other crimes are returning to pre-lockdown levels but we must not overlook the progress we have made against the backdrop of the public health crisis. The demand on officers has been unprecedented and it is to their credit that we are seeing a drop in reported crime across several crime groups.
“Weapons carrying remains a concern and we are dedicated to eradicating them from our communities and working with our partners to prevent their availability. We are constantly gathering local intelligence and will not hesitate to bring to justice anyone intent on causing harm to the people of Ayrshire.”
The figures released by Police Scotland today show that fraud and online child abuse continue to rise sharply while other crimes return to pre-lockdown levels.
Crimes of fraud have increased by 45.4% in the first six months of 2020-21 compared to the same period last year and are 83.4% above the five year average.
Online child abuse is up by 18.4% year on year and by 35.8% when compared to the five year average during the same period.
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: “The rapid increase in online abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people and children, either for financial gain or for sexual purposes, underlines that policing must continue to operate in public, private and, increasingly, in virtual spaces to provide education, re-assurance and enforcement.”
The Performance Report will be presented to the Scottish Police Authority’s Policing Performance Committee on Tuesday, 17 November.
