Violence falls in Edinburgh
Violent crime in Edinburgh has fallen in the second quarter of 2020.
Police Scotland has today issued its Q2 Management Information data for the period of April 1, to September 30 2020.
These figures show that the number of serious assaults fell from 181, to 128, while there were also 40 fewer robberies and assault with intent to rob, compared with the same time last year.
A proactive approach to tackling weapons offences within the Capital has seen a rise in the number of these crimes recorded.
In total, 13 more offences for carrying an offensive weapon were recorded, however, the number of crimes for handling a knife fell from 95, to 77.
Overall, offences involving offensive or bladed weapons rose from 387 to 411 and more crimes were detected, up from 323 to 339 year-on-year.
Similar to the rest of the country, fraud has increased within Edinburgh. In total, 837 fraud offences were recorded during the six-month period, compared with 700 in the same timeframe the previous year.
There have also been increases in the number of crimes for taking and distributing indecent images of children, as well as the threatening to, or disclosure of intimate images.
A further 16 crimes for indecent images of children were recorded, while five more crimes for threatening to or disclosing of intimate images were also recorded.
Continued and targeted monitoring of Edinburgh’s road network has seen drink and drug driving offences increase, with 251 offences in the first six months of 2020/21, compared with 190 the year before.
There have been two occasions where there has been a fatality during a road collisions, which is the same as last year. However, serious and slight injury collisions have both fallen within the Capital.
Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander for Edinburgh, said: “Following the last quarter data, we are beginning to see crime levels return to normal levels. However, we remain committed to keeping our communities safe and bringing offenders to justice.
“While I am pleased to see the benefits of our proactive approach towards weapons, and of course, the fall in violent offences, it is always disheartening to see a rise in drink driving offences. It is never acceptable to get behind the wheel if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs and we will continue to target motorists who do so.
“Rises in online crimes are consistent across the country and continue to bring new challenges to policing.
“However, as DCC Fiona Taylor set out today, our cyber strategy provides clear direction as to how we aim to tackle the threat, risk and harm of digitally-enabled crime.”
