Fife Q1 Performance Data Published
Overall crime in Fife has risen, as Police Scotland makes hard choices to maintain effective policing within the funding available.
The Q1 Management of Information data was published on Thursday, 7 September, covering the period of April to June 2023. This shows that during this time that the total number of recorded criminal incidents has risen from 4,189 in 2022, to 4,224 this year.
Included within the increase in overall crime is a rise in the total number of violent offences, which have taken place within the Kingdom.
While there have been no murders or culpable homicides, there have been five more attempted murders and eight more serious assaults, when compared to the previous year. In total, the number of violent crimes recorded has risen from 174, to 215.
One area that has seen a positive reduction, however, is overall sexual crime, which has fallen from 410, to 361, equating to almost 50 fewer incidents.
While there has been an additional six reports of rape and assault with intent to rape, indecent and sexual assaults have reduced from 150, to 109.
There has also been a significant reduction in the number of being hurt on Fife’s road network, with overall road casualties down from 73, to 29.
This includes one fewer fatal collision than last year (down two, to one), 11 fewer serious injury collisions and 32 fewer slight injury collisions.
The reduction in road casualties is in tandem with a reduction in the total number of motoring offences recorded within the division, which have fallen from 1,972, to 1,720. This includes 21 fewer dangerous driving offences and a decrease in the number of driving without a licence, seatbelt and mobile phone offences occurring.
Chief Superintendent Derek McEwan, Divisional Commander for Fife, said: “The overall rise in recorded crime within Fife reflects the overwhelming level of demand the division and country as a whole is experiencing. Across Scotland, over 600,000 calls to police were received between April and June 2023 and over 420,000 incidents recorded.
“As has been discussed by Police Scotland’s Executive, we must make a number of hard choices to prioritise our resource and provide the best level of policing service to the public within, while prioritising the crime types that have the most significant and adverse effect on our communities.
“We recognise the work required in relation to the rise in crime, including violent offences and will continue to work alongside key partners to ensure we appropriately address this increase, bring perpetrators to justice and support victims. We will also continue to relentless in our pursuit of those individuals responsible for sexual crime and offending against children.
“I cannot emphasise enough that demand on policing is now vast and at levels never before experienced. The daily challenge to find resources to respond to the needs of our communities is relentless and means, at times, we may have to prioritise certain crime types over others, with crimes against the person being the priority. Some may view this as a reduction in service but that will be necessary to protect others.
“Demands within the Mental Health space continue to take up so much of our officers time. It is now common place for officers to spend many hours at hospital with individuals in mental health crisis. “This has now reached a level never seen before in my 29 years in policing. Resolving this issue with partners will continue to be something we will focus our efforts.
“I want to thank our officers and staff and all that they do. We are achieving far more with far fewer available officers. That unfortunately presents its own problems.
“The public have an important role to play in helping us identify the policing priorities for Fife by taking our Your Police Survey available on our website at www.scotland.police.uk.”
The 2023-24 Quarter 1 Performance Report will be presented at the Scottish Police Authority Policing Performance Committee on Tuesday, 12 September 2023 - the report and associated Management Information is available here.
