Moray is a safe place
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MORAY continues to be one of the safest areas to live in Scotland with housebreakings and thefts both down on the previous year.
Quarterly performance figures released by Police Scotland, covering the reporting period from April 2015 to February 2016, show that a number of crime categories are down on the same period the year before, which local senior officers are encouraged by.
Housebreakings are down by 14% with detection rates also up to 35%, common thefts are down by 6% and crimes of indecency are down by almost 19%.
Area Commander Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie said: "Housebreaking is significantly down compared to the same period last year, and common thefts are also down which is encouraging.
"We have been working tirelessly to promote crime reduction messages and these results would indicate that this effort has been worthwhile and the messages have been heeded.
"When a housebreaking or theft has occurred officers have worked hard to detect the offender or offenders and I’m pleased that our detection rates for housebreakings are at their highest level of 35%, with our detection rates for common thefts at 24%.
"Thefts from vehicles are up 34%. The majority of these crimes have been opportunistic thefts from cars left insecure. I would take this opportunity to remind vehicle owners to keep their vehicles locked whenever unattended and to either remove any valuables from their vehicles or keep them hidden from view.
"On paper there has been a slight increase in the figures for serious assaults, however it is worth noting that there has been a change in the way serious assaults are counted which accounts for the increase of eight crimes.
"Public protection is a national priority and so it’s also encouraging to see that crimes of indecency, reported rapes and domestic abuse incidents reported are all lower in this period. However I would always encourage victims to come forward as these types of crimes can often by under reported.
"Drug crime continues to be a priority for us and Operation Witton was launched last month. Over the past few weeks approximately £11,500 of drugs has been recovered and 18 people have been reported or will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
"We are also providing support to people with addiction issues and referring them to support services. Anyone concerned about drug misuse in their community should call us on 101 with any information they have.
"Overall I am pleased with the crime figures for this period for Moray. Moray continues to be one of the safest areas to live and work in Scotland. Officers work hard in the local communities in Moray to deter and detect crime and it is down to the team that we can report these postive figures."
