Concerns raised over north-east police trial
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Following the announcement that some crimes may simply not be investigated by officers in the north-east as part of trial due to severe budget constraints, residents in Turriff have been amongst the first to express their concerns over this development.
At Monday night's meeting of Turriff Community Council, several local residents attended to see if there have been any update on action to curb anti-social driving in and around the town.
There is increasing levels of this occurring once again, with no enforcement and several locations around the the town acting as meet-up spots.
With no officer present to answer the query, no police report sent for the period and no perceived action by those attending, concerns were raised over the comments made in Chief Superintendent Graeme Mackie press statement.
This was reinforced by members of staff from the local branch of Tesco who also attended to raise the issue of acquisitive crime, for which there was now no intervention and an incident in the town where physical violence was threatened took they said "over 40 minutes for someone to attend", despite it occurring within view of the station itself.
Questions were also raised over the lack of any progress on installing measures to curb the drivers involved in accessing the car park area at the school.
Councillor Anne Stirling explained that costings have been obtained for gates, but that the prices being quoted were "beyond the pale" and that alternative procurement routes were being examined.
Members of the community council stated that a quote they had obtained would come in at around a quarter of that being cited by council officers, and that wasn't even the cheapest one and that action should be taken by the area manager to address this and have the work commenced.
The meeting also saw confirmation that good progress was being made on bringing a permanent ambulance to Turriff, which would be stationed at the current Fire Station premises.
Discussions have seen agreement from both services and action would be taken forward to facilitate the vehicle's new location.
Subsequent to the meeting, a copy of the Police report for Formartine covering August has been made available.
It comments -
"Keeping people safe is at the heart of local Policing and our community based approach in Formartine continues to reduce crime and increase detection rates across the area.
"The local priorities for Formartine are;
Protecting Vulnerable People
Serious and Organised Crime
Anti-Social Behaviour, Violence and Disorder
Road Safety and Road Crime
Protecting Vulnerable People
"Formartine officers remain, in many instances, first responders to persons in crisis and provide an opportunity to really listen and get assistance to those in need.
"It is our aim to continue to work closely with key partner agencies to ensure the best and most suitable help is offered to persons in need.
"We continue to see Officers in Formartine attending a number of calls in respect of residents across Formartine who have had concerns expressed for them or reported missing by family members, associates or other agencies who have advised the person has failed to engage with their services.
"Some of the incidents have involved Officers attending to provide initial medical care, facilitating triage by Scottish Ambulance Service and in the most severe cases, transferring the person to hospital for care in the absence of an Ambulance.
"The local Policing Team hold a list of Support Services available to residents of Aberdeenshire in respect of Mental Health and Wellbeing and will signpost to other services where appropriate. "
It continues: "During August 2023, there has been several reports of assaults. These have either been detected or have positive lines of enquiry.
"These have happened in a family setting and public area’s.
"Police and partners continue to look to the Community for any suggestions in relation to diversionary activities which could be used for those on the periphery of criminality or to provide safe areas/activities for young persons to meet friends and hangout.
"Our Early Intervention Officer, Amanda Richardson, is looking to engage the local community, businesses and partners to organise activities across Formartine for young people to participate in. If you can offer time, funding or a safe space, or have any other ideas please contact Amanda via northeastearlyintervention@scotland.police.uk.
"Acquisitive crime encompasses a number of crimes such as Theft by Housebreaking, Vehicle Crime, Shoplifting, Fraud and Theft.
"The incidents that have been reported this month have either been detected or have positive lines of enquiry.
"As indicated in previous reports, Fraud continues to have an upward trends with new scams being reported on a daily basis across the country. "
On roads: " Safety on our roads remains a priority within the Formartine area. Officers have been engaging in roadside speed checks and offending drivers being dealt with in accordance with guidance relevant to the speeds detected. In addition to this, our colleagues in the Roads Policing department, as well as the safety camera unit are continuing in their efforts to educate and enforce on our roads.
"We are continuing in our actions to tackle antisocial driving across the region with a number of drivers being dealt with in relation to motoring offences including noisy exhausts and speeding. We will continue to patrol hotspots and carry out follow up enquiries on any reports of antisocial driving received in an effort to gain sufficient evidence to charge those responsible for antisocial driving.
"We continue to actively monitor routes across our area and conduct speed checks to educate and enforce road traffic legislation.
"The variable speed detection sign has been deployed across the region this month which has been a positive reminder to drivers of their speed.
"In August, there were over 99 occasions where Police have been contacted in relation Road Traffic matters, which range from road accidents, assist members of the public or other vehicle enquiries. "
