Police report highlights local action
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In his latest ward report which is sent to local community council groups, sergeant Richard Barnwell has outlined the issues affecting the Turriff and surrounding areas during May.
Antisocial behaviour, violence and disorder
During this period there have been ten crimes reported of this type.
The majority of which have been reports of threatening and abusive behaviour, two of which have been recorded in Turriff, one in Cuminestown and three in Rothienorman.
The majority of these were committed between people who knew each other and lived in close proximity to one another.
All of the offenders have been charged and reported.
There have been three reported vandalisms, all within Turriff.
One involved damage to a vehicle, and two involved windows of residential properties being damaged.
All of which remain under investigation.
There has been one reported assault this month, again from the Turriff area and contained within a domestic relationship.
The offender in this case has been charged and reported.
Acquisitive crime
This month has seen seventeen reports of acquisitive type crime.
There have been seven reported theft by shopliftings from stores in Turriff, four of these crimes were committed by the same person over the course of the month.
All of these reports have been resolved with the offenders having been charged and reported.
There has also been one reported theft by shoplifting in Fyvie, this enquiry is still ongoing with positive lines of enquiry being progressed.
There has been one reported theft of money from the Turriff area, positive lines of enquiry are being progressed with a suspect having been identified.
There has been a report of theft of scrap metal from the Cuminestown area.
There has been one recorded theft from Rothienorman, this is believed to be linked to ongoing neighbour issues.
There has also been two reports of theft by housebreaking within Rothienorman, whereby neighbouring garages have been forced open and items removed.
Investigations continue in relation to these offences.
We have also received three reports of fraud this month, one from the Turriff area and two from Methlick.
These are currently being investigated by our fraud team.
Road safety and road crime
Formartine CPT supported by Roads Policing units continue to target anti-social driving within Turriff and the surrounding towns.
Since lockdown was implemented, the usual problems associated with Turriff High Street, Tesco Car Park and Turriff Primary School does not appear to be quite so prevalent.
However we are still receiving reports that this problem has moved to more rural locations.
Officers from the Formartine Community Policing Team are dedicated to improving road safety in our area and will combat this issue wherever it is found.
There have been four recorded road traffic offences during this period, all of which relate to Turriff, Fyvie and the A947 corridor.
These reports include driving with no insurance and driving whilst using a mobile telephone, all of which the offenders have been charged and reported.
There is one report of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, this is currently still under investigation by the Roads Policing Department.
Other incidents
Controlled drugs and their use/sale remains an issue across all Local Policing Areas in the north-east however, with the support of the community and regular reporting on drug dealing and drug use, officers from the Formartine Local Policing Team will continue to proactively tackle those involved in this type of crime.
Any information available from members of the public is invaluable and can be passed to Police using any of the below ‘Contact Us’ methods.
This month, local officers have stopped and searched a number of individuals.
As a result one persons have been charged and reported for being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs in the Turriff area and two individuals have been charged with possession of controlled drugs, one from the Turriff area and one from the Cuminestown area.
Community engagement and reassurance
Operation Cedar/Illustrious:
Operation CEDAR continues to target driver behaviour with a focus on education of poor behaviours.
This core operation forms a key part of our local anti-social behaviour/driving campaign, Operation ABACABLUE.
Rural Watch:
North East Scotland Rural Crime and Safety Partnership have been set up to specifically target matters affecting rural areas, including road safety, acquisitive crime, agricultural safety, live-stock worrying and hare-coursing.
In addition to this and after recent consultation with the national Neighbourhood Watch and the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC), the Formartine Community Policing Team is keen to encourage local residents to sign up and use “Rural Watch Scotland”.
You can register online by visiting neighbourhoodalert.co.uk
We will be looking to use this service more often to issue urgent alerts in relation to rural crimes, offences or other activities which happen within our area.
It is a fantastic tool that can be used to provide targeted information to the people who need it most.
Sign up is free and doesn’t take long.
Covid-19
The regulations are clear: people should only leave the house for very limited purposes, for example for basic necessities, for exercise or recreation, for medical needs or travelling for work which cannot be done from home.
The chief constable has made it clear that we are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of these measures is to aid the collective effort to protect the NHS and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading.
Our officers will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and guidance and encourage compliance.
We will use enforcement as a last resort only where there is a clear breach of the legislation.
We recognise that people have made significant sacrifices until now and while the temptation may be to head straight for one of our beauty spots, we would ask people to use their judgement and avoid going to places which are normally busy during the good weather.
Complying with the legislation about meeting only one other household outdoors at any one time and following the Scottish Government’s guidance about avoiding travelling long distances will stop our parks, beaches, lochs and hills from becoming over-crowded and help ensure appropriate physical distancing is maintained, reducing the spread of coronavirus.
We want people to enjoy our outdoor spaces safely and our officers will be robustly tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities.
Wildlife Crime
This month we have received reports of Hare Coursing occurring in the Inverkeithny area.
Wildlife crime is notoriously difficult to detect without the help of local residents and landowners.
If you have any information regarding individuals or vehicles involved in this type of crime then please get in touch.
Wildlife crime is a national police priority and the Formatine Community Policing team is committed to combat it wherever it is found.
If members of the community witness any suspicious activity it can be reported to the Police using the methods detailed below.
101 – Non emergency
Email – TurriffDistrictCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
Twitter – @NorthEPolice
Facebook – www.facebook.com/NorthEastPoliceDivision
Web – www.scotland.police.uk
999 – Emergency
0800 555 111 – Crimestoppers
