Decreases in north east housebreaking and drug crime welcomed as fraud and violent crime rise

NORTH east violent crime and fraud rise as housebreaking and drug crime numbers have fallen, according to new Police figures.

Between April 1 and December 31 last year, there were 62 more serious assault incidents than in that time period last year and robberies involving assault also rose.

Chief Superintendent Kate Stephen, divisional commander for North East Division said: “It is important to recognise the return of violent crime rates to those previously experienced before Covid and I want to make it clear that we will not simply accept this rise, but will do all we can to understand and address the increase, support victims and bring offenders to justice."

Fraud saw the largest rise of all categories of crime, with numbers rocketing from 967 last year to 1472 this year.

Ch Supt Stephen said: “Cyberspace offences are becoming more prevalent and provide new challenges for policing and this is where we see the majority of our fraudulent scams coming from.

"We will continue to do everything we can to protect our communities in both physical and online realms and the investment into online investigations as part of Police Scotland’s Cyber Strategy will play a crucial role in helping us achieve this.”

The picture was mixed however, as some types of crime saw a significant decrease, particularly housebreaking and drug crime.

There were 525 incidents of housebreaking this year across the north east, down from 556 in the same time last year.

Ch Supt Stephen said: “Prior to taking up my role as divisional commander, I worked in support roles, where I saw the unprecedented demand that our Q3 data gives a snapshot of.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank the officers, staff and volunteers of North East Police Division for their outstanding work in helping to keep the north-east a safe place to live, work and visit.

“We know that housebreaking is a very invasive crime and leaves victims feeling unsafe in their homes and we’ve done a lot of preventative and very targeted, intelligence led enforcement work to tackle these crimes and I’m encouraged by the overall reduction we have seen."

Ch Supt Stephen also welcomed the drop in drug crimes.

She said: "Similarly, the ongoing work alongside partners to tackle drug crime and signpost those with addiction issues to support services is a key factor in the reduction in overall recorded drugs offences."

The new figures come at a time where North East Police Division resources have been stretched thin by national events.

Ch Supt Stephen said: "In addition to the resources from the north-east deployed to COP26, policing teams were, along with partners, continuing to meet the challenges of the pandemic, responding to the effects of Storm Arwen and other significant weather events, all while still taking care of daily business for the division.

“As DCC Taylor has stated, the collective efforts of police officers and staff across the country has resulted in the service maintaining high levels of public confidence in policing."