North-east police face rise in fraud and online crime
NORTH-EAST police dealt with a rise in fraud and online offences last year, while nationally there were spikes in public nuisance incidents, neighbour disputes and noise complaints.
In its latest performance figures, Police Scotland says the crime detection rate has continued to increase in the north-east thanks to ongoing efforts by officers, staff and Special Constables to help keep communities safe.
The total number of crimes recorded in the north-east from April to December last year decreased by several hundred incidents in comparison to the same period last year, while the detection rate increased by more than three percentage points.
Police say 99.7 per cent of total drug crime was detected in the area, along with more than 400 crimes involving offensive or bladed weapons.
Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent George Macdonald said: "The public health crisis continues to influence the needs of our communities, and this has resulted in a change in demand on policing.
"While crimes of violence, crimes of dishonesty and offences committed on our roads all decreased during this quarter three period, there has continued to be a significant increase in areas such as fraud and online offences. These are increasingly complex and resource-intensive investigations, and we remain committed to protect people from harm in public, private and virtual spaces.
"As I continue to stress, it could be many years before we fully understand the impact of coronavirus on crime and the demand on policing generally in Scotland.
"As much as I welcome a decrease in the types of crime that can have a significant impact on our communities, it must be appreciated that these figures have been recorded during an unprecedented time."
Police Scotland said the force received an additional 25,000 calls between April and December compared to the same period last year, taking the total number of 999 and 101 contacts to almost two million during the first three-quarters of 2020-21.
Nationally, police have seen large increases in incidents of public nuisance (up 117.8 per cent), neighbour disputes (up 43.1 per cent) and noise complaints (up 18.5 per cent), which were attributed to the challenges of the pandemic.
