5000 fewer crimes in Lothians

POLICE bosses today hailed a massive drop in the number of crimes committed across the Lothians over the last six months.

Offences fell dramatically over the period, with 5000 fewer crimes being recorded.

A huge drop in crimes such as housebreakings and car theft represent the bulk of the nine per cent decrease. Crimes involving violence, theft, sexual attacks, drugs and vandalism also fell against the same period in 2006.

Today's figures were released by Chief Constable David Strang and cover the period between April and December last year. Police chiefs said the drop was evidence that the force's strategy of early intervention to prevent crime and the targeting of prolific offenders was working.

They believe a policy of intelligence-led policing is responsible for the decrease, rather than a "statistical anomaly", and they expect the downward trend to continue.

However, today's figures also show a slight decrease in the proportion of crimes being solved, with 42 per cent of crimes cleared up by the force.

Superintendent Martin Gordon said: "The force is focused on a strategy of early intervention across a range of issues. That might come through visiting schools or raising the message about drugs or alcohol.

"We're also concentrating on an intelligence-led approach to deploy our resources rather than simply relying on putting more cops on the beat. The public are our eyes and ears, and we use that information in policing. It determines everything down to whether an officer turns left or right down Leith Walk when they start a shift. Analysis tells us where and when a problem may arise and we can be in place to deter it.

"Edinburgh is a relatively safe city, but high-profile incidents can increase the fear of crime. I don't believe the figures are a statistical anomaly. They are a reflection of the strategy the force is pursuing."

Supt Gordon highlighted last month's crackdown on crime in the city centre to coincide with the festive period as an example of successfully deploying officers to known trouble "hotspots".

A total of 496 offences were recorded in the city centre, compared with an average of 787 for the same month over the past three years.

The police have increasingly focused on tackling repeat offenders, including "career criminals" who specialise in shoplifting or housebreakings, and can be responsible for hundreds of offences.



Councillor Iain Whyte, convener of the police board, said: "I very much welcome the drop in recorded crime. It shows that the city is getting safer. The work the police are doing is beginning to have an effect and that is coming from a mixture of things, from early intervention to using intelligence.

"I would still like to see more police on the streets, but that's no good unless officers are targeted by intelligence in this way."

Mr Strang's report also revealed that officers had seized £1.4 million of drugs between April and December, of which Class A substances totalled £960,000.

The overall drop in crime comes despite a report showing Edinburgh has a higher murder rate than cities including Paris, Rome and Madrid, placing it 19th worst on a list of 33 European capitals.

Lothian and Borders Police predict the number of crimes between April last year and the coming March will be 71,000, a 9.5 per cent decrease on the previous year.