Safety comes first on the city centre crime beat - Murray Tait

Chief Inspector Murray Tait, Local Area Commander, South East Edinburgh

As the Local Area Commander for South East Edinburgh, my team and I cover the city centre and I want to utilise this week's column to highlight the work to keep people who live, work and visit safe.

With the range of shopping premises we have on Princes Street, George Street, Waverley Market and the St James Quarter, it is essential that customers and staff are able to work and go about their business without fear of crime.

As such, our Business Improvement District officer in the city centre, PC Ehssan Sanii, regularly visits retail sites to offer advice on how businesses can protect their stock, improve security and ensure staff are not targeted for abuse, harassment or physical violence.

Should any such offences occur, we will respond accordingly and use all resources at our disposal to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. PC Sanii also works closely with our partners to target youth-related anti-social behaviour and make it clear this behaviour is unacceptable.

We recognise the impact anti-social behaviour and violence has on a community and we also continue to target this issue in the Old Town with dedicated patrols in this area. In addition, working with our colleagues including City of Edinburgh Council, Streetworks and Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership, we look to offer support to vulnerable people in the community who may be suffering from this or other issues.

As part of Operation Nightguard, officers carry out high visibility patrols in the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights to engage with bar staff and patrons and make sure there are no breaches of alcohol licence conditions or alcohol-related offences taking place.

Within the city centre, police can impose Think Twice bail conditions on anyone arrested for a violent crime where alcohol was a prevailing factor. This means you will be prohibited from visiting any licensed venue until the conclusion of your trial, so please don't risk it.

Please help us keep Edinburgh's nightlife safe by drinking responsibly and taking care of yourself and others when out and about. Always plan ahead and think about how you will be getting home at the end of the night. There is some excellent advice on Safe Nights Out on the Police Scotland website: www.scotland.police.uk

Making our Roads Safer is one of our priorities and have been undertaking a number of road safety initiatives in your area to target dangerous and speeding driving. Community Officers have been at various schools in the area to ensure cars are being parked responsibly to ensure children can get to school safely.

Please follow us on Twitter @EdinPolSE where you can keep up to date with all our activity in your local area.

Chief Inspector Murray Tait, Local Area Commander, South East Edinburgh