NOTEBOOK

Round-up of policing and justice developments 

Man charged over attempted murder of officer

A man has been charged in connection with the attempted murder of a police officer in Greenock.

During the early hours of Sunday, August 3, calls were received reporting concern for a man in the Inverclyde town.

Police traced a male in the East India Harbour area where a disturbance took place, an officer was assaulted, and the alleged suspect made off in a dinghy.

The officer received treatment for a stab wound in hospital and has since been discharged.

Jack Barrett, 31, appeared at Greenock Sheriff Court on August 4 to face two charges of theft and attempted murder.

Barrett did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody, with a further appearance scheduled for later in August.

A full report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Overtime costs cancel out savings from drop in cops

Cuts to the front line helped save Police Scotland more than £6 million last year, although the surplus was immediately wiped out by subsequent overtime costs.

Headcount among officers and staff “ran below budgeted establishment for the majority of the financial year”, a finance report has stated.

Across-the-board pay rises also led to a £15.5 million increase in costs, meaning the overall employment cost remained significantly over budget.

Chief defends not investigating some crimes as 70k hours saved

The controversial policy of ignoring some low-level crimes has been defended by the Chief Constable, who said it has now freed up more than 70,00 hours of police time.

The ‘proportionate response to crime’ approach was widely questioned when launched last year, with critics accusing the force of giving up on solving some offences.

However, Jo Farrell said the new system has been “well received” and has now been used more than 13,000 times, the equivalent of about three per cent of all crimes.

She said: “By assessing crimes early for proportionate lines of enquiry, Police Scotland can manage expectations effectively and ensure that victims are informed when no further investigative actions are possible.”

Ratana murder inspectors flag concerns at Aberdeen custody suite

A custody suite in Aberdeen was flagged by UK inspectors over concerns about searching and panic alarms, it has emerged.

The team checked the unit as part of a country-wide initiative following the murder of Sergeant Matt Ratana in London in 2020.

He was fatally wounded by gun-wielding killer Louis de Zoysa, who was in possession of a revolver despite him being in custody and already searched.

As a result of the inspection in January, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a notification of contravention in March which mentioned “concerns with panic alarms and how searching is monitored”.

Liverpool duo jailed after supplying drugs to the Highlands

Two drug dealers from Merseyside who targeted communities in the north of Scotland have been jailed.

The sentencing of the men has been hailed as a triumph for officers fighting so-called ‘county lines’ gangs, who move drugs from large British cities into remote towns and villages.

The first individual has been jailed for four years after been caught operating between Liverpool and Fraserburgh.

And a second was handed 45 months in prison after pleading guilty to transporting drugs from Liverpool to Inverness.

Staff flock to new pension offer

Hundreds of police staff have taken part in a new pensions initiative which saves them money on tax and National Insurance contributions.

The Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions scheme opened earlier this year, and so far 338 individuals have signed up with many more expected to follow.

While it means more money is taken from their pay packet, the long-term benefits have been hailed.

A Scottish Police Authority report stated: “We are seeing a trend of staff starting to amend their plans to benefit from the service.”

Now police dogs are hounding sex offenders

Sniffer dogs who can detect hidden computers, phones and digital storage devices have been hailed for snaring sex offenders across the country.

Since the introduction of six digital evidence detection dogs last year, more than 500 devices have been recovered.

That includes USB devices and covert cameras concealed under freezers, locked in cash tins, or stashed between bed slats.

In one instance last September, a police dog unearthed a mobile phone, Kindle and USB stick in the shape of a heart pendant after child abuse cops initially swept a property and found nothing.

Commercial break for police recruiters

Marketing campaigns to recruit more cops result in increased applications, but do not persuade females to step forward, analysis has suggested.

Figures compiled for the Scottish Police Authority have revealed months in which adverts are running trigger significantly more interest from the public.

No campaigns ran at all in 2023/24, when an average of 8.74 applications were made per day.

However, that rose to 10.5 in the middle half of last year when the ‘A Job Like No Other’ commercial was launched.

Despite that, the proportion of women coming forward has dropped, from 31 per cent of applications in 2022/23, to 29 per cent in 2024/25.

Transport cops face increase in assaults

Officers from the British Transport Police experienced an increase in physical assaults in the last quarter, a report has revealed.

The number of attacks represent a 25 per cent rise, and led to a further 16 officers being assaulted on the rail network.

Last month, 1919 reported how a Police Scotland officer is attacked almost every hour, with more than 7,000 recorded cases last year.

That prompted calls from politicians for tougher sentences for those convicted of attacking emergency workers.

Secrecy over prosecutions dropped due to missing evidence

The Crown has refused to reveal how many criminal cases have been abandoned due to lost or missing evidence, despite similar revelations being published down south.

It was reported earlier in summer that 30,000 cases in England and Wales have collapsed since 2020 because of problems bringing evidence forward to court.

That includes 70 homicide cases and more than 500 sex offences.

However, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland said it was unable to say how many times prosecutions have been dropped here for that reason.

In response to a 1919 freedom of information request, the organisation said it would cost too much money to extract and publish the data.

Camera action

Hundreds of pieces of evidence have already been submitted by officers wearing body-worn cameras, it has emerged.

By the end of June, 768 recordings had been handed in, pulled from the thousands of hours of footage which have been made possible by the devices.

In one of the first positive examples, a custody prisoner in Tayside refused to attend court and threatened violence towards staff and officers.

But when he was told the cameras were rolling, his behaviour changed and “the incident de-escalated quickly”.

More than 2,000 cops on ‘modified duties’

The number of officers on ‘modified duties’ increased slightly to 2,253 at the end of June.

This is a rise from 2,183 at the end of June 2024.

Officers carry out modified or restricted duties if they cannot undertake the full range of duties, which can be the result of injury or illness.

As of June 30 this year there were also 656 officers on long-term sick leave.

Teen jailed following Bonfire Night disorder

A teenager involved in last year’s Bonfire Night disorder in Edinburgh has been given a prison sentence.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to 18 months in prison for mobbing and rioting in the Calder Road area on November 5.

He previously pled guilty to that incident and a separate disorder offence that took place on Princes Street on October 5 last year, and has so far served eight months in prison, having been remanded in custody.

Chief Superintendent David Robertson, Divisional Commander for Edinburgh, said this highlights the force’s commitment to ensuring those responsible for the rioting are brought to justice.

He added: “The scenes we witnessed in Calder Road, along with other areas of the city, last Bonfire Night were wholly unacceptable and resulted in a local car dealership having thousands of pounds worth of damage inflicted upon their vehicles, while our colleagues at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also had their station in the area targeted.”

Overtime and mental health absences soar

Police officers worked almost four and a half million hours of overtime over the last five years, according to new figures.

In 2024/25 alone, cops worked 773,151 hours of overtime – which cost over £28 million – the data obtained by the Scottish Conservatives shows.

The party’s justice spokesperson Liam Kerr said: “These figures expose the immense strain that Police Scotland officers are under, with millions of hours in overtime being notched up.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour separately published figures showing stress and mental health absences have soared by over 50 per cent.

Justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said: “It’s clear police in Scotland are at breaking point.”

Police Scotland said health and welfare “remains one of [the force’s] highest priorities”, while the Scottish Government said it is investing a record sum in policing.

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