NOTEBOOK
Round-up of policing and justice developments
Major improvements have been made in cyclist safety after just one death was recorded last year.
A Police Scotland report confirmed that while road fatalities generally rose throughout 2024, there was just a single instance of a pedal cyclist losing their life.
That compares to five cases in Scotland the previous year.
Reductions were also recorded in the number of children dying in road accidents, halving from four to two.
Transport police removed a dozen weapons from people at Scottish train stations by using stop-and-search powers during a targeted campaign.
The force said reducing weapons on the railways is a top priority.
In one case, a large knife was taken from a man at Airdrie station, while a Stanley knife was recovered from another at nearby Motherwell station.
As part of the crackdown, officers said a male responsible for a string of violent offences was also arrested at the North Lanarkshire station.
A suspected ‘county lines’ criminal was monitored by police on a journey from Merseyside to Inverness before being apprehended in the Highland city.
Officers from Police Scotland and the British Transport Police (BTP) watched the male on CCTV over hundreds of miles before moving in and transferring him back south to Merseyside.
The case was part of a crackdown on UK organised gangs who target small Scottish towns and cities to deal drugs and carry out crime.
In another case involving Merseyside Police, an individual was stopped at Kirkcaldy train station and found to be in possession of a weapon.
He is now banned from entering Scotland.
Changes to a mobile phone operating system used by millions of people inadvertently placed Police Scotland call handlers under increased pressure, a new report has revealed.
An update to Android devices in 2023 resulted in thousands of Scots accidentally calling 999 from their phones, before the snag was resolved at the end of the year.
It is understood the temporary change meant a button on the side of some phones would automatically call emergency services if pressed a certain number of times.
“This resulted in many thousands of accidental and dropped 999 calls,” the Scottish Police Authority report stated, adding that it impacted negatively on call-handling performance figures.
A book documenting one of Scotland’s most intriguing cold cases is to be published in summer.
My Mother’s Murder is an account from Gina McGavin, who spent decades trying to track down the killer of her mum Mary McLaughlin.
The 58-year-old was murdered following a night out at a pub in Glasgow’s west end in 1984, with advancements in DNA eventually leading to her killer being detected 35 years on.
Serial sex offender Graham McGill was convicted of the grandmother’s death in 2021.
Now in her memoir, written with the support of Scottish crime journalist Jane Hamilton, McGavin reveals more about the case and her mother’s complicated life. It will go on sale in July.
NHS boards across Scotland have spent more than £15 million on private security over the past five years.
Research by 1919 shows the costs peaked in 2021 before gradually reducing.
The spend includes the protecting of buildings and development projects, as well as security staff in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
In 2024 alone, health boards spent £2.1 million, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – the country’s largest health board – responsible for more than half of the total.
Children have been shown the devastating impact of trespassing on railways through VR headsets at youth events.
The initiative, launched by the BTP, enables young people to witness the dangers of railways, as well as the repercussions for families of those who die or are severely injured.
The videos also show the effect that trespassing incidents have on train drivers, rail staff and police officers.
The events are aimed at children aged 10 and above, the age group deemed most likely to trespass.
Police Scotland is “on track” to meet green targets, despite both the Scottish and UK governments cooling off on their own net zero ambitions.
While tackling climate change has become an increasingly contentious topic in political debate, the single force has pressed ahead with its commitment to reduce emissions by more than a third by 2026.
Chief financial officer James Gray added that the organisation will continue to cut emissions and “leverage its buying power” to help improve the environment.
He added: “Police Scotland has a range of measures planned which includes leading the way within the public sector by investing in a green fleet.”
A vehicle scheme which provides low-cost cars to people on disability benefits has refused to say how many Scots have been banned for fraud.
Earlier this year it emerged thousands across the UK had been removed from the scheme for providing misleading information to Motability in return for the funding for new cars.
However, while the company confirmed to 1919 that there are around 84,000 users in Scotland, it would not reveal how many north of the border have been penalised.
In total, tens of thousands were investigated and 5,300 people had their access revoked across the UK last year, prompting concern that disability benefit records were being widely misused to access the scheme.
Fewer than half of shoplifting crimes in Scotland lead to charges, despite a sharp rise in offending.
Police recorded 183,486 shoplifting offences between 2019 and 2024, but only 43 per cent were passed to prosecutors. Just 20 per cent reached court.
The data, obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats, shows offences rose by more than a third, with Edinburgh and Glasgow worst affected.
Liam McArthur MSP said shopkeepers have been left vulnerable to “criminal gangs”.
The Crown Office said police only report cases with sufficient evidence, while ministers said £3 million has been allocated to tackle retail crime.
Scots have been urged to share their views on whether police should be able to use live facial recognition technology.
The Scottish Police Authority has launched a “conversation” with the public, inviting them to fill in a survey with their views.
Live facial recognition is already used by police in some parts of the UK to help them identify wanted individuals more quickly.
However, concerns have been raised about ethics and legality, while others are concerned at the potential for the technology to be misused.
Plans to introduce legislation to make misogyny a specific crime have been axed by the Scottish Government.
Ministers had intended to bring in a bill aimed at improving safety for women and girls.
However, questions were raised throughout the process about how the law would actually be enforced by police on the ground.
Instead, the government will seek to amend existing hate crime legislation to include aspects on sex.