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Taxis hailed for county lines crackdown

Taxi drivers and other small businesses have been enlisted to help crack down on big city drug-dealers infiltrating Highland communities.

The police-led partnership based at Inverness station engaged a number of local organisations to raise awareness of so-called county lines gangs.

Towns and villages in the north of Scotland are deemed to be at particular risk from criminals travelling from UK cities to use vulnerable people to supply and circulate drugs.

As well as the educational campaign, a number of police dog and plain clothes operations have also taken place in the region.

Shoplifters exploiting Scotland’s public transport system

A gang of youths in the west of Scotland is using the rail network to rob shops in towns across the area.

Police have identified the group following a number of incidents in various locations across Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

Regular meetings are taking place among a range of agencies to target the shoplifters who are “using the rail network to commit these crimes”.

The reports follow a similar case last month of a gang using free bus passes to move between Scotland’s cities to steal tens of thousands of pounds in merchandise.

In that case, the Glasgow-based network was travelling to Edinburgh and Stirling as part of their shoplifting spree.

Probe into reduced crime scene requests

A reduction in the number of requests by police for forensics teams to attend crime scenes is to be examined, it has emerged.

The caseload of the forensics services department has reduced by almost half since the turn of the year, resulting in improved performance and quicker results.

However, it has now been revealed that much of this is down to a drop in demand from officers, and a “short life working group” has been established to find out why.

“A reduction in overall demand has had an evident effect on caseload reduction,” a forensics memo stated.

Riding roughshod

Hundreds of cyclists have been reprimanded by police for riding carelessly in the last five years.

Research has revealed there have been 301 recorded crimes of riding a bicycle “carelessly or inconsiderately” across Scotland since 2019.

That includes 65 instances last year, with the longer-term trend remaining stable.

Police have said previously that most cycling offences are dealt with through fixed penalty notices.

Record high for Naloxone…

More than 30,000 Naloxone kits were issued last year, the most since the nationwide programme was launched in 2011.

The increased use means around 82 take home packs – which reverse the effects of an opioid overdose – are handed out each day.

The scope of the initiative has widened in recent years, and police officers are now expected to carry Naloxone in the event they encounter a drug user who has overdosed.

During the last quarter of 2023/24, there were 33 kits issued to people leaving police custody.

… As bill for substance abuse medication soars

The cost of prescribing treatment for people with substance dependence issues rose to more than £23 million last year.

The figures were obtained by 1919 from Public Health Scotland.

They show 697,339 individual items were handed out by medics to drug users in 2023/24.

Although that was marginally lower than in some previous years, the cost of issuing them has continued to rise.

The £23.3 million bill last year is a 25 per cent increase in just four years.

Half of foreign inmates still awaiting trial

Almost half of overseas inmates in Scotland’s jails are still awaiting trial, new figures have shown.

As of October, there were 629 foreign nationals accounting for around eight per cent of the overall prison population.

But while the overall remand rate is one in four, for foreigners it is much higher – with 304 still to be tried.

The Scottish Government has embarked on emergency measures to reduce the country’s burgeoning prisoner numbers, though powers over deportation are reserved to the UK Government.

Twenty’s Gwenty

Welsh police sought advice from Scotland amid fears their bid to introduce 20mph zones would be marred by protests.

Newly-published documents show a force representative from the principality recalling “some” protest when the limits were introduced here.

However, officials from Transport Scotland reassured their counterparts that no such events took place, and issued them with advice on consulting with councils and other road operators.

New ad for ‘That Guy’

A widely-praised police campaign encouraging men to take more responsibility for preventing sexual crime has been revamped.

The force’s ‘That Guy’ advert won acclaim for its direct and unorthodox approach of highlighting the role males play in creating an environment where women are targeted.

The latest film urges men to examine the behaviour of those around them, and step in if necessary.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: “Prevention sits with all of us, but men need to take responsibility for their behaviour and stop sexual offending before it starts.”

The film can be viewed here.

Role created to reduce harm on the railways

The British Transport Police (BTP) has appointed a full-time officer in Scotland specifically to help reduce the number of vulnerable people trespassing on railways.

The appointment to the Harm Reduction Team will be based in Edinburgh, with a remit covering the whole country.

Dozens of interventions are made every month, with many considered life-saving, both to keep people safe and to reduce disruption to rail services.

A BTP report stated: “This will help to provide localised support and make management of resources easier.”

Juryless trial pilot axed

Plans for a pilot scheme with juryless trials for sexual offences have been scrapped. The Scottish Government’s proposal would have involved a single judge deciding someone’s guilt in a rape case.

The SNP administration was facing a challenge to get the idea through parliament, while lawyers and judges claimed it could breach human rights laws.

Ministers are still pressing ahead with the abolition of the contentious ‘not proven’ verdict as part of sweeping justice reform.