Day: September 13, 2023

Crime rates rise in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Q1 Performance Data published

The total number of crimes taking place within the Capital has risen, as Police Scotland makes hard choices to maintain effective policing within the funding available:

The Q1 Management of Information data was published on Thursday, 7 September, covering the period of April to June 2023. This shows that during this time that the total number of recorded criminal incidents has risen from 7,081, to 7,136.

While serious assaults have fallen from 80, to 69, and there have also been seven fewer attempted murders, there have been three murders recorded within the division – two more than the same period last year.

While there has been an increase in the number of robberies recorded, the detection rate for these offences has also risen, with 19 more incidents solved.

Sexual crime has also risen, with an additional 32 incidents reported, including two more reports of rape or assault with intent to rape. Indecent and sexual assaults have, however, decreased from 143, to 119.

In addition, the detection rate for sexual crime has also increased by over nine percentage points.

Another area that has seen a rise in reported offending is acquisitive crime, which is up from 3,806, to 3,946.

However, the total number of housebreaking, including attempted break-ins has fallen from 293, to 249. Motor vehicle crime has also reduced from 586 reports, to 514.

The city has also seen a significant reduction in the number of road casualties, which have more than halved, when compared with the same period of 2022.

In total there have been zero fatalities – three fewer than last year, as well as 26 fewer serious injury collisions and 67 fewer slight injury collisions.

Overall motoring offences have also fallen from 2,380, to 2,232.

Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander for Edinburgh, said: “I acknowledge and accept that the current quarterly data, which shows a rise in recorded crime for the Capital, may be of concern to our communities and I want to reiterate my commitment to ensuring we dedicate our policing resources appropriately to address developing crime trends and provide the best level of service we can to the public.

“However, as T/Deputy Chief Constable Speirs has stated, Police Scotland is facing sustained levels of demand, with over 600,000 calls received from the public in the first quarter of 2023 and over 420,000 incidents recorded.

“This, coupled with the reduction in personnel numbers and budget restraints, means the service must make hard choices and Edinburgh is not immune to this. We must look closely at the resource we have and how it can be best utilised to address developing crime trends and support the needs of Edinburgh’s public.

“The public have an important role to play in helping us shape policing priorities by taking our Your Police Survey which is available on the Police Scotland website at www.scotland.police.uk.”

The 2023-24 Quarter 1 Performance Report was presented at the Scottish Police Authority Policing Performance Committee yesterday.

The report and associated Management Information is available here.

Auditor General: Access to mental health services ‘slow and complicated’

Accessing adult mental health services in Scotland remains slow and complicated for many people. In particular, ethnic minority groups, people living in rural areas and those in poverty all face additional barriers.

There have been big funding increases for services since 2017, but a lack of data makes it hard for the Scottish Government to see the impact of that spending. Waiting times for psychological therapies have improved. But ministers do not measure the quality of wider mental healthcare services, or whether they are improving people’s health.

The mental healthcare system is fragmented. The Scottish Government, NHS boards, councils, Integration Joint Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and the third sector are all involved in funding, planning or providing services. This makes accountability complex. And it causes complications and delays in developing care focused on the needs of individuals.

The Scottish Government plans to increase its Mental Health Directorate budget by 25 per cent and ensure that ten per cent of the front-line NHS budget is spent on mental health by 2026.

They have also committed to giving all GP practices access to community based mental health and wellbeing services. These commitments are essential to improving access to services and relieving pressure on the mental health workforce. But ministers’ plans are not on track.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government needs much more information to understand the difference its investment in mental health services is making, from specialist services to community-based support.

“That planning must include moving beyond using waiting times as the sole measure of whether services are improving the lives of those in need. And it needs to include a costed delivery plan for the care that people can expect in their communities.”

Ronnie Hinds, Interim Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils and Integration Joint Boards have a vital role to play in improving the availability
and quality of data needed to plan services and get the right levels of staffing in place.

“They also need urgently to develop shared goals and targets to improve how housing, welfare and other services work together in order to address and prevent the root causes of poor mental health.”

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