Police Scotland has today launched a national campaign to tackle housebreaking across the country. Operation RAC will be implemented in various areas throughout Scotland to identify those responsible for break-ins and thefts and bring them to justice.
Since 1 April Police Scotland has provided dedicated resources to communities to tackle crimes of violence, sexual assaults and domestic abuse and as a result, greater numbers of these offences are being reported and solved. During this time, the Force has observed an overall increase of around 4% in housebreaking, with a number of areas reporting greater levels of crime than the national average.
As part of Police Scotland’s commitment to community engagement, housebreaking has been identified as a local priority for certain regions and these divisions will now be provided with additional resources and support to address the issue.
The operation will initially run within Edinburgh, Forth Valley, the Lothians and Scottish Borders, Fife, Highlands and Islands, Aberdeenshire and Moray, Aberdeen city and Lanarkshire. In each location, dedicated policing teams have been created to exclusively investigate housebreakings within homes, outbuildings and businesses and apprehend the individuals responsible.
Housebreaking offences will continue to be monitored throughout Scotland and extra support can be provided to any area requiring a more robust response to tackle this issue.
Throughout Operation RAC, Police Scotland will work closely with partners at COPFS to ensure housebreakers are being appropriately dealt with and removed from communities where possible.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson said: “Police Scotland remains committed to keeping people safe and I am delighted with the professionalism and dedication our officers have shown as part of our continued focus towards violence reduction.
“We recently launched our local policing campaign, which provides us with the opportunity to speak with individual communities and identify the issues or concerns specifically affecting their area. As a result, housebreaking has been highlighted as a priority for a number of our divisions and officers in these areas will be taking targeted action to detect anyone involved and deter further offences from occurring.
“We are keen to work not only with our partner agencies, but with our communities to address the issue of housebreaking and crime prevention advice for safeguarding your home, shed, outbuildings and businesses can be found on our website – www.scotland.police.uk
“I say this message directly to those intent on committing housebreakings in Scotland – if you engage in this invasive and distressing form of crime, we will use every resource at our disposal to remove you from our communities and ensure you spend time behind bars.”
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