Community Police Officers were on plain clothes patrols at Gyle Shopping Centre recently.
They were supported by the watchful
retail staff and apprehended 3 light fingered customers.
Two were issued with Recorded Police Warnings and another was arrested and charged with 16 linked offences.
POLICE are appealing for information following two assaults in Edinburgh.
Around 2.10am this morning (Saturday, 1 August, 2026), a man was assaulted on South Bridge near the junction with High Street. Enquiries to trace the victim, a man, are ongoing.
A short time later, the suspect continued further along South Bridge and assaulted another man, before walking towards Chambers Street. The man was taken to hospital for treatment.
The suspect is described as male, white, and between 30 and 40-years-old. He was wearing a green top, a dark-coloured gilet, white trainers, and a light-coloured baseball cap.
Detective Sergeant Steven Dick said: “Enquiries are ongoing and we are appealing to anyone who witnessed either assault to contact us.
“We’d also ask the victim in the first assault to get in touch with us.
“Anyone with information, private CCTV or dash-cam footage which could assist our enquiries, is asked to come forward.
“Information can be given be calling Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident 0421 of 1 August, 2026. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
More: https://orlo.uk/XPHRs
A 43-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for child sexual offences across Scotland.
Ross Jameson was sentenced today (Friday, 31 July, 2026) at the High Court in Edinburgh for indecently communicating and grooming eight girls, aged between nine and 15, throughout 2025.
He contacted the girls using a mobile phone app, and coerced them to take part in sexual acts and send indecent images and videos of themselves.
He pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday, 10 February, 2025.
Detective Constable Fergus Kelly said: “Jameson is a depraved individual who gave no thought to his victims, using them only for his sexual gratification.
“These girls were extremely vulnerable and Jameson groomed and abused them. I hope this sentence brings them and their families some comfort.
“I want to acknowledge the strength of all the girls who provided information to police in this case. Jameson’s conviction is down to them.
“Police Scotland takes all reports of sexual abuse seriously, regardless of the passage of time.
“We remain committed to supporting victims of sexual crime and protecting children from harm and abuse. We will use all available resources to find and arrest the abusers.
“I would urge anyone who is a victim of abuse to speak to police in the knowledge you will be listened to, taken seriously and fully supported.”
A 21-year-old man has been sentenced today, Monday, 27 July, 2026, to five years in prison for the rape of a teenage girl in Edinburgh in May last year. He was also given an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR).
Aaron Strachan pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, 4 December, 2025.
The incident happened in the early hours of Sunday, 25 May, 2025 in the city centre.
The court previously heard how Strachan walked the girl at knife point from Princes Street to a basement on York Place, where he subjected her to a violent and terrifying attack.
He also pleaded guilty to an assault to severe injury which took place in the South Bridge area on the same date, as well as an assault to severe injury and endangerment of life which took place in the High Riggs area on Wednesday, 28 May, 2025.
Detective Inspector Gillian Wells, from Edinburgh’s Sex Offender Policing Unit, said: “This was a particularly harrowing attack which was carried out in the busy city centre area and had a profound effect on the young victim.
“I hope this sentence brings her some sense of closure.
“The other assaults also demonstrate what a violent individual Strachan is, with no consideration of the consequences of his actions.
“I would like to thank local officers for their excellent work which ensured Strachan was quickly identified and arrested.
“Police Scotland remains committed to tackling sexual crimes and bringing those responsible to justice. I’d encourage anyone who has been a victim of such crimes to come forward and report it to us.
“We’ll thoroughly investigate and have specially trained officers and partner agencies to support you throughout.”
South West Community Policing Team (SWCPT) officers have been carrying out a shoplifting initiative with plain clothes patrols concentrating on the Gorgie, Dalry and Chesser areas:
A 35 year old male was arrested on 15 outstanding warrants and charged with 23 shoplifting offences.
A 34 year old female was arrested on 3 warrants and charged with 26 shoplifting offences.
A 24 year old male was arrested and charged with 9 shoplifting offences and an offence under the Protection of Retail Workers Act.
A 45 year old male was arrested and charged with a shoplifting offence having attempted to sell his stolen alcohol to a local pub. The pub refused to buy it from him.
A 26 year old male and female were both reported for a theft shoplifting and males aged 19, 20 and 35 were all given Recorded Police Warnings for shoplifting offences.
A man has been charged in connection with the death of 44-year-old Vikki Soloman in Edinburgh.
Around 8.45pm on Monday, 20 July, emergency services were called to a property in Craigievar Square in the city and Vikki was found with serious injuries and pronounced dead at the scene.
The 46-year-old man was arrested a short time later and has now been charged.
He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court tomorrow – Thursday, 23 July, 2026.
Two people have been arrested and charged after a man was found with serious injuries in Edinburgh.
The 43-year-old man was discovered unresponsive in a garden in Whitson Road around 9.30pm on Friday, 17 July, 2026.
He was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he remains in a critical condition.
A 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
Both are due to appear before Edinburgh Sheriff Court today Tuesday, 21 July, 2026.
Detective Chief Inspector Jonny Wright said: “Incidents of this nature can understandably cause concern amongst the local community and officers remain in the area to provide reassurance.
“We’d like to thank members of the public for their assistance during our investigation.”
A man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison following a series of sexual and violent offences in East Lothian and Elgin.
Christopher Malcolm was sentenced to 16 years in prison and placed on the sex offenders register at Edinburgh High Court on Friday (17 July, 2026).
He was previously convicted of the crimes, including rape and assault to injury and endangerment of life, against four women between 2010 and 2024 on 16 June, 2026, following a trail at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Detective Sergeant Jade Wardell said: “Malcolm subjected four women to years of horrific abuse, causing lasting trauma and having a profound impact on their lives.
“I would like to acknowledge the support provided by all victims throughout the investigation and court process, which has ultimately led to his conviction.
“Violence and abuse of any kind have no place in society and we remain committed to supporting victims and bringing those responsible to justice.
“I would encourage anyone who has experienced sexual abuse or violence to report it to police. Every report will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”
A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged following a serious assault in Muirhouse Gardens.
Emergency services were called to a common stairwell around 12.45pm on Friday, 17 July, 2026.
A 54-year-old man was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment to serious injuries.
The 30-year-old man is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, 20 July.
Anyone with any information or concerns can approach the officers, or call 101 and quote reference number 1501 of Friday, 17 July.
A fraudster who illegally obtained five Covid loans at the height of the pandemic has been jailed.
Cardiff-based Rupali Wagh fraudulently applied for £216,250 in Bounce Back Loans for her four companies between May and September 2020.
The 50-year-old inflated the turnover of her businesses to secure the loans and used some of the funds to buy stocks and shares.
She also obtained two loans for one of her companies when businesses were only entitled to a single loan.
Wagh, of Harrison Way, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud when she appeared at Cardiff Crown Court in November 2025.
She was jailed for two years and three months when she appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday 17 July.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Rupali Wagh systematically targeted a scheme designed to help genuine businesses survive the pandemic.
“She lied about her turnover, obtained duplicate loans for the same businesses, and used the funds to pay off personal debts and buy stocks and shares.
“When confronted with the evidence, Wagh initially tried to blame someone else before admitting she had acted alone.
“These are serious crimes and the Insolvency Service remains committed to bringing Covid fraudsters like Wagh to justice no matter how long it takes.”
Wagh’s first fraudulent application came in early May 2020, when she applied for a £16,250 Bounce Back Loan for One2Four Accounting Ltd, a bookkeeping services company she had set up in June 2018.
She declared the company had a turnover of £65,000 and said that the funds would be used wholly for business purposes.
In reality, the company’s turnover for the previous calendar year was just £39,000.
Within weeks of receiving the funds, Wagh transferred the money into her personal bank account and spent most of it paying off debts and purchasing stocks and shares.
The following month, Wagh applied for a £50,000 loan, the maximum allowed under the scheme, for Talensetu UK Ltd.
She claimed the business had a turnover of £218,000 when dormant accounts filed by the company for the period June 2019 to June 2020 showed it was not trading.
Within days of receiving the funds, Wagh transferred the entire £50,000 into her personal account and spent it on personal finance and stocks and shares. She also transferred more than £25,000 to an account in India.
Wagh applied for a second £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for Talensetu UK Ltd in July 2020, this time from a different bank.
She claimed a turnover of £225,000 despite having estimated the company’s turnover for the next calendar year as just £72,000 on the bank account application form she completed the same day.
Wagh also falsely declared this was the company’s only Bounce Back Loan application.
After receiving the funds in August, Wagh again transferred almost the entire amount into her personal account and spent it on stocks and shares and paying off personal finance.
Wagh followed this up with a fourth fraudulent application in August 2020, seeking £50,000 for White Coconut Ltd, which traded as an Indian street food outlet in Cardiff.
She claimed a turnover of £252,000, again contradicting the £72,000 estimate she provided on her bank account application.
Wagh falsely declared this was the company’s only Bounce Back Loan application, despite having already secured £18,000 from the bank for the same business three months earlier.
Her final fraudulent application came in late September 2020, when she applied for a £50,000 loan for Indian Canteen Ltd, a street food business incorporated only in January of that year.
Wagh claimed a turnover of £206,000, despite estimating on her bank account application that the company’s turnover for the next year would be just £82,000.
She later transferred more than £25,000 of the loan funds to White Coconut Ltd.
In interviews with the Insolvency Service, Wagh initially attempted to blame a third party for one of the loan applications, claiming someone sharing her computer had made the application without her knowledge. She later retracted this and acknowledged she had acted alone.
Wagh admitted using the funds to pay off personal credit card debts and loans, saying she thought that by clearing her personal debts she would be helping her businesses.
The Insolvency Service is seeking to recover the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
