Three men charged in connection with an attempted murder in West Pilton are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court later today (Thursday 15 July).
The men were arrested and charged after a 34-year-old man was found seriously injured in a communal stairwell in West Pilton Grove on Friday 18 June.
Chief Inspector Sarah Taylor, said: “We would like to thank those who have come forward and assisted with our enquiries. “I would like to reassure the members of the community that this was an isolated incident and there is no threat to the wider public. “Our officers and partners will continue to engage with local residents to provide reassurance and I would encourage anyone who has any concerns surrounding crime in the area to get in contact with police. “Police can be contacted on 101 or alternatively the charity Crime stoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Here’s the latest Capital Cops column from Chief Inspector Sam Ainslie, Local Area Commander for South East Edinburgh:
The city centre and South East of Edinburgh is a diverse locality, incorporating homes, businesses and a large number of leisure facilities and visitor attractions, ranging from easily accessible green spaces to the vast majority of the city’s night-time economy.
Local Edinburgh residents welcome the responsible use of our fantastic green spaces and amenities. However, disappointingly, these areas can experience incidences of antisocial behaviour and even disorder, particularly during periods of good weather, where excessive drinking has been a contributory factor.
You may be aware of some issues within the Meadows area during the Easter weekend, and I raise it here, for a number of reasons.
First to provide reassurance, that it was obvious that a small group of individuals attended with the express purpose of causing disorder.
Second, being acutely aware of the negative impact on local communities, South East Community Improvement Partnership developed a comprehensive action plan, calling on expertise and resource from across a range of Police, voluntary organisations, and City of Edinburgh Council functions.
This multi-agency response was then utilised successfully over a number of subsequent weekends.
Third, I wish to highlight the success of our dedicated investigation team, formed to specifically target those responsible for the pockets of disorder that weekend, and I am delighted to report that 14 of 17 key individual have been traced, arrested and reported to the Procurator Fiscal and suffice to say efforts will continue to hold the remainder to account.
Please continue to use these spaces respectfully.
While Edinburgh is a safe city, we are never complacent in respect of violence or anti-social behaviour in any of its forms, and as the night-time economy gradually returns, officers are once again providing a high visibility policing presence within the city centre during weekend periods, providing reassurance to our local communities, preventing issues and robustly dealing with incidents, should they occur.
Keeping with prevention, we have started to see a rise in thefts from vehicles, homes, sheds and businesses, and as a recurring theme, these are often opportunistic in nature, with thieves capitalising on a door or window being left unlocked.
Items of choice include, purses, handbags, laptops and bikes. Police Scotland’s website www.scotland.police.uk provides lots of great security advice, so please give it a visit.
Road safety matters remain an area of focus, and with Police Scotland’s Summer Drink/ Drug Drive Campaign having started on Monday – please follow us on our social media channels for information and updates.
I want to thank you for your ongoing support and ask that you continue to contact us to report suspected criminality and relevant concerns.
Information can also be passed to local officers, 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, and as ever, we will continue to post policing updates via @EdinPolSE Twitter account.
If you haven’t already done so, please follow us to receive regular information on what’s happening in your local area.
Chief Inspector Sam Ainslie is Local Area Commander, South East Edinburgh
A renewed appeal has been made to trace the movements of a vehicle believed to be linked to an attempted murder in West Pilton.
Detectives in Edinburgh have renewed an appeal for information as enquiries continue into the attempted murder of a man in North Edinburgh.
The 34-year-old man was found seriously injured in a common stairwell at West Pilton Grove around 5pm on Friday, 18 June.
He was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
Extensive enquiries are ongoing and officers are particularly keen to identify the movements of a dark blue Volkswagen Golf GTI which is believed to be linked to the incident and was later found on fire in the city later on the Friday evening.
Detective Inspector Alison MacDonald said: “We would be particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have seen the vehicle in the Granton, Newhaven or Drylaw areas leading up to Friday, 18 June.
“Enquiries have established the car was driven in those areas leading up to that date, as well as in Gorgie and Sheriffhall, before it was later found burnt out near Shawfair Railway Station.
A dark blue Volkswagen Golf GTI was seen driving at speed in the Drylaw area before the incident and a similar vehicle was then seen being driven erratically Sheriffhall Roundabout around 5.30pm on Friday 18 June.
“It is possible that the vehicle may have been parked up in one of those areas prior to the incident. If you believe you may have seen the car in the lead-up to Friday, 18 June but have not seen it since then please get in touch.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident and anyone with any information can call 101, quoting incident 2690 of 18 June or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Helpless Portobello schoolgirl abandoned on freezing winter’s night
A 20 year old man who caused the death of an underage girl by buying her alcohol and abandoning her on a freezing winter’s night has been jailed for three yearsand two months.
When Ewan Fulton, then 18, left 15-year-old Mhari O’Neill, she was not wearing a jacket and was too drunk to walk.
A dog walker found her body on Calton Hill the next morning. on 7 December 2018.
Pathologists said the probable cause of the teenager’s death was hypothermia, with intoxication.
Last month Fultonappeared at the High Court in Edinburgh andadmitted killing Mhairi, who was 15, after buying her alcohol and abandoning her on Calton Hill on 7 December 2018.
Fulton pleaded guilty to culpable homicide. He admitted taking part in sexual activity with the under-age schoolgirl, culpably and recklessly endangering her health and life, and exposing her to risk of injury and death.
Ewan Fulton, who was 18 at the time, bit and throttled Mhari O’Neill, before abandoning her.
Fulton first met Mhari through social media site Yubo.
On the fateful night Fulton said he had bought a large bottle of vodka for them to share after he travelled to Edinburgh from Livingston to meet her.
Fulton told police Portobello High School student Mhari had been so drunk that she kept falling off a bench and could not walk. He claimed he was starting to panic and knew he needed to get the last train home. He maintained he told her several times he was leaving, but did not get a response as she was “unable to speak”.
The following day Fulton, a shop worker, sent Mhairi a text asking: “Are you alive?” He also sent text messages to friends, explaining: “I had no choice but to leave, what was I supposed to do?” and “I got her drunk she’s 15”. He told another friend: “That girl has a family and if I had stayed she would be alive.”
Fulton, from Livingston, abandoned the girl “in a remote and exposed location” in a state of partial undress without means to contact anyone and failed to seek help for her.
The culpable homicide charge stated Fulton behaved with “utter disregard” for the consequences of his actions towards her.
Det Insp Susan Balfour from Police Scotland’s major investigation team said: “This has been a distressing time for Mhari’s family and our thoughts remain with them and her friends.
“We welcome the conviction of Ewan Fulton and hope it brings some comfort to Mhari’s loved ones.”
Specialist detectives in Edinburgh have acknowledged the conviction of Craig Dunsmore for a number of sexual offences, including rape. The 27-year-old has been found guilty following a trial at the High Court.
Dunsmore (above) was convicted of a raping a woman in Edinburgh in January 2019. He was also found guilty of online offences involving indecent communications and possessing indecent images of children.
Detective Inspector George Calder of the Edinburgh City Divisional Rape Investigation Unit said: “Craig Dunsmore is a dangerous individual whose actions were motivated purely to satisfy his own depraved sexual gratification.
“The bravery of the females involved in initially coming forward then subsequently throughout the police investigation and legal proceedings is to be commended and will now mean he faces the consequences of his behaviour.
“We are committed to bringing all perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice and I would urge anyone who wishes to report sexual crime, either direct to police or through a third sector agency, regardless of when it happened.”
Dunsmore will return to court for sentencing at a later date.
Hundreds of children have been safeguarded by police enforcement as reports of online child sexual abuse increased during the last year, information released today by Police Scotland shows.
Police Scotland’s 2020-21 Quarter 4 Performance Report and Management Information showed there were a total of 1,966 child sexual abuse crimes recorded during the year, an increase of 5.9% compared to last year (1,857) and 24.9% greater than the five year average of 1,574.
The Performance Report outlines the safeguarding of 434 children through the enforcement of 649 National Online Child Abuse Prevention (NOCAP) packages between September 2020 and March this year.
NOCAP packages provide intelligence and evidence which underpins investigations carried out to identify and arrest online child abusers.
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: “The rise in reports online child sexual abuse has continued and accelerated during this period, and the Performance Report draws attention to vital work to safeguard hundreds of children through the enforcement of National Online Child Abuse Prevention (NOCAP) packages.
“Online child sexual abuse is a national threat and tackling it is a priority for Police Scotland. The implementation of our Cyber Strategy will ensure we continue to build capacity and capability to keep people safe in the virtual space.”
The reports also provide an insight into the effect of coronavirus restrictions on the policing needs and requirements of communities during 2020-21.
Crime reports fell overall, with 6,361 fewer violent crimes reported compared to the previous year, a decrease of 10% while there were also 55 fewer road fatalities, decreasing 33% from 165 to 110.
Acquisitive crime, such as housebreakings and shoplifting, fell by 18% year on year (from 109,460 to 89,731).
Detection rates increased in a number of crime categories where reported offences had decreased, including overall violent crime (up 3.3% points) and acquisitive crime (up 0.3% points).
However reported frauds increased by 38.2% from 10,875 in 2019-20 to 15,031 during the last year, up 78.1% on the five-year average of 8,439 reported crimes.
DCC Taylor said: “The reporting year 2020-21 was truly an exceptional period, covering from just a few days after the country first entered lockdown up until the beginning of April 2021.
“While it may be years before some of the changes to how people live their lives and to the nature of crime are fully understood, this information demonstrates the significant impact coronavirus restrictions have had on reported crime, detection rates and other policing requirements during this unique time.
“Overall violent crime reduced by around 10% year on year. Year on year increases of violent crime were reported during only the months of July and August, when restrictions had been eased.
“Acquisitive crime, such as shoplifting, also declined overall by almost a fifth compared to the year before and against the five-year average.
“The number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads is down about a third on the year before.”
“While this is to be welcomed, it is important to note reductions in reported crime did not occur in every category.
“As restrictions ease, we will continue to report on changes to the policing requirements of communities and the challenge of maintaining higher detection rates in the context of reported crime which is closer to pre-pandemic levels, as well increasing demand in areas such as fraud and online child abuse.”
An NSPCC Scotland spokesperson said: “These latest figures are further evidence of the increasing risk to children posed by child sexual offenders online.
“It is right and crucial that Police Scotland is tackling these crimes as a priority, through arresting suspects and working with partners to raise awareness of the issue. But it is clear we cannot continue with the status quo, where it’s left to law enforcement to tackle child abuse but social networks fail to do enough to proactively prevent and disrupt it from happening in the first place.
“The UK Government needs to deliver on its promise to put the protection of children front and centre of the Online Safety Bill, with tech firms being held to account if they fail in their duty of care.”
The 2020-21 Q4 Performance Report will be presented to the Scottish Police Authority’s Policing Performance Committee on Tuesday, 8 June.
Detectives are appealing for information following an attempted murder which occurred in the Fort Kinnaird area of Edinburgh on Thursday (3 June).
Around 5pm a group of four men were standing at Fort Kinnaird when they were approached by two men on a motorcycle.
A short chase took place and one of the men was stopped nearby on Whitehill Road, where the pillion passenger on the bike assaulted him with a bladed weapon.
The two suspects then made off along Whitehill Road.
The 31-year-old victim was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with serious injuries, where he remains in a critical but stable condition.
The suspects are described as follows – driver dressed in all black clothing with a black helmet while the passenger was wearing a jacket with a red body and grey sleeves, with a dark cap and a snood/ dark face covering. They were travelling on a distinctive off road/trials/scrambler bike which was mainly blue in colour, with red and white livery.
Detective Inspector Clark Martin from Gayfield CID said: “We believe this incident was targeted towards the group of men standing at Fort Kinnaird and the victim has been left with extremely serious injuries.
“I am appealing for anyone who witnessed what happened, or noticed the suspects in the area, to please come forward.
“The motorcycle they were using was very distinctive and I would also urge anyone who thinks they may have seen it in the Edinburgh area on Thursday to pass this information on to the police.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland through 101, quoting incident number 2632 of Thursday, 3 June. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
More than 1,000 assaults on officers and staff included coronavirus related context during 2020-21, according to latest analysis by Police Scotland.
The 1,087 reports were identified by searching cases for keywords relating to coronavirus such as ‘spit’, ‘cough’ and ‘Covid’.
The figure contributed to a total of 6,942 recorded assaults on officers and staff, 413 more than the year before, an increase of 6.3% year on year.
Reported assaults are also up 18% on the five year average, continuing a long-term trend of increasing assaults against the police.
There were 550 assaults in Edinburgh (E division) with a further 402 in Lothian and Borders (J), but specific Covid-related numbers are unavailable. The highest number of assaults recorded was in Greater Glasgow, where 1577 assaults were recorded, of which 336 were Covid-related.
Deputy Chief Constable, People and Professionalism, Fiona Taylor said: “Officers and staff stepped-forward to help combat the spread of the virus, conducting in excess of 120,000 interactions with members of the public to explain rapidly changing guidance, encourage everyone to do the right thing and enforce the law where required.
“I am grateful to the vast majority of people who responded with remarkable co-operation and support for their police service.
“Officers and staff work with dedication and a commitment to helping people and violence and abuse against them is utterly deplorable and unacceptable. It is not simply part of the job and will not be tolerated.”
Police Scotland has brought additional focus to tackling the concerning issue of violence and abuse against officers and staff under the Your Safety Matters initiative, led by DCC Taylor.
The initiative, in which staff associations and unions are represented, contributed to the development of the Chief Constable’s Assault Pledge, backed by the Lord Advocate and the Cabinet Secretary of Justice.
The pledge was launched in August 2020 and promised to provide appropriate support to colleagues where violence occurs, as well as calling on wider society and the public to support policing.
During the last year, Police Scotland has established an enhanced Operational Safety Training programme which increases the annual refresher course from one day to two days and introduces new techniques and de-escalation tactics.
New guidance for officers and staff has also been published to support better reporting of health and safety incidents and assaults.
DCC Taylor said: “Tackling the concerning trend of increasing assaults on officers and staff is a priority for Police Scotland.
“It causes physical and psychological harm to dedicated public servants. There is also a cost to the public purse through days lost to ill-health or personal injury claims.
“We will continue to work to better understand how we prevent violence and abuse against officers and staff, what impact it has on our colleagues, and how we can better support them to do their job.”
Police Scotland recently asked for public views on armed police officers using Body Worn Video cameras to record certain incidents. Almost 9,000 people took part in that survey and the majority thought the use of BWV would increase trust and confidence in the police and make them feel safer.
This positive response means we will now equip our armed police officers with body worn video cameras this year. In addition, we expect to start a national consultation with the public in the summer about providing BWV cameras to more officers and staff right across Scotland.
We have improved our infrastructure to support more take-up of existing Taser provision and are engaging with partners and elected representatives about plans to increase the numbers of Specially Trained Officers equipped with this important safety kit.
Focus on the critical issue of officer and staff safety will continue in 2021-22 and further details will be released as progress is made.
Police Scotland has released an image of a female they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries in relation to a racial incident which occurred near to Ibrox Stadium on Saturday 15 May 2021.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police via telephone number 101 quoting incident number 1048 of Saturday 15 May 2021.
Anyone sending information can choose to remain anonymous.
Alternatively you can contact CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
Police have released CCTV images of seventeen people they believe may be able to assist with enquiries. Anyone with information is asked to contact Police via telephone number 101 quoting incident number 1048 of Saturday 15 May 2021.
Officers investigating the disorder at George Square have made another two arrests. Two men, aged 34 and 44, have been arrested and charged in relation to the disorder and have been released on an undertaking to appear in court at a later date.
Detective Inspector Craig Warren, who is leading the investigation, said: “These arrests are just the beginning and the public can be confident we are doing everything possible to identify those responsible for the violence and disorder that took place.
“This will take time due to the numbers involved but rest assured, if you were involved in causing this disorder, violence or anti-social behaviour you will be arrested.
“We are continuing to review CCTV, video and still images and I would appeal to anyone who may have captured incidents on their mobiles to please get in touch with us. You may have footage that could help us in our investigation and it’s vital we speak with you.
“The Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP) is available for the public to send any information, photographs or images directly to the investigation team.
“There has been footage circulating on social media covering the events in George Square. If you recognise people involved in these acts of violence and disorder, please let us know. You can contact 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Two boys aged 14 and 15 have been charged after a stone was thrown at a bus in Pennywell Gardens, smashing a window. The incident occurred around 7.10pm on Wednesday 5 May.
Inspector Johnny Elliott of Drylaw Police Station said: “This kind of behaviour is dangerous and the consequences could have been far more serious.
“As part of Operation Proust, officers have been visiting schools in the area and speaking to youths about the dangers of throwing stones at public transport vehicles. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and we will make every effort to identify those responsible.
“Information from members of the public is vital in helping us quickly identify those involved in this type of criminality and we would encourage anyone who witnesses an incident to contact Police Scotland through 101.
“Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
