Drylaw Police are appealing for witnesses to an assault which occurred about 5.30pm on Tuesday 8th May. A cyclist on the Ferry Road walkway near to Ainslie Park Leisure Centre had items thrown at him and was pushed off his bike by a group of youths. Continue reading Police hunt youth gang following Ferry Road incident
Police are appealing for information to help trace a missing man believed to be in the Capital. Scott Hutchison is originally from Selkirk and was reported missing from Dennistoun, Glasgow, by his family yesterday (Wednesday 9th May). Continue reading Frightened Rabbit singer reported missing
Net closing on motorbike suspects
Police are continuing their enquiries following Saturday’s hit and run incident on Ferry Road in which a ten year old boy was seriously injured. There was a significant police presence across the area yesterday as the search for those for those responsible goes on. Continue reading Ferry Road hit and run: “Your help could prove vital”
Police have been conducting Stronger North activity in the North Edinburgh area over the past week. Officers have made 42 arrests and executed seven misuse of drugs warrants since last Monday. Over the last week £9000 worth of drugs have been recovered in the area, along with seven stolen motorcycles and one stolen car. Seventeen vehicles have also been seized for having invalid insurance. Continue reading Stronger North: crackdown on crime in North Edinburgh
Just time to add one more pre-upgrade post … information from local police as part of the #StrongerNorth initiative:
6 November report: Disturbances in the Forth area
Following several minor incidents of disorder in the Forth area of Edinburgh last night, a number of fireworks were thrown at Drylaw Police Station.
As a response, we deployed extra resources to the Drylaw and West Pilton areas, including two specialist support units. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were also in attendance. After these resources were deployed, no further incidents occurred.
Chief Inspector Sara Buchanan said: “Such behaviour will not be tolerated and further investigation is being carried out to identify those responsible.
We continue to place a strong focus on youth disorder and anti-social behaviour, and we in North Edinburgh are committed to tackling these issues in conjunction with our partners, through our Stronger North initiative, and we will take action whenever we receive a report of a crime.”
#StrongerNorth
Police in North Edinburgh are urging local youngsters and their parents to heed a safety warning following a recent road accident in West Pilton that has left a 15-year-old in a critical condition in hospital.
Enquiries are ongoing and police are appealing for witnesses after two males riding on a motorbike collided with a car in West Pilton Gardens at around 5.40pm last Tuesday evening (22 April).
Inspector David Happs, who is based at Drylaw Police Station, said: “The dangers in riding a high-powered motorcycle without the relevant training, experience or protective headgear are clear.
“We have charged several young people over recent months in connection with the dangerous and antisocial riding of motorbikes in the area, but a small minority of local young people continue to cause disruption to their local community.
“We are committed to tackling this antisocial and dangerous activity and officers have this week visited a number of local young people and their parents to reiterate this safety message and highlight the danger these young people are placing themselves and others in.”
Police Scotland acknowledges the strong feelings in the local community regarding the motorcycle issue and Inspector Happs is keen to reassure residents that the force is continuing efforts to identify those involved in such incidents and is urging members of the public to report any relevant information to the police.
He added: “Given the increased risk to the rider and other members of the public, the circumstances in which we will pursue a motorcycle in a police vehicle are rare. However, we have and will continue to make appropriate use of the police helicopter, other specialist and plain-clothed police resources, as well as CCTV and other evidential opportunities to identify the riders and investigate any offences committed.
“Many of the bikes involved are stolen from elsewhere in the city and I would also encourage motorcycle owners to take what reasonable steps they can to prevent their bike from being stolen. We continue to respond to calls from the public providing information on the location of hidden motorcycles, and we work with local Council teams to locate the bikes to prevent further misuse.
“There is a wide range of diversionary activities and facilities in the local area for young people and we work closely with these groups, the City of Edinburgh Council, Total Craigroyston and other agencies to develop longer term strategies to reduce the offending behaviour and danger to the local community.”
Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or, alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Police in Edinburgh have begun issuing body cameras to victims of hate crime in the north of the Capital. The scheme is being rolled out in North Edinburgh with a view to a wider rollout across the city.
The mini ‘body cams’, which are capable of recording incidents at a touch of a button, will be offered to local shop staff who have been experienced a significant or repeat incident.
The initiative has been designed to support staff by supplementing their existing CCTV and security measures.
Inspector Mark Rennie, of Drylaw Police Station said, “We often find that store security guards and shop staff receive racist abuse when they challenge shoplifters or refuse purchases.
“It’s totally unwarranted and unacceptable, and these cameras are intended to provide reassurance to staff who have experienced such an incident, by offering a deterrent and helping to assist police collect evidence to identify offenders.
“This will increase our opportunities to arrest those responsible, take appropriate action to put them before the courts, and prevent them from being able to use the shop in the future.
“Although the devices are discreet, they are small enough to be worn on the body to ensure that vulnerable staff have access to the recording facility at all times and in areas of their premises that previously would not have been covered by their own CCTV.”
Foysol Choudhury, MBE, Chair of Edinburgh and Lothian Regional Equality Council, said: “We welcome the initiative of Police Scotland of making small body cameras available, which will help safeguard and protect persons vulnerable to hate crimes.
“We also believe that it would make local business owners and employees confident to conduct their business as well as report instances of hate crime.
“As a lot of people are not aware of processes about reporting hate crimes, the body cameras will make them confident about garnering evidence of such crimes. We hope that this step will increase rates of reporting of hate crimes.”
Drylaw Police Station to close as Police Scotland opts for horse power
The chief of Scotland’s new national police force has vowed to wrong foot the country’s criminal fraternity – by replacing cars with horses! And Drylaw Police Station looks set to become a stable block under radical new plans.
Chief Constable Stephen House (pictured below) has ‘taken the reins’ at Police Scotland, which today officially replaces Scotland’s eight regional police forces. The new boss has promised to seek new ways to crack down on crime, and in a controversial move one of the first things he will do is replace hundreds of police cars, vans and motorcycles with … horses!
“It’s true”, he confirmed. “Police Scotland, like every other organisation in the country, faces financial challenges and we must look at our costs and try to make economies. We have inherited a large fleet of vehicles which are expensive to run and maintain, and are also very bad for the environment. I propose to replace the vast majority of these vehicles with police horses – at substantial savings to the taxpayer.
“Horses are much cheaper to run – they only need straw, oats and a handful of carrots – and this will be much better for the environment too. Horses are adaptable, can easily handle adverse weather conditions and, unlike motor vehicles, they can jump walls and fences! The public will even benefit from free manure for their gardens, so it really is a ‘win, win’ scenario. I am genuinely excited about the possibilities of this initiative.”
The switch to horsepower will see Drylaw Police Station converted to a state of the art stable enclosure for new equine recruits.
“We all know that crime levels are falling so we will need fewer police stations,” Mr House went on. “Drylaw isn’t that busy, so we will convert that building to a new stable facility for the horses. The police officers currently based at Drylaw will be retrained and will learn important new skills – grooming, cleaning tack, mucking out and things like that – which will give them something to do if there aren’t any criminals to catch. My officers are enthusiastic and adaptable, and we will need new skills for a new era in policing.”
Scotland’s criminal fraternity do not seem over-concerned about the Police Scotland initiative, however. Former crime boss Robert ‘Big Boab’ Baxter, who now writes exclusively on crime-related matters for the Daily Record, said: “Ma pals – sorry, former associates, won’t exactly be quaking in their boots when they hear this! Horses! I think Mister Hoose is semi-detached!”
Glasgow businessman Baxter, who was dubbed the ‘Barlanark Butcher’ before becoming a respectable security adviser, went on: “I’m looking forward to watching Red Rum and Dobbin taking on a Jag or a BMW in a race up the M8! Maybe the Chief Constable thinks he’s John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. What’s next – the sheriff and his deputies and getting a posse together? He’s havin’ a laugh!”
It’s understood the Chief Constable’s conversion to horse power didn’t come from watching old Westerns – but sources close to the Chief confirm that he was influenced by seeing Oscar-nominated film ‘War Horse’.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Police Authority, which oversees the new police organisation, dismissed criticism and insisted the reforms will go ahead. He said: “Yes, Stephen worked in Strathclyde but this is not shootouts in the Wild West, goodies chasing baddies, or even cowboys – although Glasgow does have it’s fair share of cowboys. This is a new dawn for policing in Scotland and we are looking at innovative new ways to tackle crime in this country. The public will be delighted to know that this equine initiative – we call it Operation Thoroughbred – is just the first of many brave, exciting new ideas. Yes, we are absolutely convinced that the public will sleep easier in their beds and will support us all the way on this. There may be a few teething problems, but Scotland’s criminals should be warned – we’re on your trail and we’re hunting you down! Tally ho!”
Police in Edinburgh are investigating a series of robberies and assaults on people selling electronics online. Two of the thefts involved computers and a third involved a mobile phone – which had been advertised on the Gumtree website – and the robberies took place after sellers agreed to meet potential buyers in McDonald’s car park on Telford Road.
The most recent incident happened on Monday (18 February) when a 24-year-old man was threatened and robbed of an Apple computer he was attempting to sell. The other two incidents happened on Sunday 20 January and Monday 21 January.
Inspector Mark Rennie, from Lothian and Borders Police, said: “While no victims were injured, all were understandably distressed as a result of their respective ordeals, and we are carrying out inquiries in order to establish whether these incidents are linked. At the same time we are warning anyone conducting any transaction over Gumtree, or any similar website, to take precautions to ensure their safety.”
Lothian and Borders Police have issued advice for anyone who sells goods online, including to meet in a well-lit public place and get full contact details for any potential buyer you agree to meet.
Anyone with any information about these crimes should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Police in North Edinburgh are offering free crime prevention surveys to businesses in the area.
Officers from the Safer Neighbourhoods Team at Drylaw Police Station will be delivering letters to businesses and offering security surveys to highlight additional measures that can be taken to maximise security, following a spate of night-time break-ins which have occurred since Christmas.
Five men have been arrested and charged in relation to separate alleged break-ins in the last three weeks and additional police resources have been patrolling the area during the night to check premises. Despite this, thieves have continued to target businesses and on occasions returned to several premises that have broken into previously.
In an effort to raise awareness, the police have also alerted other night-time private security staff and council workers to encourage them to immediately report any suspicious or unusual activity when they are working in the area.
Inspector Mark Rennie of Drylaw Police Station said: “It’s really important that businesses review the robustness of the security measures they have in place and ensure all equipment is working. We hope that by offering free surveys and highlighting appropriate measures to take, businesses will do everything they can to make themselves a hard target.
“We’ve informed a lot of local people of the issue but worryingly we haven’t always had calls from residents when noises have been heard emanating from premises during the night. I’d like to encourage people to phone us immediately so that we get officers there quickly.”
Anyone with any information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
