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Offences Recorded by the Police
12. The number of recorded offences increased by 5 per cent from 496,168 in 1997/98 to 520,059 in 1998/99.
Miscellaneous Offences
13. The number of miscellaneous offences recorded by the police decreased by 2 per cent to total 152,890 in 1998/99. Recorded cases of petty assault rose by 3 per cent from 50,244 in 1997/98 to 51,614 in 1998/99 and cases of breach of the peace fell by 3 per cent from 73,285 in 1997/98 to 71,292 in 1998/99. Offences in the "other" sub-category (minor statutory offences) decreased by 8 per cent from 23,418 in 1997/98 to 21,626 in 1998/99 and partially reverses the increase evident since 1995. The number of recorded cases of drunkenness in 1998/99 totaled 8,358; a decrease of 13 per cent on the number recorded in the previous year.
Motor Vehicle Offences
14. The number of motor vehicle offences recorded in 1998/99 (367,169) was 8 per cent higher than the number recorded in 1997/98. Within this group the number of cases of speeding rose by 25 per cent to total 119,692; large increases were evident in all eight forces as a result of various campaigns undertaken by the police during the course of the year. There were further decreases in the number of cases of dangerous and careless driving and drunk driving which fell by 3 and 5 per cent respectively. Offences recorded in the "other" sub-category rose from 76,986 in 1997/98 to 81,347 in 1998/99 (up 6 per cent). This increase was largely attributable to an increase in seat belt offences where numbers rose by 28 per cent.
Detection Rates
15. The total number of crimes cleared up by the police rose from 166,676 in 1997/98 to 186,949 in 1998/99 (up 12 per cent). The clear-up rate for crimes rose from 40 per cent in 1997/98 to 43 per cent in 1998/99 due, in part, to an improved detection rate against Crimes of Dishonesty. Clear-up rates vary markedly depending on the type of crime and, reflect in part, the differing circumstances in which crimes come to the attention of the police. Property related crime tends to have a lower clear-up rate and this in turn affects the overall rate achieved. Crimes of violence have higher clear-up rates and, for a number of crimes in which identification of the offence and the offender tend to occur simultaneously (for example drug possession), clear-up rates will tend towards 100%. In other types of crime the police have the task of finding the offender after the crime is discovered and reported to them.
Scottish Crime Squad
16. The Scottish Crime Squad's function is to assist all Scottish forces in the investigation of serious and series crimes, particularly those which transcend force and national boundaries. It also focuses on major drug trafficking, the acquisition of intelligence and provides technical support for forces. Its work is monitored by a committee comprising the 8 Chief Constables in Scotland.
17. At 31 March 1999, the actual strength of the Scottish Crime Squad, which includes the Scottish Criminal Intelligence Office, was 94 police officers, 11 of whom were female, and 21 civilian support staff. This is 7 officers and 1 support staff below authorised levels. The co-location of the Squad at its Headquarters in Paisley with the Scottish office of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and HM Customs and Excise encourage a progressive and strategic approach to tackling crime. The excellent relationships which have been fostered encourages a high level of intelligence sharing.
18. During the year Scottish Crime Squad activities led to the recovery of substantial quantities of drugs and the imposition of long custodial sentences on drug traffickers. In all, controlled drugs to the value of more than £11.8 million were seized by the Scottish Crime Squad while working with Scottish forces, the Crime Squad in England and Wales and HM Customs and Excise. The fact that 78% of the Scottish Crime Squad's activity in 1998/99 was directed at drug related operations continues to reflect the priority attached to this crime category and where organised crime activity is centred.
National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS)
19. By virtue of the provisions of the Police Act 1997, NCIS was established as an independent body in April 1998 and the speed with which NCIS has integrated with Scottish police forces and other agencies dedicated to tackling serious criminality is a tribute to the effort made by all concerned to make the partnerships effective. By taking an intelligence led multi-agency approach a number of successful operations have been carried out by the Scottish police service resulting in arrests and the seizure of significant quantities of drugs and firearms. These results are an indication of the growing importance of the NCIS role.
Scottish Criminal Record Office
20. The Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) has a strength of 101 members of staff although at 31 March 1999, only 96 were in post, a shortfall of 5.
21. A strategic review of SCRO was commissioned by the Controlling Committee in 1998/9 because of the major challenges facing the organisation following upon earlier reviews of specific areas and the additional workload introduced by new legislation. The review team has yet to report.
22. Livescan, which enables the electronic capture of fingerprints, has been used to fingerprint over 100,000 people at the 31 sites throughout Scotland in the two years since its introduction on 1 April 1997. The scanned images are transmitted to the central Automatic Fingerprint Recognition (AFR) system at SCRO for processing. During 1998/99 some 75% of all fingerprints taken were captured using Livescan with the remainder taken by the traditional ink method. A tightening of force policies in respect of fingerprinting those arrested has led to the increase of 68% in the number of people fingerprinted in the last two years. The introduction of Livescan has contributed to the identification of 492 false names and over 1500 marks taken from scenes of crime have been matched with suspects, including marks for murders, firearm offences and robberies. Developmental work is ongoing to establish an electronic capture facility for palm prints and it is anticipated that a system will be in place by the end of 1999.
23. The Automatic Fingerprint Recognition System (AFR), introduced at SCRO in 1991, has been regularly upgraded (there was a further software enhancement in 1998) to ensure the Scottish police service has continuing access to the latest fingerprint searching technology. In consequence of the increased workload at SCRO additional remote workstations, allowing access to the national database and operated by fingerprint experts, have been installed in several forces. In 1998/99, 8,876 scene of crime marks were searched on AFR resulting in 31% being identified. At 31 March 1999, the AFR database held 353,460 tenprints (fingerprint records) and 44,318 unsolved crime marks.
24. The present SCRO vetting procedures are carried out in accordance with the (then) Scottish Home Department, Police (CC) Circular No 4/1989. During the year 113,177 non-police agency enquiries were dealt with. When Part V of the Police Act 1997 is brought into force, there will be greatly increased access to police records for individuals and organisations for employment and other purposes. SCRO willl provide the service for Scotland and the anticipated increase in enquiries will have a major impact on resources, accommodation and equipment.
25. One of the most significant new facilities implemented during the year has eliminated the need for update staff to input extra data for PHOENIX, the names application of the Police National Computer (PNC), thus saving on screen input time. Software changes were required to be implemented by both SCRO and the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO). The Scottish Criminal Record Office computerised system has been established for some ten years and allows Scottish police forces to access the criminal history system and PNC. HMIC fully supports the continuing efforts to keep the technology at the leading edge of development.
Crime Prevention/Community Initiatives
26. It is a self-evident truth that prevention of crime is more important than solving crime. The new Scottish Parliament is committed to making communities safer by bringing together a range of public sector and private sector agencies in a co-ordinated response to preventing and detecting crime and enhancing community safety. This involves close association between a wide range of interests including police forces and local authorities as well as voluntary agencies. The principal aim is to reduce the opportunity for crime. The police have a vital role in this process.
27. Police Circular No 9/1998 commends to local authorities and police forces the establishment of formal but flexible partnerships designed to reduce crime and improve community safety in Scotland. This was underpinned by the publication of "Safer Communities Through Partnership - a Strategy for Action". The Scottish Crime Prevention Council - launched in 1992 to carry the Scottish Crime Prevention Strategy forward - has been wound up and will be replaced by the Scottish Community Safety Forum.
28. Demand for CCTV facilities continues to grow. The third round of the CCTV Challenge Competition (1998/99) attracted 39 entries, of which 23 bids were successful. Successful projects came from as far afield as Peebles, Inverness and Rothesay. A further £1.5 million has recently been awarded in the 1999/2000 round in respect of 18 applications. Since the launch of the Competition in 1996, over 100 CCTV systems have been awarded total funding of nearly £7 million. Ministers are currently giving consideration to the format of what is likely to be a wider community based competition which can include, but is not exclusively, for CCTV systems.
29. Collaboration with Barnardos, APEX Scotland and Community Learning Scotland (formerly the Scottish Community Education Council) has produced innovative work with persistent young offenders and on youth crime generally. The Crime Prevention Unit of the Scottish Executive and the Social Work Services Group continue to jointly fund two programmes of work that focus on changing the offending behaviour of individual young people.
30. A 3 year roll-out domestic violence media campaign was launched in December 1998 in response to statistics which suggested that more than one in five Scottish women experience some form of domestic abuse at some time in their lives. The main aim was to promote a culture change, where domestic violence would no longer be regarded as acceptable. The Campaign which was developed in association with Scottish Women's Aid, Victim Support and others ran on television and radio and newspaper adverts over the Christmas and New Year period. A telephone help-line was also established with support from Scottish Telecom and resourced by Victim Support and Women's Aid, ensuring a quality of service from experienced counsellors.
31. Operation Hamelin II was a relaunch of a police led Operation tackling bogus caller crime throughout Scotland and the North of England. All forces within Scotland were involved with Cumbria Constabulary, Northumbria Police, British Transport Police and numerous other partners from the public, private and voluntary sector. In July 1998 a major TV advertising campaign aimed at preventing the public - particularly the elderly - from falling prey to bogus caller crime was launched. The £92,000 production and airtime costs were met entirely from sponsorship from the Scottish Executive, Crimestoppers and several major utilities - Scottish Gas, Scottish Power, West of Scotland Water, Scottish Hydro Electric and East of Scotland Water.
32. A conference took place in December 1998 entitled "Young People at Risk". The purpose of the conference, which was hosted by Mr Henry McLeish (then) the Home Affairs Minister, was to consider how partnership working could provide young people with alternative pathways leading to better, more productive and positive lifestyles.
33. Three areas have been selected for "Communities that Care" pilot projects. They are Gracemount and Southhouse (City of Edinburgh Council), Cranhill and Ruchazie (City of Glasgow Council) and City-wide (City of Dundee Council). Each project will receive £30,000 for 3 years from the Scottish Executive Crime Prevention Unit which will be match funded by the host authorities. These community-based and managed projects aim to overcome problems of youth crime, drug abuse, sexual health and school failure.
Scottish Drugs Conference
34. The annual Scottish Drugs Conference was held in October and its importance in the strategic approach to tackling drugs crime was evident in the support provided by the former Scottish Office Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Henry McLeish and the United Kingdom Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, Mr Keith Hellawell. The conference, entitled 'Withdrawal Symptoms', brought together professionals from many involved agencies across the UK and focussed on the cost of drug abuse to society, not only in financial terms but in health and social well being. The conference continues to provide a platform for the police service in Scotland to share its experience and integrate its efforts with partners in effective action against drug crime.
Victim Support
35. During 1998/99 the 74 local Victim Support Scotland (VSS) services were reorganised into 32 new service areas co-terminous with Council boundaries and where possible reflecting police divisions or sub-divisions. This move has facilitated improved opportunities for strategic planning on a local authority basis, increased ability to measure and plan effectively in relation to actual crime levels and contribute more meaningfully to community safety strategies.
36. During the year VSS services received 38,242 referrals of victims of crime of which 33,949 came from the police. VSS is currently engaged in discussions with ACPOS with a view to establishing a national policy for referral by the police of victims to Victim Support.
Air Support
37. Since the 1980's the formation of police air support units has increased steadily and of the 43 forces in England and Wales 36 currently enjoy some level of capability. In Scotland, only Strathclyde Police has integrated air support as part of its full-time policing capability. Air support is expensive and identifying the cost benefits is not straight forward but there are a number of tasks including searching, surveillance (vehicle pursuits) and rapid response to remote locations where air support comes into its own.
38. ACPOS is currently discussing a business case for air support throughout Scotland. The provision could be procured in a number of ways and the options will be examined. This issue has been around for a considerable time now and progress is overdue.
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