- Police Scotland

Every few months we like to provide a CID column for Capital Cops, to allow the public the opportunity to understand the range of complex enquiries and crime prevention campaigns we are involved in.

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Ramsay

Our focus and approach to investigating serious organised crime remains a key priority for me and my officers.

The assistance of the public in gathering information and supporting our officers as they look to protect local communities and prevent incidents is vital.

Our work investigating these matters has led to a number of individuals having been identified prosecuted.

Shaun McKinnon, for example, was sentenced to over nine years in prison for his involvement in the supply of drugs and associated crimes. His arrest was achieved through painstaking work, dogged determination by officers working on the investigation and through the support and bravery of both victims and the local people of south Edinburgh.

If you have any information or concerns about drug misuse or wider criminality in your area, do not hesitate to contact Police Scotland via 101 or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Linked to organised crime is county lines offences, where criminals from outwith an area begin operating in the hope of evading the attention of the police. Our Edinburgh County Lines Unit continues to target any emerging drug distribution threats.

These groups may acquire accommodation in Edinburgh by what is known as ‘cuckooing’, where a person’s home is taken over by intimidation or violence. Working collaboratively with partners and with support from local communities a number of county lines have been dismantled, vulnerable adults and children protected and offenders arrested and charged.

Often our work crosses over into the realm of public protection, a unit I know extremely well, having been the DCI for Edinburgh’s Public Protection Unit for two years, before replacing DCI Graham Grant.

One such issues is that of sextortion, where fraudsters obtain intimate videos and images of a victim by claiming to be someone else and then threaten to publish or share these with family and friends across social media platforms unless they are paid sums of cash

Awareness is crucial to avoid becoming a victim to this type of crime, as is enhancing your online security. I would encourage people to be extremely mindful of the content they are sharing with others. Please don’t make any payment if you have been targeted, but instead contact police immediately.

Tackling acquisitive crime is also a priority in Edinburgh and our dedicated Community Investigation Unit will continue to target those responsible for housebreakings and thefts of and from vehicles across the city. Overall housebreaking has reduced by more than 1100 incidents against the five year average. Visit our website at www.scotland.police.uk.

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Ramsay