Staying safe this Christmas with Operation Sheath - Neil Whiteside

Chief Inspector Neil Whiteside, Local Area Commander, South West Edinburgh

It’s now only a week until Christmas and if you are currently storing lots of valuable items, intended as gifts, within your home, then please ensure that you always secure your property appropriately when you head to bed at night, or when you go out and leave the place unoccupied.

A full range of crime prevention advice is available on our website at www.scotland.police.uk.

For those who plan on visiting our city centre to enjoy the various attractions and festivities, we will have our Winter City policing deployments in place to engage with the public, offer reassurance and address any issues that arise. Please do not hesitate to speak to any of our officers if you find yourself in need of their help.

Snow patrol

I would also remind people that the national drink and drug driving campaign is now underway, and we will have Road Policing Officers monitoring the city’s road network to detect anyone driving while under the influence. Being caught behind the wheel while impaired can have serious personal and professional consequences, so please don’t risk it.

In recent months we invited all local councillors, MPs and MSPs out on patrol with officers. Ten elected representatives were able to join officers out for this ride-along initiative and were able to see first-hand the realities and challenges of modern-day policing. Feedback was universally positive and supportive of the everyday heroes that police in this area each and every day.

While many people’s attention is currently on the festive season, your policing teams within the South West remain fully focused on addressing a number of priorities affecting the area and in response to these, we launched Operation Sheath.

This initiative proactively targets violent offenders and those responsible for distributing drugs within South West communities and led to a number of arrests and recoveries of both drugs and weapons.

Operation Sheath activity will continue as part of our ongoing commitment to tackling violent crime and to stemming the devastating impact drugs can have on our communities.

You may have also seen our Divisional Commander praising the city-wide response to Bonfire Night disorder and the confirmation that 32 people have so far been charged with almost 80 offences following the scenes observed in the city during the evening of Tuesday 5 November.

Almost a third of those arrested were for crimes committed in Calder Road and we are continuing with inquiries to identify and apprehend every single person involved in this disorder.

If you believe you have any information that can assist with our inquiries, then please contact us immediately. You can also still submit video or photographic evidence of the offences via or Major Incident Public Portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/SCOT24S16-PO1.

Chief Inspector Neil Whiteside, Local Area Commander, South West Edinburgh