Summer City team ready to welcome visitors from across the globe

There have been several challenges during this time, and I have been heartened by the collective response to continue to keep our communities safe across Edinburgh. I lead a fantastic team of officers and staff who work relentlessly to deliver an effective policing service.

Street performers on the Royal Mile at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Picture: Scott Campbell/Getty Images)

We have seen an unfortunate rise in gang related violence across Scotland, and within the city. The Police Scotland response, Operation Portaledge, was instigated to protect communities and bring those responsible to justice. We have executed more than 50 arrests as a result of the operation. Our teams have delivered a community reassurance plan, with additional targeted and intelligence led patrols. We have had support from specialist departments across the country, offering public reassurance.

There has been a well-publicised rise in retail crime across the UK. As the strategic lead for retail crime prevention and investigation in Edinburgh, my teams have worked closely with retailers to deliver initiatives to prevent and detect retail crime. Since the establishment of a new retail crime initiative, we have seen 44 people arrested for numerous offences.

We have also implemented “Shopwatch” in the city centre, with our partners Essential Edinburgh. This is a radio system, which allows retailers to share information and intelligence, and also communicate directly with Police Officers and CCTV operatives. This initiative has led to retailers feeling safer in their workplace, increasing confidence in policing. We will continue to work innovatively, to improve conditions in retail premises across the city.

As a police service, we have a legislative requirement to ensure the care and welfare of people, places and communities. This includes our response to supporting people in the community experiencing mental health incidents or trauma. In Edinburgh, we are working constructively and creatively with health and ambulance service colleagues to improve our processes and ensure members of our communities receive the right care from the right people at the right time. Officers dedicate significant hours to supporting people in distress, and we want to ensure the processes in place, support the person as well as our hard-working officers.

Following a significant amount of planning, we are ready to welcome the Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and associated events to the city. I will lead the Operation Summer City team, supporting the safe delivery of the events and supporting our visitors. As ever, our officers are looking forward to engaging with people from across the globe, welcoming them to enjoy all that the city has to offer.

We have enjoyed a very positive start to 2025, with continued engagement with our partners and communities. Our officers continue to deal with challenging and dynamic incidents in the city and do so each day with outstanding professionalism. It is vital to maintain and develop new relationships, to contribute to ensuring Edinburgh remains a safe place to live, work, and visit.

Please follow us on Facebook and X where you can keep up to date with what the policing team are doing across Edinburgh during the spring and summer months.