Team work gets results in fight against crime - Kieran Dougal

Over the last few months your North East Community Policing Team have been working alongside City of Edinburgh Council, housing teams, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, youth services, volunteer organisations and many other partners to take a proactive approach to preventing antisocial behaviour, which we typically see rise during the summer holidays.
Chief Inspector Kieran DougalChief Inspector Kieran Dougal
Chief Inspector Kieran Dougal

This includes the @Portobello initiative, focused (obviously) within Portobello, while also patrolling cycle paths throughout North East Edinburgh. We’ve also been speaking to local businesses and listening to their concerns, so will give these premises appropriate attention over the summer.

Beat the boredom has been introduced with various partners to work with youth groups and schools. The focus on youth engagement through exercise such as pitching-in and fitness classes with YMCA has provided a positive platform to influence behaviours and mind-sets of our local youths. The campaign will continue with additional sporting events in partnership with third sector, education and social work throughout the summer months.

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We are dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of underage drinking and I would like to pass on congratulations to two of the Community Team PCs Lauren Mitchell and Anna Morrison, who received a national Community Alcohol Partnership Award for outstanding contribution to this task last month. Officers have been out supporting our ‘It’ll Cost You’ campaign alongside licensing officers visiting licensed premises in North East Edinburgh offering advice on guidance on how to prevent proxy purchasing, promoting the ‘Challenge 25’ scheme and raising awareness of the damaging effects and criminal nature of buying alcohol for under 18s.

In Craigmillar, officers supported Places for People in a week of action launched with partners to clean-up the area through litter picks, community engagement and the regeneration of communal spaces.

Tackling motorcycle crime including theft and the reckless use of off-road motorcycles remains one of our top priorities. This behaviour will also not be tolerated, and working with partners, we are promoting crime prevention measures, proactively patrolling and actively targeting offenders. Operation Soteria has been launched and as a result of the extensive work over the past week alone five people have been arrested and charged with over 20 offences and eight vehicles have been recovered.

In a previous column I discussed the introduction of Operation Elate in response to community complaints within Cables Wynd House, Linksview House and surrounding areas. This continues to be a success after a multiagency day was held on 31st May, including road checks by DVLA and Roads Policing department resulting in a number or road traffic charges and the seizure of two vehicles. Community officers continue conducting business visits, community surgeries and patrols in the area. Our enforcement activity in the area has now led to over £65,000 of illegal drugs being seized.

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If you have any information as to the identity of those placing communities at risk or involved in the theft or storing of stolen motorbikes, this can be provided to police or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

I wish you all a safe summer and advice on crime prevention can be found at our website www.scotland.police.uk. Our local Twitter account, @EdinPolNE also provides a snapshot of the brilliant proactive work my officers and our partners are doing in the area over the summer.

Chief Inspector Kieran Dougal is Local Area Commander, North East Edinburgh

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