A lot to look forward to but the fight against crime continues ­– Chief Inspector David Happs

Summer City’s over, so next up is Halloween, Bonfire Night . . . and then it’s time for Operation Winter City, writes CI David Happs

Chief Inspector David Happs. Picture: Jon Savage

Now that Operation Summer City is over, we have a couple of months before Operation Winter City launches for the Christmas and Hogmanay celebrations.

Before that, however, we have the upcoming Halloween and Bonfire Night events to look forward to and, much like our summer and winter policing initiatives, extensive planning and partnership collaboration goes into policing these.

Operation Moonbeam will once again be in place to support local officers in the Northwest and across the city with any firework-related incidents. As last year demonstrated, we will utilise the full range of specialist resources at our disposal to keep not only the public, but also our officers and partners safe. This ability to call on the additional support of specially trained officers demonstrates the advantage of having a single force, where we can call upon the support of colleagues from across the country when required.

You will hear more about Operation Moonbeam 2019 in due course so keep an eye on our social media channels . . . and the Evening News, of course!

Aside from our ongoing planning for major events in the city we continue to deal with the daily business that impacts upon our communities in the North West.

Acquisitive crime remains one of our top priorities and we continue to target those responsible for housebreaking, robbery and of course, vehicle theft, including motorcycles.

In relation to motorcycle theft, Operation Soteria is ongoing not only in our area, but across the city. Whilst we have seen a reduction in the volume of theft and antisocial use of motorcycles, we have maintained our focus on recovering stolen bikes and apprehending thieves.

Prevention remains our main objective and we work closely with a range of partners to promote safety measures the public can take with their motorcycles. A range of really useful crime prevention advice is available on our website at www.scotland.pnn.police.uk.

Housebreaking crime across North West is also down around 27 per cent on last year but we aren’t getting complacent and encourage you not to be either. Please take a few minutes to review the security of your property – you can find information on safeguarding your home, sheds and garages and other items of property on our website or you can arrange a visit from a local crime prevention trained officer.

We remain committed to tackling drug crime and associated offences. Our Proactive CID Unit and local officers are continually building intelligence on those responsible for the production and supply of drugs. The public have made it clear they will not tolerate drug crime in their streets and we won’t either – we have carried out enforcement action based on your information and will continue to do so. If you have information relating to ongoing drug offences please call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously if you wish, on 0800 555 111.

Finally, with schools and higher education institutions now back in class after the summer months I want to take this opportunity to welcome any new students who are living or studying within the Northwest to the area. The Police Scotland social media pages and our website have lots of helpful tips for keeping yourself safe and ensuring your time spent as a student is memorable for all the right reasons

Chief Inspector David Happs is Local Area Commander for North West Edinburgh