Drop in vandalism and anti-social behaviour in Fife - but shoplifting and drug offences on the rise

Derek McEwan, Divisional Commander for Fife, has hailed Police Scotland’s latest statistics which highlight a six per cent fall in crimes of damage across the region in the period April-September 2018.

There has also been 700 fewer anti-social incidents reported for the same period in 2017.

“Through Operation Prevail, our response to tackle anti-social behaviour, I’m really pleased to see our proactivity and partnership working is paying dividends,” DC McEwan said.

“Such behaviour hits communities at their heart and we are proud to be working with them successfully to make it unacceptable. Being able to listen to concerns allows us to direct resources to where the demand or challenges may be.

“This is not solely a policing problem and, as such, we have been very proactive in encouraging our partners to assist us in tackling such behaviour.

“There have been significant successes throughout the Kingdom and my officers will continue to be as proactive as they are in tackling this whilst looking for new innovative ways to work with partners in reducing anti-social behaviour even further.”

However, this latest success has been tempered by the rise in fraud, drug offences, and a significant rise in shoplifting offences in 2018.

“We have seen a rise in drugs offences – Operation Prospect allows us to target those who are supplying these substances in our community which, in turn, can lead to other offending such as violence and theft,” said DC McEwan, who has called on the public to help drive up detection rates.

“I would ask anyone with information about drug misuse in their area to contact police. This information can be vital in helping us build a picture to be able to tackle the problem, removing both the drugs and those responsible for their sale and use from our neighborhoods.”