Priorities For Policing In Shetland

[PoliceScotlandShetland]

Each year the Police consult local communities to find out what they see as being the issues we should deal with. For 2013 - 2014 the policing priorities for Shetland were:

 

1. Increase Public Confidence & Community Enagagement - do people in Shetland feel safe & do the police listen to / speak with them.

 

2. Protecting People - deal with domestic abuse, sexual offences and hate crimes.

 

3. Road Policing - speeding, seat belt &mobile phone offences, drink / drug driving.

 

4. Violence, Disorder & Antisocial Behaviour - assaults, noisy neighbours, vandalism, etc.

 

5. Serious Crime - particulary the supply of illegal drugs.

 

6. Emergency Planning & Resilience - being able to deal with major incidents (extreme weather, emergency involving a plane / helicopter / boat, etc).

 

The concerns for the multi member wards in Shetland were summarised as:

 

1. Substance Misuse - alcohol, illegal drugs and "synthetic" highs. You wanted us to deal with what people do to get them and what they do after they've taken them (i.e. drug dealing, theft, fighting, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, etc).

 

2. Road Safety - you wanted us to deal with speeding, seat belt & mobile phone offences, etc

 

3. Community Engagement - you wanted to see more of the police in the community.

 

I'm able to provide some info on what we've done to deal with these priorities and concerns, but what I'm interested in is hearing how you feel we've done and what you think we should focus on for 2014 - 2015?

What should be the policing priorities for Shetland and what are your concerns / what are you happy with in your local Shetland community?

 

PLEASE NOTE - This topic is NOT for reporting a crime, etc. If you need to speak to the police please call 101 or in an emergency 999.

 

Thanks

Angus MacInnes

Shetland Area Commander

[trout]

Welcome to Shetlink Angus. I trust Shetlink can provide further reach through Shetland's online community than at first may be obtained through what is considered more traditional means. Here's to this interweb thing!

 

[birses Shetlink's community "self moderation" button]

[unlinkedstudent]

OP, you appear to be splitting up offences into categories.  Why have domestic abuse and sexual offences, for example, been separated from your other category listed as No. 2?

[unlinkedstudent]

And for the sake of clarity:

 

In London, police forces respond according to the "seriousness" of the 999 call and I'm concerned that you're adopting the same, if not similar approach.

 

Incidents of domestic violence/rape/stabbing in the street should receive equal treatment as life could be at risk in all three; hence why I'm wondering if your itemised numbered lists refer to priorities in response time or are used for statistical purposes which, even then, I'm not particularly happy about - an assault is an assault, be it a kick in the goolies that occurred in the home (domestic violence) or one that occurred in the street.

[paulb]

child drinking is an issue that needs enforcing.  if we don't control problem drinkers when they are young we will have them as older folks.

[Suzanna]

It saddens me that as a small Island with very limited access, illegal drugs seem to be such an ongoing problem, how are they [the drugs] getting in here? And why aren't the drug dogs [that I support financially] Catching more dealers?

It's my belief that illegal drugs lead to a lot [most?] of the other problems.

[PoliceScotlandShetland]

OP, you appear to be splitting up offences into categories.  Why have domestic abuse and sexual offences, for example, been separated from your other category listed as No. 2?

The "offences" are not split into categories in relation to seriousness or speed of response, nor are they listed in order of importance. The categories are similar to the units in the police that deal with them, though in Shetland officers have the training & experience to deal with the majority of offences. For example "Protecting the public" relate to offences which the Public Protection Unit review and monitor.

 

You're right that an assault is an assault no matter where it takes place. However it goes with out saying that an assault in a home / relationship is often hidden, as opposed to an assault in the middle of Commercial Street. Domestic abuse often has a hidden devastating impact, hence the particular focus.

 

In Shetland we have worked hard to deal with violence and will continue to do so.

 

Angus

[unlinkedstudent]

Angus, thank you for your clarification.  However, are they split that way for statistical purposes at all?

[Clooty Cap]

It saddens me that as a small Island with very limited access, illegal drugs seem to be such an ongoing problem, how are they [the drugs] getting in here? And why aren't the drug dogs [that I support financially] Catching more dealers?

It's my belief that illegal drugs lead to a lot [most?] of the other problems.

The drugs dogs are a white elephant Suzanna, the majority of drugs found on the isle come from intelligence or tip off led busts, a drugs dog won't catch an unknown dealer unless they happen to cross paths while the dealer has a quantity of drugs on them and that's highly unlikely as a dealer will probably avoid going places you may find a drugs dog.

Anyone wanting to get drugs onto the isle just has to put a little thought into how they go about it and the drugs dogs are made totally useless, using any type of air tight packaging or simply driving a car off the boat renders the sniffer dog useless unless the police recieve a tip off telling them who to target. Your money that gets thrown at the drug dogs would be far better spent on services to help those with drug addictions issues, and education of the younger generations to encourage them to stay clear of drugs in the first place, but that education has to be has to be well thought out as current plan obviously isn't working.

And I'm sorry to say that your last sentence is a perfect example of how the current drug education policy doesn't work, it's tantamount to saying "don't do drugs, drugs are bad" without giving any reason why. Even the police admit that drink causes far more anti social problems than most recreational drugs do, there has been plenty of statements from the larger police forces down south stating that its easier to police a club full of Ecstasy users than a club full of drunks.

You could maybe do a google search on Professor David Nutt, who was at one time the governments advisor on drug policy, he is very forward thinking on ways to eventually win the war on drugs.

[PoliceScotlandShetland]

Angus, thank you for your clarification.  However, are they split that way for statistical purposes at all?

 

Crimes are divided into a number of classes and within them there are various "codes" which are used for statistical purposes. A rough guide is:

 

Class 1 - crimes against a person (serious assault, murder, etc)

Class 2 - crimes of indecency

Class 3 - crimes of dishonesty (theft, fraud, etc)

Class 4 - crimes against property (vandalism, fire raising,etc

Class 5 - crimes including drugs offences, court offences, etc

Class 6 - crimes including common assault, some disorder offences, etc

Class 7 - road traffic offences.

 

This is a very small picture of the crimes in each class as there are a large number of "crime codes" and with them a quantity of statistics.

 

Without getting burdened by stats the aim of the police in Shetland is to make the community as safe as possible and hopefully this topic will give some direction as to what this area of the community think we should be doing.

 

Angus

[PoliceScotlandShetland]

 

It saddens me that as a small Island with very limited access, illegal drugs seem to be such an ongoing problem, how are they [the drugs] getting in here? And why aren't the drug dogs [that I support financially] Catching more dealers?

It's my belief that illegal drugs lead to a lot [most?] of the other problems.

The drugs dogs are a white elephant Suzanna, the majority of drugs found on the isle come from intelligence or tip off led busts, a drugs dog won't catch an unknown dealer unless they happen to cross paths while the dealer has a quantity of drugs on them and that's highly unlikely as a dealer will probably avoid going places you may find a drugs dog.

Anyone wanting to get drugs onto the isle just has to put a little thought into how they go about it and the drugs dogs are made totally useless, using any type of air tight packaging or simply driving a car off the boat renders the sniffer dog useless unless the police recieve a tip off telling them who to target. Your money that gets thrown at the drug dogs would be far better spent on services to help those with drug addictions issues, and education of the younger generations to encourage them to stay clear of drugs in the first place, but that education has to be has to be well thought out as current plan obviously isn't working.

And I'm sorry to say that your last sentence is a perfect example of how the current drug education policy doesn't work, it's tantamount to saying "don't do drugs, drugs are bad" without giving any reason why. Even the police admit that drink causes far more anti social problems than most recreational drugs do, there has been plenty of statements from the larger police forces down south stating that its easier to police a club full of Ecstasy users than a club full of drunks.

You could maybe do a google search on Professor David Nutt, who was at one time the governments advisor on drug policy, he is very forward thinking on ways to eventually win the war on drugs.

 

 

I have a different view on the "value" of the Drugs Dogs. They do excellent work and have contributed to the seizure of "illegal" drugs as well as helping to deal with alcohol related offences as well as those associated with "synthetic" highs. As the Area Commander I can assure everyone who has contributed to funding the drugs dogs that they are getting value for money and I will work with the drugs dog charity and others to ensure this continues to happen in the coming year.

 

I am very aware that there is still a lot of work to be done in relation to "substance misuse" and that was one of the main factors in grouping "alcohol, dugs and synthetic highs" together and working to deal with impact they have in our community. I believe we should all work to ensure that everyone - the police, the drugs dogs and those that provide assistance for people with addiction issues (not just drugs but also alcohol and synthetic highs) is making best use of the money they receive.

 

Angus

[PoliceScotlandShetland]

child drinking is an issue that needs enforcing.  if we don't control problem drinkers when they are young we will have them as older folks.

 

PaulB,

 

I agree. In the past year we've carried out "test purchase operations" to see if shops were selling alcohol to people under the legal drinking age and we will carry out more work like that in the next year. We have also seized alcohol from underage drinkers and previously people have been reported for related offences. There are fewer young / underage people drinking in public compared to 3-5 years ago, however I am still aware that underage drinking takes place behind closed doors and alcohol is sometimes supplied by family or friends who over 18.

 

This "behind closed doors" drinking is harder for the police alone to deal with and it is here that we need the help of the community and the services that provide assistance for people with addiction issues.

 

I'd be interested in your ideas on what can be done to "control problem drinkers" - things that the police can do (other than test purchases, patrols, seizing alcohol, etc) as well as things that other agencies can do.

 

Angus

[paulb]

a police visit to gatherings like regattas/shows were the is alchol on sale would help. we see a lot of underage drinking at out door events. maybe the organizers should be treated in the same way as a publican a child caught in the grounds should be treated as equal to that of a pub underage drinker. it really cant be hard to say place a breathalizer at these large scale events. there is and has been a lot of drunk driving. being away from town folks get away with it.

[Clooty Cap]

I have a different view on the "value" of the Drugs Dogs. They do excellent work and have contributed to the seizure of "illegal" drugs as well as helping to deal with alcohol related offences as well as those associated with "synthetic" highs. As the Area Commander I can assure everyone who has contributed to funding the drugs dogs that they are getting value for money and I will work with the drugs dog charity and others to ensure this continues to happen in the coming year.

 

I am very aware that there is still a lot of work to be done in relation to "substance misuse" and that was one of the main factors in grouping "alcohol, dugs and synthetic highs" together and working to deal with impact they have in our community. I believe we should all work to ensure that everyone - the police, the drugs dogs and those that provide assistance for people with addiction issues (not just drugs but also alcohol and synthetic highs) is making best use of the money they receive.

 

Angus

Maybe you could expand on how you feel the sniffer dogs provide value by comparing the costs of providing the dogs against a value of drugs found solely by the dogs without any other information from tip offs or intelligence led investigations. It would also be interesting to hear how the dogs are useful in helping to deal with alcohol related offences as well as those associated with "synthetic" highs.

 

I have no doubt that the drugs dogs do have a value but cant help but feel for the amount of time they have been operating in Shetland and the cost of providing the dogs there should have been a more noticeable reduction in the use of drugs in the isle, I also suspect that were 100% of the cost of running the dogs to be met by the police then they would have been scrapped years ago as they just aren't cost effective.

[JohanofNess]

paulb, it would take God to sort the underage drinking problem in Shetland out. It's a long term issue and if parents don't boot ass when their 14-15 year old kid is out I don't see what a police officer ticking them off will do.

 

I do agree though it is a problem and in roads need to be made into sorting it.