This blog is where you will find community council information, including meeting times, minutes and agenda. Do please comment on postings.

Wednesday 21 December 2016

Update and review of previous 9 months for the community policing team

Inspector Graeme Nisbet has shared this with us (including contact details for local community police officers):

"This year has been one of challenge and change, along with the fluctuations in crime in the area the community team along with the division have responded to major operations and events however our continuation on and commitment to local policing remains strong.  
Officers have been tasked with responding to the complaints from communities and increased their ability to respond quickly and attend specific locations where we have had reported concerns.  W have worked closely with our partners and officers have worked with other agencies in the area and we maintain very good links with a number of local groups and I have no doubt this will continue in to 2017.

On this note I would like to thank all of my partners, community groups and stakeholders for all of the help, support and assistance this year as tackling community issues is one which needs a shared approach and it is one which has worked and will continue to work very well in the south area.

You will know that I am committed to local officers supporting and being visible in the community and I have made sure officers have attended as many community meetings and events as possible and I will do everything possible to have this continue.
With regard to crime, this year we have seen a significant fall in house breaking crimes with an average 30% reduction although vehicle crime is on the slight increase and is the focus of continued police activity.

Anti social behaviour, particularly with the use of motorcycles was a problem in the open green spaces and park areas during the summer and autumn and we saw issues not only in the south but across the city with the north area suffering. Locally we had put together a local operation which sits under a citywide operation and this will be put in place early next year to prevent an escalation, although the winter nights have seen it, not surprisingly, tail off.

Other forms of anti social behaviour mainly, youth calls, have been tackled and a number of individuals are now subject to various forms of intervention and ongoing work to disrupt their behaviour and we will continue to concentrate on those responsible.

Violent crime remains a priority under operation Austinberg and we continue to work in the known hot spot areas where we conduct weekly patrols, overall violent crime in the area has fallen which is a positive. I also recently attended a domestic abuse forum in Southouse where I did a presentation along with other speakers, this was very well attended by a broad spectrum of public and professionals and domestic abuse remains as a divisional priority.
Road Safety, will continue as a focus for my team, we have been supporting the school streets initiative and also the introduction and roll out of the 20mph zones in Edinburgh. Speeding in general will be monitored and enforced where we have concerns and vulnerable premises. Recently we worked with partners to increase the safety and visibility of cyclists and will continue this through the winter.

A number of warrants over the last 9 months were applied for allowing us to tackle drugs and search for stolen property at a number of addresses in the area, I plan to keep this going as tackling drugs is a focus for not only my community team but by the division and we often have specialist officers in plain clothes deployed in the area. We make sure we collaborate with one another and share information to maximise opportunities but the information from the community has been excellent allowing us to obtain warrants and carry out enforcement.

We now have a dedicated sergeant for each area:

PS David Cuthbert, based at St. Leonards is now in charge of the Southside/ Newington & Meadows/ Morningside wards
PS Mark Innes, based at Howdenhall is in charge of the Liberton/ Gilmerton ward

The community officers can be contacted on
EdinburghSouthsideNewingtonCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk  
or
EdinburghMeadowsMorningsideCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
or
EdinburghLibertonGilmertonCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
I can also confirm our current ward officers areSouthside/ Newington Ward
PC Chris Harris & PC Neil Mackay
Meadows/ Morningside
PC Jennifer Mackenzie &  PC Stuart Fraser.
Liberton/ Gilmerton Ward
PC Rebecca Wilson & PC Craig Cairns

The Police Scotland Survey is live and we are committed to getting the opinion of residents and local businesses on local Policing priorities. Since April 2016 we have been asking individuals to complete an online survey that would influence local Policing plans. This is an ongoing project however the most recent results will shape Edinburgh's Policing priorities for 2017.

Please take two minutes to confirm the top priorities that have been highlighted by others in Edinburgh represent YOUR VIEWS too.
We want to hear from you. To take part copy and paste this link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MN9WGCF

Please pass this information on to anyone else you think might be interested in taking part, but don't forget to do it now as this mini-survey closes at the end of December.
This coming festive season, is as always a busy time for the police and we have a number of operations and events to oversee and of course like many of our colleagues in the emergency services, officers will be on duty through the festive period, which is a typically a demanding period for us all.

May I wish you all the very best for the festive period and I look forward to working with in 2017.
Graeme Nisbet"

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