New police figures reveal decrease in weapon and drug crimes in Tayside
dailyrecord.co.ukWeapons and drug offences are among the crimes to reduce in Tayside as the country continues to move away from COVID restrictions, according to new Police Scotland figures.
However, the number of violent crimes and fraud crimes has continued to rise.Recorded from April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, the national authority’s Q3 Management of Information data was released to the public on Monday.The performance report notes that the total number of crimes for offensive and bladed weapons fell from 614 last year to 586.There were eight fewer incidents of carrying an offensive weapon and 39 fewer for handling a bladed or pointed article.The number of overall drug supply offences recorded in the division also fell from 241 to 226.Total drug crimes, which includes possession and importation of illegal substances, are down from 1652 to 1222.With lockdown having ended earlier this year, some crime rates have “started returning to levels observed prior to the pandemic”.Overall crimes of violence in Tayside have risen to 743, compared with 661 during the same period of the previous year.Another area that continues to see both a divisional and national increase is fraud, particularly cyber offences, which are becoming more prevalent.Within Tayside, the number of frauds reported has gone up from 707 to 952.
Divisional commander for Tayside chief superintendent Phil Davison said: “As the Q3 data demonstrates, this has been an incredibly busy and challenging period for policing and Tayside was not immune to the pressures of COP26 and the coronavirus pandemic. “Despite all of these demands, DCC Taylor has confirmed that public confidence in policing remains high and I want to thank all Tayside officers and staff for their outstanding
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