Launched with the motto “keeping people safe” — but three years on, has Police Scotland really improved the lives of Dundonians since the demise of Tayside Police?
With help from researchers at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, the Tele has delved through the figures and can now report on the successes and failures of Scotland’s new centralised police force for local folk.
Today, in the first of a series of investigations, we see how crime levels in Dundee have been affected since the merger.
According to Tayside Police’s figures for the financial year of 2010/11, there were 12,228 crimes committed in the city and it meant Dundee had the third-highest rate of criminality around Scotland — behind only Aberdeen and Glasgow.
But following three years under Police Scotland, the picture is a much rosier one for Dundee.
There were just 8,569 crimes recorded in 2014/15, meaning a drop in pretty much every sector of crime, except sexual offences.
Now, Dundee has slipped to the fourth-highest rate of criminality, being overtaken by Edinburgh due to this 29% fall in offences.
But why has crime fallen and is it due to the formation of Police Scotland?
Bill Spence, who retired as Chief Constable of Tayside Police in 2000, said: “There’s actually been a decrease in crime figures for about 15 to 20 years now.
“Some of that is due to technology and one of the crimes that used to blight people’s lives was cars getting stolen, but the manufacturers have improved their security and fitted alarms, so that’s why we’ve seen that type of crime drop.
“One of the other things is the decrease of break-ins at domestic dwellings and because of that, it means people are safer and they will feel safer.”
Tackling the level of housebreakings has been a huge success under Police Scotland — down 55% in Dundee between 2010/11 and 2014/15 from 986 crimes to 436.
In fact, all types of theft are down, including shoplifting and fraud. In terms of violent crimes, attempted murder and serious assault has fallen 32% and robbery has decreased by 29%.
Despite all the good news, sexual crimes have rocketed by 172% from 199 in 2010/11 to 543 in 2014/15, but it’s thought this is due to victims of historic abuse finding the courage to come forward.
Superintendent Graeme Murdoch said: “Crime recording, definitions and systems have changed since the creation of Police Scotland.
“We are making significant progress in reducing crime and working on the strong foundations left by legacy Tayside.
“Police Scotland publishes management information every quarter, nationally, by division and by each council area and this is available to view on the Police Scotland website.
“All this is in addition to regular written and verbal reportsto scrutiny committees on our performance against local priorities.
“Our continued focus is to work on outcomes that matter to our communities in accordance with their concerns and priorities.
“We hope that the new online Your View Counts consultation process will improve our links with local communities and assist us in delivering the best service for them.”
• TOMORROW, we look at how fewer crimes are being solved under Police Scotland, despite a drop in offences.