40 per cent jump in Fife fraud cases

Statistics from Police Scotland has revealed that cases have risen by 212 – a 38 per cent jump in the last 12 months.

The figures cover from April 2019 to March 31 this year and were released last week.

Violent crimes rose by 64 incidents compared to 2018/19 as well but these take into account the new Domestic Abuse Scotland Act. This created a single offence covering a full range of abusive behaviours, whether physical, psychological, financial or sexual, when brought into effect last year. There were 135 charges included as a result.

If these reports are not considered, overall violent crime has reduced by almost 14 per cent and the detection rate has risen.

A crackdown on anti-social behaviour has seen offences fall by almost 10 per cent, or 2,561 reports.

Dishonesty offences in Fife have reduced significantly with housebreaking, vehicle crime and shoplifting all falling from the previous year.

Within the division, overall housebreaking is down by almost four per cent, while there have been 23 fewer break-ins to homes, equating to a 7.4 per cent decrease.

Detection rates for all housebreaking offences have risen by almost 12 per cent.

In addition, there have been 89 fewer vehicle crime offences reported, including thefts from cars and vans and break-ins to vehicles – this represents a drop of more than 12 per cent.

Incidents of theft and shoplifting have also been reduced by 6.6 per cent and 14.3 per cent, respectively.

There were also 179 fewer incidents of vandalism and 41 less fire-raising reports – reductions of 6.5 per cent and 27.3 per cent respectively.

A drive to reduce the number of people going missing in Fife has led to 158 fewer reports of missing people, which is a reduction of four per cent.

Chief Superintendent Derek McEwan, Divisional Commander for Fife, said: “I am really encouraged by the figures, which show that our considerable efforts to tackle various local policing priorities are paying dividends.

“With housebreaking, vehicle crime, theft and shoplifting having all fallen through our Operation Principle activities, I hope this sends a very clear message that the Kingdom is not a soft target for acquisitive crime.

“Nevertheless, I recognise that a sizeable portion of our communities have been impacted by fraud and this is an area where Police Scotland will continue to dedicate time and resource.

"The benefit of a single force means local officers can call upon the assistance of specialist national resources such as the Economic Crime Unit and Internet Investigation Unit, which can help us identify online scams, raise awareness and actively pursue fraudsters.

“I also want to take this opportunity to praise the courage of those who have come forward to report domestic abuse. I welcome the rise in reported domestic offences, as these have, for so long, been very under-reported crimes. These crimes typically take place in private or virtual spaces but that does not mean those responsible are immune to justice. Please come forward so we can provide you with all the assistance and support you require.

“What I want to reaffirm, is that violence will not be tolerated and through Operation Path we will target perpetrators of violent crime and remove them from our communities."