Violence, sexual and hate crime on the up in South Ayrshire
17.08.2023 - 13:49
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Violence, sexual assault, traffic offences and hate crime in South Ayrshire have increased significantly over the last year. However, there have been drops in the other areas, such as drug dealing, robbery and antisocial behaviour.
Police Scotland will present their latest report to South Ayrshire Council’s Service and Performance Panel next week.
The report provides comparative figures for the first quarter of 2023/24, the same period in 2022/23 and the five-year average, which are listed in the table below.
The report says the increase in violence, which includes more serious violent crime and lesser offences "is due to the number of minor assaults both on emergency workers and the public". However, it adds that there has been a decrease in more serious assaults in recent years.
The number of murder and attempted murder charges remained the same as last year. The one attempted murder remains undetected, but the report states that 78 per cent of serious assaults have been detected.
Charges around drug dealing have also seen a major decrease in the first quarter of the year. Supply charges are down almost 56 per cent and cannabis cultivation is down 58.3 per cent on the five-year average.
The report continues: “Proactivity remains the main focus and means by which these charges are obtained. Identifying any real patterns to where these crimes are taking place requires the combined work of local officers and Divisional staff, building on the Community Intelligence provided by residents, community groups or via Crimestoppers.”
Robberies remain at a similar level to last year. Four robberies occurred within the victim’s home, with a physical assault the most commonly involved. In more than half of the cases the victim knew the