Police admit ‘challenge’ as councillor labels Argyll crime figures ‘pretty grim’

Chief Superintendent I’Anson responded: “When you see the numbers it is quite stark. Violence against retail and emergency workers has gone down, but we do face a challenge.

“We have in the last couple of years had a change in relation to crime recordings. If there is an ongoing disturbance and, say, four people are involved in a fight, there may be one incident, but if all four people are charged, they are different crimes being recorded.

“In the past, it may only have been one crime, so the policy change might be more accurate, but we now can have multiple crimes recorded from one incident.

“It can sometimes skew the figures compared to five years ago, but we do have a challenge that we are trying to deal with.”

Helensburgh and Lomond South councillor Paul Kennedy then asked: “We are coming into the Christmas period – are you planning extra patrols in the area?

“Also, with regards to the stop and search policy, when I was in the police we were maybe guided by a couple of pieces of legislation. Is there legislation to guide how you stop and search individuals?”

The chief superintendent responded: “There are no additional powers but we make optimum use of stop and search legislation. Predominantly it would be the Misuse of Drugs Act, or stop and search powers to do with offensive weapons.

“Right across Argyll and Bute, every week there are examples of really good, proactive work by officers who have maybe stopped a vehicle because of the manner of driving.

“As soon as the window is opened there could be a smell of cannabis, which leads us to search the vehicle. From there, there have been discoveries of drugs or money.

“There have been examples around Argyll and Bute of officers helping out colleagues from other areas.

“It is a good use of stop and search, but in the right way. There is not a culture of randomly stopping people.”

Councillor Kennedy then added: “Is there funding available for overtime patrols around railway stations and other areas?”

Chief Superintendent I’Anson said: “With the finite budgets and resources, there is limited capacity for additional money or patrols over and above what we are doing. Known areas and hotspots are in our plans.”