Police in Aberdeenshire are to “prioritise” tackling violent crime after an increase in serious assaults, housebreakings, robberies and incidents of vandalism.
New police figures have shown “group one crimes” – which include murder, attempted murder, culpable homicide, cruelty and abduction – have risen from 106 incidents to 130 between April and December 2015.
Of those reported only 86.2% of the crimes resulted in a culprit being caught.
Serious assaults have risen from 66 to 68 incidents and common assaults are also on the up increasing from 1,462 to 1,502 during the same time period compared to the previous year.
Robberies have also risen from 11 to 24 incidents with the detection rate sitting only at 83.3%, whilst housebreakings have gone up from 318 to 348.
Incidents of vandalism have also risen from 993 to 1064.
The figures have been taken from Police Scotland’s performance monitoring and operational update which is due to go before two of Aberdeenshire Council’s area committees for scrutiny next Tuesday.
The police report states: “Violence remains a priority and the detection rate continues to be positive in comparison to previous years.
“A rise in robberies has been experienced, albeit in the context of relatively small numbers, and our focus continues to be on prevention.
“Overall there has been a rise in group two crimes, however due to significant efforts, detection rates have remained high and crimes of this nature continue to be closely monitored.”
Group two “crimes of indecency” – including rape, sexual assault and prostitution – have also risen from 245 to 291 counts, whilst detections have increased to 69.8%.
The figures also show that the number of people killed or seriously injured on Aberdeenshire’s roads went from 161 to 126 – a 21.7% drop.
Domestic abuse cases have also fallen from 1,052 to 956 with officers claiming there is a “growing public confidence” as a result of the number of incidents reported.
There has, however, been a surge in the number of drug supply offences – from 89 to 138 – which the force says is the result of on-going intelligence led operations.
And the report states – despite the drop in road deaths – the force can “never be complacent with regard to road safety”.
Newly-elected Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, said: “It’s very disappointing to see any increase in crime and is a reminder for us all to be vigilant.
“It is however good to see an increase in detection which reflects the hard work of our police and sends a message to criminals that they will be caught.”
