THE region’s police chief has presented five top priorities for making Dumfries and Galloway a safer place to live in over the next three years.
Chief Superintendent Carol McGuire has signed off on the Dumfries and Galloway Local Policing Plan for 2023-2026, and insists that the force has taken on board the views of the community.
The priorities are: reducing violence and disorder, reducing the harm caused by substance misuse, road safety and road crime, acquisitive crime and emerging trends, and protecting people most at risk of harm.”
Ch Supt McGuire said: “These priorities reflect the complex and changing demands on policing and will ensure we continue to improve the safety and wellbeing of our people, places and communities.
“Our policing priorities are shaped by ongoing consultation and engagement, which includes electronic and paper-based surveys, ensuring that local needs and expectations are captured and reflected in the Dumfries and Galloway Local Policing Plan.
“The results from this ongoing engagement process have identified the issues that affect people from communities across Dumfries and Galloway.”
Reducing violence and disorder was top of the list in the policing plan, and the top cop acknowledged the problem of antisocial behaviour and youth related incidents across the region.
There have been concerns in recent years about the reduction of police officers on the beat, however the report states that officers and partners
will be “effectively deployed as a part of the multi-agency tasking and coordinating approach in priority locations.”
Known violent offenders in the community are also to be “proactively managed”, while a focus will be placed on educational programmes and diversionary activities for youths.
The police consultation with the community revealed that drug related issues were a “persistent and continued concern”, and the chief has vowed to keep targeting those dealing drugs.
The police report states: “Tragically deaths as a result of substance misuse continue to increase across Dumfries and Galloway; tackling this remains complex and requires a blended approach delivered cohesively by a number of partners, such as Alcohol and Drug Partnership, which we will continue to actively support.”
Meanwhile, speeding and driving under the influence of drink and/or drugs was described as a “growing concern in our communities”, while it is acknowledged that the cost of living crisis and the economic climate may lead to an increase in cyber crime.
