Sexual offences and shoplifting have been blamed for an overall rise of crime in Fife.
New figures released by Police Scotland show more than 63,000 crimes were reported in the region between April and September – an increase of more than 1,000 on the same period last year.
Among the areas that saw notable rises were reports of indecent or sexual assaults, theft, the carrying of offensive and bladed weapons and complaints about noise.
Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Colin Gall said: “Whilst the levels of crime overall in Fife have risen, this can be attributed to increases in offences such as sexual offences where we encourage reporting and have seen a rise in non-recent reports, changes to the reporting of crimes involving knives and other offensive weapons, a significant increase in shoplifting, and our push to remove drugs from our communities.”
Officers in Fife are continuing with what has been dubbed the “Five P” approach — a series of operations aimed at tackling issues identified by the public, including violence, housebreaking, drug crime, antisocial behaviour and road safety.
Mr Gall, continued: “Our operations were chosen according to the priorities that local people have highlighted in our Your View Counts survey, as well as areas where we want to reduce crime and make Fife an even safer place to live, work and visit.
“The reductions in these priority crime types, and increase in information received to help us tackle drug offences, are welcomed but we are not complacent and our operations will continue apace.”
While overall crime has risen for the three month period compared to 2016, there are areas where figures have shown drops.
Crimes such as common assault and road traffic offences all saw reductions, while reports of antisocial behaviour also dipped slightly.
With the festive season about to get under way, Mr Gall said that a seasonal campaign would tackle immediate concerns, such as a rise in shoplifting numbers.
He said: “The rise in shoplifting is concerning and we are working hard to analyse this offending and gather intelligence about those responsible so we can act jointly with our retail partners.”
