Police in Perth and Kinross have seen a reduction in violent crime since the inception of Police Scotland.
A total of 26 fewer crimes were recorded, along with increased detection rates against the five-year average, members of Perth and Kinross Council’s community safety committee heard this week.
The committee was told there had been a 65% reduction in robberies, with 21 fewer victims. Serious assaults were also down 21%, with 10 fewer victims.
The figures relate to the first 10 months of Police Scotland (April 1 2013 to January 31 2014) and all were set against the five-year average.
In total, there was an 18% reduction in group 1 to 4 crimes, which comprise violent and sexual offences, dishonesty, vandalism, fire-raising and malicious mischief.
Chief Inspector Mike Whitford, local area commander for Perth and Kinross, said officers had taken a “pro-active” stance in preventing and detecting assaults.
“The use of Campaign Against Violence officers and initiatives such as Centresafe have been successful in driving down the number of complaints of disorder and the increased oversight of investigations into common assaults has resulted in an increased detection rate,” he said.
Chief Superintendent Hamish Macpherson, the Tayside Division Commander, said: “I am proud of the officers and staff within Perth and Kinross who have worked tirelessly to prevent and detect crime in the area.
“Perth and Kinross continues to be a very safe place to live and work.”
The number of reported common assault cases had increased by 10% from the five-year average of 1,048 to 1,159.
Although there were significant falls in the number of assaults in public places, there was a rise in domestic abuse of 36%, with 973 crimes against the five-year average of 715.
Detection rates for common assault rose from 80% to 89%. and complaints of disorder fell by 33.3%.