Commenting on the Operational Difficulties in the Dundee Co-ordinated Anti-crime Network (DUN.CA.N.)

The revelations in the Courier on Wednesday 11 June about regular staff shortages in the Dundee Co-ordinated Anti-crime Network (DUN.CA.N.) are very alarming.  It is clear that chronic shortages of Police Scotland civilian staff have impacted negatively on the effectiveness of this service. As a result, the 7x24 CCTV coverage in the city centre has been undermined. In addition, a lack of intelligence sharing was not just been a one off but a regular occurrence. No wonder some of the city centre traders and businesses are quetioning whether their subscriptions to DUN.CA.N is money well spent.

In the report to the Council's Policy and Resources Committee (Police, Fire and Community Safety) on Monday night we received a report about the Community Safety Hub and were asked to approve the inclusion of the Dundee Co-ordinated Anti-crime Network as part of the Hub. In that report from the Chief Executive there was no mention of these operational weaknesses caused by significant reductions in the complement of Police Scotland non-uniformed staff. The report did draw attention to financial savings gained and operational improvements achieved in co-locating Police Scotland and Council staff concerned with community safety but contained no misgivings about cuts having gone too far.

Clearly the scale of the SNP government's imposed budget cuts on Policing are already having a very negative effect in our city centre streets and businesses. These latest revelations demonstrate that the shedding of many non-uniformed Police staff by Police Scotland is undermining the effectiveness of policing of our city centre. We can't allow this to continue or the positive achievements over a number of years will be lost. 

I have asked the Chief Executive to intervene with our partners in Police Scotland. I have also sought reassurance from him that the Council's 'efficiency savings' that impact on the Dundee Co-ordinated Anti-crime Network are not a contributory factor to the operational shortcomings that have been widely reported in the press.

Police Scotland in Transition - Commenting on their First Six Months

Tuesday marked six months from the merger of the eight former Police Forces in Scotland into a single Police service for Scotland. These are my impressions about Policing in The Ferry drawing on my knowledge as a former member of the Tayside Police Board.

The merger of eight police forces into one came with financial strings attached by the SNP government. This merger was meant to deliver unrealistic levels of immediate savings. This has made the process of merger much more difficult. To protect the jobs of the uniformed Police men and women, job cuts have been focused on the civilian staff. As a result, too many of our Police Officers aren't patrolling the streets but are sitting behind desks, having become backroom bobbies.

The deployment of a single national police force is more fluid and flexible. This can work to our advantage when specialist teams drawn from elsewhere move into Dundee for an operation to tackle a specific issue. The other side of the coin it seems is that 'local' officers on the beat in our communities are more likely to be re-deployed to help police events outside The Ferry. This also reduces their visibility on our streets.

Ominously Police Scotland have been undertaking a review of their properties with a view to rationalisation. I am worried that our Police Office in Broughty Ferry will be on some future list for closure. I know many members of the public and the Community Council would like our Police Office to operate as a Police Station with a public access counter rather than merely as an office base for Police Officers working in the area. Unfortunately this prospect seems even more unlikely following the publication of the Public Counters and Traffic Wardens Review on Tuesday. The associated Tayside Public Briefing Paper proposes the closure of the public counter at the exisiting Maryfield and Longhaugh Police Stations in the East of the City. This would mean there would be no Police public counters left in the entire east of the City. It may save money, but its cutting off access for people who prefer to speak face to face rather than use the telephone and negotiate multiple numbered options.

All Councillors in Dundee are now kept informed about Policing activities through special meetings of the Policy and Resources Committee focused on Police, Fire and Community Safety. The Police are also good partners attending and reporting to our Local Community Planning Partnerships. It is however too early to say whether these structures will have much clout about major decisions that affect Policing in our area.

In the year marking the centenary of Broughty Ferry losing its independence and becoming part of Dundee, it is salutatory to remember that one hundred years ago we had our own Broughty Ferry Police accountable directly to the Burgh Council. I am sure those Broughty Ferry Police were accessible to their public on the Street and at the Burgh Chambers.