BBC Reveal Broughty Ferry Police Station Under Threat

Yesterday there were revelations from the BBC that 'The future of dozens of police stations across Scotland is under threat.' This list included our Police Station in Broughty Ferry.

The BBC report is extremely worrying. I had been informed that the lease on the current Police Station buildings in Brook Street was coming to an end but that Police Scotland were proposing to move over the road to the former Police Station premises next to the Burgh Halls.  If that move is reneged on and Police Scotland are proposing to pull out of Broughty Ferry, I know there will be will be sustained resistance to that.

I am sure that the Broughty Ferry residents would once again demonstrate their opposition to a proposal that they judge to be detrimental, in the same way we saw off the proposal of Tayside Fire and Rescue to downgrade Balmossie Fire Station. 

I am certainly determined to resist any reduction in Police Scotland presence in and service to The Ferry.

Your View Counts with Police Scotland

Your view counts and is valued – that’s the message behind Police Scotland’s new online public survey which takes just 15 minutes to complete and will help shape policing priorities throughout the country.

Link to the survey

The responses to the consultation process will be continuously monitored and quarterly progress reports will be published on the Police Scotland website.

Stop and Search Statistics Indicate a Worrying Change in Policing on Our Streets

In the first year of Police Scotland there has been an 82% increase in the number of stop and searches undertaken in Dundee. Since there has not been any dramatic increase in crime in our city, it is clear that there has been a very marked change in policy and practice of policing on our streets. 

The recently published policing statistics, show that 12,420 stop and searches were undertaken in our city during 2013/14 2. Of these:

2 searches were of children 0-9 years, 

776 searches were of children 10-15 years and 

2046 searches were of young people 16-19 years. 

Police Scotland state that the use of stop and search should always be 'lawful, proportionate, intelligence-led and respectful to the member of the public involved' but this dramatic increase in stop and search, particularly of young people, really concerns me. I am worried that young people will feel alienated from the Police if they feel unfairly picked on for stop and search.

A recent inquiry by the Scottish Police Authority (the SPA is the sucessor body to the seven Police Boards) reports that, 'younger age groups are significantly more likely to be searched. However, the detection rate for this population is broadly similar to that of other age groups.' This calls into question whether the dramatic increase in the use of stop and searches inDundee is justified. There are also gaps in the information recorded by Police officers. It is currently not possible to know whether some individuals have been stopped and searched more than once in a year. 

According to the SPA report, 'Most officers have not received any training in the use of stop and search since their probationary training. While many (in their research inteviews) did not perceive a need for training, we consider that officers would benefit from refresher training and further knowledge and skills development.' This is worrying.

Now that more statistics and this SPA review are available, I think we need more local scrutiny of what is happening to policing on our city streets; especially the dramatic increase in 'stop and search'. 

There is more than a suspicion, Chief Constable House is standardising across Scotland forms of Policing he brought with him from the Metropolitan Police in London. But Dundee is not London and Broughty Ferry is not Brixton. 

I think what we want in Dundee and in The Ferry is Policing that is a genuine and proportionate response to law and order issues on our streets and in our communities; not one that that is imposed from elsewhere.

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.

Swift Action by City Council to Remove Damaged Bike Rack and Order Replacement

On Monday I reported to the City Council that one of the bike racks on the pavement in central Broughty Ferry had been damaged over the weekend. On Wednesday, Council staff confirmed that that the damaged bike rack on Brook Street outside Greggs has now been uplifted and an order has been raised for its replacement. 

As yet there is no information regarding timescale for the delivery and installation of the replacement but I have been assured I will be updated when this information becomes available. 

I think that is a prompt and very satisfactory response from the Council

I have not however yet been contacted by Police Scotland since ringing in my report on Monday about this vandalism and asking that the CCT footage was examined to identify and apprehend the culprits.

More Vandalism in The Ferry

Outside Greggs on Brook Street, one of the bike racks fixed to the pavement is damaged and appears to have been deliberately vandalised. As you can see it is bent over and unusable. On closer inspection, one end of the stainless steel rail has been severed at ground level by what appears to have be repeated bending over and back until the metal snapped.

Unfortunately, this is another example of deliberate and sickening property damage. This not only undermines the appearance of our main street but also diverts cash from vital Council services to pay for needless repairs and replacements.
I have informed the Transportation Department and Roads' Maintenance Partnership to ask that the broken rack is removed immediately and subsequently replaced. I have also informed Tayside Division, Police Scotland. As this happened in direct line of sight from the CCTV camera, I hope the perpetrators will be easily identified and apprehended.
This deliberate damage of public property follows a spate of spray painting of unsightly graffiti tags in numerous locations in Barnhill including garage doors which happened on Thursday night and through to the small hours of Friday morning.

Police Plan for Broughty Ferry 2013 Published

At the meeting of the Broughty Ferry Local Community Planning Partnership on Thursday evening, the Committee were briefed about the production, by Dundee based Police Scotland officers, of the Police Plan for Broughty Ferry 2013. 

This is I think probably the first time that there has been a specific Police Plan published for The Ferry; we have previously been covered by plans for Dundee.

Constituents should however be aware that our local Police, formerly Tayside Police and now Police Scotland have been committed partners in Community Planning and attend and report in writing to each quarterly meeting of The Ferry Local Community Planning Partnership.

When constituents have had a chance to read this, I would be interested in hearing your observations.

Read/download Police Scotland: The Ferry Multi Member Ward Plan 2013

Council and Police Should Get Tough on Litter

Click on image to enlarge

A person unknown consumed a drink and food from a fast food outlet while on Douglas Terrace earlier in the week. Many people on foot, or in their cars, find this a fine spot to have their lunch and admire the magnificent river view at the same time. No problem! The Ferry welcomes residents and visitors alike who want to enjoy their lunch and the river view.

BUT what we don't appreciate is folk who carelessly discard their rubbish on the road because they can't be bothered to use one of the litter bins or dispose of their rubbish at home.

While the Council and Police don't deserve all the blame for the sloppy habits of a minority of our residents and visitors, they can be more active using their existing powers:

a criminal offence, subject to a maximum fine of £2,500. Either the police or a local council can prosecute litterers. In addition, Fixed Penalty Notices of £50 can be issued by local council staff or the police for littering."

I have written to Councillor Craig Melville, the Convener of Environmental Services and Chief Superintendent Hamish Macpherson of Police Scotland in Dundee, to ask them to step up the action. 

Litter make our streets unsightly and diverts money from other services into more street cleaning. According to Keep Scotland Tidy, the cost of clearing litter across Scottish local authorities currently stands at £65 million per year. Let's get it sorted!

Call for Single Police Force for Scotland HQ to be in Perth or Dundee

On Monday morning I attended a meeting of the Tayside Joint Police Board. This was the last but one meeting of the Board because the Scottish Government has decided to proceed with a single Police force for Scotland from 1st April 2013. On that date, the current eight regional police forces will have their powers transferred to the new national body taking shape.

While the senior management team for Police Scotland have been appointed, one key decision yet to the resolved is the location of the Headquarters.

At our meeting in Perth, it was unanimously agreed that the Convener of the board, should write to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, urging him to select Dundee or Perth as the HQ site for the Single Police Service for Scotland. Apart from both cities offering central locations and good public transport links, it was thought important to reassure the public throughout Scotland that the new Single Police Service for Scotland was not just Strathclyde Police with the rest of the country thrown in. Locating the HQ outside Edinburgh and Glasgow would help convey reassurance on that score.