Police charge 89 people in Aberdeen motorbike crackdown
A total of 89 people were charged and 54 vehicles seized in a crackdown on antisocial behaviour involving motorbikes in Aberdeen. A team of officers dedicated to tackling the crime carried out regular patrols over the summer under the Operation Armour initiative. It was introduced several years ago to tackle the theft of motorbikes as well as people riding the vehicles illegally or in a dangerous way. During the course of the operation, 89 people were charged with various offences and 19 cars and 35 motorbikes were seized by police officers. Over £17,500 worth of illegal drugs were also recovered. This compares to the 70 vehicles seized and 60 people charged last year.
Police Scotland denies any wrongdoing over ‘grab bag’ tweet after private company links discovered
Police Scotland has denied any wrongdoing after links between a tweet it sent out and a private company selling ready-made “grab and go” emergency bags were uncovered. Police were accused of “scaremongering” earlier this week after posting the message from a verified account recommending people prepare one of the bags. It was one of a series of tweets issued using the #30days30waysUK hashtag, promoting a nationwide campaign to raise “preparedness” across the country. A number of local authorities in England also got involved and the tag trended for a time across British social media.
£167,000 taxpayer bill because Edinburgh and Lothian police are too busy to take days off
A taxpayer-footed bill to buy back lieu days from police officers in the Lothians has more than trebled in a year, figures obtained by the Evening News reveal. The cost of paying officers for days they failed to take off in an allotted time rose from just under £47,000 in 2017-18 to £166,584 last year. Union officials blamed a “relentless” workload for preventing officers from taking time off while police chiefs work-life balance is important.
Andrew Malcolm of the Scottish Police Federation said: “Officers are being overwhelmed by the demand, we don’t have enough people to meet it all.”
DERBY BILL
Cops charged Celtic and Rangers almost £900,000 to police 15 Old Firm matches
Cops charged almost £900,000 to police 15 Old Firm clashes, official stats reveal. Rangers were hit with a £308,443.20 bill for five league showdowns at Ibrox. Meanwhile, Celtic forked out £285,343.20 on the same number of Parkhead games. A further £288,264 was spent on five Scottish Cup and League Cup semi-finals played between the Glasgow rivals at Hampden Park between February 2015 and September 2018.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/4705610/celtic-rangers-police-matches-old-firm/
Glasgow march violence ‘stain on city’s reputation’, says minister
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has said the people of Glasgow have had enough of marches that lead to “sectarian violence” on their streets. Mr Yousaf said the vast majority of the city’s population viewed the trouble stemming from the marches as a “stain” on the city’s reputation. The minister was responding to a topical question at Holyrood after a second weekend of disorder. He said the city council was looking at ways of reducing the number of marches.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-49651139
Honour for Perth’s first ever female police officer
Perth’s first ever female police officer was a guest of honour at last week’s passing out parade at the Scottish Police College in Tulliallan. Ninety-five-year-old Minnie Clark (nee McLaren) joined Perth City Police in April 1942. However, she had to leave three years later in November 1945, because she got married. At the time, police regulations would not permit married women to keep serving. Her duties during her policing career included being on patrol, office duties and ‘female and child’ enquiries. Minnie met with ACC Angela McLaren, who presented her with a framed copy of her police personnel record.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/honour-perths-first-ever-female-19936105
LGBT hate crimes soar by more than double in just five years
Homophobic hate crimes reported to police have more than doubled in the past five years – but just eight per cent now result in prosecutions, new figures have revealed. Reports of homophobic abuse recorded by UK police forces soared from 5,807 in 2014/15 to 13,530 in 2018/19, according to the data. But the number of prosecutions dropped from 1,157 to 1,058 over the same period – from 20 per cent of all reports to eight per cent. The figures were obtained by BBC Radio 5 Live Investigations under Freedom of Information laws. Full responses to the request were received from 38 of the UK’s 46 forces, with partial data from Police Scotland not included in the analysis.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/lgbt-hate-crimes-soar-more-16898910