DRINK driving and cybercrime offences continue to rise across Argyll and West Dunbartonshire according to local police data – but crimes of violence are significantly down.
Police management information figures, which were published on November 12, show that instances of some crimes are returning to their usual pre-lockdown levels after a significant drop in overall offending between April and June this year.
There were 212 drink or drug driving offences recorded in the second quarter of 2020/21, up from 132 in the same period last year, and in the last six months more of these offences were also detected – with a total of 189 drink or drug driving incidents compared with 130 the same time the previous year.
READ MORE: Driver 'ignored road closure signs' before crashing car at scene of fatal collision
Cybercrime, including fraud and online child abuse, is continuing to rise across Scotland and in Argyll and West Dunbartonshire the number of cases almost doubled from 107 to 204 year on year.
However, the number of non-sexual crimes of violence dropped from 145 between April 1 and September 30, 2019, to 113 in the same period this year.
There were 145 crimes involving offensive or bladed weapons between April 1 and September 30.
Overall, total crime fell by almost eight per cent, with 3,555 crimes recorded in the first six months of 2020/21.
The overall detection rate also rose from 57.1 per cent to 58.6 per cent.
READ MORE: Woman 'spat drink in the face' of Helensburgh pub worker
Chief Superintendent John Paterson, divisional commander for Argyll and West Dunbartonshire, said: “We continue to work closely with partners during this challenging time to proactively target those seeking to cause harm in our communities.
“As well as supporting the collective response to the pandemic, we have remained focused on issues such as violence, knife crime and drink driving.
“Although fewer people have been killed or seriously injured on our roads, it is very disappointing that people still get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol or taking drugs.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here