The Police, Fire and Rescue Sub Committee convened on 5 December 2024 to discuss performance reports from Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The committee scrutinised and noted both reports.

Police Scotland Performance Report

The Police Scotland performance report covered the period from 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024.

Chief Superintendent Steven Meikle, Local Police Commander for the Dumfries and Galloway division of Police Scotland, attended the meeting to present the report.

Overall crime and offences in Dumfries and Galloway had risen by 3% compared to the five-year average. The report provided more granularity on this overall trend, splitting out performance against the five strategic priorities for the Dumfries and Galloway division:

Reducing Violence and Disorder

Violent crime in the area has increased by 12% compared to the five-year average. However, the detection rate remains high at 79%, despite falling slightly compared to the five-year average. The increase in violent crime is driven by a 65% rise in serious assaults. Nine charges of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving were recorded as serious assaults, contributing to the increase.

Disorder complaints and antisocial behaviour have decreased by 18% compared to the five-year average. The report authors attribute this reduction to the work of the local policing teams.

Reducing Harm Caused by Substance Misuse

The report highlighted 18 confirmed drug-related deaths in 2024.

Drug supply charges have risen by 7% compared to the five-year average, while drug possession charges have fallen by 42% over the same period. The report did not offer an explanation for this change.

Road Safety and Road Crime

Two road deaths were recorded, unchanged from the previous year. However, the number of serious injuries rose by 53%. The report's authors note an increase in multi-vehicle incidents, which may have contributed to the rise. The report did not state how many people were seriously injured. Positively, no children died or were seriously injured on the region's roads during the reporting period.

Driving under the influence offences have more than doubled, while speeding offences have fallen by over a third.

Acquisitive Crime and Emerging Trends

The number of housebreaking offences has fallen compared to the five-year average. However, fraud has increased by 15%. Shoplifting and motor vehicle theft have also increased. The report did not offer any explanation for the change.

Protecting People Most at Risk of Harm

Sexual offences in the area have increased by 10%, hate crimes by 73%, and domestic abuse incidents by 16%. The report did not offer an explanation for these changes. However, the detection rate for sexual offences is 14 percentage points higher than the five-year average, suggesting that the police are prioritising these crimes. The report also showed that a significant proportion (21%) of sexual offences reported were non-recent crimes.

Missing person incidents have reduced by 20% compared to the five-year average.

Public Confidence

The report concluded by considering public confidence in the police. Complaints about the police had decreased compared to the previous year. The number of on-duty allegations fell by 21% and the number of quality of service allegations fell by 34%.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Performance Report

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service performance report covered the same period, from 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024.

Local Fire and Rescue Service Priorities

Area Commander Derek Heaton, the Local Senior Officer for the Dumfries and Galloway West Service Delivery Area of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, attended the meeting to present the report.

The report focused on seven priority areas:

• Domestic fire safety
• Unintentional harm and injury
• Road safety
• Deliberate fire setting
• Non-domestic fire safety
• Unwanted fire alarm signals
• Operational resilience and preparedness

The report highlighted positive performance in several areas, including a 20% reduction in the total number of incidents compared to the same period last year. However, there was a 67% rise in fire casualties.

Domestic Fire Safety

The report showed a slight increase in the number of accidental dwelling fires but stressed that this figure remained relatively low. The report's authors credited the work of the SFRS Community Action Team (CAT) for this. The report also noted that 93% of dwellings had working smoke detectors and that 84% of residents heard the alarm when it sounded.

Unintentional Injury and Harm

The SFRS responded to 181 special service incidents, a slight increase from the same period last year.

Road Safety

The report noted a slight increase in the number of road traffic collisions attended.

Deliberate Fire Setting

Deliberate fire setting has fallen sharply, with a 51% reduction on the same period last year. The report attributed this success to the SFRS's partnership working with Police Scotland, youth services, and education.

Non-Domestic Fire Safety

Incidents at non-domestic premises fell by 27% compared to the same period last year.

Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals

Unwanted fire alarm signals have fallen by 39% since the same period last year. The report's authors linked this reduction to the introduction of a new incident procedure in July 2023, in which the fire service may challenge calls from automatic fire alarm systems where there is no sleeping risk.

Operational Preparedness and Resilience

The report highlighted the importance of staff training and multi-agency exercises. In August, the SFRS participated in a large-scale exercise simulating a fire on a vessel in Kirkcudbright Harbour. The report also noted that the SFRS had recently taken delivery of new fire appliances, which are more fuel-efficient and better suited to the region's roads.

The report concluded by noting that the SFRS is undergoing a performance reporting standardisation project and that future reports may be presented in a different format.