Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance told MSP’s that she is “concerned” to hear about reports pointing to a rise in violent crimes in East Renfrewshire after she was questioned on the issue by Eastwood MSP, Jackson Carlaw.
At Portfolio Question Time, Mr Carlaw raised the police quarterly report presented to East Renfrewshire Council in February as it was noted in the paper that “we continue to see an overall increase” in Non-Sexual crimes of violence.
The police report set out that for the period from October to December 2023, violent offences had risen to 68 from the 55 recorded in the same reporting period for 2022.
In the police report for February 2023, it was noted that the 55 violent crimes recorded in the final quarter of 2022 was an increase on the 46 reported in the previous year.
Responding in the Holyrood debating chamber, Ms Constance stated that “I take seriously Mr Carlaw’s concerns” but said there were 2459 police officers in the Glasgow Division for Eastwood in the first quarter of 2024 - an increase of 72 compared with the final quarter of 2023.
Mr Carlaw has highlighted that longer term trends point to a decline in the number of police officers.
In the first three months of 2023, there were 2485 officers in the Glasgow police catchment and this represents an overall decrease of 26.
In the first quarter of 2017, the Glasgow Division had 2666 officers – a reduction of 207 when compared with the same period for 2024.
Further to Mr Carlaw’s intervention at The Scottish Parliament, the police quarterly report for January to March 2024 has now been published and it shows that violent crime is continuing to rise in East Renfrewshire.
Jackson Carlaw MSP for Eastwood said:
“The increase in recorded crimes of violence in East Renfrewshire is a very significant public safety concern and I challenged the Justice Secretary on this troubling development at Holyrood.
“For the quarter one period referred to by the Cabinet Secretary, the overall trend in the Glasgow Division is one of declining police numbers and with more than 200 fewer officers in 2024 when compared to 2017.
“That is a totally unacceptable situation and the Scottish Government must ensure that more support is in place for our highly professional police team in East Renfrewshire to help keep local people safe from violent incidents.”