March 18, 2011
Highland Council will close 14 public toilets in a bid to save more than £320,000 over the next two years. It said toilets are to be closed at North Kessock pier, Elgol, Staffin, Ardvasar, Kilmuir, Ariskaig, Caol, Traigh beach, Kinlochleven, Cannich, Foyers, Boat of Garten and Marine Road in Nairn. Sixteen premises in the region […]
March 09, 2011
A Scottish MP is one of many who have come out in support of the crime-fighting capabilities of CCTV systems. Pamela Nash, Labour MP for Airdrie and Shotts, said: “Crime in Airdrie town centre fell by 24% in the first two years after the introduction of ‘open street’ CCTV. Surveillance continues to be supported locally, […]
March 01, 2011
Despite falling numbers and pressure put to bear on budgets, total police levels in Scotland are projected to exceed the government’s target by May. The Scottish government said there had been a strong intake of new recruits recently, which would raise numbers beyond the overall target of 17,234 officers. They include 51 probationers already at […]
February 22, 2011
Chief constable Ian Latimer, who will retire later this year, said the future of Northern Constabulary was "worth defending". In the force’s e-magazine, he said: "It is not how I envisaged my final year as chief constable, defending the future of a locally accountable police force in the Highlands and Islands.” Mr Latimer added that […]
February 14, 2011
A young child was included in a family of five who were rescued from a top floor flat after a fire in a restaurant below their home in Glasgow city centre. The blaze was at The Steak and Cherry restaurant on Sauchiehall Street. A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said the first crews […]
February 09, 2011
A man from Oban who thought his brother was dead has discovered he is alive and has been using his identity for almost 50 years. Paul Woodhouse learned that his half-sibling Roy had been using his identity since obtaining a passport in his name in the 1960s. The brothers had been apart for more than […]
January 25, 2011
Shopping trolley thefts have soared in Scotland – around 125,000 have been swiped in Edinburgh and Glasgow alone in 12 months as the cost of scrap metal goes up and up. Scottish officers recorded 83 separate crimes of metal theft in a six-month period alone in 2010, compared with 45 during the whole of the […]
January 24, 2011
A crime operation in Aberdeen has been hailed ‘a success’ with police promising more action. As well as people being arrested, others were charged or received anti-social behaviour fixed penalty notices for various offences. The operation in the south of the city ran between January 5 and 23. Insp Murray Main said: "The police activity […]
January 18, 2011
An Aberdeenshire school was closed for at least 24 hours following a gas leak. Hundreds of pupils were forced to evacuate the premises at Ellon Academy. They were taken to a nearby building as a precaution before going home. An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: "A strong smell of gas was detected in an external building […]
January 12, 2011
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill confirmed that more than seventy forensic crime posts will go, giving rise to fears that this will be blunting the effectiveness of ‘CSI’ (Crime Scene Investigation) style high-tech criminal analysis. Forensic crime labs north of the border need to cut jobs in order to save £3.5m, Mr MacAskill has told […]