Station changes
Staff reassigned to office
Changes to policing in Blairgowrie are to come into effect this month.
And the Blairie understands these new changes will see three police officers based from the town’s station.
The proposals came to light at the most recent meeting of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council, held last month in Rattray Church Hall on Balmoral Road.
Concerns had been raised by a member of the public about the current service the town experiences from Police Scotland.
The concerned citizen said: “I live in Rattray and am an ex-police officer.
“I recently had the experience of trying to get hold of a police officer at Blairgowrie police station.
“To me, it is wrong that there is no counter service in Blairgowrie.
“There is a population of around 10,000 here. This is the largest town in Perth and Kinross now, yet there is a counter service at Pitlochry.
“Lots of residents in this area are elderly and are not online and need a counter service and a personal touch.
“I feel we are getting a lesser service, and if you try calling 101 you end up speaking to someone in Glasgow who has no interest in what’s going on in Blairgowrie.”
Sergeant Andy Ness from Police Scotland was at the meeting.
He said: “Obviously, Police Scotland has undergone some quite significant budget cuts including a reduction in support staff which meant that some front counters were closed.
“The decision to keep the front counter at Pitlochry open was due to the large volume of traffic on the A9 and the distance to the next station, which is Aviemore.”
He went on to say: “Changes which will be implemented in January include a dedicated sergeant, Sgt John McKeag, who will be based in Blairgowrie, along with two officers, Alistair Crowe and Carol Addison.”
When asked if there was any possibility that there could be some cross-over of staff with other agencies, Sgt Ness replied that wouldn’t be as simple as it might first appear, pointing out that there are issues around privacy, for example, as well as those potentially surrounding bail conditions.
He also commented that as far as he was aware there were no plans to close Blairgowrie police station “at this time”.
But he added: “Policing has changed a lot since I have been on the force, which is 27 years now.
“Crime is much lower now and the way we police is far more clever than it used to be. It is more targeted and there is a lot more partnership working now.
“Most of my day now is spent dealing with vulnerable people rather than house break-ins or vandalism, for example.”
Sgt Ness added that crime in Blairgowrie was relatively low.
He detailed an operation last year involving sniffer dogs athe town’s licensed premises which was in response to concerns raised about drug use and other issues. He also said that there had been two incidents of vandalism, a few cases of shoplifting and three assaults in Blairgowrie and Rattray during the previous month.
However, he also pointed out that Blairgowrie and Rattray had the highest rate of anti-social behaviour orders issued for vehicles with loud exhausts in Perth and Kinross.
He added sheep-worrying was “becoming more prevalent” in Rosemount in particular and reminded dog owners that farmers had the right to shoot any animals which were worrying livestock.
He urged people to keep their pets on a lead to avoid a “very distressing” situation.