New Year message from police
I would firstly like to take the opportunity to wish you all a happy New Year from all officers and staff at Police Scotland.
I hope that you have had a nice time over the Christmas and New Year period and have had some time off to relax and spend it with family.
Although with two young children myself, I don’t know how much rest Christmas time actually brings!
As we move into the New Year it gives us a time to reflect on the year that has passed and make plans for the New Year coming in.
Within the Hamilton and Larkhall areas, your local policing team will continue to support and police our local communities taking into account the things that matter most to you.
Within Lanarkshire we currently work towards four policing priorities which are violence, drugs and drug dealing, theft by house breaking and public protection.
These priorities allow us to focus on the issues which are causing harm in our communities.
On December 31 the Your Police survey closed. This will allow us to take your views into account when we plan the policing priorities for the next three years.
I would like to thank all those who took the time to complete the survey as this will allow us to ensure that we target the issues that affect our communities most.
I have also discussed before persons who consume alcohol or drugs before driving.
This continues to be an issue which our offices are dealing with on a continued basis between Christmas and New Year.
Ten persons have been found to either be over the drink-drive limit or found to have used illegal substances before driving.
This is simply unacceptable and selfish to put others at risk in this way.
As Christmas passes, we often see a rise in calls for people who are struggling and need some additional support and assistance.
Please do not suffer alone, there are a number of charities and organisations that will be able to help and support you.
These charities include Breathing Space – 0800 83 85 87 – which is a free confidential service that can provide you with help over the phone.
It is important to recognise that seeking help is the first step to making things a bit better and that it is okay not to be okay.
As always I would ask that if you have any information you feel should be reported to the police please contact us using 101, or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.