Loathe thy neighbour: True toll of lockdown crimewave
POLICE were called out to arguments between neighbours once every 13 minutes during lockdown, it has emerged.
Familiarity only bred contempt for many Scots who were confined to their homes alongside other households as the pandemic swept the country earlier this year.
Figures reveal that Police Scotland received 10,169 calls about neighbour disputes between April and June –up 56 per cent from 6,533 during the same period in 2019.
Residents were also driven to distraction by others further afield in their communities – causing the force to be inundated with complaints about antisocial behaviour.
Calls detailing public nuisance more than doubled – up 167 per cent from 21,281 to 56,744 – while there were 19,077 complaints about noise – rising 29 per cent from 14,817.
But an overall drop in 999 calls enabled the force to get more officers back on the beat, with some divisions doubling the numbers on visible patrol.
The figures are due to be presented to a meeting of the Scottish Police Author
‘A significant number of hate crimes’
ity’s (SPA) policing performance committee tomorrow.
In the quarterly report, the force reveals that many of the calls it received were complaints about people failing to follow lockdown rules, while some arguments escalated into hate crimes.
But police expect tension to dissipate now that restrictions have eased and children are back at school.
The report states: ‘Reporting of antisocial behaviour has drastically increased on the same period last year.
‘This is predominantly linked to public nuisance calls in relation to non-compliance with the Covid-19 regulations.
‘With more people spending time at home over the period, there has been an increase in noise complaints and neighbour disputes in relation to potential breaches of new legislation and Scottish Government guidance.
‘Youth disorder has also been an ongoing issue, particularly when the weather is good. As schools, sports clubs and other establishments begin to re-open and offer our young population some of the structured activities they have been so used to, it is anticipated that reports of antisocial behaviour involving young people will decline.’
The report adds: ‘A significant number of hate crimes relate to neighbour disputes – many of which likely result from heightened tensions stemming from the pandemic situation.’
While April in lockdown saw a sharp drop in most crime – including violent and most sexual offences – cases of online child abuse rose 21 per cent from 438 to 530 over the quarter.
And there was a 7 per cent increase in drugs possession charges – up from 8,213 to 8,817 – as emptier streets allowed police officers to target dealers.
Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: ‘This report outlines a high number of engagements officers had with individuals as our visible presence in communities supported the national effort to save lives.
‘The vast majority of those interactions were met with support and co-operation from our fellow citizens.
‘This response was underpinned by a courteous and common-sense policing approach to the introduction of new rules to combat the spread of Covid-19.
‘It is encouraging to note that during this period public confidence in policing has increased by around 20 percentage points compared to the period before coronavirus measures were in place.’
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the report showed ‘the benefit of having officers on our streets’.
He added: ‘Quite obviously, when Police Scotland had more resources and frontline officers they were able to significantly increase their community presence.
‘The SNP Government can no longer justify their pennypinching approach that has led to a £50million black hole in police funding.
‘Ministers must give our police officers the resources they need to keep people safe and catch criminals.’