Inverness police call on community to help tackle antisocial behaviour
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Community involvement remains key to tackling a growing wave of antisocial behaviour in some Inverness neighbourhoods, the city’s top police officers have said.
The Courier reported recently on outrage at acts of vandalism committed in Inverness’s Tomnahurich Cemetery as well as a “day of action” held in the Merkinch area in a bid to reassure residents about issues raised there.
Chief Inspector Judy Hill, Inverness area commander, said being informed of any incidents when they happen helps with planning and any necessary redeployment of resources to better ensure crimes are detected and hopefully to avoid a repeat in future.
“We can absolutely be responsive to these things,” she told the Courier. “When we know there is a problem we can look at how we manage patrols, and where the key areas are that we should be targetting.”
As well as increasing patrols of the cemetery, she also pointed to concerns about the city’s Innes Street underpass, opposite the Rose Street car park in the city centre, where concerns had been raised by a local councillor and they had responded.
“We can’t be everywhere all the time but where we know there is an issue we can respond,” she said.
“We work with councillors, community councils and the like and will take note of any issues raised by members of the public too.”
Support Inspector Stuart Fitzpatrick said Operation Respect – the annual operation traditionally focused over the festive period in Inverness city centre to bring the police and other agencies together in an effort to make sure people stay safe – will also run at periods through the summer this year too, and that prevention was also a key part of the drive to tackle what he admitted was a rise in antisocial behaviour in some areas of the city at least. “A lot of that increase is about a return to ‘normality’ from Covid,” he said.
“When we were in lockdown there was obviously a reduction in incidents in public places and to some extent now we’re just getting back to something more like where we were before.
“That doesn’t mean that you
just accept that though, and as well as dealing with the criminality aspect of incidents that have happened, like at Tomnahurich Cemetery, we have a partnership with the fire service and will go into schools to talk about the dangers of things like setting fires and the emotional impact of vandalising spaces like that can have on people, in a bid to stop the behaviour.”
Chief Insp Hill said the force also worked closely with local youth groups and other similar organisations, while also recognising that antisocial behaviour is not always a problem perpetrated by young people.
On that front, the day of action in Merkinch saw plain clothes and community beat officers out speaking to members of the public and carrying out “relevant stop searches”.
Inspector Fitzpatrick said: “That was linked into community concerns about an element of antisocial behaviour and a chance for us to hopefully start and build relationships.”
