Highland Police Scotland chief acknowledges 'significant challenge' of drug gangs after 'notable increase' in arrests; comments made in report set to go before Inverness committee at Highland Council

The "significant challenge" posed by county lines drug gangs has been cited by police after a "notable increase" in drug offences in Inverness.

Chief Inspector Jamie Wilson, who is the local area commander, made the remarks in his latest report to Highland Council's Inverness and area committee, which will meet next week.

The report, which has been published ahead of the meeting, provides an overview of policing activity within the Inverness area in the most recent financial year from April 2024 to March 2025.

It comes just days after a Highland-wide report also highlighted the scale of the County Lines issue facing the region.

And while there were strong successes in several areas within Inverness, including a 17 per cent drop in the number of reported assaults - which police said "reflect... continued efforts to address community concerns" - there was an increase in serious and organised crime.

In the year to date in the 2024/25 period there were 115 detections for drug supply offences in the Inverness area, up from 102 the previous year and higher also than the five-year and three-year averages of 91 and 86 respectively.

Describing it as a "notable increase" in such detections, Ch Insp Wilson said such activity remained a "significant challenge".

"This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to disrupting the supply of illegal drugs and protecting our communities from the associated harm," he said. "Our team is committed to tackling County Lines activity which remains a significant challenge.

"To combat this issue, we employ a multi-faceted approach, working closely with partners and communities to disrupt criminal networks and safeguard vulnerable individuals."

This work included work to highlight the issue of so-called cuckooing, where the gangs take over the home of a vulnerable person and then using adults and children to act as drug runners. This highlighting had included advisory presentations to the likes of Highland Council's housing and social work teams, and NHS Highland, to increase awareness of the tell-tale signs.

The report added that the force's Northern Division "has also recently expanded its team of dedicated officers with the sole purpose of targeting County Line offenders, working in partnership with partner agencies and protecting vulnerable persons".

Elsewhere, shoplifting rates continued to rise - with 977 incidents in the year-to-date during 2024/25 - up on the 899 the previous year and much higher than the five-year average of 606.2.

However Ch Insp Wilson noted that there had been a fall in shoplifting “during the last few weeks” and he attributed this to “our dedicated city centre policing team working closely with Inverness BID” as well as hi-vis patrols.

Meanwhile, other forms of theft were close to or lower than their long-term averages, with motor vehicle theft down at 31 (below the 46 recorded the previous year and the five-year average of 37.4), fraud detections down from 243 to 222 (higher than the three-year average but lower than that over five), and housebreaking. The latter saw 55 incidents detected, which was up six on the previous year but almost exactly the same as the five-year average of 55.6.

Drink and drug driving continues to increase in the region, with 265 incidents detected in the Inverness area over the most recent year, up marginally from the previous year, but still well above the fve-year average of 203.6.

In other parts of the Highlands, the picture is mixed, with detections up from 109 to 136 in the space of a year in the South Highland area command, but down from 281 to 253 in the North Highland area. Both are above their respective five-year averages though.

Commenting on the Inverness figures Ch Insp Wilson believes the slight rise was due to “enhanced training in drug-driving detection.

Sex offences rose slightly from the previous year - up from 259 to 269. This was slightly higher than the three-year average of 252.3, and also up on the five-year average of 230.2.

Closing his summary, Ch Insp Wilson also noted a “slight increase” in hate incidents in the Inverness area in recent months, and added that police will be working to tackle that in the coming months.

He said: “Over the coming months, our team will continue to adapt our policing approach to address emerging challenges and ensure the safety and well-being of our communities.

“This will involve proactive and intelligence-led policing to prevent and disrupt crime, strengthening partnerships with community groups and other agencies to address local concerns thereby enhancing public trust/confidence through open and transparent communication.”