Home > Publications > Press Release: Neighbourhood Action Units Launched
01 Feb 2008
Neighbourhood Action Units Launched
More police officers are to patrol the city streets at night after a major shake-up of community policing launched today.
Under the move, Neighbourhood Action Units will be set up across the city to help improve local policing and curb antisocial behaviour.
The new units will be made up of the 84 council-funded officers currently working in the Capital's safer communities units and youth action teams.
And police chiefs have promised the officers will be out in communities where and when they are needed, thanks to a new intelligence-led approach to community work. In particular they will be targeting vandalism, housebreaking, theft, graffiti, minor assaults and antisocial behaviour such as noise disturbances, with a particular emphasis on preventing crime.
The move has been welcomed by the police officers involved, who were said to be "frustrated" at the restrictions previously placed on them.
In particular this meant the majority of their work was done during the day, while most of the crimes they dealt with were committed late in the evening.
Now they will be on the beat late at night, working up till midnight on Friday and Saturday when most of the problems are experienced.
Neighbourhood Action Unit Sergeant Colin Frame said: "It was difficult as our shift patterns were mainly during the day, but antisocial behaviour mostly takes place at night. Now we have the resources to cover these areas late at night, and everyone feels these changes will really help the public by helping us do our job."
The new units will be divided between six identified areas in the city – East, Central, Leith, Drylaw, West, Pentlands and South.
Police and council analysts have been stationed in each of these areas since October, and the information gathered by them will give the officers a better idea of exactly what problems are affecting local communities, allowing them to target their resources accordingly.
Chief superintendent George Simpson said: "The biggest change, and the most visible change to the public, will be the time these officers are out on the beat, with more and more work to be done later in the evenings, as that is when we are being told people want to see officers on the streets.
"There has been some frustration from the existing teams that their work during the day was mainly following up the crimes that had been committed, when what people want is prevention.
The change is aimed at focusing on prevention of crime, and comes on the back of figures which show that community policing is already having an effect in reducing crime across the city.
Across Edinburgh there were 2729 reported crimes in January this year, compared to 3718 last January, with violent crime down almost 30 per cent in the same period from 99 reported incidents last year to 68 this year.
Gordon Greenhill, the council's head of community safety services, said: "A lot of this is about public confidence, and we want people to feel that they can talk to these officers and get results.
"This intelligence-led way of working should do that, but we will need people to come and talk to their local policemen, to tell them if there is a problem, and thanks to this change we will now be better placed to help them."
The new units will be made up of the 84 council-funded officers currently working in the Capital's safer communities units and youth action teams.
And police chiefs have promised the officers will be out in communities where and when they are needed, thanks to a new intelligence-led approach to community work. In particular they will be targeting vandalism, housebreaking, theft, graffiti, minor assaults and antisocial behaviour such as noise disturbances, with a particular emphasis on preventing crime.
The move has been welcomed by the police officers involved, who were said to be "frustrated" at the restrictions previously placed on them.
In particular this meant the majority of their work was done during the day, while most of the crimes they dealt with were committed late in the evening.
Now they will be on the beat late at night, working up till midnight on Friday and Saturday when most of the problems are experienced.
Neighbourhood Action Unit Sergeant Colin Frame said: "It was difficult as our shift patterns were mainly during the day, but antisocial behaviour mostly takes place at night. Now we have the resources to cover these areas late at night, and everyone feels these changes will really help the public by helping us do our job."
The new units will be divided between six identified areas in the city – East, Central, Leith, Drylaw, West, Pentlands and South.
Police and council analysts have been stationed in each of these areas since October, and the information gathered by them will give the officers a better idea of exactly what problems are affecting local communities, allowing them to target their resources accordingly.
Chief superintendent George Simpson said: "The biggest change, and the most visible change to the public, will be the time these officers are out on the beat, with more and more work to be done later in the evenings, as that is when we are being told people want to see officers on the streets.
"There has been some frustration from the existing teams that their work during the day was mainly following up the crimes that had been committed, when what people want is prevention.
The change is aimed at focusing on prevention of crime, and comes on the back of figures which show that community policing is already having an effect in reducing crime across the city.
Across Edinburgh there were 2729 reported crimes in January this year, compared to 3718 last January, with violent crime down almost 30 per cent in the same period from 99 reported incidents last year to 68 this year.
Gordon Greenhill, the council's head of community safety services, said: "A lot of this is about public confidence, and we want people to feel that they can talk to these officers and get results.
"This intelligence-led way of working should do that, but we will need people to come and talk to their local policemen, to tell them if there is a problem, and thanks to this change we will now be better placed to help them."
