Over 20 crimes recorded daily in city centre

The Lothian and Borders Police have released a crime report for Edinburgh, recording the number of offences committed between April and December 2010.

The report entitled Measuring Our Performances shows the suburb area of Oxgangs as the safest neighbourhood of the city with an average of three offences a day. The capital’s city centre was the most prominent area of criminal behaviour and violations with over 20 daily offences.

The latest statistics reveals figures of various offences which are organised in five categories: violence, sexual crimes, violations involving dishonesty, fire-raising and other crimes. The report was released to highlight important discrepancies between some of the city’s areas.

However, it also revealed some good news. Figures showed a decrease of five per cent in crime rates between April and October whilst the areas of Costorphine, Dumbrae and Gyle experienced further reductions of around 28 per cent.

Nevertheless, offence rates stay high in areas as Southside and Newington particularly bike thefts. Other areas with consistently high crime rates are Leith Walk, Liberton, Gilmerton, Inverleith and Drylaw.

Ian Perry, councillor for Southside and Newington, said: "The police have been working very hard over the last year to try to tackle crime in the area and the figures show that their efforts are paying dividends. It is disappointing that bike thefts remained stubbornly high, but that's perhaps a reflection of the number of students who stay in the area."

Chief Superintendant Gill Imery called for continued vigilance despite general improvement: "While we are delighted that overall crime reports are down across the city, we are guarded against complacency and continued to identify areas where increased police attention is required."

Mr Imery stated that the continuing efforts of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams has enabled further commitments to reduce crime rates. It involves specially assigned groups of police officers working in partnership with the residents to tackle offences in local areas. They mainly aim at preventing anti-social behaviours.

Minister for Community Safety Fergus Ewing said: "The Scottish Government fully supports the work Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be doing with local communities in Lothian and Borders. It is clear these teams will be equipped with local knowledge that makes them well placed to help put the right local solutions in place."