Wick not in grip of crime wave says police chief
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A CAITHNESS police chief said that statistics showing the number of incidents reported to officers do not indicate that Wick is “in the grip of a crime wave”.
Area Chief Inspector Matthew Reiss said that figures released for August were similar to those for the rest of the year.
The Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council heard that staff at Wick Police Station dealt with 502 incidents during August.
It was reported that 24 vandalisms and seven assaults took place in the Wick area last month.
There were also 19 cases of breach of the peace, 12 thefts and 10 road traffic incidents in the Wick area.
The statement from Northern Constabulary read that there had also been numerous incidents recorded involving drugs, weapons, violence, antisocial behaviour and dishonesty.
Community council chairwoman Coreen Campbell said on Monday she was shocked that the amount of incidents recorded was so high.
“It appears the police have been kept very busy last month,” she said. “Wick has always had a reputation of being a quiet and peaceful community. It is upsetting to see those figures.”
She added: “It is quite worrying that there is not the same respect in the town as there used to be.”
However, Chief Inspector Reiss said yesterday that the figures for August were not significantly different to those recorded during the rest of the year.
And he was keen to reassure the public that the majority of the 502 incidents which his officers dealt with were not crime related.
He also stated that, overall, Caithness has not had to deal with as many crime-related incidents compared to other areas in the Highlands.
“The figures are not suggesting that Wick is in the grip of a crime wave,” he said. “Northern Constabulary has attended to 12,400 incidents in the Caithness, Sutherland and Tain area alone.
“Wick has accounted for a third of the incidents reported this year, but these figures aren’t particularly high.
“On Monday, September 5, we were called to 54 incidents across the area. Incidents can range from diesel spillage and reporting accidental damage to witness citations and issuing advice to the public about certain issues.
“The term ‘incidents’ can also relate to dealing with traffic matters such as speeding.
“Also our switchboards are inundated with callers seeking advice about road conditions during bad weather, which also count as incidents.”
