Issue - meetings

The Committee resolved:-

(i)             to welcome Divisional Commander Kate Stephen to her new role and to thank Chief Inspector Andy Scott for his work with members over the last 19 months, who would now be moving on to a new post within Police Scotland;

(ii)            in terms of the number of Hate Crime complaints recorded since the introduction of the Hate Crime Bill, to request that Police Scotland circulate this information to members via the clerk;

(iii)          to note that the Convener would liaise with the Divisional Commander on topics to be reported at future committee meetings, which may include local police officer numbers, the local estate plan and also actions undertaken around mental health and wellbeing support for police officers, with the timeline for reporting to be agreed with the Convener and the Divisional Commander;

(iv)          in regards to information available to members of the public on  Acquisitive Crime and measures that could be undertaken to help prevent crime, to request that a Service Update be issued to members of the committee, so members can share the information with constituents; and

(v)           to otherwise note the report. 

The Committee had before it a report by Police Scotland, which presented the Police Scotland Performance Report which covered April to September 2024, for Committee scrutiny.

The report advised that Appendix A provided a detailed account of Police Performance in Aberdeen City in support of agreed priorities, both local and national for April to September 2024.  Much of the content of the report reflected on the collaborative methods in which Police Scotland operated across the city. The report demonstrated how communities could benefit when Community Planning Partners worked within both the Local Outcome Improvement Plan and Locality Plans.

The report also covered a wide range of police activity which included corporate governance, recorded crime, detection rates and operations.  It also provided both 5 year and year on year comparisons to allow the Committee to evaluate trends in performance. 

The Committee heard from Divisional Commander Kate Stephen and Chief Inspector Andy Scott who provided an overview of the report and answered various questions from Members.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)             to welcome Divisional Commander Kate Stephen to her new role and to thank Chief Inspector Andy Scott for his work with members over the last 19 months, as he would now be moving on to a new post within Police Scotland;

(ii)            in terms of the number of Hate Crime complaints recorded since the introduction of the Hate Crime Bill, and also information on Proportionate Response to Crime (pilot and implementation) to request that Police Scotland circulate this information to members via the clerk;

(iii)          to note that the Convener would liaise with the Divisional Commander on topics to be reported at future committee meetings, which might include local police officer numbers, the local estate plan and also actions undertaken around mental health and wellbeing support for police officers, with the timeline for reporting to be agreed with the Convener and the Divisional Commander;

(iv)          in regards to information available to members of the public on  Acquisitive Crime and measures that could be undertaken to help prevent crime, to request that a Service Update be issued to members of the committee, so members could share the information with constituents; and

(v)           to otherwise note the report. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)             to request that Police Scotland provide further details on the 200 Hate Crimes reported in 2024, to include if any cases had proceeded to Court or if any warnings had been issued and to note that the clerk would circulate this information to Members; and

(ii)            to note the contents of the report. 

The Committee had before it a report by Police Scotland, which provided Members with an overview of the Police Scotland response to the implementation of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

The report noted that Hate Crime was a term used to describe behaviour which was both criminal and rooted in prejudice, and this meant that the law had been broken, and the offender’s actions had been driven by hatred towards a particular group.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee discuss, comment on, and endorse the report.

The Committee heard from Superintendent Jason Carrigan and Inspector Kirsten Douglas, Police Scotland, who spoke in furtherance of the report and answered various questions from Members.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)             to request that Police Scotland provide further details on the 200 Hate Crimes reported in 2024, to include if any cases had proceeded to Court or if any warnings had been issued and to note that the clerk would circulate this information to Members; and

(ii)            to note the contents of the report. 

The Committee resolved:-

to note the contents of the report.

The Committee had before it a report by Police Scotland, which presented the Police Scotland Performance Report which covered April 2023 to March 2024, for Committee scrutiny.

The report provided a detailed account of Police Performance in Aberdeen City in support of agreed priorities, both local and national for April 2023 to March 2024.  It covered a wide range of police activity including corporate governance, recorded crime, detection rates and operations and provided both 5 year and year on year comparisons which allowed the Committee to evaluate trends in performance.

The Committee heard from Superintendent Howieson and Chief Inspector Scott, who spoke in furtherance of the report and answered various questions from Members. 

The report recommended:-

that the Committee discuss, comment on and endorse the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the contents of the report.