SNP accused of 'surrendering to criminals' trends now
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More than 24,000 offences a year in Scotland will no longer be investigated by police in a move that has been branded a ‘surrender to criminals’.
The bombshell admission by senior officers means thousands of crooks will be allowed to break the law with impunity.
The Mail revealed last month that police will no longer probe every crime reported to them in Scotland following a trial project in the North-East, leaving a trail of victims without justice.
More than one in five of those taking part in the pilot said they would no longer feel confident reporting a crime to Police Scotland.
It means ‘minor’ offences such as some break-ins, vandalism and thefts where there are no leads or CCTV evidence, face being written off.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘The rollout of this dangerous scheme formalises the SNP’s surrender to criminals as official policing policy – that is not what hard-working officers signed up for.
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said the force wanted to give victims of crime ‘clarity at an earlier point’ by telling them there would be no investigation
‘Savage SNP cuts and their weak justice agenda already mean that officer numbers are at their lowest since 2008 and most crimes are not even reported. Doing nothing in response to thousands of crimes betrays law-abiding Scots. This is a good day for criminals and can only result in more crime on our streets.’
Police insist that the strategy is not a ‘new concept’ and that officers waste too much time dealing with crime reports where there is no prospect of a full investigation taking place because there are no apparent lines of inquiry, such as CCTV footage.
