Tackling threat, harm and risk

Storm Eowyn

In late January, the whole country experienced some of the strongest winds in recent years, with a Red threat to life Met Office warning in place across the central belt and Dumfries and Galloway. Amber warnings were also in place across Scotland, bringing significant impact and on a scale we rarely see.

The storm also saw the first 'live' use of the Emergency Alert system in Scotland, with the United Kingdom and Scottish governments issuing the safety message to people within the Red weather warning areas.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland led a gold command structure to protect human life, property and the environment, minimise harm, manage and support a co-ordinated response and minimise the risk to first responders and partners. During the course of the storm, Police Scotland officers responded to around 1,900 weather-related incidents.

Policing supported the multi-agency response with valued colleagues in local authorities, health and social care, SEPA as well as staff from utility companies who worked around the clock to restore power to more than 280,000 homes. I also want to thank voluntary organisations such as the British Red Cross who provided valuable support to resilience partnerships and in communities.

The planning, leadership, communication, partnership working, and bravery, from officers and staff, from across the Service including Road and Local Policing, Emergency, Events and Resilience Planning, Contact, Command and Control (C3) to operate at pace in extreme conditions, to support communities, and preserve life, was hugely impressive.

As is good practice following any significant or major incident, we will review our response and support multi-agency debriefs to identify whether there is any learning to capture. My thoughts continue to be with those most affected by the adverse weather and I want to thank everyone who contributed to the response.

Murder of Hope Gordon - West Calder

On Monday, 20 January, 2025, officers attended at a property in West Calder, following a report of concern for a person, and the body of six-year-old Hope Gordon was discovered.

The body of 36-year-old Mark Gordon was also discovered.

Hope's death is being treated as murder and officers from Police Scotland's Major Investigation Team, as well as local officers, continue to carry out extensive enquiries to establish the full circumstances. There is nothing to suggest anyone else is involved or any risk to the public.

Deaths of Eliza and Henrietta Huszti

I want to thank all those involved in the search Henrietta and Eliza Huszti, who were reported missing in Aberdeen on Tuesday, 7 January,

This was a significant operation led by local policing officers, supported by a range of national resources, including the marine unit, air support unit and specialist search teams.

The search, carried out in extremely challenging conditions, also involved a number of partners, including HM Coastguard, oceanographers and colleagues from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and I thank them too for their assistance.

It was the determination and commitment shown by all, which allowed for the eventual recovery of the sisters’ bodies and, I hope we were able to bring some closure for their relatives in Hungary.

Our thoughts are with Henrietta and Eliza’s family.

Arrests under the Terrorism Act - Greenock

On 23 January, following information received, local policing officers in Greenock arrested a 16-year-old male outside the Inverclyde Islamic Centre.

A significant investigation, led by officers from the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, was carried out into this incident.

The youth was subsequently charged with offences under the Terrorism Act and made an initial appearance at Greenock Sheriff Court.

During the course of the investigation, a second 16-year-old male was also arrested in the Greenock area in connection with a separate terrorism offence. He was released without charge pending further enquiries.

Following these arrests, our local command team has engaged with faith groups and the wider community to provide reassurance.

Chair, as this remains a live investigation I am limited in what I can say but will update the Board in due course as the case progresses.

Arrests following disorder - Scottish League Cup Final

Six arrests have been made as part of an ongoing investigation into disorder in Glasgow on Sunday, 15 December, 2024, prior to the Celtic v Rangers Scottish League Cup Final at Hampden.

During the afternoon windows were smashed, a 26-year-old man was seriously assaulted and missiles were thrown at police, injuring one officer as a result. During the disorder, officers were authorised to use stop and search powers available under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public order Act of 1994

I want to make it clear that the use of weapons and violence will not be tolerated and those involved in this disorder will be identified and brought to justice.

Significant court outcomes

Murder and attempted murders - Skye and Wester Ross

On 29 November 2024 at the High Court in Edinburgh, 41-year-old Finlay MacDonald was sentenced to life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years.

He was previously found guilty of the murder of John MacKinnon on the Isle of Skye in August 2022, as well as the attempted murder of three other people on the island and in the Dornie area of Wester Ross.

These crimes were a tragedy for the families involved, and have also had a significant and lasting impact on the wider community, including our police officers. The responding officers displayed exceptional bravery, putting public safety ahead of their own in order to bring a dangerous and volatile situation to an end without further loss of life.

Child sexual exploitation offences - Glasgow

At the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, 27 January, Iain Owens, 46, Elaine Lannery, 40, Scott Forbes, 51, Barry Watson, 48, Lesley Ann Williams, 42, Paul Brannan, 42, and John Clark, 48, were jailed for a total of 93 years and given Orders for Lifelong Restriction for sexual abusing children in the Glasgow area between 2012 and 2019.

The individuals were arrested in October 2020, following a long and complex investigation in which officers and staff worked closely with partners in Social Work, Health, Education, Crown Office and the third-sector.

Our thoughts and support remain with the young people who were victims of these despicable crimes.

I also want to thank officers and staff who worked through the harrowing evidence to bring the offenders to justice.

Human trafficking offences - Tayside

In January, four men and a woman, Marian Cumpanasoiu, 37, Remus Stan, 34, Catalan Dobre, 44, Cristian Urlateanu, 41, and Alexandra Bugonea, 34, were convicted of 30 charges at the High Court in Glasgow, following an extensive investigation into sexual exploitation, human trafficking and the supply of drugs.

Named Operation Recloir, the investigation was launched in late 2021 to target a gang of suspected human traffickers in the Tayside area. This investigation was managed by the Local Policing Team with some support from the Extradition Unit to arrest suspects on International arrest warrants from Belgium and Czech Republic.

In addition to enforcement action, officers undertook significant partnership work to provide victims with access to agencies who could provide suitable support for their needs. This work remains ongoing to ensure their welfare and long-term safeguarding.

We will continue target criminals who abuse, control and exploit people, working with partners nationally and internationally to bring offenders to justice, and to raise public awareness to help identify victims and ensure they get the support they need.