Tackling threat and risk

SERIOUS VIOLENCE INCLUDING HOMICIDE

Between Wednesday 21 June and Thursday 24 August, Police Scotland led investigations into nine murders committed across Scotland. Every murder is a tragedy, impacting on individuals, families and wider communities.

Our professional investigative response ensured that an accused person for each murder has been identified in every case. This highlights the value of the national Service, with resources from Specialist Crime Division Major Investigation Teams, in combination with officers and staff from Local Policing Divisions, deploying swiftly on each occasion to conduct thorough investigations, offer support to the families of victims, and provide reassurance to affected local communities.

Murder of Amber Gibson

On Sunday 28 November 2021, 16 year old Amber Gibson, who had previously been reported missing, was found dead within Cadzow Park, Hamilton. As has been reported to the Authority previously, following investigation by detective officers from Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team, supported by a range of specialist officers working in partnership with forensic services, two men were arrested and charged in connection with her death.

Following separate court appearances in July, Connor Gibson, aged 20, was convicted of Amber’s murder and Stephen Corrigan, aged 45, found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and breach of the peace.

Our thoughts remain with Amber’s family and friends. I thank the range of specialist officers from Police Scotland, partners in forensic services, and members of the public for their help during our enquiries.

Murder of Jane Fitzpatrick

On Monday 9 August 2021, the body of Jane Fitzpatrick was found in car in the Cable Road area in Glenrothes. An extensive investigation was undertaken that led to the arrest of Mark Campbell, aged 37. He was subsequently charged with her murder.

On Thursday 20 July 2023, at the High Court in Edinburgh, Campbell was found guilty of her murder, and also found guilty in respect of other charges of assaults and sexual offences committed against women in the Fife area between 2003 and 2021.

Campbell was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 27 years.

Violence like this has no place in our society and Police Scotland will continue to work with the public and our partners to bring perpetrators to justice.

SERIOUS AND ORGANISED CRIME

Operation Escalade

Operation Escalade is one of Police Scotland’s most significant investigations into serious and organised crime groups that operate internationally. This operation has been ongoing for nearly a decade and has resulted in circa 50 people being convicted and imprisoned for their involvement in crimes which cause significant harm to communities.

On Friday 11 August, James White, age 46, was sentenced to nine years and 10 months imprisonment. White had been arrested in Brazil in June 2020 and following extensive collaborative work between the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service and Brazilian federal police, was extradited back to Scotland to face the consequences of his criminal actions.

On Thursday 17 August 2023 Paul Fleming, aged 38, appeared at Stirling High Court and was sentenced to nine years imprisonment. He and his wife had previously fled to Spain after being arrested in October 2018.

Police Scotland is committed to disrupting organised crime groups and continued international partnership activity to keep our communities safe.

County Lines

County Lines is a term used to describe criminality where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often by children and vulnerable adults, who have been targeted and coerced by gangs to act as runners and to store cash and drugs. This activity targets vulnerable people and brings harm to our communities. It remains a priority for law enforcement partnership activity in the UK.

Since the last Authority meeting, officers and staff across Scotland have contributed to County Lines disruption and enforcement resulting in the arrest of 45 people, and recovery of 2.5kg class A drugs and seizure of numerous weapons.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

Police Scotland is committed to ensuring perpetrators of sexual and physical crimes are brought to account for their actions. A thorough investigation will always be conducted, no matter how long ago the incidents occurred.

We recognise the bravery and courage of women reporting these despicable and debilitating crimes and we will continue to work with our partners in justice and third sector organisations to support victims.

Significant convictions

On Thursday 25 May, Thomas McCartney, aged 34, was found guilty of 21 violent and sexual offences against two women committed over a 10 year period between 2009 and 2019. On 29 June 2023, at Paisley High Court, he was sentenced to 14 years (12 custodial, two extended sentence).

On Monday 12 June, Logan Doig aged 23 was found guilty of 12 violent and sexual offences against women in Tayside and Edinburgh between 2015 and 2020. On Monday 10 July 2023, at Glasgow High Court, Doig was sentenced to 12 and a half years (nine and a half years custodial, three years extended sentence).

On Friday 23 June, at Edinburgh High Court, Kieron Beck aged 25, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment with an extended three years sentence on licence having been found guilty of 14 violent and sexual offences against three women in the Scottish Borders.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Significant Conviction - Rape

On Thursday 12 January, Jarrid Duff, aged 26, violently attacked and raped a 14 year old female child at an address in Dumfries.

An extensive police investigation involving specially trained officers led to his arrest. On Tuesday 8 August, at the High Court in Glasgow, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Significant Conviction – Online Abuse

On 13 July, Kevin Flaherty, aged 47, was convicted of four charges in relation to Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation and received a 46 month custodial sentence.

This complex investigation involved the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, and Regional Organised Crime Units working together, and has identified 23 children, aged between 12 and 17 years, for safeguarding across the UK.

This collaborative working is vital in identifying offenders and protecting vulnerable persons.

999 CALL HANDLING

On Sunday 25 June 2023 for a period of around 80 minutes, callers to the 999 telephony system were unable to be connected due to a software issue experienced by BT. This resulted in calls being automatically disconnected, and represented a potential risk to public safety. We advised the public of the situation and asked them to contact 101.

Police Scotland undertook a full review of the circumstances, following which 344 of those disconnected calls were recorded by our Contact Command and Control (C3) colleagues and subject to a Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigation or Engagement assessment and enhanced review by C3 Division Quality Assurance Unit. This provided assurance that every call had been appropriately resolved, mitigating any further risk to the public.

The early identification of the service outage and quick escalation and implementation of contingency processes minimised any detrimental impact on our service to the public.

BT has provided assurance that the underlying issue has been identified and resolved and additional system contingencies are being introduced to prevent any recurrence.