LOCALITY SELECTION

The CCAR Project aimed to work in a small number of localities in Scotland. In keeping with the place-based approach, it was intended that the localities would be relatively small in size (neighbourhood level), and be experiencing deprivation in some way, given the CCAR’s focus on working with communities that were likely to have lower levels of confidence in the police than the average.

A long list of localities were assessed using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation at the Intermediate Zone level. An Intermediate Zone typically comprises between 2,500 and 6,000 people, corresponding with large villages and/or suburbs within smaller towns. The Project Steering Group advised that localities under consideration should ideally not be acutely deprived as (a) these localities can be saturated with community improvement initiatives and it might prove difficult to establish a presence within the community in sufficient time and (b) the findings from the research might be less representative of large parts of Scotland.

A large number of potential localities were presented to the Project Steering Group for consideration, and local area profiles were developed for nominated localities. These local area profiles contained a range of social, economic and demographic statistics, alongside policing data (crime and incidents and the findings from ongoing police engagement surveys). The views of local policing teams were also taken into account regarding the suitability of particular localities, factoring in their professional judgement about whether a particular locality has sufficient community activity, community assets and key individuals.

In total four localities were adopted by the CCAR Project: two from the North Regional Command of Police Scotland (Wick South in Highland, and Letham in Perth), and one each from the East and West Regional Commands (Methil in Leven, Fife, and Irvine-Fullarton in North Ayrshire).

During the course of delivering the Project in each locality, the boundaries flexed from the Intermediate Zone administrative geographical boundaries, to more locally-recognisable boundaries. Thus Methil in Leven expanded to cover the whole of Levenmouth, and Wick South in Highland expanded to cover the whole of Wick and the Caithness region more generally.

Below is a summary each locality’s main characteristics. Further details can be found in the various reports for each locality on the CCAR website.

Letham (Perth)

Letham is a small community within Perth and has an estimated population of more than 5,000 people. Letham differs from much of the wider Perth area in that it contains more affordable housing and a higher percentage of local authority and rented accommodation. The majority of the housing stock was built in the 1960s and is clustered in Council Tax Bands A, B and C. The population is relatively young, approximately two-thirds of residents are of working age, with the majority of occupants being a mix of families or single parent households.

The neighbourhood of Letham is home to a community centre (a new community hub was being built during the time of the Project’s fieldwork in Letham, and has since opened in the summer of 2024), a modern place of worship, a sports/leisure facility, a small shopping parade, a pub, a bowling club.

The area has high level unemployment, a concentration of employment in lower paid sectors of the economy and a higher percentage of part-time workers. The area also has a high number of people prescribed medication for anxiety and a relatively high degree of child poverty combined with a low level of positive destinations for pupils leaving school.

General call levels to the Police have dropped in Letham in recent years, however the area does suffer from a relatively high level of antisocial behaviour incidents and crimes of minor violence. There are also consistently higher call levels regarding public welfare compared to the local and national average.

Levenmouth (Fife)

The CCAR initially identified and profiled a neighbourhood of Leven known as Methil, as being a deprived community compared with the rest of Scotland. Through early engagement with local police and partners established that the Project was more likely to succeed with reach and recognition if it aligned its geographical focus to the wider urban area of Levenmouth, but giving prominence to the particular local issues as they relate to Methil.

Levenmouth itself is a conurbation rather than a town, and is made up of three small towns (Leven, Methil and Buckhaven) and a number of other small coastal villages. There are areas of relative affluence and deprivation across the area.

In total, around 38,000 people live in the Levenmouth area. Coal mining has been a traditional source of employment for many local people for generations, however the decline and fall of the industry in the latter part of the 20th Century has resulted in high levels of unemployment. Methil has also experienced economic decline as a result of the decline of the Methil Docks, which previously played a major role in the transportation of coal.

The Levenmouth area is currently experiencing transformation. At the time of the CCAR fieldwork taking place in the area in 2023, the Leven Link railway line was close to being completed, with the line formally opening in June 2024, which now restores rail connectivity with the rest of Fife and Dundee via a link to Thornton, Glenrothes.

From a policing perspective, the Levenmouth area of Fife has higher levels of crime and antisocial behaviour than Fife generally, with violent and drug-related crime higher than the Fife average. There has also been a specific issue in recent years relating to youth antisocial behaviour. For example, off-road motorbikes have been used in areas of open space to the west and north of Leven (including Methil), generating high numbers of complaints from residents, although intervention efforts by the police and partners through the Improving Levenmouth Together partnership have been making a positive difference.

Irvine-Fullarton (North Ayrshire)

The Fullarton area of Irvine is locate close to Irvine Bay and the town centre, end encompasses a large retail park and mall, industrial estates and a harbour area close to Irvine beach. The area around the harbour and beach is a cultural centre, hosting a maritime museum and an arts centre.

Fullarton has a population of more than 2,600 people and is classed as North Ayrshire’s second most vulnerable community according to the Improvement Service, and scores as being relatively deprived in a North Ayrshire context in terms of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The area has higher levels of deprivation than North Ayrshire and Scotland as a whole, particularly in terms of lower educational attainment, housing proximity to derelict sites, lower life expectancy and the proportion of people claiming out of work benefits. The main area of housing can be found between the retail parks, the town centre and the river, and dates to the early post-war period, with 93% of households clustered in council tax bands A, B and C. Housing is currently undergoing transformation, with a set of high-rise flats being demolished at the time the Project’s fieldwork was taking place. New housing has also recently been built on beach Drive.

The main community centre for Fullarton is the Fullarton Community Hub, located next to the Loudon Montgomery primary school.

Wick (Highland)

The town of Wick is a coastal town in the historic county of Caithness in north eastern Scotland. Wick has a population of about 7,000 people and is an important fishing town, with three harbours. The NC500 tourist route also passes through Wick, bringing thousands of visitors each year to the region.

The town has a range of retail units, shops, civic buildings and community facilities. Pulteneytown is an area on the south side of the town, home to a well known malt whisky distillery established in 1826. the south side of Wick is an area of deprivation, relative to the both Scotland and the Highland Council local authority.

The Project identified Wick South as an area of interest at an early stage based on metrics relating to deprivation, however via discussions with the local policing team and community group leaders, this expanded to Wick as a whole, and the wider Caithness area.

Partnership working and collaboration between organisations is strong in the Caithness area, an innovation that is linked to the area’s relatively remoteness and sparsely populated communities.