Stats arecriminal

SHOCKING figures released last week show the disturbing levels of crime and violence which blight communities in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

From September to November last year, in both Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, there were four attempted murders, seven robberies, 26 serious assaults, 172 assaults, nearly 400 thefts and just under 300 acts of vandalism.

All of the attempted murders occurred in Kilsyth.

Acting chief inspector Stevie Hazlett believes the context of the incidents must be taken into account.

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He said: “In total this year there have been 11 serious assaults in the whole of Kilsyth and Croy since April 1, 2010. Police have detected nine of these at this time.

“A detection rate of over 80 per cent is very positive, however I am more pleased at the reduced numbers in crimes of violence we are seeing which have steadily decreased over the period - a 30 per cent decrease in crimes of murder and attempt murder and a 10 per cent reduction in serious assaults.”

Some of the trouble hot spots in Cumbernauld were Abronhill, Carbrain and the town centre.

Abronhill had four serious assaults, 23 thefts and 22 assaults while Carbrain had five serious assaults, 22 thefts and 33 assaults.

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Three serious assaults occurred in the town centre, along with 18 assaults, 28 thefts and 24 acts of vandalism.

Billy Lees, chairman of the Cumbernauld Community Forum, found the statistics hard to believe.

He said: “I think it’s very high when you see them all tallied up like that. Even if you take away the attempted murders in Kilsyth, those are still very high numbers. Part of the problem is Cumbernauld is full of paths that don’t have names. A lot of the trouble happens there and in the underpasses.

“When the police get there they go in one end and the crowd that have been causing trouble slip out the other”.

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Mr Lees added: “I think with the cut backs our police force is going to be cut down, I wouldn’t say there’s enough police on the ground at the moment to deal with the crime there is.

“The drinking that’s going on with the teens is unbelievable and causes a lot of extra problems as well.”

The statistics, included within the Joint Community Safety Report, were presented to the meeting of the North Local Area Partnership.

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