Violent crimes on the rise

However, the period under review - April to December 2015 - saw 37 more victims of violent crimes than the same period in 2014.

The news came as it emerged that Galashiels had seen its second stabbing in five days. A 68-year-old man was due to appear at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday, February 24, charged over the murder of David Farish, 75, in his Tweedbank home.

Meanwhile, two men were detained after a 28-year-old man was stabbed in Talisman Avenue on the night of Monday, February 22.

Chief Inspector Andy McLean, local area commander for the Scottish Borders, was pleased with a drop of 94 crimes in total,over the nine month period.

He said this week: “The results are generally very encouraging; our strong partnership working in the Borders continues to be key to our continued strong performance and I am grateful for all the help and support we continue to receive from our partners and the community.”

Alongside the reduction in overall crime, the detection rate for those offences that have been committed has risen by nearly 4% to 55.9%.

Chief Inspector McLean added: “We continue to work hard to detect and deter culprits of this crime type and thank the public for their continued support in this area.”

He went onto stress the work that the force does in making Borders travel routes safer.

“We also continue to try to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads within the Scottish Borders roads. At this time there have been seven people killed on the roads within the Borders which is the same number as last year, this is seven deaths too many.

“Local officers are working closely with Road Policing officers targeting known problematic routes at peak times in an effort to change driver behaviour. Young and older drivers are identified as the groups at highest risk of being involved in collisions, and we are striving to reduce the numbers of young drivers killed or seriously injured on the Borders roads.

“Together with partners from the Scottish Borders Council and the Institute of Advanced Motorists we are continuing to run the young driver initiative which results in those who take part being better equipped to drive on the roads both within the Borders and further afield.”

He added: “I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks to our partners and our local communities for their continued support.”

The latest statistics show serious crimes of violence rose by 84% with 37 more victims in this category, but the force have stressed this figure is driven by the rise in robbery which increased from 5 to 21 offences, with a 100% detection rate.

Elsewhere, “dishonesty-related crime” was shown to have declined by 17.4%, with the force pointing to a 45% reduction in business housebreakings and a reduction of all housebreakings by 11%. Overall this reduction in crime equates to 196 people who have been protected from this type of crime in the Borders.

On a negative note ‘Group 4’ crime (which includes offences like fireraising)rose by 12%. This was driven by an increase in vandalism which rose 9%, although the detection rate in this area also increased, by 11.4%.