OPINION

By Chief Inspector Stuart Fletcher

Local area commander for the Scottish Borders

DURING my previous column, I introduced PC Ali Whitby as the New Wildlife Crime Officer for the Lothians and Scottish Borders and since then Ali has been involved in various duties aimed at tackling wildlife crime within the division.

On Friday, November 1, PC Whitby was assisted by the Borders Community Action Team and Bailiffs from the Tweed Valley Commission to conduct patrols of the River Tweed and its many tributaries.

This was to raise awareness and engagement with the community regarding poaching salmon and other fresh-water species at a time that is critical to their breeding habits.

Poaching has both a financial and environmental impact on the surrounding communities and can have links to organised crime.

Similar patrols will be continued over the coming weeks and months.

If anyone has any information or would like to report any suspicious activity regarding wildlife crime.

Please email lothianscotborderswildlife@scotland.police.uk.

It would be remiss of me to not mention Bonfire Night and the policing operation that took place within the Borders to keep the public safe during the evening of November 5.

Fortunately, disorder associated with fireworks is not a common occurrence within our region, but nevertheless, we can still experience antisocial behaviour that causes nuisance to our communities and so we still had officers out on patrol throughout the evening to respond to any offences that arose.

There were no incidents of note within the Borders and no attacks on police or emergency service workers, so my thanks go to our communities for overwhelmingly enjoying Bonfire Night in the proper spirit.

With Bonfire Night now in the rear-view mirror, our focus will quickly turn to Christmas and the festive season, and I want to reassure our communities that, whether it’s the height of summer, or Christmas Day, we’ll have appropriate and proportionate resources in place to respond to incidents arising and keep the Scottish Borders a safe place to live, work and visit.

I know that people will soon start planning their festive nights out and when doing so, you can play a vital role in helping us keep you and others safe by ensuring you factor in your journey to and your destination at the start and end of your evening, knowing and accepting your limits when it comes to alcohol consumption and looking after those you are with when you are out and about.

Many homes will soon be storing Christmas gifts, either for ourselves, or others and it’s important these are not on display to would-be housebreakers, who will look to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself.

Please remember to close curtains and blinds and lock doors and windows whenever you leave your home or retire to bed for the evening.

Properties should be appropriately secured with robust locks and if possible, consider additional security measures such as motion-activated lighting, alarms and even CCTV.

All of these make your home a far less enticing prospect for criminals.

Please also remember to consider sheds, garages and other outbuildings as extensions of your home and make sure these are also secured appropriately at all times.

A full range of advice on keeping yourself, your belongings, and your home safe can be found on our website by visiting www.scotland.police.uk