Letters / The future of Shetland policing
As I sit writing this, I cannot help but think how lucky I am to reside in this beautiful part of the world. Beautiful landscape, beautiful ocean, beautiful sky – and wonderful people and neighbours.
However, every week I sit and read the court reports; I observe the statistics and I see them as a threat. A threat to the land, the ocean, the sky and most importantly the people that I, as well as every other self-respecting member of this community hold dear.
We are seeing an epidemic, an epidemic of crime. Drug crime, sexual violence and non-sexual violence both against our brave men and women in our law enforcement as well as those in our wider community.
We have seen individuals dying from drug misuse; every death is a tragedy. It is a tragedy to the affected friends and families, and it is a tragedy to our community.
It is my belief that everybody has a place in society and that it is an injustice that for too long manufacturers and distributors have targeted the most vulnerable in our community with their illicit substances. Just because we have low arrest rates, does not mean crime is not happening; the deaths and harm we can see drugs are having in our community prove there is activity occurring unreported.
We have also seen sexual crime. No group has been spared from this, including men, women and children. These crimes are unacceptable no matter the individual or group targeted. Additionally it is worth noting that Shetland Women’s Aid reports that 75 per cent of victims never come forward.
We have additionally seen non-sexual violence in our community. Incidents have seen people being assaulted both in public as well as within their own homes. We have also sadly seen some of these violent acts resulting in deaths.
We have also as I mentioned previously, witnessed an increase in aggressive behaviour and violence against members of our law enforcement, the brave men and women who get up and go out every day to ensure our safety.
I would like to reiterate what I stated previously at the beginning, these crimes are a threat to our community and society. They are a threat to the very bedrock that the idea of law and order is built upon.
So although reported crime is low, reported crime is just that – reported crime does not account for all crime. We need to give our community and its population a regained sense of confidence in the ability to combat crime and its perpetrators. To give more people the strength to come forward and report if they fall victim to criminal activity.
That is why I would like to suggest a solution.
I am advocating for the government to provide local government the powers to establish our own law enforcement organisation.
This would see Shetland Islands Council receive an increased budget and overall funding to establish, oversee and run a police department independent from Police Scotland.
We would therefore have a law enforcement body built by Shetlanders for Shetlanders. Trained and ready to tackle the issues affecting our community not communities elsewhere in Scotland. It is the ultimate example of community policing, built and run by the community they protect and serve.
I want to make it clear that I am in no way suggesting the crimes we face are a failure of the individuals working in our law enforcement. Far from it, we would be in a much more dire situation if it weren’t for these individuals putting themselves at risk every day.
It is however a failure of a system that is too large. I believe that most day-to-day decision making in a nation’s governance should be made as close to the people and communities it affects as possible.
Therefore, I believe that a law enforcement body being headquartered in Fife cannot and does not know or understand what is required for the day-to-day operation of law enforcement here in Shetland, nor can we fully rely on them for our safety.
Recently, there was an incident which required the presence of armed police from the mainland. Luckily and thankfully no one was hurt or worse. We however must ask ourselves how long till our luck runs out.
Thankfully, clear weather meant response was manageable, but we know that here weather can be temperamental. What I ask is what happens when weather inhibits an armed police unit from being sent here?
An independent local government-run law enforcement body would be built to be resilient and self-reliant, including routine firearms training for its officers to ensure whatever situation occurs, our community is equipped, trained and prepared to face it.
To help ensure quick response times we would also have to maintain a higher level of law enforcement visibility and engagement within our community.
An example of this going in the wrong direction was the closure of the police station in Brae. I along with many others were troubled and concerned with this.
Closure of police stations elsewhere have been proven to be linked to a higher level of crime and response times as well as lower levels of crimes being reported and solved.
The building has since been purchased by Shetland Islands Council. If the council were to be given the powers over local law enforcement, this building could again be utilised for its intended law enforcement purpose.
In conclusion, I believe that law enforcement managed locally would be more efficient and effective. This would result in the arrests of dangerous individuals, the protection of the vulnerable and the preservation of our community.
Danny C. Parker
Delting
