Lerwick assault incident remains under investigation
A POLICE sergeant says officers are continuing their enquiries into an assault on two young people in Lerwick earlier this month.
Bryan Mullholland, a shift sergeant in Lerwick, said the end result could be a referral to the Children’s Reporter or potentially to the procurator fiscal too.
One person has been identified as being responsible, with the police also having the names of two other people, he also told a meeting of Northmaven Community Council on Monday evening.
“It is a serious offence which is under investigation, however we can’t rush these things,” Mulholland said.
He added that most, if not all, people involved in the incident are aged 16 or under.
The sergeant said this means the police’s “investigation methods change slightly”.
The meeting heard that the police generally would not obtain a statement from a victim under the age of 16.
Instead, standard practice in Scotland is to carry out a “specialist interview” where the young person is asked to provide a recollection of events which is visually recorded and can be provided to court.
“We are limited in our options in how we deal with antisocial behaviour involving young people,” Mulholland added.
He said that when the police is dealing with young people involved in crime, the main priority is “safeguarding of children”.
Mulholland noted how some have called for the youngsters to be “locked up” but he said that is not something likely to happen.
He was also asked about the recent alleged trespassing offence in Bressay.
It was reported that the 44-year-old man arrested was a homeless person who had been sleeping rough in Shetland, but has now left the isles after being released on an undertaking to appear in court at a later date.
Mulholland said the offence of trespass in Scotland relates to remaining on land in a way which interferes with the usage of the land.
“That will be people camping on the land and interfering with, generally, the agricultural use of the land,” he said.
The matter was based on a report from a member of the public who was concerned about the use of land.
“If a member of the public reports a crime to us, we are duty bound to investigate,” Mulholland said.
“There was sufficient evidence for the male to be charged.”
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