Renfrewshire police are reminding homeowners to ensure their properties are safe now the dark nights have set in.
Officers from the division’s preventions and interventions team have conducted a number of visits to shops to raise awareness of Police Scotland’s After Dark campaign.
The campaign is aimed at making older and more vulnerable people more aware of the importance of home and vehicle security, and doorstep crime, which includes scams and fraud, as the dark nights arrive again.
People visiting the Police Scotland stands learned about protecting their homes by making sure their doors are properly locked and installing CCTV if possible.
The officers also spoke about making sure Ring doorbells capture as much area as possible on their cameras, and fitting motion sensors with lights.
They advised people to think about where they park their cars, and to remove anything that’s left out on the seats that will be attractive to criminals.
Sergeant David Cameron hosted a pop-up stall at Asda in Linwood to promote the campaign. He told the Paisley Daily Express: “We need to raise awareness to help older people keep themselves safe and not become victims of crime.
“It’s vital that we get the messages out there to more vulnerable people who are not fully equipped to deal with scams. We’ve had a good chat with people about what they can do to stay safe. Everyone has been really positive and happy to see us.”
A recent report published to coincide with a meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s police and fire scrutiny panel revealed that some crimes of dishonesty are falling locally.
Between April 1 and August 31, this year, the report highlighted a drop was noted in respect of almost all acquisitive crime types in Renfrewshire, with the sole exceptions being theft by shoplifting which increased by 8.1 per cent and theft of motor vehicles which increased by 3.8 per cent.
Nine fewer crimes of housebreaking were recorded compared to the same period in 2023 – a reduction of approximately nine percent. Sergeant Cameron said it’s good to see the numbers falling but admitted there was more work to be done.
The recent police and fire scrutiny panel report revealed cyber-enabled crime continues to impact on the communities of Renfrewshire.
Crimes of dishonesty continue to constitute the largest proportion of any crime group in relation to cybercrime, with over 56 per cent of cybercrimes belonging to this category.
Sergeant Cameron added: “Figures are going down but we need to get them down even further. We continue to raise awareness of online frauds through our many local collaborations and nationally with Cyber Scotland Partnership and the financial industry.
“Financial scams, can be carried out via phone, online, or in-person by bogus workmen. People sometimes don’t even register that it’s a scam.
“The scammers are very articulate and have a good vocabulary and can easily distract and persuade people. We need to raise awareness of these crimes so people are better equipped to deal with these scams.”
Don’t miss the latestRenfrewshire headlines –sign up to our free daily newsletter here