Encourage your kids to respect new rules

Police Scotland and all of the people we serve are together facing a situation that noone has seen in any of our lifetimes.

The government advice in response to the pandemic is clearly going to have a major impact on all of us.

This includes the impact on operational policing and the measures we will take to ensure we can realign our people to those areas of business which are of critical importance to the public.

Recently the First Minister reiterated the measures to be put in place regarding the closure of schools, nurseries, gyms, pubs, theatres and similar premises.

This will inevitably have an impact on the majority of residents in our community.

When schools are closed even for a short period of time, it has a significant impact on policing and resources in our area. Add this to the current situation and it will inevitably effect the way we deliver on our priorities.

Youth disorder is unfortunately an issue in our community and we will continue to tackle this with the help of our partners and schools.

I would however ask that you are all aware of the guidelines around social distancing and try and encourage your own children to respect this.

Most people will be aware of the negative reports regarding some people in the community who continue to socialise or operate premises without regard to social distance measures. However, I have been encouraged by the amazing community spirit of many residents who have helped and thought of others during this testing time.

Public health advice can be found at : Coronavirus (COVID-19) on NHS Inform.

If you have any relevant information or matters you feel should be reported to the police, you can do so by calling ‘101’, or via Crimestoppers on 0800

555 111.