New report highlights community impact of serious organised crime

A new report has outlined the impact of serious organised crime on communities in Scotland. 

SCDC has supported the the Scottish Government's Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to research community experiences of crime in different areas across Scotland.

Working with a team led by the Centre for Crime and Justice Research, SCDC helped identify community groups and individuals to share their stories and ideas about how to prevent crime and deal with its causes.

The report, published today, outlines these findings and highlights the significant impact organised crime has on the wellbeing of Scottish communities. Participants identified poverty and inequality as key drivers of crime in their local areas.

The report makes a series of recommendations, including using community development approaches to help develop resources and local policing models, helping to enable the gathering of community intelligence and see increased trust in the police and other key service providers.

Mick Doyle, Head of Programmes at SCDC, who has been involved in the research, said:

"It has been a privilege to help bring community insights to policy makers and to share their excellent ideas for how services can be more effective in dealing with the factors which increase the impact of serious crime.

"We are pleased to help deepen dialogue between citizens and government and hope to be involved in developing this partnership in future."

You can read more on the BBC News website. You can also read the Scottish Government's news release.