Thieves target two victims a day on Edinburgh city centre streets

Published on Tuesday 28 December 2010 11:31

THE number of people falling prey to thieves in Edinburgh's busiest streets has fallen, but more than two victims a day are still being targeted over the festive period.

Princes Street has posted the highest number of "theft from person" offences in the city centre over Christmas, with handbags, wallets and mobile phones stolen from 40 shoppers.

In George Street, 29 revellers had property stolen in bars and nightclubs in the same period between November 23 last year and the start of January.

Police chiefs welcomed the continuing trend of falling thefts in the busy area between Princes Street and George Street over recent years.

A total of 106 thefts were recorded in Princes Street, George Street, Castle Street, Frederick Street, Hanover Street, Hope Street, Hope Street Lane, Rose Street, St Andrew Street and St Andrew Square during the same period three years ago.

The number had dropped to 89 for the same period last festive season, and the force said it hoped to see a similar decrease this year.

Lothian and Borders Police launched a blitz earlier this month in the city centre, which saw bars and nightclubs in George Street have security clips installed underneath their tables to allow revellers to safely hang up their bags and coats.

A police spokesman said: "The fall in the number of thefts that have happened in Edinburgh city centre over the festive period in the last four years reflects the success of previous crime prevention initiatives conducted as part of Operation Astrodome.

"Our latest anti-theft campaign, which is supported by partners in the licensed trade and Essential Edinburgh, aims to continue this downward trend, by reminding people who visit the city centre to protect their belongings, and minimise opportunities for thieves.

"Lothian and Borders Police will continue to work with partners to ensure that Edinburgh city centre continues to be a safe place to live, work and visit."

The new figures came from a police analysis of thefts in the ten streets covered by the "business improvement district" (BID).

Between November 23 last year and January 3, thieves struck seven times in Frederick Street, twice in Castle Street, five times in Hanover Street, twice in Hope Street, once in Hope Street Lane, once in Rose Street and once in St Andrew Square. No thefts were reported in St Andrew Street.

The analysis found that 45 per cent of these thefts took place on Friday or Saturday, with 58 per cent occurring between 9pm and 3am.

Councillor Paul Edie, the city's community safety leader, welcomed the overall drop in thefts. He said: "The council and police have been working extremely hard to make the city centre a safe place to live in, shop and visit and these latest figures show that our efforts though campaigns like Safer Streets are paying dividends."

The force is also continuing to run Operation Astrodome, the city centre crackdown launched at the start of this month to target violence and antisocial behaviour.