Partner agencies pleased to report reduction in reported incidents during the fireworks season
Following a series of firework and bonfire safety messages from Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, The Highland Council and NHS Highland in the run up to the festivities on Bonfire Night (Tuesday 5 November 2013), partner agencies are pleased to report a large reduction in the number of reported incidents in the Inverness area.
The national and local campaigns, which also featured updates on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, were developed with the aim of preventing accidents, reducing anti-social behaviour and keeping communities safe during the fireworks season.
In order to deter young people from engaging in the anti-social misuse of fireworks in the run up to Bonfire Night, police community beat officers in Inverness and staff from Scottish Fire & Rescue Service carried out a number of fireworks safety talks at various schools in Inverness.
Compared to 2012, there was been a massive 66% decrease in the number of firework related anti-socials calls involving young people and no incidents of culpable and reckless conduct involving fireworks and young people committed.
Police Scotland Community Beats Sergeant Ewan Henderson said: "The role of school liaison is one of many crucial roles that community beat officers carry out and it builds up rapport with young people in the community and in turn reduces their involvement in anti-social behaviour in order to keep their community and themselves safer."
Group Manager at Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, John MacDonald, said: "We recognise the importance of pro-active education when it comes to firework/bonfire safety and the prevention of fire. We are pleased to see a reduction in the figures for anti-social incidents involving bonfires/fireworks this year.
"We issued a number of messages ahead of Bonfire Night, encouraging members of the public and young people to attend organised displays and it is pleasing that so many people appear to have taken the safety advice issued by ourselves and our partners on board."
Councillor Drew Millar, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Community Safety, Public Engagement and Equalities Committee said: "We promoted a host of well attended community bonfires throughout the Highlands in the run up to and following Bonfire Night. We’re pleased that our message to attend community bonfires - as they are not only safer but they are also more spectacular – was heeded in general."
Dr Andrew Rowlands, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, said: "We had one firework related injury this season and I’m sure the encouragement to attend organised displays has played a big part in the reduction in number of such injuries."