POLICE chiefs were presented with an award at the Safer Communities Board meeting on Friday, for their work with the farming community.

PC Nick Walker and Sergeant Justin Hulford were given the certificate by the chair of the meeting Councillor Donald Moffat.

Cllr Moffat told us: “The Board congratulated the Borders Safer Communities team for their Scottish Safer Communities Award for their innovative work with the farming community which helped reduce the value of theft in the industry by 62 per cent.

“There were also a number of positive statistics which were presented to the Board from Police Scotland, such as a decrease in house break-ins and car thefts, as well as raised awareness about domestic abuse which has seen a rise in reports to the police.”

Despite scooping the award, Superintendent Andy Clark stated the Borders is a challenging environment to work in because it is so sparsely populated.
He said: “The Scottish Borders is a challenging environment, with its 1,800 square miles and remoteness of certain communities across the region.

“We also need to consider ongoing national issues such as budget challenges and a number of emerging crimes – like cybercrime and changes to legislation.

“However, I can assure members of the public in the Borders that when the demand and priority is in the Scottish Borders, the response will be from across the division,” he added.

“This is highlighted by the current investigation into the serious assault and robbery in Galashiels earlier this month, which has seen a significant level of specialist resources deployed to the case.”