SOME crimes reported to police in Scotland will not be investigated under a new pilot.
The trial will see officers in the north east no longer take action on some minor crimes in order to focus more on emergency response and public safety, according to Police Scotland.
One example of a crime that won’t be investigated is theft from a garden where there is no CCTV or eyewitness evidence, according to reports on the BBC.
Police Scotland said the trial was part of the “hard choices [that] are being made to deliver effective policing within the funding available”.
Divisional commander Graeme Mackie said: "The pilot process will enable local police officers to focus on those crimes that have proportionate lines of inquiry and potentially enable them to give more time to local concerns and priorities in the area.
"We also know that sometimes people simply want to report a crime and we want to provide that service efficiently."
He added: "Please continue to report crime in your area.
"Local officers will continue to review closed reports to enable them to map local crime trends and this may mean an inquiry is reopened and investigated."
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “While these decisions are a matter for the Chief Constable, it is vital Police Scotland continues to inspire public trust and maintains relationships with local communities.
“This will be crucial when the results of this pilot are examined to ensure local priorities continue to be met with no detriment to communities.
“The Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, despite difficult financial circumstances due to UK Government austerity.”
The pilot will also look to inform members of the public whether their reports of a crime will be investigated or not within a shorter time-frame than is the current norm.
The news comes after UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said police south of the Border must investigate every theft, arguing there was “no such crime as minor crime”.
She went on: “Whether it's phone theft, car theft, watch theft, whether it's street-level drug-dealing or drug use, the police must now follow every reasonable line of inquiry."
Braverman insisted that police have the resources they need to make good on her rhetoric.
