Serious assault, robbery and house-breaking are all down as the number of recorded crimes in Scotland falls by 5%.  This is the second lowest figure for 25 years.  But crime remains a big problem to be tackled.

I welcome the overall drop in crime figures however much remains to be done to help people whose lives are blighted by anti social behaviour.  It’s not widespread but when it happens it’s very annoying.

I get letters and emails from constituents asking for help.  A man wrote that his family have repeatedly had their car vandalised and their home broken into.  A parent told me that rubbish is dumped in her street and piles up on the pavements.  It is a health hazard but also makes her life intolerable.  An elderly couple with health problems spoke about the loud music that keeps them awake.  

No one should have to live with a dumped sofa at the end of the road. Graffiti on the side of a house is not art.  Abandoned cars attract crime and bring down the area.  This kind of anti-social behaviour should not be tolerated.

But laws to tackle these issues are in place.  Often the media focus on dispersal of groups and issuing of anti social behaviour orders.  But the laws reach further.  The Anti-Social Behaviour Act gives Councils powers to crack down on fly tippers and to recover the costs of cleaning up the mess they leave behind.  Vandals can be forced to clean up graffiti they write and £50 fines can be made for litter and minor fly tipping offences.  Complaints about noisy neighbours can be investigated by the Council and they can fine those who ignore warnings.  Councils can also seize whatever is making the noise, such as a TV or hi-fi.  Police can issue fixed fines for offences such as vandalism, breach of the peace and being drunk and disorderly as an alternative to prosecution.

It's everyone’s responsibility to do their bit and show their local neighbourhood the respect it deserves.  But its every resident’s right to expect their local council to help. 

I want to make sure these powers are used and I’ll be working with local Councillors to ensure that everyone feels that they live in a cleaner and safer area.  Please do let me know if there are problems in your neighbourhood that you are concerned about - the laws won’t make any difference on the streets we live in unless we use them.