Tackling serious and organised crime is another one of our priorities within the current East Lothian Policing Plan.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that organised crime groups only commit or are only involved in high-end criminality. This could not be further from the truth.

Sadly we have all, inadvertently, had more contact with organised crime groups than we think or would like. The phone call scams that almost every one of us has had, the sale of illegal tobacco and drink, being offered counterfeit goods at a discounted price – these are all examples of organised crime groups at work and their targeted audience has no boundaries.

Representatives from five separate organisations are taking the lead on Scotland’s approach to meeting this problem head on.

This year the new Scottish Crime Campus (SCC) was opened in Gartcosh and this will be the home to specialists from Police Scotland, The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, The National Crime Agency, HMRC and SPA Forensic Services.

The SCC places the country at the forefront of crime investigation and prosecution. It provides a focal point for excellence in intelligence-sharing, operational activity, evidence gathering and forensic science to combine and strengthen collaborative efforts to disrupt serious organised crime.

From a local perspective we require the assistance of the residents of East Lothian to divert, deter, disrupt and detect these organised crime groups and together with the SCC our efforts collectively will help keep communities safe through ensuring the best intelligence feeds excellent evidence-gathering, which in turn results in enforcement, which puts serious organised criminals out of business.

Call 101 for non-emergencies and general enquiries; in an emergency call 999. If you have information about a crime you can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.