MEMBERS of North Berwick Community Council (NBCC) have raised concerns over the decreasing amount of information contained in the monthly written ‘police reports’ they receive.

Community policing reports are circulated to community councils by Police Scotland to provide an update on police activity and local incidents of note.

But this month’s report in North Berwick was the least detailed yet, despite a spate of anti-social behaviour that has plagued the town in recent months.

Kathryn Smith, secretary of NBCC, bemoaned the increasingly scant reports by saying “they get shorter and shorter”. And she added: “One wonders what’s the point of circulating them.”

Sergeant Rhona Meikle, Police Scotland, confirmed at the October CAPP (community and police partnershop) meeting in North Berwick that the shorter reports were a result of data protection concerns and that police could no longer include as many details as before.

Previously, a typical report would give general details of an incident – for example a break-in or an act of vandalism – but would not disclose a full street address for the location nor name a victim or an accused person.