It doesn’t feel like four weeks have passed since I have been in post but, by the time some of you read this, that will be the case.

In this week’s column I’d like to highlight the new Lothians and Scottish Borders Policing Plan 2023-2026, which I had the pleasure of presenting to members of East Lothian Council last week.

The plan has been produced following extensive consultation with the public, partners and key stakeholders across the area.

Through the consultation and analytical assessment, the priorities identified were consistent across the four local authority areas policed by the Lothians and Borders Division.

It reflects the overall purpose of Police Scotland, which is to improve the safety and wellbeing of people, places and communities.

I have summarised the priorities below:

l Protecting vulnerable people in a physical and digital world;

l Reducing violent crime and anti-social behaviour;

l Tackling acquisitive crime;

l Tackling serious and organised crime;

l Improving road safety.

The plan aims to provide a clear set of objectives to tackle these priorities, and outlines the consistent response we will progress across the division whilst also identifying specific, local community-based activities within the different local authority areas.

For me in East Lothian, this means a continued focus on important local issues, such as anti-social behaviour, whilst working alongside our partners.

However, it also acknowledges the changing nature of the world we live in; not least the fact that East Lothian will see the second highest population growth of all 32 council areas in Scotland, increasing 7.2 per cent by 2028.

The main change to the plan from the previous one is the inclusion of protecting vulnerable people in a digital as well as a physical world.

The nature of incidents requiring a policing response has evolved.

In the last three years, the proportion of incidents reported to us which resulted in a crime being recorded was just under 20 per cent. The majority of reported incidents are non-criminal.

We respond to support vulnerable individuals more than ever before and we expect this demand to increase. We will work with others to ensure that the right response is provided by the right service at the right time.

We also find ourselves moving more and more from the physical into the digital world. That has brought with it new opportunities for criminals to exploit victims using technology.

I hope you find the plan interesting and informative and would encourage you to provide feedback via consult.scotland.police.uk/strategy-insight-and-innova tion/your-police-2023-2024