FORCE chiefs have claimed that a recent spike in recorded police incidents in Inverclyde is due to inadvertent calls mistakenly placed by a new feature on Android mobile devices. 

Recorded police incidents have increased by more than seven per cent this year, with over 10,000 reported since April 1.

Local police chiefs have stated in a report to Inverclyde Council’s Police and Fire Scrutiny Panel that the ‘vast majority’ of the increase is due to an increase in abandoned or silent 999 calls, requests for them to assist a member of the public and external agency requests.

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The abandoned or silent calls are said to have largely been placed because of a new feature on Android devices.

While hundreds more incidents have been recorded in the year-to-date than in the one before, the overall number is still below the local force’s five-year average.

Recorded crime and offences are said to have fallen by 0.4 per cent, with common assaults, domestic abuse incidents and overall violent crime all falling compared to the previous reporting period.

A total of 64 housebreaking incidents were recorded between April 1 and September 30, representing a fall of 7.2 per cent in this category, while disorder complaints were down by 6.1 per cent.

However, crimes of dishonesty, sexual crime and missing person reports have all risen.

Police say that of the 76 sexual crimes recorded so far this year, a quarter involved non-recent reporting and around two-fifths involved non-contact offences.

Their report also states that the increase in crimes of dishonesty has been driven by a rise in recorded fraud, shoplifting and motor vehicle crime.

More people are said to have been seriously and slightly injured on Inverclyde’s roads. The number of casualties recorded has increased by eight.

Police say that proactive work from their local officers and the road policing unit contributed to a 12.4 per cent rise in recorded road traffic offences compared to the year before.

Officers have noted an increase in offences such as speeding, mobile phone use and seatbelt, licence and insurance offences.

A total of 24 drug supply detections have been recorded in the current year.

Police carried out a total of 342 stop-and-searches for drugs, resulting in 78 drug seizures.

The area recorded 45 wilful fire-raising crimes – one fewer than the year before – but despite the drop the rate of fireraising crimes in Inverclyde is still nearly twice that of the national average.

The statistics will be discussed at a meeting of Inverclyde Council’s Police and Fire Scrutiny Panel this afternoon.