Calls For Crime Hub To Stay In Fife

Councillors are urging the police not to move a cyber crime unit out of Fife.

The hub is currently based in Glenrothes, but Police Scotland has announced it is moving to Edinburgh as part of a £1.5bn investment, centralising units in Fife, Falkirk and the capital. Fife council are urging the police to keep the unit in Glenrothes. 

It has come at a bad time for the Fife economy, with the recent closures of Tullis Russell and Velux. A Joint Taskforce for Fife co-chaired by the Scottish Government and Fife Council was set up in the wake of the Tullis Russell announcement. The Task force is to bring together key organisations to support economic growth and employment across the area, with particular focus on Glenrothes and central Fife. The taskforce works alongside Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE). Through providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals affected by redundancy are out of work.

Depute Leader of Fife Council, Cllr Lesley Laird said: 

"While we understand the need for efficiencies and welcome the formation of a new Cyber Hub which will bring together the expertise and best practice of these three separate units, we are very disappointed that Police Scotland have not chosen to base this unit in Glenrothes. 

"It is disappointing that in the face of the work and the investment which is being made in the local area to counteract the effects of these major closures, Police Scotland have chosen to take this unit out of Glenrothes rather than to locate the Hub here. Glenrothes is currently a priority for Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and ourselves at Fife Council and has seen the formation of a new Taskforce to help provide the focus on supporting the local economy.

"We believe that Glenrothes has a great deal to offer: excellent location, lower property costs and availability and retention of an excellent workforce. We will be asking the Scottish Government to support us in our call to Police Scotland to have their Hub based in Glenrothes."