VIOLENT crime rose between the start of April and the end of August this year, a new report has revealed.

A report to Inverclyde Council’s police and fire scrutiny panel has revealed that a total of 352 violent crimes were recorded in the five-month period, which was a 7.3 per cent increase when compared to the same period in 2023.

While recorded crimes of serious violence have fallen by 8.3 per cent to a total of 44 crimes, minor violence has risen by ten per cent, with 308 crimes recorded.

Nearly 72 per cent of crimes of minor violence relating to common assaults resulted in no injury, according to the report.

Approximately half of all violent crimes in Inverclyde are stated to occur in private spaces such as homes and flats, which police say poses "unique challenges for law enforcement" because of limited investigative opportunities caused by a lack of witnesses or of CCTV footage.

Despite these difficulties, especially in cases of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, officers are trained to identify alternative investigative methods.

Seventy-seven weapons offences were recorded in the current reporting period, a decrease of 13.5 per cent on the previous year.

Community policing officers and the local police division’s partnerships and preventions team have worked across Inverclyde schools to deliver programs like "No Knives, Better Lives" and have also engaged with local community groups to address specific antisocial behaviour concerns.

The latest figures will be considered by the scrutiny panel at a meeting on November 21.