Almost 50 arrests made by new City Centre Policing Unit funded by Edinburgh's Visitor Levy

Police Scotland confirmed that in the month of July, 49 people were arrested and 144 charges were brought against them following proactive patrols in the city centre.

More than 2,300 hours of patrols were undertaken by the 50-officer strong City Centre Policing Unit (CCPU) with an additional two fixed penalty notices and 20 recorded police warnings issued during this period.

The force added that “extensive work” has also been done to tackle street drinking in Hunter Square, with alcohol seized on 47 occasions.

The CCPU, which officially launched on July 2, was created with funding support from the newly-introduced Visitor Levy.

Inspector Stephen Quinn, who leads the City Centre Policing Unit, said: “Our first month has been immensely challenging but extremely rewarding, as CCPU officers set about providing benefit to Edinburgh’s city centre.

“Extensive support from the CCPU was provided to staffing the cordons required to keep the public safe following the significant fire on Princes Street and this meant that resources that would previously have been required from other parts of the city were able to continue with their normal duties.

“Despite the demands of the fire, we have also been successful in tackling some of the key issues affecting the city-centre, including shop theft, antisocial behaviour and disorder.

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Inspector Quinn added: “Working alongside key partners such as our colleagues at the Retail Crime Taskforce, Simon Community Scotland, Street Assist and representatives from the night-time economy, we continue to tackle hotspot areas and improve confidence in the policing response to ongoing problems.

“We’re under no illusion that more work needs to be done and we will continue to build on the success of our first month as we strive to make Edinburgh’s city-centre as safe as possible for all of those who live, work and visit the area.”

Speaking at the official launch of the CCPU last month, Chief Superintendent David Robertson said: “I worked in a version of a city centre policing unit when I was a young officer.

“My vision for this team is that they're out and about patrolling the beats of the city centre. They are speaking to residents, getting to know people, getting to know the vulnerable people so we can support them more effectively and getting to know the communities so we can listen to their concerns and so that communities can see us acting and responding to those concerns.”