A SPATE of vandalism to vehicles in Peebles has been described as the “most serious criminal act” in the town for a long time.

Police investigations are under way following reports of scratched cars and vans between 8.30pm on Saturday, September 25, and 9am on Sunday, September 26.

Vehicles in Young Street, St Andrews Road, Gladstone Place and Cross Street were targeted.

A community leader who liaises with the police has also raised concerns regarding the number of vehicle owners who have not reported damage.

Malcolm Bruce contacted police sergeant Stephen Granger after hearing news of the badly damaged vehicles.

He said: “This is a bad one, an awful criminal act, and probably the most serious criminal act that you could allocate to anti-social behaviour in the town for a long time. Officers are pursuing enquiries, and they may well have access to CCTV.”

Mr Bruce said one of the victims had both his car and work’s van keyed, which he thought would cost in the region of £2,000 per vehicle to repair.

He added: “The one thing that interests me is that nine incidents were reported to Police Scotland, and anecdotally, it is possibly double that. So there are people within this community who are having their vehicles vandalised, and they are not bothering to report.

“What chance have Police Scotland got in investigating these crimes if folk won’t report it to them,” said Mr Bruce. "They do not have crystal balls, and as I’ve said many times on this forum, if it’s not the subject of a call to Police Scotland, as far as they are concerned, it never happened. I’m quite astonished that not every incident of vandalism was reported.”

It’s claimed that 101 long-wait times put people off reporting incidents.

Following an incident in South Parks, community councillor Peter Maudsley said a resident contacted 101 and “waited for half an hour”.

Accepting that the call delays to 101 are a Scotland-wide issue, Mr Bruce encouraged people to make reports via text or the Police Scotland online reporting form.

He said: “In some ways, I’m getting a bit fed up of the ‘I waited half an hour on 101’. I’d much rather folks sought out the alternatives and use them instead. There’s more than one way to crack an egg when it comes to reporting crimes to the police.”

Speaking at a Scottish Police Authority meeting at the end of August, chief constable Iain Livingstone addressed the issue of longer waiting times.

He said: “We are receiving far more calls, some displaced from other agencies we assess, we are spending longer on calls out of necessity and from COVID there are implications which impact our capacity to meet that increased demand.

“I genuinely regret and understand the frustration that this has created for the public.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a report of a number of vehicles vandalised in the Young Street, St Andrews Road and Gladstone Place areas of Peebles overnight between Saturday, September 25 and the morning of Sunday, September 26.

“Enquiries into the incidents are ongoing.”