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Bringing in the Army to help police tackle the recent unrest which has struck many city centres has been ruled out. Looters smashed their way into shops before being dispersed by police.

Police have paid tribute to local businesses and the role of street pastors to lower crime figures even further in a city centre. As well as praising retailers for a fall in anti-social behaviour by 35% in Aberdeen, Grampian Police acknowledged the support “from the city council...

A spokeswoman said police have a policy of zero tolerance towards metal thefts after another church was damaged while its lead was taken. Alexa Collicott, of Gloucestershire Constabulary, said thieves had stripped two square metres of lead sheeting from the property overnight on July 13.

Police are trying to track down almost £1,000 of computer equipment was stolen from a parked lorry. The vehicle was stationary in Falkirk, Scotland, when the printer cartridges were taken.

Marking and trap devices are being used in crime hotspot areas in a bid to catch metal thieves red-handed. The technology involves paint which is designed to tag metal thieves when they touch the cable.

Police and a fire investigation officer attended the site of a supermarket fire which is being treated by the authorities as arson. The blaze affected the vicinity of the store in King’s Lynn, in Norfolk, after two nearby sheds caught fire. Three crews from the town were called, as well as a crew from a neighbouring village and police.

An armed man wearing a balaclava tried to rob a shop at the weekend but was foiled. He attempted to raid a fuel station on the Scottish borders and to steal cash from the register. He could not open it so left the premises with nothing.

A think-tank is pushing for the radical extension of new local divisions in new plans for Scottish policing. The new forces, each overseen by a chief constable, would be further divided into command areas serving larger regions. The report, Striking the Balance by Reform Scotland, wants police chiefs accountable to local communities.

A man in North East England was caught by an undercover officer writing offensive graffiti in a railway toilet. Paul Ramsey, prosecuting at Calderdale Magistrates’ Court, said of the officer: “He sat on a bench watching all men who were going in. A minute later (James) Allen was seen to leave his bike on the platform.

A gang who conducted an armed raid on a supermarket have been jailed, with two of them given minimum terms of more than seven years. Preston Crown Court heard how 48-year-old Mark Cain brandished a gun at the supermarket in Preston in March 2010.

Officers from the Environment Agency joined police in checking depots and other locations across the north of England which may have been carrying stolen scrap metal. Phase one of the operation started during the traditional time for police raids – early morning – with stop and search checks on vehicles in Barrow-in-Furness.

The current warm, dry spell is causing a lot of fires to break out and spread. Police are currently trying to trace two youths following a spate of fires in a suburb of Aberdeen. Two cars and a shed were damaged and attempts were also made to set fire to a bus, although the driver of the vehicle prevented this incident occurring.