Scotland’s top law officer has spoken of her concern over the effect illegal drugs and the high number of car crash deaths are having on the Western Isles.
The Lord Advocate Rt Hon Elish Angiolini highlighted their destructive impact on the Hebridean community when she visited Stornoway on Friday.
Ms Angiolini was on Lewis to hear first-hand about the work of the Stornoway procurator fiscal service. She met with fiscal David Teale and his deputy Rhode Geddes at their office in Stornoway Sheriff Court.
Ms Angiolini said there were “too many” fatal car crashes on the islands.
She also warned of a rising amount of hard drugs coming into the islands from the mainland.
Ms Angiolini said drugs were “a detrimental effect on the community from outside that affect the user by the destruction of their own lifestyles."
She said the country-wide trafficking routes saw organised crime gangs spreading their influence into the islands. She added that drug investigations were more "complex" and include not only the procurator fiscal in Stornoway but a number of regional boundaries.
Ms Angiolini pointed out that a handful of anti-social offenders can have a disproportionate negative effect on a rural community compared to a city environment.
The Lord Advocate hopes to make more visits outside the central belt to see the work of the procurator fiscal service in different districts.
