I have to admit it was with some trepidation I set off for Kirkton in Dundee on Halloween on Thursday night.
As a reporter, I have been in the area several times in recent years on Halloween and Bonfire Night and witnessed first hand what has taken place.
I have also been there the morning after and looked on in shock at the damage and devastation left behind after a night of rioting and trouble.
The riots of 2022, in which about 100 youngsters went on the rampage, left the whole city in shock.
The scenes were repeated to an extent last year when members of the press, a colleague from another newspaper and I, were targeted by a mob who threw bottles and stones at us.
We were forced to run, fearing further attack.
Trepidation heading to Kirkton again on Halloween
That was in my mind as I joined our photographer, Kim Cessford, in Kirkton on Thursday to report on how the evening would unfold.
I am afraid to say I was pretty cynical about police and council assurances that there would be no repeat of the scenes this year.
But I was happy to report that, despite a few minor flashpoints, Halloween 2024 in Kirkton passed relatively peacefully.
I got it wrong.
I believe this Halloween improvement is due to low-key but very effective policing.
There was a significant police presence visible throughout the area for the five-and-a-half hours we were there but the tactics were commendable.
If the riot police were waiting in the wings, I did not see them.
There were large groups of youths in the black hoodies, many even wearing face masks, but officers reacted calmly and quietly.
Our local bobbies wore their soft baseball caps and normal uniforms.
They patrolled the area in vans constantly and stopped on occasions to speak to the youths, who I felt were looking for a bit of drama.
However, during these chats, the officers were calm and non-confrontational.
I even witnessed light-hearted banter on some occasions.
‘They were not giving anyone any excuses to kick off’
Police, as far as I could see, did not provoke the youngsters into getting involved in wild behaviour.
In short, they were not giving anyone any excuses to kick off.
There was one dramatic moment late in the night when several police vans and dozens of officers descended on Asda.
They lined the pavement in front of the store and up the side.
It looked like it was some sort of containment action, possibly in a bid to prevent something happening that they may have had intelligence about.
And it worked, because the officers quickly cleared off without major incident.
While the fires that were started were still unacceptable, locals will be breathing a sigh of relief the area is not making national headlines again for the wrong reasons.
Hopefully, Halloween and Kirkton can now return to what they should be about – families out having fun.
Lindsey Hamilton is a reporter with The Courier’s live news team
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