SHOCK RISE IN BLADES ON STREET
MSP: People clearly ignoring the SNP’s promise to crack down
THE number of knives found while being carried on Scotland’s streets has soared since 2017, figures show. And the number of blades carried and used in other crimes has spiked over in the same period. Freedom of information figures obtained by the Daily Record reveal that police reported 2614 incidents of knives being carried last year – a 23 per cent rise from 2122 in 2017. In Greater Glasgow, the incidents rose from 507 to 688 over the period – a 35 per cent increase. The stats also show the number of incidents of blades being found in public which were used in other criminal acts also rose steeply. In 2017, there were 1125 of the finds, which soared to 1974 last year – a 75 per cent increase. Again, Greater Glasgow had the biggest issue, with 324 incidents in 2017 compared with 593 last year – up 83 per cent. Tory shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “When it first came to power, the SNP said cracking down on knife crime was a priority. “But clearly that hasn’t worked and more people now are choosing to carry a blade despite the supposed stiff penalties which await.” Police and government bodies have made a concerted effort in recent decades to drive down knife crime across the country. But deadly weapons including machetes and Samurai swords continue to be taken off thugs who often buy them legally in speciality shops or online.
While Greater Glasgow remains the hotspot, the figures reveal major concerns across the country.
Knife carrying finds in Edinburgh division rose by 22 per cent from 194 in 2017 to 237 last year and from 239 to 298 over the same period in Lanarkshire – up 24 per cent.
The number of knives and other blades found in prisons and schools has also been on the rise.
Less than five years after Aberdeen schoolboy Bailey Gwynne, 16, was stabbed to death at Cults Academy, blade carrying in school has risen, from 77 incidents in 2017 to 112 last year.
North-east Labour MSP Lewis MacDonald said: “It is disappointing to see the numbers go up but I think that schools are now more aware of the problem since the Bailey Gwynne tragedy and police it better.
“Clearly the culture of carrying knives is still there in Scotland and more needs to be done through education and other programmes to eradicate it.
“Often people have knives for defence but the person they are fighting with will also have one.
“What could have been a fist fight often turns into something deadly when blades are involved.”
The Scottish Government and Police Scotland