IN MY VIEW

I’M just getting to the stage where, with bated breath and fingers crossed, I allow my nine year old son to cross the street by himself.

The thought that crossing at the green man, in broad daylight, he could be mown down by a motorcycle thief cuts me to the quick.

But that’s the reality for my constituents in Muirhouse and has been so for three years – brought into stark focus with the horrific collision between a motorbike and a 10 year old boy last weekend.

Muirhouse has been neglected by the political classes for decades but it remains a dynamic and resilient community and I’m proud to represent it.

Day and night, local residents bear witness to high speed races which has already resulted in one fatality.

As such the tragic hit and run last weekend was not unexpected – but it is the last straw. The police have

been doing everything they can to bring these offenders to justice. They’ve got pretty good at getting their man (and it is exclusively young men), but for all the arrests made, frustratingly few custodial sentences are handed down.

Ben McPherson MSP and I have made representations to the Lord Advocate and the courts about the need for tougher sentences in this regard. But the solution has to be about more than just the pursuit of justice.

We need to do more to offer those involved something better and more constructive to do with their time, with a major investment in facilities for young people in the area. This problem demands the attention of our city leaders and government ministers as it isn’t going away.