Nine-year-old boy armed himself with snooker cue

Published on Monday 7 February 2011 07:34

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy was caught by police with a broken snooker cue as the number of reports of children being charged for carrying offensive weapons in the Capital more than doubled over the last year.

New figures obtained through freedom of information legislation also showed the number of reports of under-16s caught in possession of a knife in the city increased from eight to 13 between 2009 and 2010. Among those charged were three 12-year-olds and two 13-year-olds.

There were a total of 39 reports of under-16s caught with offensive weapons last year, including a nine-year-old and a ten-year-old boy, compared with 14 in 2009.

The nine-year-old boy was found to be in possession of a broken snooker cue, while the ten-year-old boy was caught with a small metal folding keyring with a bottle opener, nail file and 4cm blade.

A pole, glass bottle, spade, golf club, baseball bat and a stick were among some of the other weapons that the youths were caught carrying.

Lothians Tory MSP Gavin Brown today said he was "shocked".

"This is a substantial increase and it says to me that we need a zero tolerance approach to knife crime," he said.

"Serious questions have to be asked of the parents and guardians responsible."

Police chiefs suggested that the rise in the number of youths being caught could be a reflection of the force's crackdown on the problem.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, community safety spokeswoman for the Labour party in Edinburgh, said: "These are just the ones who are caught, you don't know how many other under-16s are carrying knives or offensive weapons.

"The ages involved are quite shocking. We have to have a message that carrying offensive weapons is unacceptable."

The Scottish Government said the increase in Edinburgh was at odds with national statistics. A spokesman said: "Statistics show that knife crime has been falling nationally, with the number of people caught carrying an offensive weapon in Scotland down to its lowest level in a decade."

In 2008, 31 youths were caught with knives in Edinburgh.

Cllr Paul Edie, convener of the Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership, said: "It's very concerning that the figures have risen. We are doing our best as a community safety partnership to try and educate people out of that kind of behaviour."

A police spokeswoman said: "The rise in the number of people caught in possession of knives and weapons in Edinburgh is testament to the proactive approach we are taking."

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