'Booze and blades' study aims to stem violence

Published on Saturday 5 January 2008 19:28

A MAJOR study into Scotland's 'booze and blades culture' has been ordered by ministers desperate to stem a rising tide of violent crime.

The Scottish Government wants a team of experts to target the nation's knife-crime hotspots in an effort to stop youngsters getting involved in gangs. The 175,000 move is a response to a problem which last year cost 54 lives. Blades are the most common murder weapon north of the border.

But opposition politicians have criticised the move and called for more officers on the beat and stiffer sentences against youths caught carrying the weapons.

It is estimated that there are about 1,400 Scots injured in knife attacks each year, and only a fraction of incidents are reported to the police. Hospitals in Glasgow treat a serious facial injury every six hours and 3.5m is spent every year in west central Scotland on treating stab injuries.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill vowed to tackle the nation's "booze and blades culture" at the end of last year. Now the Scottish Government is seeking a team of experts experienced in researching crime and gangs who can speak to "hard to reach groups" involved in violence. The researchers will be told to focus on what caused teenagers to get into gangs or carry knives in the first place and what makes them continue.

The team will carry out the research in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and West Dunbartonshire, starting in April 2008.

Ministers want the report by May 2009. The experts should also come up with strategies on how to stop youngsters getting mixed up in trouble.

A spokesman for Victim Support Scotland said: "Clearly the research is needed. Knife crime is a serious issue and wrecks lives."

But opposition politicians including Bill Aitken of the Scottish Tories suggested the cash could be better spent on more police on the beat.