City weapon cases plunge

THE number of people arrested for possession of an offensive weapon in Edinburgh has dropped by a third, new figures have revealed.

Between April and December last year, 261 offences were recorded – a 33 per cent drop from a year before.

The city centre, where police have cracked down, including searches on buses and using metal detectors at licensed premises, saw a 24 per cent drop over, from 58 to 44.

The biggest rise in the Capital was recorded in Oxgangs, where cases of carrying an offensive weapon rose from two to nine.