‘Best solution is to keep him locked up’

Robert Greens’ brutal rape of a 19-year-old student is one of the most disturbing cases this newspaper has had to report on in recent times.

His young victim was so badly beaten that one witness thought she had been in a car crash.

So it is truly shocking that less than three months after his release from jail round-the-clock monitoring of Greens is being wound down – not because he is judged to be any less dangerous than the day he walked out of Saughton Prison, but because keeping watch on him is simply too expensive.

Of course we cannot afford to keep a constant eye on every sex offender after their release from prison, that just isn’t possible. But Robert Greens is far from any ordinary offender.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Chief Constable David Strang describe him as a “very serious risk” to the public.

And the fact he still refuses to take responsibility for his actions makes him all the more dangerous.

To make matters worse, he has been placed in a hostel just yards from a primary school on the edge of the city centre.

It is nothing short of a scandal that the level of supervision he receives is being decided not on the grounds of public safety but on the basis of cost.

The best solution would be to keep Greens locked up for life. If that cannot happen, then he must be properly supervised.

That is the only way that women will be able to feel safe in the city. And the only way to start rebuilding public faith in Scotland’s justice system.

Calm yourself

In football parlance, Glasgow is 3-0 up with 15 minutes to go. The SFA has said the 2012 Cup Final will be at Hampden and both Hibs and Hearts have agreed. Yet it seems fan power is making the denizens of the Dear Green Place a little twitchy.

What other explanation is there for Glasgow MSP James Dornan rushing to put down a motion at the Scottish Parliament urging the game to be played at Hampden and not Murrayfield?

Relax, James. When under pressure, surely you should be looking to maintain possession, not hoofing the ball into the stand?

In Murrayfield, Edinburgh has a stadium far superior to Hampden and one that holds 15,000 additional spectators. And there are huge economic and logistical benefits in keeping the match in the Capital.

Yes, the switch seems unlikely. But there’s no harm in telling the blazers at the SFA and the people of Glasgow that Edinburgh could host an even better final. Yes, we are 3-0 down. But let’s go for it and attack, attack, attack.