City violence - 'We should still be shocked by this behaviour'

It is hard to know whether we should be more shocked or depressed at the latest spree of violence on the streets of the Capital.

A 16-year-old is stabbed with a broken bottle at eight o'clock on a Sunday morning, a man is found beaten senseless in the street and yet another is punched in a totally unprovoked attack as he walked near the city centre - and all within 24 hours.

The facts of these cases are yet to become clear, although alcohol was certainly involved in at least one of them.

It is easy to become insulated to such random violence when it seems to happen so regularly, but we still should be shocked by such behaviour.

We have to be concerned when events like these highlight a trend, which has seen violent crime rise by 15 per cent and serious assaults by nine per cent, across Lothian and Borders at a time when overall reported crime has fallen by seven per cent.

This newspaper has highlighted many times in the past that, on the whole, Edinburgh is a very safe place to live and that remains just as true today.

But questions must be asked about why these violent attacks are continuing to rise in the area and heavy drinking among young men is sure to be a significant part of the answer.

Whether you agree with its imperfect proposals for the minimum pricing of alcohol or not, there is no doubting that the Scottish Government is right to make action on the issue a priority.

Poetry in motion

One criticism often fairly made of the media is that tragic events and the people whose lives are totally devastated by them are all too easily forgotten after the initial flurry of shocking headlines.

And in these days of wall-to-wall 24-hour reporting it is undoubtedly true that the news cycle can swiftly move on to the next "big thing" as it is perceived.

The plight of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were devastated by March's tsunami in Japan, however, must not be forgotten by the wider world as other news takes the spotlight.

Imaginative initiatives like the planting of the poetry tree in St Andrew Square Garden will help ensure that does not happen and raise crucial funds in the process.

We hope visitors to the square will take a moment to enjoy the Japanese magnolia tree and remember the reason it was planted.