Knife carrying - 'We can learn from Glasgow blade culture'

Every parent will be deeply concerned by the latest Edinburgh University study suggesting that 30 per cent of youngsters in the city admit to having carried a knife in public.

Knife carrying has traditionally been seen as a Glasgow problem rather than an Edinburgh one, so any sign of a culture taking root in the Capital is extremely troubling.

But we must be cautious about drawing any such conclusion from this study, as the authors themselves warn.

Statistics on knife crime can be notoriously difficult to decipher. A dramatic rise in the number of weapon seizures, for instance, might just as reasonably be seen as a policing success story, rather than clear evidence of knives being in widespread circulation.

Perhaps the most telling statistics, however, are hospital admissions of knife attack victims. And they show that the problem in Edinburgh, while not insignificant, continues to be dwarfed by that in Glasgow.

The population of Greater Glasgow and Clyde is approximately 50 per cent bigger than that of the Lothians, yet roughly six times as many stabbing victims are treated in hospital there.

Even so, the fact that the situation is improving in the west, while in Edinburgh it is, if anything, getting worse, should guard against any risk of complacency here.

We certainly do not want to import the blade culture, but we can learn from the success of Glasgow's recent anti-knife campaigns.

Sails sell the city

it is easy to be sceptical about the council hosting "parties" in some of the world's most glamorous locations during the upcoming round-the-world Clipper race.

And the cynics certainly have a point when they contrast the 55,000 the council intends to spend on this glitzy PR exercise with the enforced closure of local services such as the Mansion youth and community centre in Gracemount.

But it makes no sense to abandon all spending on promoting Edinburgh to overseas visitors. That would be extremely damaging when competition for tourist spending is so fierce. The crucial question is whether or not this is the best way to invest the limited funds we have for marketing our beautiful Capital city.

The Clipper race promises to be an inspiring event, especially with a team of former transplant patients representing Edinburgh. But every penny that is spent on the back of it to promote the city will have to be properly justified in the final reckoning.