'Give up knives or pay the price'
MICHAEL HOWIE

• Lord advocate unveils new crackdown on 'knife culture' in Scotland
• Longer sentences, swifter trials and more police powers granted
• Announcement made ahead of month-long UK-wide knife amnesty.

Key quote
"We must give our young people the incentive and the confidence to end the knife culture. We must build strong communities, free from the fear of violence." - COLIN BOYD QC

Story in full SCOTLAND'S Lord Advocate yesterday unveiled a new crackdown on knife crime which he said would result in tougher sentences for people caught carrying weapons.

Colin Boyd QC has given police and prosecutors hardline instructions for dealing with knife-related offences in a bid to tackle the country's blade-carrying culture.

Any person accused of carrying or using a knife who has a similar previous conviction will face prosecution before a judge and jury instead of a sheriff alone, meaning tougher sentences will be handed down.

Police have also been instructed to arrest anyone caught carrying a knife and police will no longer be able to grant bail to someone arrested for such an offence - instead they will be kept in custody before their first appearance in court.

Prosecutors will also routinely oppose bail in the courts if an accused has one or more previous convictions for knife-related crime.

And the maximum sentence available for people caught carrying knives in public is set to increase from two to four years for cases prosecuted on an indictment - that is, before a jury.

But police criticised the tougher sentences because only a tiny fraction of such cases are tried in front of a jury under "solemn" procedures.

They called for a mandatory 18-month prison sentence for all those caught carrying knives, which ministers rejected.

However, MSPs decided that maximum sentences for possessing a knife in less serious, summary, cases would increase from six to 12 months.

Yesterday's announcement was made ahead of a month-long UK-wide knife amnesty, which will be launched by Cathy Jamieson, the justice minister, in Edinburgh tomorrow.

Knives were involved in 323 of the 667 murders committed in Scotland between 1998 and 2003. In the same period there were 14,463 convictions for handling an offensive weapon.

Blades are used in six out of ten violent crimes in Glasgow, from where more than 50 per cent of knives found by the police in Scotland are seized.

Some 1,301 knife attacks occurred in Strathclyde last year, 1,100 of which were committed in a public place involving non-domestic blades.

Yesterday, Mr Boyd said he was committed to helping to drive down the number of knife crimes in Scotland.

Announcing the measures before an audience of criminal justice experts at a seminar in Edinburgh, he said: "As the minister for justice has made clear, we will provide people with the opportunity to surrender their knives. But where people do not take this opportunity and persist in carrying a knife they will face the consequences.

"I believe the role that prosecutors can play is a key one and these reforms strengthen the effectiveness of that role. Success will only be achieved through a shared vision and by true partnership. The challenge is great but our resolve must be greater.

"The people of Scotland expect us to tackle the issues that make a difference to the quality of life in local communities, and that is what we must do. We must give our young people the incentive and the confidence to end the knife culture. We must build strong communities, free from the fear of violence."

Mr Boyd told The Scotsman that the measures would mean more people will face longer jail sentences for carrying knives. He explained: "This will mean more people will be tried on indictment, although it's not possible to say how many."

He said the move to ensure all offenders caught carrying a knife would be kept in custody had been agreed by police.

He went on: "We have worked with the police and between us we are satisfied this is the correct approach.

"The most important aspect of this is that they will appear from custody and we will seek an early disposal of the case."

Mr Boyd added that a dedicated weapons court in Greenock, which fast-tracks cases involving blades, has cut the time taken for an accused to be prosecuted from 26 weeks to nine weeks.

He said: "Part of our overall approach is to ensure cases are brought to court more quickly.

"The message we are sending out is clear. After the amnesty launches on Wednesday, use that month to get rid of your knife. After that if you're found carrying a knife, the consequences will be severe."

Nationalists welcomed the move, but demanded further action. Kenny MacAskill, the SNP justice spokesman, said: "We welcome any action to combat the scourge of knife crime in Scotland.

"Knives are as much of a cultural problem as a criminal one, so we must be sure to tackle the causes as well as the symptoms of this blight on our communities.

"With these issues in mind we must see further resources given to support the vital work of the Violence Reduction Unit in Strathclyde and other such schemes across the country."

The Conservatives also welcomed the measures but complained they had taken too long to come about. Margaret Mitchell, the Tory justice spokeswoman, said: "The Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition has been told for years now that we desperately require stronger measures, all across Scotland, to tackle this problem.

"Yet it appears, had the political will been there, the Lord Advocate could easily have introduced these guidelines in a mere four weeks.

"This is yet another example of dither and delay from Labour and the Liberal Democrats when decisive action was required. The best that we can say is better late than never."

Knives were involved in half of the 600-plus murders in Scotland between 1998 and 2003, and in six out of ten violent crimes in Glasgow. Picture: Donald MacLeod

Source: http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=762652006

We're located in South Jordan, Utah 84095 / President Jack Bean (USA): jack@uncannyscots.com , Vice President Maggie Morrison (UK): maggie@uncannyscots.com .

History  |  Events  |  Sports  |  Store  |  Articles  |  Tours  |  Contact Us  |  Home