Association of Scottish Police Superintendents president Rob Hay has said police must be able to mount an effective fightback to the rise in crime.
Ch Supt Rob Hay, from the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents
Scotland needs a “credible response” to combat the rising tide of violent crime across the country, a police chief watchdog has warned.
Association of Scottish Police Superintendents president Rob Hay has said police must be able to mount an effective fightback to the rise in crime.
Across Scotland last year, 91 children were caught carrying knives – some as young as 10 – and there was a 600 per cent rise in serious youth assaults, with Police Scotland seizing 248 knives from schools.
Amen Teklay(Image: Police Scotland / SWNS)
The deaths of Amen Teklay, 15, who was killed in Glasgow’s Maryhill in March, and weeks later 16-year-old Kayden Moy, who died following a disturbance at Irvine beach in Ayrshire, have highlighted concerns about youth violence and knife crime.
Hay said: “This year there have been some significant violent offences.
“Violence in terms particularly of young people taking knives to one another. I think the public are bound to become increasingly concerned and there needs to be a credible response to that.
“What’s needed is actually a real credible response that’s about putting back some of those things we used to have in terms of meaningful crime prevention programmes and a named community police officer for every community.”
Hay also has concerns over government plans to free hundreds more convicts under “house arrest” to ease prison overcrowding.
He said: “A declining prison population cannot be heralded as a success if it means a rise in crime and more victims.”
Kayden Moy. (Image: Daily Record)
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The most recent official figures show that Scotland continues to be a safe place to live with reported crime falling by more than half since 1991.
“This comes on the back of the flagship Scottish Crime and Justice Survey which also showed people feel safer in their communities.
“Violent crime is down significantly in the past 20 years, with serious assaults and homicide levels at near record lows.
“However, we cannot afford to be complacent and we have been consistently clear that any instance of violence including knife crime is one too many.
“That is why we are taking a wide range of actions to prevent and reduce violence, with more than £6 million funding invested over the past three years.
“The rising and increasingly complex prison population remains a major challenge as it does across the UK and we are taking sustained action to reduce it, so that prison capacity is available to imprison serious offenders.
“This year we will invest £4.2 billion across the justice system including a record £1.64 billion for policing — an increase of £90 million on 2024-25.”
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