The Theresa Effect
In the Independent today:
‘Knife crime has risen to the highest level since 2010 in England and Wales, new figures have revealed as police say stabbing investigations are being made harder by social media. In the year to June, more than 21,100 offences were dealt with by the criminal justice system, seeing perpetrators jailed, given community orders or cautioned. Statistics released by the Ministry of Justice showed around two thirds of offences are possession of a blade, followed by possession of an offensive weapon and threatening someone with a knife or offensive weapon.’
In the same period, funding cuts have led to the loss of more than 20 000 officers.
Police staffing in Scotland and England:
‘Scottish police officer numbers at lowest level in nine years. In the first three months of year, Police Scotland had the equivalent of 17,170 full time officers, according to Scottish Government statistics. The last time the number of officers was lower was in the first three months of 2009, when the total was 17,048.’
So, Scottish police staffing levels have fallen by 122. Is that worse than 20 000 in England, pr capita? Do we need a calculator?
In England:
‘Surges in knife and gun attacks drove an increase to 5.3 million crimes across England and Wales in the year to September 2017 – the largest rise since the introduction of a national recording regime in 2002. But in the same period, the number of police officers fell to 121,929, the lowest figure since comparable records began 22 years ago.’
These figures mean that Scotland has one police officer for every 314.5 people while England and Wales have one for every 470.8 people. One policeman in England and Wales is therefore responsible for 156.3 or 49.7%, more people, than his/her Scottish equivalent.
Knife Crime in Scotland:
‘The results so far have been dramatic. Between April 2006 and April 2011, 40 children and teenagers were killed in homicides involving a knife in Scotland; between 2011 and 2016, that figure fell to just eight.’
No one under the age of 20 in Scotland was killed with a sharp instrument in 2016/17.
http://actiononviolence.org/news-and-blog/scottish-violence-facts-and-figures
Offensive weapon carrying in Scotland has been reduced by 64%.in the last ten years.
http://actiononviolence.org/news-and-blog/blog-the-future-of-violence-prevention-in-scotland
I name this the Theresa Effect, in England and the Reverse Theresa Effect, in Scotland.
Talking-up Scotland 
Nice change of theme!
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Thanks. Woke up fancying a change. Cheaper than divorce!
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Marriage—engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering.
No, really—we live in a state of bliss…………………………… so we are told.
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BBC Scotland would rather relaunch Ruthie with a very soft focus interview and claim that relaunch as “news”.
Someone should tell the Beeb they are allowed to ask questions of substance when talking to the main opposition party—-and insist on answers.
Licence payers insist on the BBC being both an impartial and reliable source of serious information. Sadly, we in Scotland are failed utterly by the planted propaganda BBC Scotland feeds us.
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Yes, none of them can be blind to what they’ve not done with Ruth.
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I have contributed to the “staggering” Scottish knife crimes stat. A couple of months ago I went down to see our parliament building (it was the hoop protest), I was disarmed when I tried to go in to the building, for a coffee. I wanted to protest about the confiscation and destruction of my work knife, my missus hissed at me to just sign the bloody form. I did, probably keeping the front page of the nomedia clear of “Knife wielding indy supporting pensioner held by police in Parliament”. It had a 3″ blade designed NOT to be able to stab yourself or anyone else.
Which brings me to nomedia, hyperbole and their word choice for headlines. Reading Daily Record headlines, noticed that the “police ramp up investigation into sex allegations”, only to find when you read into the article that the police investigation doesn’t ramp anywhere, it just continues. This is the editors work. I suggest another word for your lexicon John, nomeddies.
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‘work knife?’ Stanley?
Ramping up – yes saw that – a bit sexual?
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No not a stanley. I work on and skipper boats, it was a small slim folding work knife with a shackle key cut into the blade, very handy. The design of the blade point was so blunt that you wouldn’t do yourself harm if you fell on it or against anybody, lifejacket or inflatable liferaft. You can probably tell I’m still pissed at being disarmed, more so when I asked our local police the new ruling on knives, “Ach Alan, it’s discretionary. We’d have let you keep it.” Still haven’t managed to find a similar replacement. I’ve learned my lesson, next time I’ll buy two.
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In first 3 months of the year police numbers fell by 122. How many of the 122 were retiring from the force and will presumably be replaced? An obvious question to ask but when Willie Rennie was punting this story a few weeks ago in the media no one asked him or even made that point thus leaving the impression that police numbers were being deliberately cut in Scotland
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