Statistics released
by the Home Office show that the number of reported offences resulting in a
prosecution had fallen to the lowest level since data recording began in 2015. Only
7.8 per cent of crimes saw a suspect charged or summonsed in 2018-19, compared
to 9.1 per cent the year before. For rape the figure was just 1.5 per cent –
down from 3 per cent in 2017-18 – and the figure was only 8 per cent for
violence, 7 per cent for robbery, 6 per cent for theft and 3.5 per cent for
sexual offences.
Clear up rates for the
different crime types show marked differences, from 25.2% for Fire-raising,
Vandalism etc. and 36.9% for Crimes of Dishonesty to 76.1% for Non-sexual
crimes of violence and 89.6% for Other crimes.
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch was at Windsor Castle this morning to receive the Honour of Knighthood for services to Scholarship.
(Newscom TagID: ptsphotoshot750272) [Photo via Newscom]
On 10th
of July 2019, I wrote to BBC Complaints
to say:
Dermot
McCulloch, referring to England existing in the 10th or
11th Century says:
‘There
wasn’t even really a place called Scotland.’
This is inaccurate:
This
culminated in the rise of Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin)
as “king of the Picts” in the 840s (traditionally dated to 843),[3] which
brought to power the House of Alpin.[4] When
he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900 one of his successors,Domnall II (Donald II), was the first
man to be called rí Alban (King of Alba).[5] The
term Scotia would increasingly be used to describe the heartland of these
kings, north of the River Forth, and eventually the entire area
controlled by its kings would be referred to as Scotland.[6]
Sources:
B.
Webster, Medieval Scotland: the Making of an
Identity(St. Martin’s Press, 1997), ISBN0333567617, p. 15.
B.
Yorke, The Conversion of Britain: Religion,
Politics and Society in Britain c.600–800(Pearson Education,
2006), ISBN0582772923, p. 54.
A. O.
Anderson, Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D.
500 to 1286(General Books LLC, 2010), vol. i, ISBN1152215728, p. 395.
Why was McCulloch,
a non-historian, allowed to make such an error? Why was this statement not
checked? Perhaps York and Anderson are too recent for him to be expected to
have read?
Yesterday,
I got this reply:
Thank
you for contacting us regarding BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Invention of Britain’
broadcast on 18 June.I understand you believe
Diarmaid MacCulloch inaccurately said: “there wasn’t even really a place
called Scotland” in the 10th or 11th century. While Professor MacCulloch’s
comments are his own views and not those of BBC staff, it’s not always possible
to challenge every comment that is made by a contributor. Professor
MacCulloch contributed to the programme based on his background as a British
historian, however, we acknowledge that not everyone will agree with each
choice we make as to who contributes to our programmes. We do value your
feedback about the programme. All complaints are sent to senior management and
in this case ‘The Invention of Britain’ production team every morning, and I’ve
provided your comments on our audience feedback report.
McCulloch
has previous on Anglocentric views of history.
His ridiculous BBC documentary on the Battle of Britain ignored the Clydebank
Blitz. I complained about it and he was indignant in the manner of a pompous
bishop. Let’s see if he gets wind of my complaint.
Second poll confirms human effects of falling
crime levels in Scotland
The
YouGov poll based on fieldwork on 16th and 17th July
reinforces the stability of SNP support (42%) and the collapse of that for the
Tories (13%) and Labour (15%) but, notably, reveals a sharp difference in
levels of concern about crime. Only 16% of Scots rated it the most important issue
while between 28% (South) and 35% (London) did so across England and Wales.
A
clearly related phenomenon can be seen in surveys showing that Scots feel they
are experiencing a fall in crime greater than that reported by the
police! See this for more detail:
Scotland’s drug death crisis is based disproportionally upon older drug users who began using heroin in the 1980s and 90s under the Tory and New Labour neoliberal economic policies which lauded greedy individualism, and which destroyed communities through a failure to create employment and a misguided war on drugs. Similar effects can be seen in the higher levels of drug deaths in the North of England and in Wales, also outside of the more affluent South-East which was protected from the worst of those policies. Researchers have shown this to be a predictable and widespread phenomenon:
Drug Overdose Rates Are Highest in Places With the Most Economic and Family Distress
During the 1980s and ’90s there was a significant increase in
problem drug users in Scotland, which peaked about 20 years ago. There is now an ageing population of drug addicts,
mainly men, who have been using heroin for decades. Biologically they are ageing much faster than their real age and
they develop multiple morbidity, particularly around respiratory diseases,
liver diseases and blood-borne viruses and this adds a further vulnerability
with regards to overdose deaths. Last year, more than two-thirds of drug-related deaths were aged between 35 and 54.
Deaths
among younger users had been falling since the SNP came to power but rising
again as Tory austerity cuts bite.
Reported throughout the day as a UK-wide phenomenon
somehow validated by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP), this turns out
to be based on English schools only and with the RCP merely asked to comment after
the event (confirmed by telephone to me this morning):
Referrals to child mental
health units from UK primary schools for pupils aged 11 and under have
risen by nearly 50% in three years, the BBC has learned.Replies
to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from 46 health trusts indicate they
rose from 21,125 to 31,531.The government (sic) says it is
“determined to improve mental health support”.BBC News also
sent FoI requests to 500 primary schools in
England about serious mental health episodes.It found that 191
primary school pupils had self-harmed on school grounds in the last four years,
according to responses received from 155 schools.
These figures are deeply worrying and build on
evidence which shows emotional disorders in children have increased in recent
years. Services for children have been
historically underfunded [by the UK Government] meaning they are unable to meet
increased demand. The government’s (sic) aim to provide mental health
support in all schools within the next 10 years will be too little, too late
for many children who need that help now.
There
has been a worrying increase in referrals in Scotland reported by Audit
Scotland but at the level of 22% over 4 years compared to the 50% over only 3
years being suggested by the RCP for the UK as a whole:
Mental
health services for children and young people are under significant pressure.
The number of referrals to specialist services increased by 22 per cent,
from 27,271 to 33,270, between 2013/14 and 2017/18, with rejected referrals
also increasing.
The Better Together shroud waving actually toppled over into a carrion-fest. I heard a tiny bit of Ian Dale’s programme on LBC and heard ‘Orange?’ Cammie frae Kilmarnock report that the Scottish drug’s deaths could be explained “..in 3 words (sic) ESS – ENN – PEE” – Ian Dale reverted, sadly, to his right wing tory roots and came out with a pile of tabloid pish so I – thankfully – re-tuned to the Scottish League Cup Group Round coverage and had a much more stimulating and educational listen for the next 90 mins. For a bit of accurate and useful info re. how the SNP Scottish Govt management of Drugs Policy (within its very restricted authority and funding within this Westminster/Whitehall ‘reserved’ policy area) is finding smart ways to tackle the PROFITEERS rather than the users. See the link and snippet below from the Scottish Legal site:
In 2017-18 there were 32,399 recorded drug offences, 84 per cent of which were for possession. Of these, 19 per cent reached court, compared with 29 per cent in England and Wales.
Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC recently told the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee: “In relation to offences of simple possession, I have, through the recorded police warnings scheme and prosecution policy, supported the use of alternatives to prosecution, including diversion.”
Prosecutors tend instead to go after people who profit from drugs.
There were 5,228 recorded crimes related to the drugs trade including supply, importing and cultivation and 5,390 convictions, implying only a fraction of people are convicted for possession alone.
Three per cent of those convicted of drug offences are jailed, most are fined or given a verbal warning or community service.
Police Scotland said: “Drug crime data can be influenced by a number of factors such as trends. While enforcement activity alone is not enough, we will continue to target drug dealers.”
In
the wake of the Scottish drug deaths crisis reporting, repeated 6 times this
morning on BBC Breakfast and on the website, we hear:
‘A BBC investigation suggests there’s been a significant
rise in number of UK primary
schoolchildren referred to mental health services over the last three years’
In
the fuller online report, we read:
Referrals to child mental health units from UK
primary schools for pupils aged 11 and under have risen by nearly 50% in three
years, the BBC has learned. Replies
to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from 46 health trusts indicate they
rose from 21,125 to 31,531.
However,
none of the examples reported are from outside of England.
There
is a worrying increase in referrals reported by Audit Scotland but at the level
of 22% over 4 years compared to the 50% over only 3 years being suggested by
the RCoP for the UK as a whole.
Mental health services for children and young
people are under significant pressure. The number of referrals to specialist
services increased by 22 per cent,
from 27,271 to 33,270, between 2013/14 and 2017/18, with rejected referrals
also increasing.
BBC Newsnight conveniently ‘forget’ that NONE of ‘Britain’sHidden Children’s Homes’ are in Scotland
I
know, this commenting on UK media reporting on England as if it was the UK can
get a bit repetitive. Some have worried about my mental health, but I go on.
Fresh
from being all-too-interested in Scotland’s drug deaths crisis, we saw the
above heading and heard:
‘Police forces have told Newsnight they’re
deeply concerned about the number of vulnerable children going missing from
unregistered and unchecked accommodation.’
The
story went on to report horrific tales of neglect and even sex exploitation from
‘Bedfordshire, one part of England’ but did not let the viewer know that the
report would only be about England.
After
extended observation of police activity in Bedfordshire and then Luton, we
heard:
‘We surveyed every children’s service department
in the UK to find out exactly where
all these young people are coming from.’
This
is the frame showing the closest we get to any suggestion that Scotland might
be involved:
No
Scottish cases were offered, and we’re returned to Bedfordshire. Incidents in
the South-West and South-East of England are then considered but Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland never feature. Despite that, the report finishes
with:
‘What’s playing out on these streets (Bedfordshire)
is a national problem and calls are growing
for a national response. With the
use of unregulated homes across the
country the police are demanding regulation.’
To finish ‘The Children’s Minister’ is grilled but his England and Wales only remit is never mentioned and the situation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland seems not to matter.
Are
there any unregistered homes in Scotland? See this from OFSTED:
Children in residential settings are particularly vulnerable to sexual
abuse by adults working in those settings who are responsible for their
welfare. Yet the Inquiry has noted that there are no professional registration
requirements in place for staff, other than social workers, working in
children’s homes in England, unlike in
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
‘It’s very convenient for the SNP to be able
to criticise Westminster for this when they have devolved powers to privatise
the Scottish care system too but won’t!’
‘People are waiting too long for treatment’ though targets have been beaten?
Scotland’s
drug deaths were headlined and savoured right across the full range of BBC
output, on BBC 1 News, BBC Breakfast,
Reporting Scotland, Politics Live and on
Newsnight. I did not watch BBC Wales or Northern Ireland, nor did I listen to Good Mourning Scotland, but I feel sure
the same or worse was done there too. It was done often without any or sufficient
consideration of the limits Westminster sets on the extent to which the
Scottish government can tackle the problem but Sarah Smith was to, typically,
win the prize for sheer dishonesty and naked Unionism as she lied about drug
patient treatment and suggested, sickeningly, that the deaths were convenient
for the SNP because they enabled them to blame Westminster:
Had the SNP said that the deaths
were convenient for the UK Government because they enabled them to blame the
Scottish Government, imagine the righteous, hypocritical indignation.
We
may have a drug deaths problem but there’s much to be pleased with in SNP-led
Scotland. See these many but recent stories often selectively edited, distorted
or ignored by the BBC but known to many of us as evidence of the many ways in
which Scotland is drifting way from the horrors of the Land of May:
Thanks to a Freedom of Information request response
published today asking
for the average number of entries into SQA qualifications per S6 pupil at each
secondary school in Scotland, we can reveal that the Scottish average has gone
up from 2.3 subjects per pupil in 2009 to 3.5 subjects
in 2018. That is a 56.52% increase in only 10 years.
Talking-up Scotland 