From BBC Scotland today:

Three senseless killings in the space of six months, all involving teenagers and bladed weapons, have raised concern over youth-related knife crime in Scotland to a level not seen for many years. The deaths of Amen Teklay, Kayden Moy and John McNab last year left many wondering whether the country was going backwards to the shameful time when Scotland endured one of the worst homicide rates in western Europe.

The above cluster took place in 2005 with the last in September. Despite two very warm and dry periods this year, there have been no such cases since then.

Reporter, David Cowan, then quickly goes on to admit the truth but the damage is done:

However, the reality is that most of the publicly available statistics on youth-related violence and knife crime tell a different story. Official data shows a reduction in the number of teenagers involved in violence, caught with blades, or referred to the Children’s Reporter over knife offences.

Then, desperately trying to keep the anxiety level up, he writes:

But the number of under-18s involved in attempted murders bucked that downward trend and any flicker of optimism will be of no comfort whatsoever to the people who’ve lost loved ones through a teenager wielding a knife.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk4xz8lxe2o

The evidence for the above comes from a 3 month-only report with no actual data nor methodology offered. https://www.spa.police.uk/spa-media/2rjhb1bf/item-2-2-ps-q1-ytd-performance-report.pdf

So, this dodgy piece of work gets headlined but BBC Scotland did not report:

33% fall in emergency hospital admissions due to assault with a knife since 2015-16

Who will ever tell you this? Denmark, one of the safest places in the World, has more murders than Scotland and a murder rate only 0.004 per million lower

As the Southport inquiry resumes today, official figures reveal a dramatic fall in murder by knives in Scotland overall AND by young people, rubbishing the media reports here

As Daily Record ignores what really matters, official figures reveal dramatic fall in murder by knives in Scotland, overall AND by young people, rubbishing the media reports that they are scared to go out

Important facts for Scotland’s media and opposition leaders – As murder by minors increases four fold in England and Wales but it plummets to a quarter in Scotland after 18 years of SNP administration