Knife murders fall in England & Wales but overall murder remains higher than in Scotland
From Sky News today: New Home Office figures reveal the number of knife murders across the UK has dropped by 27% in two years. Overall knife crime has been cut by 10% and more than 1,900 knives were removed from the streets in the same time span. Meanwhile, in the 2025 to 2026 period, 2,833 county lines were closed and 7,381 people were arrested – with the Home Office saying this is the “best year on record” for its county lines programme. https://news.sky.com/story/knife-murders-in-uk-drop-by-a-quarter-as-county-lines-crackdown-has-best-year-on-record-13562142 It suggests a deeply embedded sense that ‘England and Wales‘ is just the same as ‘across the UK.‘ It … Continue reading Knife murders fall in England & Wales but overall murder remains higher than in Scotland
Three Police Chiefs say leading anti-immigration protesters don’t come from Scotland
Thanks to Capella for spotting this: In Police issue hate crime warning after hundreds gather in Glasgow street, today, eight paragraphs down: Chief Supt Stevie Dolan said he believed there are individuals outwith the local communities and probably outwith Glasgow or central Scotland who are seeking to “influence” the actions of local members of the public. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gyqdpd0z8o Is there further evidence to support this? Police Scotland overall position: The disorder over several nights was “clearly been orchestrated by individuals who are not from Glasgow.” A further protest planned for the weekend was based on “entirely false information.” https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/police-warn-against-protest-misinformation-113938000.html Assistant Chief … Continue reading Three Police Chiefs say leading anti-immigration protesters don’t come from Scotland
Anti-immigrant hate crime arrests at protests/riots in England are running at 300 times the level in Scotland
From BBC Scotland yesterday: Police have issued a warning about hate crime and violent disorder after hundreds of people gathered outside a property in Glasgow. The protest, during which windows were said to have been smashed, took place in Tormusk Road, Castlemilk, at about 18:50 on Wednesday. It follows another incident on Tuesday when police were called to a large gathering of people who had gathered outside a block of flats in Lamlash Crescent in the Cranhill area. A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Violence, disorder, hate crime and threatening behaviour that poses a risk to safety is not legitimate protest. Anyone who … Continue reading Anti-immigrant hate crime arrests at protests/riots in England are running at 300 times the level in Scotland
Scotland’s ambulances are between 2 and 3 times faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds another case to to deflect you with
The Daily Record today, above: On 26 June 2026: There are some minor problems in comparing the data for England and Scotland but you can be sure that were they to favour the former, they’d be widely reported. Here’s why they’re not: In January 2024, BBC UK made direct comparison possible: Via the BBC’s How long do patients wait for an ambulance? app, we can confirm that the average waiting time for a Scottish ambulance was 8 min and 46 secs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800 Also, from BBC UK on 14 December 2023: Average response times of more than 38 minutes for category two emergency calls such as … Continue reading Scotland’s ambulances are between 2 and 3 times faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds another case to to deflect you with
Fires fall dramatically to lowest in 10 years and staffing climbs to put Prince Street Blaze in perspective
The Scotsman above pushing the ill-informed scare story about fire service cuts in an evidence vaccuum. Badly mixing my metaphors let me shine some light on that vacuum. From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: March 2026 published today, the above and : Number of fires fell 5% in the last year. In 2024-25, there were 22,925 fires in Scotland, down 5% on 2023-24 and the lowest in the last ten years. There were 36 fire fatalities in 2024-25, down from 42 in 2023-24 and the second lowest in the last decade. The number of deliberate building fires has fallen over … Continue reading Fires fall dramatically to lowest in 10 years and staffing climbs to put Prince Street Blaze in perspective
Why Scotland’s prisoner tagging scheme is not in crisis – Violent offenders amongst 9 000 un-monitored in England & Wales
From BBC UK today: Almost 9,000 people in England and Wales required to have an electronic monitoring tag did not have one, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found. They are likely to include violent offenders and prisoners released from jail who need to be checked on. The NAO said, as of March 2026, prison authorities were reviewing around 8,900 cases of individuals recorded as having an active monitoring order but no tag. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cze9z81d183o In Scotland? Scotland has subjected its electronic monitoring system to independent expert review and research which identified strategic and developmental issues such as … Continue reading Why Scotland’s prisoner tagging scheme is not in crisis – Violent offenders amongst 9 000 un-monitored in England & Wales
Is this the first credible case of spiking by needle injection?
Headlining BBC Scotland today, the above and: At the hospital, blood tests revealed she had been injected with gamma-hydroxybutyrate, better known as GHB, as well as an anti-depressant drug. GHB is a powerful sedative that causes extreme sleepiness and loss of inhibitions – and it erases the memory of what has happened under its influence. It is notorious as a date rape drug. Whilst the GHB would eventually work its way out of her system, doctors were worried about the potential for blood infections from the needle. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyv0zjg2623o The blood test is key and may suggest a shocking development because … Continue reading Is this the first credible case of spiking by needle injection?
The Strange Geography of Self-Determination – The Polar Bear and the Unicorn
By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 According to 11 Downing Street, when it comes to Greenland, democracy is simple — the future of Greenland should be decided by the people of Greenland. It should not be determined by Donald Trump. Not by any occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Not by Washington. Not by whoever happens to have the biggest economy, the biggest military, or the loudest voice in the room. And most people would probably agree. After all, a nation, or a people, should have the right to determine their own future. It seems a pretty straightforward democratic principle, doesn’t it? … Continue reading The Strange Geography of Self-Determination – The Polar Bear and the Unicorn
Vietnamese slaves trafficked into Ayrshire to grow cannabis by an English drug gang is too hard for the Herald to investigate
The Herald today has the above and only this to explain it: Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with a drugs recovery in Girvan. Around 11am on Thursday, July 2, officers executed a warrant at a property in the town’s Dalrymple Street. Police said a cannabis cultivation was discovered within with an estimated street value of £300,000. and: That’s it. Might they have investigated who these men were and how they got to Girvan? Could they be trafficked by a county lines gang from London or Birmingham? Yes, it is highly plausible that Cam Vu Phung (30) and … Continue reading Vietnamese slaves trafficked into Ayrshire to grow cannabis by an English drug gang is too hard for the Herald to investigate
Truth be told even Scotland’s ‘most dangerous’ place is less so than 27 of them in England and far less so than 18 of them
The Daily Record yesterday had the above and: Scotland’s “most dangerous” areas have been named as part of a new list put together by security experts, with one of the country’s major cities placing first. The city was described by the experts as having “startling figures across the board”, with overall crimes figures rising by more than 5 per cent. On Tuesday, July 7, ProFM Group shared a roundup of Scotland’s 15 most dangerous destinations using official data from the Scottish Government Data Repository. The experts expressed this as a rate of the number of crimes per 10,000 residents, which is the … Continue reading Truth be told even Scotland’s ‘most dangerous’ place is less so than 27 of them in England and far less so than 18 of them
The 'Unstoppable' Talking-up Scotland 