Tag: crime

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Why American researchers have not chosen Scotland to test if dogs can sniff out knives

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Professor John Robertson OBA On BBC Breakfast this morning, the above story and from BBC Devon, two days ago: An American university and dog trainers in Plymouth are researching how dogs could help police find knives used to commit crime. The dogs involved in the research project do not detect the knives themselves but a chemical compound created by the blades when they make contact with human skin. The smell of a knife in contact with human skin has been synthesised into a liquid form at Texas Tech University and the dog trainers use that to train the dogs, said … Continue reading Why American researchers have not chosen Scotland to test if dogs can sniff out knives

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Another ‘Scouse’ county lines gang keeping Scotland’s drug deaths artificially high

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to rtpscott for alerting me to the above. Scouse Jack is not the only Liverpool-based gang whose activities have been clearly identified as fuelling Scotland’s drug deaths. In March 2025, we had: From BBC England, the above and: Five members of a county lines drug gang known as the Scouse Dave Line have been jailed. A total of seven members of the organised crime group, which peddled crack cocaine and heroin between Liverpool, Gosport and Plymouth, were sentenced during the two-day hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd92w0klwy8o When I saw the word ‘scouse‘, I was reminded of … Continue reading Another ‘Scouse’ county lines gang keeping Scotland’s drug deaths artificially high

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Despite media desperation to prove otherwise and suggest the SNP is ‘soft on crime’, Scotland’s ‘fatal stabbings by knife epidemic’ is not just, not real, it’s the very opposite of that

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Daily Record, above yesterday, was desperately digging to try to keep this disgusting and reality-distorting sequence below going, even if it means using sickly blood transfusions from England to do so: Though as we will see, not real, the media narrative seems to be having an effect. From a Police Scotland FoI request – 25-1604 – Crime stats – Murder by Knife – Age 10-20 – 3 yrs. Stop Search Stats – Knife – age 10-20 – 3 yrs, published today: Your recent request for information is replicated below, together with our response. Over the … Continue reading Despite media desperation to prove otherwise and suggest the SNP is ‘soft on crime’, Scotland’s ‘fatal stabbings by knife epidemic’ is not just, not real, it’s the very opposite of that

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As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the Scottish Government has made them the only UK force able to help with such ‘uncommon’ demands

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland yesterday: Police Scotland has agreed to send officers to Northern Ireland after two nights of disorder in Ballymena. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asked for extra support under mutual aid arrangements following violent scenes in the County Antrim town. The deployment will involve an undisclosed number of public order officers who are trained to police civil unrest. Police Scotland previously sent 120 officers to Belfast last summer after a number of PSNI officers were injured during several nights of rioting and disorder in the wake of attacks on children in Southport, Merseyside. Mutual … Continue reading As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the Scottish Government has made them the only UK force able to help with such ‘uncommon’ demands

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Crime confirmed as really continuing to fall, based on three sources, to remain at roughly 1 in 10 experiencing crime directly from 1 in 5 under Labour

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: May 2025, published today: Police recorded crime is down 1% since year ending December 2023, and remains below the position immediately prior to the pandemic. The total number of crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in the year ending December 2024 was 298,308. This was 3,768 crimes (or 1%) lower than the level recorded in the year ending December 2023. Crime has fallen by 53% since 2008-09. Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) show that around one in ten adults were victims of crime in … Continue reading Crime confirmed as really continuing to fall, based on three sources, to remain at roughly 1 in 10 experiencing crime directly from 1 in 5 under Labour

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In the wake of the Daily Record front page today – The Media’s Alarming Influence on Knife Crime Perception

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stewartb From a UK charity with a mission to reduce knife crime and improve community safety – https://knives4lives.co.uk ‘The Media’s Alarming Influence on Knife Crime Perception’ (November 15, 2024) – ‘The media holds significant power in shaping public perception and policy around knife crime in the UK. ‘While its role in raising awareness is vital, media outlets need to offer balanced reporting. Their reporting should be nuanced and precise. By doing so, they can help foster informed public discourse. This approach can also reduce fear and stigmatisation.’ And on what media influence could facilitate: ‘Furthermore, it supports the development of effective, long-term solutions to this pressing … Continue reading In the wake of the Daily Record front page today – The Media’s Alarming Influence on Knife Crime Perception

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Does the Herald think that police numbers should go up as crime falls more than twice as fast as staffing?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Taking a break from ferry fraudulence to policing propaganda, Martin Williams (Herald sole staff member on Wednesday?), has this today: Scotland has lost nearly 800 police officers since it became a unified national force 12 years ago leading to concerns about how it is able to cope, it can be revealed. The policing strength of Police Scotland has dropped from 17,324 in April 2013, when it was formed to just 16,553 this year – despite past promises to put an extra 1,000 officers on the beat. Based on the above statistics, crime has fallen by around 10% … Continue reading Does the Herald think that police numbers should go up as crime falls more than twice as fast as staffing?

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Reform UK can learn from low crime Scotland not Dubai or UAE

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The international drugs cartel made at home in Dubai. Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Politics, two days ago: Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has said the UK could learn from Dubai’s national pride and low crime levels. In a BBC interview, he said the UK should “aspire to” the kind of safety seen in the Emirati city – where he claimed people leave belongings unattended and return to find them untouched. Tice splits his time between Westminster, his Skegness constituency and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which he said he visits “once every six to eight weeks” to … Continue reading Reform UK can learn from low crime Scotland not Dubai or UAE

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Number of police officers increases for third quarter in a row to remain higher than under Labour despite plummeting crime and far lowest level in UK

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 31 March 2025, published yesterday: At the same time: Many of us, understandably are skeptical about the picture of falling crime painted by statistics based on police recording. Correctly, we point to the fact that much crime is known to be unreported and unrecorded.2 However, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS),3 carried out by independent University-based researchers interviews around 5 000 Scots asking them to speak of ‘their experiences of, and attitudes to, a range of issues related to crime, policing and the justice system, including crime not reported to … Continue reading Number of police officers increases for third quarter in a row to remain higher than under Labour despite plummeting crime and far lowest level in UK

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Westminster MP report and BBC UK suggests ‘unprepared police’ and summer riots ‘across the country’, hiding the Scottish data and why they are different

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC UK today: Police forces were in several cases unprepared for the level of violence that broke out in riots after the murder of three children in Southport last summer, a report by MPs has found. Acknowledging this was the worst disorder the country had seen since 2011, MPs said police forces should have “better anticipated the risk of disorder in general” following an initial instance of disorder in Southport. Officers across the country worked “tirelessly”, the report said, but forces being unable to act proactively left them exposed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20zrjr5n4ro In the full House of … Continue reading Westminster MP report and BBC UK suggests ‘unprepared police’ and summer riots ‘across the country’, hiding the Scottish data and why they are different