Tag: crime

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BBC Scotland’s James Cook wallows in one town’s drug deaths but does not tell you what is really happening there – the trend is down, the treatment is there and the new powerful drugs are pushed by English gangs

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily, finishing in 9 days, to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson Professor John Robertson OBA A cheap and sensationalist piece by James Cook, pushed up into UK news to shame us, claiming a lack of services for drug addicts in rural areas and repeating the endless ‘worst rate in … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s James Cook wallows in one town’s drug deaths but does not tell you what is really happening there – the trend is down, the treatment is there and the new powerful drugs are pushed by English gangs

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School violence in Scotland – Fact Check

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Such was the level of violence in Scottish schools last April that the same two boys had to travel the country to represent it visually. Kind of makes you wonder why, in the age of mobile phone cameras of awesome quality, why BBC Scotland and Wales only have the same Getty image of two lads play wrestling. Some facts, you won’t be hearing much today. School violence: A classic example of seeking to stoke moral panic All forms of bullying in decline and students feel safer than in other nations Youth violence plummets across society yet increases … Continue reading School violence in Scotland – Fact Check

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Now THREE different sources of evidence confirm unambiguously that Scotland really has significantly lower crime levels after 17 years

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Ipsos Scotland today posted the poll results above showing that like other parts of the UK, Scotland’s voters seem far more concerned about the economy, health and immigration than any other issues. The SNP will do well to keep this in mind. I should quickly point out that Ipsos Mori, unlike most other pollsters, some owned by Tory grandees or headed up by Labour lords, can be trusted. Based in Paris, when it comes to Scottish independence, they ‘do not have a horse in the race.’ Not being discussed much is the 11% concerned about crime across … Continue reading Now THREE different sources of evidence confirm unambiguously that Scotland really has significantly lower crime levels after 17 years

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News you won’t hear – Injury road collisions plummet by up to a third since 2019

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Transport Scotland – Road accidents in Scotland data: FOI release, published today, we can see that all road collisions with an injury, at all speed limits, have fallen dramatically since 2019, ignoring the Pandemic-caused dips in 2020 and 2021 when road traffic was significantly reduced. Of particular interest, the injury collisions in the 30mph limit have fallen by 34%. Similarly, collisions involving HGVs have fallen across all speed limits> Critics may spot, if they read on, that injury road collisions where speed contributed to the collision have increased slightly since 2019, from 165 to 173 but … Continue reading News you won’t hear – Injury road collisions plummet by up to a third since 2019

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English County Lines drug dealer jailed for supply in Inverness but it seems it’s not newsworthy here

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In the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald, yesterday, but despite the powerful news values – violence, drugs, death – BBC Scotland, even their Highlands and Islands or NE, Orkney & Shetland teams can find no space for it: A 29-year-old Huyton man has been jailed for three years and nine months for drugs supply offences in Inverness after he was snared by a joint Police Scotland and Merseyside Police operation. Ryan Finlay pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and possession of cannabis through what is called a County Line – a way of transporting illegal narcotics from cities to other … Continue reading English County Lines drug dealer jailed for supply in Inverness but it seems it’s not newsworthy here

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5 times as many rape cases solved and 3 times as many violence cases solved in Scotland than in England & Wales

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In the Guardian today: Victims are being “let down time and time again” by police, a minister has said, as almost every violent or sexual offence went unsolved in hundreds of Britain’s crime hotspots last year. Nearly 1.9m violent or sexual crimes in England and Wales were closed without a suspect being caught or charged in the year to June 2024 – about 89% of all offences given an outcome, official figures show. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/13/most-violent-or-sexual-offences-went-unsolved-in-uk-hotspots-last-year In the ‘Scottish’ Daily Express on 23 October 2024: Police only solve half of all crimes in SNP’s soft-touch justice Scotland – Police officers in Scotland are solving … Continue reading 5 times as many rape cases solved and 3 times as many violence cases solved in Scotland than in England & Wales

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Herald headline front page news is completely fake as FACTS reveal SNP ensured more, £6k better paid, police officers than when Labour was in power and cut crime by massive 53% in same period

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald, today, with the above, a strange reference to Celtic only, and this opening text: Officers public safety concern over ScotGov police commitment ‘fail’ as crimes rise. Ministers have been warned about a risk to public safety as a past SNP commitment to have at least 17,236 police officers in post has been ‘reneged’ upon while the number of recorded crimes has started to rise. It’s nonsense, all of it. The true facts are, from open, transparent, official, checkable statistics, in Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 30 September 2024, is: Police officer numbers increased by 220 FTE officers (+1.4%) … Continue reading Herald headline front page news is completely fake as FACTS reveal SNP ensured more, £6k better paid, police officers than when Labour was in power and cut crime by massive 53% in same period

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Dismissals increase as Police Scotland deal with abuse in the wake of Everard case in England but overall resignations fall in best paid force with falling crime levels

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From a Police Scotland Freedom of Information response on 17 December 2024, we see a steady increase in the force’s readiness to dismiss officers who have abused their position, from only 1 in 2019, to 7, 8 and 11 in the last three years. This follows Police Scotland action in2021: A new verification check for lone police officers in Scotland has been introduced in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard. Police Scotland said it wanted to reassure the public after she was abducted and killed by Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens. Couzens, 48, used his warrant card to … Continue reading Dismissals increase as Police Scotland deal with abuse in the wake of Everard case in England but overall resignations fall in best paid force with falling crime levels

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As religious hate crime falls to lowest level for 20 years in Scotland, we are picked out for a campaign to fight it ‘across the UK’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Many thanks once more to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today, by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent, an image of a hate crime billboard in Glasgow and: Some of the UK’s largest police forces have reported increases in religious hate crimes in the past 18 months, figures reveal, with the number of incidents rising after the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict in autumn 2023 and again after the Southport attacks in England this summer. Forces including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the Metropolitan police recorded sharp increases in antisemitic offences in the weeks … Continue reading As religious hate crime falls to lowest level for 20 years in Scotland, we are picked out for a campaign to fight it ‘across the UK’

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Lib Dems find nothing useful on part-time unpaid police officers who make up 2% of the best staffed force in the UK

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From STV yesterday: Numbers of special constables within Police Scotland have fallen by 73% since the national police service was formed, the Scottish Lib Dems say. Figures obtained by the party through freedom of information show there were 383 special constables in 2023/24. This is a decrease from 1,394 in 2013. The special constabulary is trained to the same standard as the rest of the police service, however, it operates on a volunteer basis. Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “Special constables are an important link between communities and the police service because they can provide valuable local knowledge. … Continue reading Lib Dems find nothing useful on part-time unpaid police officers who make up 2% of the best staffed force in the UK