1000 Victims Of Slashing Every Year

Surgeons battle to repair facial slash wounds on knife victims on average every six hours in Glasgow, according to shocking new figures. More than 1000 patients a year are sent for maxillofacial surgery in city hospitals after being attacked. But detectives believe fewer than one in three assaults is reported to the police.

Ian Holland, a consultant at Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, one of seven city surgeons who carry out facial reconstruction, fears knife assaults are on the increase.He said: “If somebody told me the things we see every weekend, I wouldn’t believe them. I used to be surprised but I am not anymore. There is no way Glasgow should even need a single full-time consultant doing what I do.”

Jail terms for carrying knives have gone up since the introduction of a tough new approach by prosecutors, but police estimate that just 30% of violent crime is officially reported. More than 200 people carrying knives have been prosecuted under indictment, instead of by lower-level prosecution, giving greater sentencing powers to judges, since new guidelines were introduced last summer.

Most of the knife crime was in the Glasgow area, and most of it was committed late at night or in the early hours of the morning. Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, of Strathclyde Police’s Violence Reduction Unit said early-years intervention was the best way to reduce violence, especially knife crime.

A balanced approach, with greater investment in health visitors, social workers, and teachers, as well as more police officers, would cut violent crime more effectively than increased policing alone he insisted. He said: “We are quite good at locking people up, but haven’t actually brought about any sustainable reduction. All we have managed to do is keep a lid on it.”