Alcohol Blamed For Rise In Violence

Violent crime is on the rise across Scotland, according to new figures which reveal that hundreds more attacks were carried out last year. Binge-drinking and growing inequality has been blamed for the spike in violence, which saw 13,994 crimes recorded in 2006-7, 2.4% more than the previous year’s tally of 13,664.

Six of the country’s eight police forces witnessed a rise in non-sexual crimes of violence, with Northern Constabulary seeing a one-third increase in reported attacks, from 481 to 640.

Four other forces – Tayside, Central, Grampian and Lothian and Borders – saw violent crime increase by between 6 and 15 per cent, while Strathclyde witnessed a smaller increase of 0.5 per cent, from 8,439 to 8,481. Only Fife and Dumfries and Galloway saw a drop in the figures.

The rise ends a three-year decline in recorded violent crimes, sparking fears that Scotland could be witnessing the beginning of a new upward trend. Northern Constabulary said the increase was “partly due to the misuse of alcohol”. “This is a big problem not just in our area but across the country. We’re seeing it linked to a vast number of assaults. It’s clearly a big contributory factor,” said a spokesman.

Doctors are reporting a small but steady increase in the number of assault victims attending accident and emergency departments – which some believe is a more accurate reflection of violence levels – and say alcohol abuse is an increasingly prevalent factor.

Dr Jennifer Devine, an associate specialist in emergency medicine at Glasgow’s Stobhill Hospital, said: “Anecdotally, we’re seeing a small increase in the number of people presenting to us who have suffered violence. What we are seeing more and more is violence towards staff, and alcohol abuse is playing a huge part in that. The problem is that alcohol, in real terms, is cheaper than ever. Kids can buy it with their pocket money.”

However, Dr Dave Shewan, co-director of the Scottish Centre for the Study of Violence, at Glasgow Caledonian University, said it was “too easy” to blame alcohol. “The root causes of violence are poverty and ill health,” he said. “You cannot ignore the fact that Scotland remains a country beset by poverty and inequality.”

David Sinclair, spokesman for Victim Support Scotland, said the sudden rise in violent crime was worrying. “Non-sexual violent crime accounts for almost one third of the work of Victim Support Scotland every year. As such, it’s clearly a matter of concern to us that there is a rise in six of the police regions in Scotland. We hope that the rise shown is merely a blip,” he said.

Tackling the culture of violence, which led Scotland to be branded among the most dangerous countries in a United Nations report, will be discussed at a major conference next week, hosted by the country’s Violence Reduction Unit on behalf of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Scotland has been credited by WHO as being the only country in the world to treat violence as a public health issue, seeking to tackle the causes rather than simply the consequences.

Kenny MacAskill, the justice minister, said: “Levels of violent crime are a concern and show the scale of the problem we have inherited. The Scottish government’s clear aim is to prevent and deter crimes. We don’t want Scotland to be a place where young people think it’s OK to carry a weapon. We are putting an increased emphasis on prevention and changing attitudes to knife carrying.

“For example, we have commissioned research to find out more about what motivates young people to carry a knife and what would be most effective to convince them to stop.”