Weapons-handling crime down 64% over last decade

Crimes involving the handling of knives and other weapons have fallen by 64% over the last decade, new research shows. The crime of having a knife in a public place has also declined by 42% over the same period, according to a government report based on a random sample of police recorded crimes in 2017.

In parallel hospital admissions due to assault with a sharp object have also fallen 64% to 517 by 2016/17.

The majority of crimes of handling an offensive weapon in public were committed by males (89%), with most (71%) resulting in no physical injury to the victim.

Threatening or abusive behaviour was the most common crime committed with a weapon, followed by common and serious assault.

Teenagers and those in their 20s and 30s were more likely to commit or be the victim of crimes involving weapons.

Alcohol was a factor in a quarter of crimes where the weapon was not used in other criminal activity, such as threatening someone.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said the paper would inform further work to reduce violent crime.

He said: The world has taken notice of Scotland's success in dealing with violent crime, in particular the work of our ground-breaking Violence Reduction Unit.

We also continue to fund No Knives, Better Lives which aims to reduce the incidence of violence and knife carrying among young people.

The trends in today's report strongly suggest that we are making inroads in tackling this very serious issue. However, one violent incident is still one to many and we are determined to make further progress.

This research gives us additional insight into both the victims and perpetrators of weapons-based crime and the circumstances under which it takes place. I want it to help inform our next steps in reducing violence in Scotland's communities even further.''