Election anyone?
Perhaps Scotland's cabinet, meeting in Kilmarnock, will permit themselves a few moments of self-congratulation with regard to notably positive crime figures.
Then again, perhaps not. Ministers know that it takes constant, sustained effort in order to peg back crime.
Further, they know that the issue of police numbers is shaping up to be salient at the coming election.
Firstly, those crime stats. The number of crimes recorded in Scotland has fallen to the lowest level for 32 years. Cause for celebration, albeit restrained (see above.)
Against that, the number of sexual crimes is up which may reflect increased prevalence or an increased readiness to report.
Secondly, to the politics. Ever blunt, Kenny MacAskill congratulated the cops for their efforts in tackling "the bevvy and blades culture that continues to blight Scotland."
But, ever alert, he also noted sensibly that there remain far too many victims of crime. In other words, his tone remained cautious.
In response, Labour offered what is becoming a standard theme: that there will be "SNP cuts" to come which could reverse the increase in police numbers and, potentially, the presumably concomitant reduction in crime.
Presumably, Mr MacAskill will note, gently or otherwise, that his government, in cohort with the Tories, has funded the recruitment of 1000 additional officers which, he would argue, would not have occurred under Labour whose manifesto emphasis was slanted rather towards education investment.
But, judging from today's comments, that will not deter Labour from complaining about any subsequent cuts in police strength - despite facing the claim that they did not back such recruitment in the first place.
Equally, the Tories are selective in their congratulations. They condemn the SNP as "soft touch", reserving their words of praise for the police - and for themselves for driving the recruitment demand in the first place.
Election, anyone?
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~35~RS~)
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I think Labour need to change the record as they seem to have forgotten it was under their rule that the country got in the mess that the Condems now have to deal with. Of course we will shout this out loudly from the rooftops so the electorate will not be deceived. Ian Gray is nothing more than a soundbite politician he will be fighting for his job before long.
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Crime an election issue (yawn). The crime of the unionists blocking the democratic will of the people of Scotland now that's a crime. The independence referdendum was also a referendum on increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament. However the unionists will allow Wales a referendum on increased powers but not Scotland. Also polls consistantly show the people of Scotland want an increase beyond Calmans claw back of powers and want a say on independence. So the unionists are working against democracy and against the voter.
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As the nationalists always seem to forget this when they applaud the SNP's 'efforts' in tackling crime:
"If it had been up to Labour, there would be 1,000 fewer police today. If it had been left to the SNP there would be 500 fewer.
"But because of Scottish Conservative pressure we have 1,000 more police out on our streets and in our communities, deterring crime and catching criminals."
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afternoon, #3 R-E
well if it had been left to the conservatives we wouldn't have a Parliament and our water would have been sold to the highest bidder by now
as we all know not having Scottish water in private hands is a national sorry regional disgrace.
Sid
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This is good news about the crime figures, but as MacAskill says there is still much work to be done.
As for Labour do they actually think anyone with a wit of sense believes these are "SNP cuts" coming, just think about that they attempt to construe over 1000 extra police officers as a cut. The figures also show a marked drop in crimes of violence and carrying a weapon, so progress is being made without the mandatory 6 month sentence proposed by Labour.
Do I begin to detect a note of exasperation in Brians tone when describing Labours position?
Reluctant Expat my memory is that the Tories forced a concession to raise the target from 800 to 1000 new officers, the official figures just released show that there are currently 1190 extra Police Officers.
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OMG Reluctant-Scot is a Tory! You're life couldn't get any worse could it!
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When was it the Scottish Conservatives got into power?
Extra police was an SNP manifesto commitment that the Tories found useful to support.
Done them no good, however as their ratings in Scotland duck towards single figures.
When will that happen?
5/1 by the end of this month
2/1 by the end of October
1/1 before Christmas
4/6 in January
Hands up.Does anyone know a Tory in Scotland below the age of 50.
Dead in the water - unless they take some of their own advice - ie revert to their age old mantra of sturdy self reliance - in the Scottish context that means independence
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What use is the BBC? How come they can publish the "Scottish" Conservative's lie without drawing attention to its mathematical and logical inaccuracy? Is is not part of the journalist function to query the statements of "authority"? How did they let that get past them?
With thanks to the publication of the salient bits by RE, who emphasises his innumeracy and illogicality by that action, I assert that, even if the claimed cause is true, "we have" 500 "more police".
However that does not sound as good as 1000, so we'll lie again as no-one ever notices.
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Of course it was the Scottish Government that implemented the extra police officers not the monster raving minority party. The Tories however want to hold a referndum with the Lib Dems for an alternative voting system and supporting a referendum on increased powers for Wales while blocking Scotlands right to vote on an increase in powers or independence for Scotland. Is this right and democratic? Perhaps if we controlled our own finances at least we could do more to tackle crime. Rather than suffer sever cuts from our London pocket money.
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As the unionists inevitably forget when they sneer at the SNP's 'efforts' in tackling crime is that the likely cuts equating to 2800 police officers will be down to Labour's economic incompetence and enforcement of Condem cuts
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Is this really a story?
Some aspect of society shows improvement, and the opposition parties fail to give credit to the party in power....
Was it ever other?
There remain far too many victims of crime; where is the data on the number of victims? One individual may be victim to a dozen crimes, often location-related.
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#1
Noooo... I want Labour to carry on complaining about "SNP Cuts" because the more they do it the more idiotic they appear.
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It's back to the unionist line only focus on "bread and butter" issues ie Education, Police and health that's your lot. Leave economics, pensions, foreign policy, banking, welfare, broadcasting, military policy, energy, immigration, drug policy, voting and taxation etc to London to look after on your behalf! Cos a fine job they've been doing and they aren't really important to your life.
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labour incompetence + tory opportunism + lib dem desperation = the cuts we will see.
whilst everyone in the public sector jockeys for position we won't know the real figures until the end of the year.
we must not forget or indeed allow labour to walk away from the wreckage they created AGAIN nor should we allow the tory's &lib dems a free hand.
talk of SNP cuts must be shown as the untruth it is.
Sid
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Off topic but good news....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11215774
Last week saw the first time that Scotland was powered completely by wind alone. Today one turbine alone would power Scotland going by the wind outside ! This expansion is good news and we havent even got the offshore wind turbines and the underwater tidal ones on the go yet. Scotland is on the brink of being a successful country due to our resources again and this time it is an unlimited supply. If only the rest of Scotland would realize that staying in the Union will mean all that money going elsewhere and the country never getting any better.
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8. handclapping
From a recent response (5 September) from the BBC regarding a complaint I made about a female BBC reporter (22 April) I was advised - " [the female BBC reporter - name withheld for fear of naughty corner] preceded the statement by stating “they'll say, or people watching this will say".
Something to do with Scotland being part of England if my memory serves me.
So there you go! Say anything you want but always use the preface "They'll say".
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Bizarre comment!
6. Have you seen which party is in government?
And which party will still be in government this time next year?
And as I'm also a left-of-Tory-centre like a certain Prime Minister...ah, life could be a whole lot worse!
But how's life as an SNP supporter going? How's life as a pro-independence fanatic going? Double thumbs-up?
No.
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Every time.
7. "Extra police was an SNP manifesto commitment"
Yes, it was in the SNP manifesto but as anyone with a memory knows (that will be all of us bar the nationalists), the SNP tried to drop that "fully costed and top priority" pledge within weeks of the election.
What the SNP changed the commitment to was: "500 new police and 500 existing police deployed from 'station' duties" (whatever that means).
It was the Conservatives that made them stick to their manifesto and recruit 1,000 extra police.
Don't you remember that?
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Policing is not about the numbers of extra officers Brian but more about how police forces deploy their resources: those with the powers of arrest (the 'hats') and those who support that role (the 'staff'). Why do we still have people in senior roles in the police that just don't require their powers of arrest and for which they are wholly unsuited too (such as HR and Finance)?
#11
Think you'll find that the only official and centrally collated record of victims concerns the opt-in Victim Notification Scheme. Up until last year at least (and this may surprise you!) you would seriously struggle to identify any victim in the mad filing system operated by the COPFS.
But you are wrong in your suggestion that there is one victim for multiple crimes. The tendency in more serious crimes is that they generate between between 2-3 victims.
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Reluctant-Scot's blustering and wind alone could power Glasgow for 5 years!
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Reluctant so it WAS an SNP manifesto commitment to have 1000 new police officers, another commitment delivered.
You really are all over the place on this topic, by your reckoning the SNP snared the Tories into supporting their manifesto while making it look as if the Tories actually had some influence, sounds like even more smart work from the SG.
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If the government totaly re hash the police by creating a national force they could save millions vis.
doing such would result in the need for only
One chief constable
four regional commanders
with Chief superintendents in charge of the present national divisional set up as at present
One Admin/pay department
Reduced numbers of specialists such as photographers & csi professionals.
fewer control rooms
Better national procurement strategy
reduced admin/stationary/uniform /vehicle costs.
By doing this will save millions protecting numbers of front line police.
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Question :Did an SNP canvasser once steal Ex pat's sweeties one Saturday morning when he was eight?
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Page 58 SNP manifesto 2007.
Departmental Priorities
A stronger focus on safer communities
More Police on Local Streets
There is no doubt we could be doing more to fight crime and make Scotland’s communities safer. Creating a safer Scotland will be a top priority for the Department of Justice, with all our actions focused on cutting crime and reducing the fear of crime.
It is essential that we have sufficient police on local streets. That’s why we will set out plans in our first Budget for Scotland for 1000 more police and will encourage Chief Constables to focus these new resources on community policing. We want to see these new police officers
becoming part of the fabric of communities and through local knowledge and by building strong relationships with families and businesses in the local area, they will be in a better position to deter crime, solve crime and make you and your family feel safer as you go about
your daily business.
Visible policing plays a vital role in reducing the fear of crime, which can be as destructive as the level of crime, which is why we are putting the emphasis on front line police.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 29th 2008, The Times – IAIN GRAY said; “at this rate it will take the SNP 13 years to keep their promise.”
March 4, 2009 The Herald; Labour's justice spokesman RICHARD BAKER said: "Kenny MacAskill needs to come clean now and say if there will be 17,236 or more officers by May 2011 or not?"
March 4th 2009, The Express, Labour's justice spokesman RICHARD BAKER said:"Until there are 17,236 officers in Scotland, the SNP manifesto promise remains unmet."
Humble pie for hashit & bashit then ?
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I suppose the numbers of crimes are a wee bit like swings and roundabouts. Some numbers up and some numbers down. I suppose if certain hypothetical political shenanigans had been investigated further in Glasgow the numbers might (or might not I suppose) have been higher (or just the same depending on what was or what was not found).
The figures are a wee bit like a 'two-edged sword' I suppose. Labour will be upset they are lower, obviously because it shows their opponents in a good light, but will be glad for other reasons that they are lower, because nobody wants lots of crime in the country do they.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
While you're further considering the previous comment remember it contains factual information which has been previously reported elsewhere in the media.
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27. Vakov2000
"previously reported elsewhere in the media"
Alas, there is no "elsewhere in the media", as far as certain broadcasters are concerned.
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25. At 6:38pm on 07 Sep 2010, highlandarab wrote:
"I suppose the numbers of crimes are a wee bit like swings and roundabouts. Some numbers up and some numbers down."
I remember a number of years back under a previous administration when at a Community Council Meeting in South Lanarkshire, my brother asked the Police Inspector who was reporting the good news that there had been a considerable a drop in housebreaking figures in the area why this was the case and he received the reply:
'We've got them all the usual suspects in jail for the next few years so you can expect some peace till they get out.'
We had a similar story where I live in Ayrshire when a gang from Kilmarnock were carrying out housebreakings in the surrounding villages and towns - when they got caught and imprisoned the problem stopped.
Think these statements tells the whole story.
We keep being told the the prisons are currently full - beware the day they all get put back on the streets.
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#15.
Last week saw the first time that Scotland was powered completely by wind alone. This expansion is good news and we havent even got the offshore wind turbines and the underwater tidal ones on the go yet. Scotland is on the brink of being a successful country due to our resources again and this time it is an unlimited supply. If only the rest of Scotland would realize that staying in the Union will mean all that money going elsewhere and the country never getting any better.
Pity really then that this resources isn't being exploited using equipment built by Scottish companies. Not a single windturbine being installed is manufactured here and we're in danger of also losing out in the tidal sector.
Say thankyou to the useless City of London and the Treasury. Oh and read this..
http://energy.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1882853/
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"Election anyone?" I know what Brian Taylor is referring to, of course, but it may be of some interest to those of us who take a broader view and are wont to have a hankering for putting things in their proper context that an election date was announced yesterday. What the proper context might be is, naturally, a moot point in UK Scotland. My contention is that, when a sub-state autonomous national community announces the date on which its next parliamentary general election will be held, this is a matter which is at least potentially not wholly without relevance to the populations of other sub-state autonomous national communities, not least when the election in question is taking place within the European Union, of which we are all citizens.
As luck would have it and improbable though it may seem, it happens that on the day when this BT blog thread was initiated the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia formally announced that the eagerly anticipated Catalan parliamentary elections will take place on November 28th, stating: "These will without doubt be the most transcendentally significant elections in our recent history." Transcendentally significant! So there you go: another transcendentally significant news item that BBC Scotland has apparently neglected to mention, presumably because the context within which it conducts its editorial selection is a more parochially anglo-unionist one than independentists are very likely to identify with. Tough on us, again. Still, mustn't grumble. What would be the point?
For those who may be interested, however: Mr Montilla declared that these imminent elections would be the most important ones held in Catalonia in a generation, in social, economic and constitutional terms. They are also expected to turn out to be somewhat problematic for his party, the Catalan branch of Spain’s ruling Socialist Party, support for sovereign independence having apparently risen to about 47 per cent of the Catalan population after the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled against elements of the Statute of Autonomy of the Generalitat some weeks ago, whereupon over a million people took to the streets of the capital city, Barcelona, in protest, brandishing the most improbably enormous national (Catalan) flags imaginable, apart from the massive 'tricolore' that is suspended majestically from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on special occasions.
As some of you will doubtless not need me to tell you, the Catalans are one of the oldest nations in Europe. Located on the north-eastern side of the Iberian peninsula, with a population of 7.5 million people (more than 2 million more than Scotland), Catalonia has its own culture, language and traditions. Until 1714 it was an independent state with a full range of national institutions. Following its defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession, the Castilians imposed their language and dismantled Catalan institutions.
At present Catalonia is an autonomous community inside the Spanish state, a status which is about to be challenged, just as the current status of devolved Scotland is soon to be challenged at the forthcoming Scottish general election, the outcome of which might just conceivably be subject to a degree of influence from events elsewhere if, as expected, the independentists do outstandingly well in the Catalan general election and if a referendum on Catalan independence ensues. As I mentioned but as the BBC appears not to have mentioned, the historically important/transcendentally significant elections in what is frequently referred to as "the next European state" take place on November 28th.
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Crime in Scotland down? And the law enforcement agencies will also insist there are no, no go areas! I have lost count the number of times of police vehicles pass without stopping in our area! Indeed had they done just that STOP, got out of their vehicles walked 100 yards looked over some obstacles bushes etc then for sure they'd have bagged a few!
On an other crime related story, I overheard some glaswegian banter it went like 'Ah hurd the ither day that the RBS had offered Abdel B'haset Magri a 25 year mortgage'.... Way to go Mr MacAskill!
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#32
Come on, police drive through all areas without stopping. That is what they are pleased to refer to as modern policing methods. Not my idea of how to go about things, but I dare say availability of resources, which are not in abundant supply in the UK, may have something to do with it. An increase of a thousand polis is good, I venture to suggest. But an increase on what? A pre-existing manifest insufficiency resulting from years and indeed decades of anglo-unionist under-funding.
You are expecting PC MacSporran to get out of his shiny wee motor to dirty his great clumping size 10s by tramping about in the Labour heartland? Me too. However, it is difficult to see how the number of polis available for this can be prevented from going down indefinitely if the Labour heartland keeps Scotland in the UK to suffer the full panoply of Westminster-imposed public-spending cuts that will be revealed over the coming months and years. You ain't seen nothing yet.
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33. You know, I have still to see one solitary nationalist explain where an independent Scotland would have dug up the £470bn needed to rescue our banks.
And to pre-empt the predictable, Salmond favoured "light-touch regulation" and wanted to follow the hyper-inflated bubble economic strategies of Iceland and Ireland. So to argue a fantasy scenario that an independent Scotland would not have found ourselves in this position is pretty much invalid.
I'm not expecting a simple answer here.....
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oh?
When did Airdire Savings Bank get bailed out? Must have missed that.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but its the only Scottish (PURELY Scottish that is) Bank thats left. All the rest have been bought over if I'm not mistaken.
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#35
I know it's not strictly a bank but is The Scottish Building Society not Scottish?
Maybe I shouldn't say that too loudly just incase it is targeted for takeover too.
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34. Reluctant-Expat
"rescue our banks"
I'm glad you aren't expecting a simple answer - because there isn't one. However, your problem (actually one of many with regard to public finance - remember when you claimed that the Scottish fiscal deficit had to be added to our share of the UK one?) is that you frame any question on the basis of your own dubious assumptions.
So we need to start by correcting your errors.
First your £470 bn figure. In reality, "Britain pumped 66 billion pounds into the pair in 2008 and 2009 to hold an 83 percent stake in RBS and 41 percent of Lloyds." (source Reuters) Most of the oft quoted larger figures were, in fact, insurance. None of that was required, so the UK Government made a considerable profit from the premiums, with no payouts required..
So where did the £66 bn come from? The OECD Economic Outlook in 2009 puts it in perspective. In 2007, the UK (like Scotland had a comparatively small fiscal deficit). In 2008 and 2009, the UK borrowed more than anyone else. The banks were bailed out with borrowed money. Even you will understand that the massive reliance on the UK financial sector for raising public revenue, meant that the the UK taxpayer could no longer meet current expenditure - much less the additional costs of the bailout.
So, if we take 2007 as the date of the creation of an independent Scotland, then it would have had to do what the UK did - borrow the money.
The "what ifs" of history are always fun to explore (though totally meaningless, of course), so your fundamental premise is flawed.
However, to play your game for a moment. If Scotland had become independent in the 1970s, it seems likely that we would have had our own version of the Scandinavian banking crisis of 1991/2 - the cause of which was too much money slushing around. Consequently, they suffered far less in the latest credit crunch. Having a large sovereign wealth fund wouldn't have hindered the economy either!
Not simple, I know. You may not understand it - but others may find it interesting (or not!)
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Kenneth Roy has an interesting article about the independence of broadcasters in the Scottish Review. Given its content, not much point in giving the link!
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34. Reluctant-Expat
"I'm not expecting a simple answer here....."
Of course not as even that would be way over your head to comprehend get back to your colouring in book we'll open the crayon box for you.
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