Knife crime in Edinburgh on the rise, according to new police figures

THE NUMBER of Capital criminals caught carrying knives rose by nearly a third last year, according to the latest figures released by Police Scotland.
Knife crime in Edinburgh is on the rise, according to official new stats. Picture: John DevlinKnife crime in Edinburgh is on the rise, according to official new stats. Picture: John Devlin
Knife crime in Edinburgh is on the rise, according to official new stats. Picture: John Devlin

While reports of violent crime dropped slightly, officers encountered almost 200 cases of criminals in possession of a bladed weapon between April and December compared the previous year.

The 196 reported cases of knives being found represented a 32 per cent rise on the 148 found in the 2017-18 period.

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Cases of carrying any weapon also increased, rising by 19 per cent from 456 to 543.

Overall, crime was down 3.4 per cent – with 40,746 complaints compared to 42,134 the previous year, though serious assaults were up eight per cent from 291 to 315.

Speaking last month, Chief Superintendent Gareth Blair said: “What we’ve seen in terms of offensive weapons is positive because what it tells me is we’re making sure officers conduct stop and search in the hotspot areas.”