GLASGOW has contributed to a fall in the number serious assaults across Scotland after a drop in violence among young men in and around the city in the past decade.
The Scottish Government study found serious assaults fell 35 per cent between 2009/09 and 2017/18, from 6472 to 4189.
The vast majority of the fall, 89 per cent, was due to the police recording fewer cases in the west of Scotland, centred on Glasgow.
In Glasgow alone, the number of serious assaults fell from 1872 cases to 914 over the period, equivalent to a drop of 55 per cent after taking population changes into account.
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In the 12 council areas making up the west of Scotland, serious assaults fell by 50 per cent across the decade, while in the other 20 councils they fell by just 15 per cent.
Across Scotland, there was a fall of around 50 per cent in the number of serious assaults involving a knife or pointed weapon.
However the west of Scotland remains the worst area of the country for knife attacks, with blades involved in 33 per cent of assaults there in 2017/18, compared to 16 per cent elsewhere.
More than two-thirds (70 per cent) of serious assaults involved both male attackers and victims
Alcohol was a factor in around two-thirds of the assaults, with 60 per cent happening at the weekend, and 70 per cent taking place in public spaces.
Men were the victims in 80 per cent of cases in 2017/18, down from 87 per cent in 2008/09.
Most male victims are seriously assaulted by acquaintances (55 per cent) or strangers (23 per cent), whereas females are more likely to be seriously assaulted by partners/ex-partners or relatives (52 per cent).
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Serious assaults are defined as attacks requiring hospital treatment, such as fractures, internal injury, severe concussion, lacerations needing stitches or disfigurement.
The serious assaults statistics also include attempted murders.
The analysis, based on a sample of 1000 police files, said: “Overall this research suggests that fewer cases of males attacking other males in the west of Scotland, often involving relatively younger people (teenagers and those in their 20s) and the use of a weapon, have contributed the most to the reduction in serious assault over the past 10 years.
“It remains the case that the use of knives or other blades is much more prevalent in the west of Scotland than elsewhere, and a majority of all serious assault committed in Scotland involved the consumption of alcohol prior to the incident.”
The Scottish Government said the change in numbers was partly down to public health campaigns such as ‘No knives, better lives’.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the research showed the “positive impact” of investing in early intervention, particularly among young men in the west of Scotland who historically have been at the highest risk of falling victim to violence.
He said: “Our public health approach to reducing violence has garnered interest from London and elsewhere in the UK, as well as from the World Economic Forum.
“Despite this progress, we are working closely with police and others to tackle violence wherever it persists, and that includes keeping women and girls equally safe.”
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