Police doubt over knife law proposals
26 Oct 05
Senior officer tells MSPs that increasing maximum penalties will not affect crime figures
A senior police officer has warned that proposed changes to legislation surrounding knife crime will not make a difference.
Chief Superintendent Tom Buchan, the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents' president, was speaking at a meeting of Holyrood's Justice 2 Committee. He said that the proposals outlined in the new Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill to double the maximum sentence for carrying a knife would only apply to those prosecuted at the more serious indictment level and he did not think this would make a significant difference to the incidence of knife crime.
An Executive spokesperson said ministers had agreed to increase the maximum punishment in sheriff summary cases from six months to a year.