Our court the safestin the whole country

According to statistics, Scotland’s courts of law can be some of the worst crime blackspots in the country.
By The Newsroom
Published 31st May 2019, 11:15 BST
Lanark Sheriff Court Hope Street, Lanark 15/10/13Lanark Sheriff Court Hope Street, Lanark 15/10/13
Lanark Sheriff Court Hope Street, Lanark 15/10/13

Not in Lanark, however.

Statistics obtained by the Gazette’s parent company, JPiMedia, via a Freedom of Information request, shows that, although just about 35 miles away from Lanark in each direction, Glasgow and Edinburgh are major troublespots in comparison.

The number of alcohol seizures in the sheriff court precincts in Edinburgh last year was 671. Glasgow Sheriff Court had ‘only’ 182 such seizures but Lanark was practically teetotal with only two all year. The contrasts are even greater when it comes to seizure of sharp objects not classed as knives; court and police officers recovered 799 of these in Glasgow Sheriff Court last year and made 660 such seizures in Edinburgh; in Lanark, again, there were only two cases. There were NO knife seizures at Lanark last year while Edinburgh saw 415 seized and Glasgow 186. There were also NO drugs seizures in the Lanark court in 2018 but 81 in Edinburgh and 11 in Glasgow. Edinburgh court staff found 70 syringes last year and Glasgow only 15. Mind you, that was 15 more than in Lanark!