Labour today accused the SNP of being complacent on violent crime.
Johann Lamont MSP, Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, voiced his belief that SNP budget cuts are responsible for a lack of active police patrols on the streets.
Mr Lamont further claimed that the “boasting” of Cabinet Secretary Kenny MacAskill was leaving his constituents unconvinced.
He stated: “Kenny MacAskill keeps boasting about falling levels of crime in Scotland yet the number of violent crimes is up and a majority of Scots do not believe his rhetoric.
Budget cuts
“Everyone wants to see crime rates fall and that is not going to happen if SNP budget cuts mean civilian staff being made redundant.”
The figures revealed that 84% of respondents believe that crime in Scotland has either increased or remained the same over the past two years.
Mr Lamont echoed these findings, adding: “With over half of respondents saying they don’t believe police patrol their area enough that is something else the Cabinet Secretary should be looking at.”
