JUSTICE SECRETARY Kenny MacAskill yesterday welcomed figures showing a 30-year low in Scottish recorded crime and vowed to continue the “blitz on bevvy and blades,” writes Steve Bargeton, political editor.

There were 34,000 fewer crimes recorded in 2007/08 than 2006/07—a drop of 8%.

“I welcome this evidence that there were tens of thousands fewer crimes and so tens of thousands fewer victims during our first year in government,” he said.

“However, we’re committed to taking the action needed to drive down crime for the long term, not just for one year.

“We now have more police officers in Scotland than ever before and are directly funding 1000 additional police officers with the first 150 already hitting the beat across the country.

“We’re also tackling the underlying causes of crime—drink, drugs and deprivation—and I recently outlined bold plans to tackle alcohol misuse, while parliament endorsed our new drugs strategy.”

Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker warned of cuts to community safety and prison budgets.

“This shows no SNP commitment to reducing crime or protecting Scottish communities,” he said.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said that only one out of four crimes are reported to the police, and only about 10% of crimes recorded resulted in conviction.

“It is hardly surprising that the public has lost faith in the Scottish justice system,” he said.