A remarkable 90% of Scots have expressed support for Jack McConnell's emphasis on young people in the Scottish Executive's moves to tackle anti-social behaviour. The high level of endorsement, recorded by NFO System Three in a poll for The Herald, is found across every political party, class, geographic region, and age group. Support never falls below 85%.The high level of support doesn't surprise me at all although I'll be amazed if anything meaningful is actually done. Already, the usual suspects are moaning:
The surprise outcome last night provoked a furious debate between politicians and campaigners, with Mr Mc-Connell and his ministers being accused of generating undue concern about the levels of youth crime in the run-up to the new anti-social behaviour bill.I'm not at all surprised to read that Socialist Party MSPs, Professors of Criminology and single issue pressure groups are completely out of touch with the majority - the careers of these people would not exist if crime were properly dealt with.
I have just finished reading A Brief History of Crime by Peter Hitchens of the Mail on Sunday. It is an admirable survey of why crime is rising and who is to blame.