How Scotland managed to get rid of its reputation as Europe's most violent country

Mounted police patrol on an Edinburgh street. Photo: AP Photo / Jon Super

In the early 2000s, the situation in Scotland was critical. Glasgow almost daily saw knife attacks, street fights, and clashes between youth gangs. According to the UN, the country was considered the most violent in the developed world: Scots were almost three times more likely to be victims of an attack than Americans. Newspapers were full of reports about horrific murders and bloody confrontations.

To change the situation, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) was established within the police force in 2005. Its employees were given almost complete freedom to find new ways to combat crime.

First of all, they analyzed murder data. It turned out that most of them were not premeditated and had no connection to organized crime. Most often, everything started with an ordinary argument between two people, which escalated into a fight, after which one of the participants grabbed a knife. This led researchers to the conclusion that it is necessary to fight not only the consequences but also the causes of violence.

Scots fight the propensity for aggression as if it were a disease

SVRU staff proposed an unusual approach for law enforcement: to view violence not only as a criminal problem but also as a kind of social disease that can be prevented. Instead of reacting only after a crime, they focused on prevention.

The logic was similar to fighting infectious diseases: treating those who are already sick, vaccinating high-risk groups, and taking measures to prevent further spread of the disease.

The approach itself was not entirely new. The idea of viewing violence as a public health problem emerged in the USA back in the 1970s, and in 1996, the World Health Organization recognized violence as a serious global public health problem.

However, the success of the Scottish program was linked not so much to the idea itself as to its adaptation to local conditions. Initially, SVRU staff identified who was at highest risk, what contributed to violence, and what circumstances, conversely, helped prevent it.

It turned out that almost two-thirds of all cases of violence affected only 1% of Scotland's population. Young men from socially disadvantaged areas were at the highest risk, especially if they were unemployed, lived in poverty, or grew up in an unstable family environment. Conversely, a high level of education and good relationships with parents significantly reduced potential involvement in violent crimes.

One of the first unusual experiments was meetings with members of street gangs. They were invited to the courthouse, where not only police officers spoke to the young people, but also doctors, people whose loved ones had been killed, and those who had themselves survived serious attacks. Afterwards, participants were offered help if they decided to break ties with the criminal environment. Of the 473 people who participated in such meetings, almost 400 later sought support.

Gradually, schools, hospitals, social services, and community organizations joined the work of violence prevention. Medical professionals were trained to recognize violence-related injuries, document them, and offer patients help. In schools, instead of expelling problematic students, increasing attention began to be paid to prevention. While almost 45,000 students were expelled from schools in Scotland in the 2006/07 academic year, in 2022/23, it was less than 12,000.

The new approach also dovetailed well with other changes in public policy — increased attention to children's rights and well-being. As a result, the fight against violence increasingly began to be perceived not only as a task for law enforcement agencies but also as a joint effort of education, healthcare, and social support systems.

Results and challenges of combating violent crime in Scotland

This strategy yielded noticeable results. Over the next decade, the number of murders in Glasgow decreased by 56%, and across Scotland by 38%. The overall level of violent crime from 2006 to 2015 decreased by almost a third. Today, the country is no longer among the European leaders in terms of murders, and per capita rates are lower than in Sweden, France, England, and Wales.

The success of the Scottish model attracted the attention of other countries. Since 2019, similar violence reduction units have started operating in twenty police districts of England and Wales. Initial assessments also indicate a decrease in the number of the most severe forms of violent crimes in the areas where they operate.

Today, SVRU remains part of Police Scotland and receives $1.45 million in government funding annually. However, experts emphasize that the problem has not disappeared. According to a 2024 study, the pace of serious violence reduction has slowed down recently.

New challenges also include the influence of social networks, the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and high levels of poverty (though poverty by Scottish standards – which are much higher than Belarusian ones) — almost one in four children in Scotland grows up in a poor family.

At the same time, the nature of the problem itself is changing. While previously the main focus was on adolescents and young people, now most of those accused of murder are people aged 30-40. This means that already proven approaches need to be supplemented with new ones.

SVRU believes that violence can be prevented, but this requires continued work with schools, social services, charitable organizations, and local communities.

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