Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
July 16, 2008
For one bereaved city mother, the grim reality of blade culture has cast an eternal shadow over her life
The mother of a 21-year-old brutally stabbed to death today appealed for mandatory jail sentences for carrying a knife.
Caroline Burnside spoke out as it was revealed 600 people have been treated in hospital for stab wounds in the Lothians in the past five years.
Her son Brett died three years after he himself was detained for stabbing a man. She said: "People who get caught with a knife should go straight to jail".
CAROLINE BURNSIDE never used to give a second thought to news about Scotland's growing knife culture.
Like most people, she found it inconceivable that her family would ever be the ones to suffer.
That all changed one day in 2001 when she received a phone call. It began a chain of events in her son's life which would ultimately lead to him becoming yet another statistic.
She was told that troubled teenager Brett had been responsible for the savage stabbing of another youth near the family home in Balerno.
His victim survived, but three years later Brett would not be so lucky - he lost his life when he was stabbed in an unrelated attack.
As knife crime is once again thrust into the political spotlight, 44-year-old Ms Burnside today spoke of how she had seen the devastating effects from both sides - as the mother of an attacker, and as the mother of a victim.
She is convinced there is only one way to tackle the issue - by introducing mandatory jail terms for anyone caught carrying a knife.
"These kids see people getting stabbed in the movies a dozen times and then get up and keep on fighting. They're under the impression knives aren't serious.
"I don't care what the politicians say - nothing has changed in the years since my son died. People who get caught with a knife should go straight to jail."
Her son's attacker, David Reid, is currently detained at Carstairs State Hospital. He was found guilty of culpable homicide in July 2005 on the grounds of diminished responsibility when psychiatrists failed to agree whether he was mentally ill or in a drug-induced psychosis at the time of Brett's killing.
Ironically, Brett, who himself had suffered schizophrenia, was previously detained in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital after his own knife attack.
Unlike Reid, his family say he got the help he needed to change his life.
Ms Burnside recalls: "We were on holiday when we heard that Brett had stabbed someone. He was attacked by three guys a few days before, and instead of going to the police he got drugged up and took the law into his own hands. When we got back we found that he'd gone on the run.
"When he returned to Edinburgh he phoned us and I convinced him to go back to the Royal for treatment - where he had been attending as an outpatient since age 14 - and when he got there the police were waiting for him after I shopped him in."
A court heard how Brett, then aged 18, attacked his victim Craig McCaig with a seven-inch bread knife. He was declared unfit to stand trial, but the judge was satisfied he had carried out the offences and ordered he be detained.
He said: "Brett didn't speak to me for three months, but when he started coming round he thanked me for what I did, and said he understood why I did it.
"The Royal Edinburgh had helped him immensely. When he was released his girlfriend became pregnant and he was looking forward to becoming a dad. He still had a few problems but they turned him into a better person who could understand people's suffering."
At the time of his death, Brett was lodging with a gay couple on Broughton Street. Reid, a known drug user, would regularly torment the couple by turning up at their door trying to sell things.
Ms Burnside said the warning signs in Reid were already there - he had previous convictions for carrying a knife, and for a knife attack outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court on a witness who had given evidence against him in another trial.
She added: "Reid used to torment the guys about being gay, and Brett was standing up for them. They got in an argument and Reid pulled out a knife.
"We didn't used to take much notice of knife crime, but now I have a very strong opinion on people who carry knives.
"My grandson, who was born after Brett died, is growing up in a very sick world. I don't think enough is being done in schools to educate children on the dangers of knife crime."
She said she supported Tory leader David Cameron who called for anyone carrying a knife without a good excuse to be sent to prison. "I'll back anyone who stands up for victims like myself and my family. We are living a life sentence. Life should mean life for crimes like the killing of my son."
CHILLING FIGURES
MORE than 600 people were hospitalised with stabbing injuries in the space of five years in the Lothians, according to latest figures.
It means an average of more than two victims a week are admitted to accident and emergency at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or St John's suffering injuries from attacks with a "sharp object".
That number has fallen as the decade has gone on, with 141 people being admitted in 2001/02, falling to 110 in 05/06. But recorded possession of knives has soared by 70 per cent in the last three years, with 465 cases in the last year.
A police spokesman said: "In Edinburgh, the number of crimes involving a knife has fallen since 2004 and, over the same period, there has been a rise in the numbers caught in possession of a knife.
"Reducing violent crime is a force priority and we have a key role to play in prevention through enforcement.
"Those people who do carry a knife often use the excuse that they are doing so for their own protection. However, what they don't realise is that by carrying a knife, they increase their chances of becoming involved in a serious incident which could end in serious injury or worse."
Recent police figures also revealed that the number of youngsters charged with bringing a knife to school in the Lothians doubled in the last year from nine to 18. Eight arrests were made in Edinburgh, with six cases believed to have been committed in high schools.
Edinburgh education leader Marilyne MacLaren said extensive work was under way with the police to improve crime prevention in schools. The city was the first in Scotland to launch Keeping Myself Safe, ten animated films based on true stories including one on knife crime.
Challenge to find the answer to tale of tragedy
TACKLING knife crime is set to become a crucial test for the governments on both sides of the Border.
In a week when one man was stabbed 11 times at the T in the Park music festival, and two men were jailed for life for a horrific unprovoked attack on Livingston chef John Jenkins, calls are growing for tougher jail sentences.
The family of 27-year-old Mr Jenkins have said those caught carrying knives should be taken to a morgue to see the damage their weapons can do. Bill Jenkins, 54, said the Government and the courts must take a tougher stance on such offences.
Speaking after John Edgar, 24, and his cousin David McCaig, 18, were jailed for life but sentenced to minimum terms of 15 years and 10 years respectively, Mr Jenkins called the punishments "a joke".
He said: "To me, if you are going to carry a knife it is like you carry a gun. You are going to use it some time or other.
"You should get the same sentence for carrying a knife as carrying a gun.
"I believe in taking them to the morgue and showing them what they have done," added Mr Jenkins, describing how he had to identify his son's body. "It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life."
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has already vowed to tackle Scotland's "booze and blades" culture,
promising a new sentencing council would be set up which would issue guidelines to crack down on knife crime.
He said: "I would anticipate that any sentencing council would make it quite clear that the use of a weapon should, except in the most exceptional circumstances, face a custodial sentence."
He said the Government was also looking at allowing those affected by knife crime to have a say on the sentence.
Under Scots law, there is no mandatory jail sentence for carrying a knife in public. But the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive increased the maximum penalty for carrying a knife from two years to four years' imprisonment.
Two years ago, the Lord Advocate issued guidelines which meant people found carrying knives would be refused police bail and, once they got to court, if they had any previous convictions involving knives, prosecutors would oppose any move to release them on bail.
Nationally, Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed "it is completely unacceptable to carry a knife".
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