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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
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Glasgows streets will be safer thanks to a new anti-violence campaign and extra funding for initiatives including late night taxi marshal schemes, Safe Zones, extra enforcement at known problem spots and high visible policing. £100,000 will be made available to the Glasgow Community Safety Partnership. This will fund projects that reduce violence, particularly alcohol fuelled violence in the city centre over the festive period and is part of a £1 million national package.
Welcoming the announcement, Bob Doris Glasgow SNP list MSP said: "This is great news. Most of us will have, at some point been subjected to behaviour that is totally beyond the pail
"Week after week we see reports of violence, some of it with weapons, most of it fuelled by alcohol
"The police force, community groups and others are already doing some tremendous work in helping to make Glasgow safer but we all have a part to play
"The Tartan army is great at policing itself - I think it's time for Glaswegians to legally reclaim our city by assisting the police in cleansing our streets of this behaviour
"This very welcome award will go some way to helping us do that"
Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill added: "The Scottish Government is committed to building stronger and safer communities, where families feel safe to go out and enjoy a meal or drink in the evening without fear of being harassed by aggressive drunks or threatening behaviour.
"I hope the projects funded through this additional money - such as taxi marshals, high visible targeted policing, and Safe night zones - can make the streets of our towns and cities safer and help people to have a more enjoyable Christmas and New Year.
"The Scottish Government have already outlined action to crackdown on alcohol misuse by banning irresponsible promotions in off-sales. They have also proposed "polluter pays" approach to funding extra policing capacity
"It is after all a time for enjoyment and celebration and it's important that we don't let the minority spoil the fun for everyone. Projects funded through a similar initiative last year had a positive impact and that's why I've decided to provide funding for another year and broaden its allocation across Scotland. This should allow everyone to build on the initial success
"I know that the Violence Reduction Unit, police forces and other stakeholders have already done some tremendous work to help make Scotland safer. We need to keep that momentum going and I hope the second year of the Safer Scotland campaign is even more successful than the first."
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