Knife criminals 'should face alcohol ban'

SCOTS convicted of knife crime should be automatically banned from drinking alcohol, says a senior police officer.

Campbell Corrigan, assistant chief constable of Strathclyde Police, said the country's alcohol and knife culture posed a major risk to public safety and a new approach was needed.

He said he was "absolutely convinced" by the need to tackle alcohol abuse after 27 years as a police officer, witnessing how often it led to knife crime.

But he rejected calls for mandatory jail terms for people who carry knives in case the measure was indiscriminate.

He said: "The reality is that most people are given bail once they've been charged. Would it not be sensible to put on a bail condition saying they can't reoffend, return to the place where the offence took place or be in the condition they were in when they offended, for example, under the influence of alcohol?

"Once individuals become drunk they become less inhibited and are far more prone to use knives."

Alcohol bans can be imposed by the courts but are rare. In 2007, at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, a 16-year-old girl was banned from drinking for four weeks after admitting struggling violently with police officers while subject to an ASBO.