News · 29 June 2026
Scotland halved murders by treating violence as disease
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels
Scotland, once called Europe's murder capital, drastically cut violent crime by shifting its approach to a public health problem. In 2008, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit held a court session for 85 rival Glasgow gang members to confront the impact of their actions. This new strategy, focusing on prevention and intervention, helped reduce the homicide rate by 56% in Glasgow and 38% across Scotland over the following decade.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs