SCOTLAND’S “get tough” stance on knife crime is putting more blade-wielding criminals behind bars and for longer than in the rest of the UK.

New figures released today also show the no-nonsense policy is paying dividends – with crimes involving offensive weapons falling by almost 40% in the past five years.

Law changes and initiatives over the past decade have targeted the country’s blade culture, and other measures are being planned.

Last month Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and Frank Mulholland, the Lord Advocate, met the family of 19-year-old student Reamonn Gormley who was stabbed to death in Blantyre last year by Daryn Maxwell, 23, who was on bail at the time of the attack.

Ministers are now looking at ways to make it easier for judges to impose sentences on knife criminals that run consecutively instead of concurrently and whether those who offend while out on licence – like Maxwell and his accomplice Barry Smith – can be given tougher sentences.

Mr MacAskill will today roll out the latest phase of the No Knives, Better Lives initiative, which uses a range of tactics including advertising in areas where young people gather, diversionary activities, work in schools and youth work.

Mr MacAskill said: “There is a culture of knife crime in parts of Scotland which stretches back decades and sadly, as we’ve seen from recent tragic events, communities continue to suffer the heartache of loved ones lost or injured as a result of knives.

“The key to tackling knife crime is tough enforcement backed by early intervention and education. That is why our police forces are taking a no-nonsense approach through carrying out a record number of stop and searches and our prosecutors are cracking down hard on those who are caught carrying and using knives through a strengthened prosecution policy announced by the Lord Advocate last year.

“Our courts in Scotland are also responding, discharging the toughest knife sentencing regime in the UK.”

Criminals caught carrying knives in Scotland are 50% more likely to be sent to prison than in the rest of the UK and on average they receive custodial sentences nearly 75% longer than in England and Wales. Since 2006 there has also been a reduction of 38% in crimes involving offensive weapons – the lowest level since 1997.

In 2006-7, there were 10,110 recorded crimes for offensive weapons in Scotland, compared with 6283 in 2010-11.

On average custodial sentences for knife crime in Scotland now mean 288 days in prison compared to 165 days south of the Border. Last year 31% of Scots caught carrying knives were sent to prison, compared to 20% in England and Wales.

Mr Mulholland said: “The public are rightly concerned about knife crime. However, it is vital that we recognise the huge improvements in tackling these sort of offences that have been seen in recent years.”

Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, co-director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, said: “The reduction is testament to the hard work currently going on in Scotland. Sadly, there are still some people who persist in carrying knives and being violent.

“We need to take a long hard look not just at what makes people carry knives but what makes people violent and tackle the root causes – things like alcohol, early years’ education and parenting – if we are to make a real difference to levels of violence in Scotland.”

There has also been a rise in the clear-up rate for violent crime from 67% to 72% – a 35-year high. Recorded crime has fallen for a fourth year in a row and at its lowest since 1976. Since 2006/07, total recorded crime has reduced by 23%, violent crime has reduced by 19%.

Jonathan Bannister, an expert in urban disorder at Glasgow University, said evidence suggests early intervention has the greatest impact.

“It is too easy to draw conclusions that policing is the only aspect which has an impact,” he said. “There are people who do not respond to sanctions, but there are an extensive range of youth initiatives which encourage young people to reconsider their offending behaviour. There is little evidence in knife crime research which suggests sanctions have a long-term impact, but much stronger evidence to show that interventions do.”