The Scottish Government has been urged to do more to tackle violent crime after new figures showed a rise in homicides in Inverclyde. 

Katy Clark issued a stark warning to ministers after the number of homicides in Inverclyde rose from one case in 2022/23 to four in 2023/24. 

The Scottish Government's Homicide in Scotland 2023-24 report shows that Inverclyde has seen a total of nine homicides over the past five years. 

Ms Clark, who represents the West Scotland region, including Inverclyde, called on ministers to 'urgently address gaps in community safety by boosting policing resources and tackling the root causes of violent crime'.

The MSP, who is Scottish Labour's community safety spokesperson, expressed her concern over the upward trend and said community safety should be 'non-negotiable'. 

She added: "These figures should be a wake-up call for the Scottish Government.

"The recent rise in homicides is deeply troubling, especially as it affects communities right here in Inverclyde. 

"Families across the west of Scotland deserve to feel safe, yet repeated cuts to policing resources and an overburdened justice system are leaving communities vulnerable and exposed.

"The fact that we are seeing an increase at all, after decades of hard-won progress, highlights the urgent need to support local police forces and address the root causes of violent crime.

"The Scottish Government must act now to ensure our police are properly resourced, our justice system is capable of responding swiftly, and the root causes of violence in our communities are tackled head-on."

The reports shows that there were 57 homicide victims across Scotland in the past year, a 10 per cent increase from the previous year's 52.

But justice secretary Angela Constance said she was 'encouraged' that recorded homicides overall remained low. 

She added: "Scotland continues to be a safe place to live and I am encouraged that recorded homicides remain at a near record low, falling by 53 per cent since 2006/07. 

"However, one homicide victim is one too many, with the consequences devastating for their loved ones and communities. 

"The greatest reduction in homicide victims over the last 20 years has been among young people aged 16-24, dropping to 29 between 2019/20 and 2023/24, from 125 victims in this age range between 2004/05 and 2008/09. 

"This follows focused action that we have taken in this area."

Ms Constance said tackling all forms of violent crime continues to be a 'top priority' for the Scottish Government. 

She added: "Through our Violence Prevention Framework, we are taking forward a range of activities to prevent violence, supported by over £2 million investment, in addition to our record police funding of £1.55 billion this year – an increase of £92.7 million. 

"This has enabled Police Scotland to take on more recruits this year than at any time since 2013 and they have stated that current officer numbers are about 16,400.

 "We also introduced the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill in September 2024 to create a statutory framework for Scotland's first national multi-agency domestic homicide and suicide review model."