Police have charged a 19-year-old man after a police officer was stabbed in the back at a college in north-west Edinburgh.

The constable was injured after police responded to reports that a man with a knife was threatening self-harm at a campus for Edinburgh College in the Granton area shortly after 9am on Monday.

The Police Scotland officer, in his 20s, who was wearing a standard issue stab-proof vest at the time, was taken to hospital with a non-life threatening injury. It is understood he will remain in hospital overnight and is likely to be discharged on Tuesday.

The incident has raised fresh concerns about the use of unarmed officers to deal with such cases.

Calum Steele, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said it had launched its own investigation into the incident and was likely to lodge a formal complaint.

Steele said the federation had raised concerns after similar incidents in the past. The SPF has argued for greater routine use of armed officers.

“Police officers feel vulnerable and feel exposed without adequate equipment,” he said. “The SPF continues to raise concerns over the practice of sending unarmed officers to deal with armed assailants, whether they be armed with knives or other weapons.”

Iain Livingstone, a deputy chief constable of Police Scotland, is due to visit the officer in hospital. “Police Scotland always takes the welfare of its officers very seriously. We continually keep officer safety under review and regular liaison takes place with staff associations around this issue,” he said.

“As always, we will investigate this incident to see if there is anything to be learned from it. The officer’s injuries are thankfully not life-threatening and I intend to visit him tomorrow.”

Chf Insp Stevie Sutherland, the local area commander, said it was an isolated incident but there would be an increased police presence at the campus for several days to provide reassurance.

The 19-year-old man is due to appear at Edinburgh sheriff court on Tuesday.







