Anecdotally, Edinburgh is often viewed as a safe city, at least by British standards. Yet this relative tranquillity and safety is rudely interrupted for two nights a year: Halloween, and Bonfire Night.
For the past several years, certain areas of the capital have been plagued with firework violence and other anti-social behaviour on these two autumnal holidays. Police Scotland have established “Operation Moonbeam” to tackle Bonfire Night-related crime, and the date has become infamous in the capital’s calendar.
The areas of Edinburgh most affected by firework violence are its outlying suburbs. Niddrie, Sighthill, and Gilmerton all experienced significant disorder on this year’s Bonfire Night, whilst the city centre was largely unaffected. These are often the capital’s most deprived areas.
This then raises the question of who are the perpetrators? Police Scotland have made numerous statements and press releases in recent years, almost always citing the violence they have encountered as having been perpetrated by groups of youths. On Bonfire Night of 2022, Police Scotland described numerous instances of youth violence, including “100 youths [throwing] fireworks at members of the public” in Niddrie, police patrol vehicles being attacked with bricks in West Pilton, and the fire service being run out of Drylaw by “youths who were also armed with scaffolding poles and baseball bats.”
The impacts on the public are severe. Besides the obvious fear and threat to personal safety, the practical implications are highly relevant. Prior to nightfall on Bonfire Night this year, Lothian Buses announced pre-emptive measures to ensure the safety of their staff and passengers, by withdrawing all service from Niddrie. Throughout the night, the operator repeatedly diverted several bus routes across the city in response to “anti-social behaviour.” The situation became so dire in much of southern Edinburgh that the service 400 was completely withdrawn, as the number of diversions made the route “operationally unsustainable.” The result was an inability for the public to go about their daily lives, particularly in areas of the city with a high dependency on public transport.
Firework violence this year also led to loss of life. Edinburgh Zoo announced that one of their baby red pandas Roxie, who was just three months old, died after choking on her own vomit on Bonfire Night, which the zoo attributes to the stress caused by firework noise. This is reflective of broader national concerns that fireworks are inherently anti-social, even when used responsibly due to their noise and waste pollution. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), who operate Edinburgh Zoo, have backed a petition started by Julie Doorne, which calls for greater regulation of fireworks, including restricting their use to traditional holidays and reducing the maximum permitted noise from 120 decibels to 97. This petition has received over one million signatures.
Edinburgh students displayed mixed views on the capital’s firework violence. Isabel*, a third year student, voiced concern. She told The Student that “it is frightening. When you see pictures of buses and emergency services being attacked, it is hard not to think, well what if that happened to me?” This concern was shared by several others, with the overarching theme of those spoken to being a concern for those involved, particularly the emergency services who are putting themselves at serious risk of harm in the face of what one student called “mindless violence.” Others were less concerned. Max, second year, told The Student that “it doesn’t massively concern me. I don’t go to the places where the violence is happening, and neither do most students I know. It seems pretty isolated, and I generally feel removed from it.” He did, however add that “I do feel sorry for the police. They get a rough time of it.”
There is significant debate on how to address firework violence. One method is Firework Control Zones (FCZs), which were deployed in Edinburgh for the first time this year. In an active FCZ, it is a criminal offence to release private fireworks, and it is hoped that this localised targeting of violent hotspots will help to empower police to tackle firework violence. Similarly, additional “stop and search” powers were used under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, which enabled police officers to stop and search anybody in the specified areas of Moredun, Niddrie, and Gracemount without probable cause. It is hoped that these methods will act as legal deterrents to using fireworks anti-socially.
There is also growing public support for much tighter restrictions on private firework usage, such as Julie Doorne’s petition. Others go further, calling for fireworks to be permitted at organised displays only, and totally banning private sales. Whilst this would undoubtedly serve well in reducing firework violence and anti-social behaviour, it is collective punishment for the whole population due to the behaviour of a reckless minority.
Edinburgh South MP and Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray responded to the scenes in his constituency stating that “we must stop the sale of fireworks to those who wish to use this time of year to cause havoc on our streets.” Whilst the rhetoric is present, the detail is not. There is currently no national plan from either Holyrood or Westminster to tackle firework violence. For the time being, it appears that the annual autumnal “festivities” will continue.
Illustration by Katya Roberts