Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour
To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to reported increases in instances of youth crime and antisocial behaviour. (S6T-02270)
I take this opportunity, Presiding Officer, to wish you and all members of the Scottish Parliament a happy new year.
I was, of course, appalled to learn of the recent criminal incidents in Ben Macpherson’s constituency. I know that police are actively investigating to identify those who are responsible.
The Scottish Government remains committed to preventing children from getting involved in offending behaviour and to taking action to stop any reoffending where they do get involved. We work with partners to deliver a range of activities. For example, we expanded the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit’s work and delivered knife crime prevention education to practitioners and young people across Scotland.
I know that this is cold comfort to victims, but recorded crime is down 40 per cent since 2006-07. As of 4 November, Police Scotland reached officer numbers of 16,600, with further intakes planned throughout this year. In 2025-26, we will increase police funding to £1.62 billion. In addition, the First Minister will host a cross-party youth violence summit next week, on Monday 13 January.
I thank the minister for her answer and welcome the initiatives that are under way, particularly the final one that she mentioned.
First, I note that I raise these issues in the Parliament with no enthusiasm but feel that I must do so on behalf of those whom I represent.
As I said last year, in my constituency, I received correspondence about many very concerning instances of youth crime and antisocial behaviour, including people being threatened with weapons such as axes and knives; theft and robbery; unprovoked and sometimes very harmful assaults on other young people or passers-by; harassment of women, girls and vulnerable people; and dangerous driving of motorbikes, e-bikes, pushbikes and scooters, with people clipping pedestrians, stealing phones and generally causing alarm to pedestrians and drivers. All those things are usually done by people who are wearing menacing balaclavas and have a sense of being above the law.
It is a very small minority of Scotland’s young people who engage in such criminality, but I worry that the problem is growing and is now very serious in Edinburgh. It is increasing in frequency and the severity of violence is worsening. In recent months, I have received—almost weekly—very worrying correspondence from the communities that I serve. For example, in December, a mother and daughter were reportedly attacked by a gang in Leith and, just before Christmas, a boy was stabbed by a gang of youths elsewhere in Edinburgh. The issues around bonfire night are well known.
A trend is emerging in Edinburgh and, unfortunately, it is happening elsewhere in Scotland, too.
Mr Macpherson, I must ask you to get to the question.
Sure. I would be grateful if the Scottish Government would outline how—beyond what is happening next week, which I very much welcome—it intends to respond to the situation in 2025.
The incidents that Ben Macpherson has mentioned are totally unacceptable. He is right that we are talking about a very small minority, but I very much recognise the impact on the people and communities who are directly affected and, therefore, the need for continued relentless focus to tackle any rise in violence.
Addressing the root causes of crime, undertaking effective preventive and diversionary activity and ensuring appropriate enforcement are critical to safeguarding our communities, which is why, for example, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit has been working to develop a community of practice for more than 100 police schools liaison officers across Scotland. In addition, the independent working group on antisocial behaviour that I established is expected to publish its findings shortly, and we have committed to act on its recommendations.
I welcome that. Unfortunately, a trend is emerging, which is exacerbated by social media, sometimes enabled and encouraged by adults and potentially influenced by organised crime. I appreciate the minister’s reassurance to the Parliament and the public that the Government will use its convening abilities and, I hope, its legal powers, backed up with necessary resources, to support Police Scotland officers, other statutory services and youth workers and to focus efforts across agencies to tackle youth crime and antisocial behaviour this year.
The fact that the First Minister is convening the meeting next week is significant. Following that, if it would be appropriate, I would be grateful if the minister would consider hosting a meeting in Victoria Quay in Leith, in my constituency, with key stakeholders and partners to further discuss the situation and how we can tackle it together.
I am happy to discuss with the member the idea of having a future meeting at Victoria Quay.
Our priorities are also reflected in the budget, which will, if passed, increase funding to support police capacity and capability to £1.62 billion and will include almost £57 million in additional resource funding. As I said, Police Scotland confirmed on 4 November that the service had reached 16,600 officers. Our priorities are reflected in the budget. If members back the Scottish Government’s budget, an additional £3 million will be made available to Police Scotland specifically to help it to tackle retail crime.
Good collaboration between partners is essential to tackling the issue effectively. We are ensuring that bespoke interventions and support are provided through social work and third sector interventions such as Includem’s adapt programme, which supports children who are involved in offending and their families. We also continue to support the cashback for communities programme, which is funded by money recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and we are investing in projects that are helping to deliver a positive future for our children and young people.
There is a lot of interest in this question, so I would be grateful for concise questions and responses to enable more members to be involved.
The impact of youth crime and shoplifting on retailers is worse than ever. The organisation Retailers Against Crime says that losses to stores last year were at the highest level since 1997. Retailers are also in no doubt as to why that is and have told me that, because there are few or no consequences from the courts for theft from shops, criminals feel free to reoffend at will. Those people are dangerous organised criminals who not only steal but attack and intimidate staff and shoppers.
There have already been multiple incidents in 2025, but, as it stands, the only people who face the consequences of violence and abuse are the retailers and victims. Meanwhile, the perpetrators get off scot free. When will the Scottish Government show some common sense and get tough on those individuals so they know that their actions will have consequences?
The Scottish Government totally recognises the significant disruption and harm that retail crime causes and condemns any violence against retail workers. We recognise retail workers’ vital role in our society and want to ensure that they are protected. The Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 created a statutory offence of
“assaulting, threatening or abusing retail workers”,
which highlights the seriousness of such behaviour.
We support the innovative Scottish partnership against acquisitive crime, which is led by Police Scotland and retailers, and we encourage retailers to report all crimes to the police and to engage with that partnership. If our budget is approved by Parliament, it will make an extra £3 million available in 2025-26 to tackle retail crime.
I welcome the Government’s commitment to deal with young people’s involvement in crime and antisocial behaviour. Does the minister recognise the crucial role that youth work plays in addressing youth crime and antisocial behaviour? I know that she will not acknowledge it, but Government cuts have had a detrimental impact, so should youth work be placed on a statutory footing so that young people can avoid becoming involved in crime?
The Scottish Government’s budget will increase funding for local authorities, which will assist youth and community projects. Our hugely successful cashback for communities programme supports young people who are most at risk of being drawn into antisocial behaviour, offending and re-offending and delivers positive outcomes. Future work in all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities will prioritise opportunities for young people aged between 10 and 25 in the most deprived 20 per cent of areas in Scotland.
Adults also commit antisocial behaviour. The minister will recall my exchanges here with the First Minister about the scourge of antisocial behaviour by adults driving high-performance vehicles around the village of South Queensferry, in my constituency. I am grateful to the First Minister for his engagement on that topic. He has assured me that we are making progress towards the establishment of a national task force oversight group, which is to be chaired by the minister, so will she update Parliament on progress towards that group?
I know that the member, Mr Doris and I will meet Police Scotland, Mr Fairlie and others. In the future, we will include other members in a working group to look into antisocial behaviour with off-road vehicles.
Child Sexual Abuse
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in tackling child sexual abuse, in light of reported calls for a full United Kingdom national inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs. (S6T-02268)
Child sexual abuse and exploitation are abhorrent crimes that have devastating impacts on victims. We are taking direct action through the Scottish child abuse inquiry, the terms of reference for which were established following extensive public consultation with survivors of in-care child abuse. The inquiry is considering the current legislative, policy and practice framework to prevent and address child abuse and it will set out where it considers that changes are required.
Given the importance of the issues, we are not waiting for the inquiry to report, and we established a child sexual abuse and exploitation national strategic group in October 2024 with operational partners and other expert stakeholders including the former chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales, Professor Alexis Jay, to review current actions and agree where additional focus is needed to better protect children from abuse and exploitation.
I thank the minister for her answer. I make it clear that my intention is not to label any ethnic group but to shed light on the issue as a whole—rather than leaving the matter to people such as Elon Musk.
The stories that we hear from young girls who were victims of grooming gangs are heartbreaking. I use this moment to thank all the brave survivors for coming forward.
In 2020, Barnardo’s Scotland and the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration launched the first national study of child sexual exploitation in Scotland. It is now more than four years since that report was published. It included 15 recommendations, many of which were for the Scottish Government. How many of the report’s recommendations has the Scottish Government implemented?
We have made progress in delivering the outcomes that were sought in the Barnardo’s report, which included recommendations for a number of agencies that are involved in the response to child sexual abuse in Scotland. On the Scottish Government’s part, that includes public-facing campaigns on child sexual abuse and, more recently, on the risk of online sexual exploitation. We remain committed to the Promise and its transformative support for families in need. We have established a national contextual safeguarding group, supported by child protection committees Scotland, and we continue to embed care and risk management processes to assist local authorities with identification, assessment and management of children who display harmful sexual behaviour.
Improving understanding of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation is essential, but any data must be gathered in a manner that minimises the risk of retraumatisation of victims. Data on reported concerns about child abuse or neglect is collected by Police Scotland and reported nationally in a monthly dashboard. That data set is currently being extended in order to provide more in-depth analysis of characteristics and trends in abuse and exploitation. Improvements in training have also been made by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, with child sexual exploitation now being addressed in children’s panel members’ pre-service training.
Although recent attention has been on grooming gangs in towns down south—I echo Kemi Badenoch’s calls for a national inquiry—it would be wrong to think that we are immune to the problem in Scotland. Major police investigations—operation dash and operation Cotswold—have uncovered grooming gangs operating right here, in Scotland. A third investigation, known as operation cerrar, revealed the existence of yet another grooming gang but, despite that investigation taking place in 2016, it appears to have been covered up for four years before the brave work of journalists revealed its existence to the public back in 2020.
Will the minister confirm whether she is aware of any on-going police investigations into grooming gangs in Scotland? If there is to be a national inquiry into grooming gangs, will the Scottish Government do its bit to help to facilitate the inquiry’s work?
As I said, this is an extremely serious matter. As, I am sure, Pam Gosal is aware, I am not able to comment on on-going police issues or activity.
As I have already stated, the Scottish child abuse inquiry is on-going, and its terms of reference were established following extensive public consultation with survivors of in-care child abuse. The terms of reference task the inquiry with investigating the nature and extent of the abuse of children in care in Scotland as well as identifying any systemic failures that allowed that abuse to happen.
I am clear that the inquiry is independent, and it is the responsibility of Lady Smith, its chair, to decide exactly what the inquiry examines in order to fulfil its full terms of reference.
The Scottish Government will carefully consider any recommendations made by the inquiry to improve the protection of children in Scotland. However, as I have set out, evidence from inquiry hearings and the inquiry’s findings are already being considered as part of on-going improvement work. The Scottish Government is making a number of moves, across Government, to better support children and young people who may be at risk of abuse.
Concise questions and responses would be appreciated.
In her earlier answer, the minister spoke of the child sexual abuse and exploitation national strategic group, which has been set up by the Scottish Government. Can the minister update the Parliament on how she envisages that that group will support survivors of sexual abuse as well as prevent and tackle child sexual exploitation? Can she provide details on the issues that it will be looking into this year?
As I have set out, the Scottish Government is working closely with partners to deliver a co-ordinated multi-agency response in order to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation. However, in recognition of the need to go further, we have established the new group to provide national leadership and further improve our shared response to child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland.
The group met on 18 November and 11 December. It brings together key stakeholders, including from social work, police, health and education, as well as local authority representatives, expert practitioners, representatives of charities, researchers and academics. As I have stated, it includes the former chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
The group will share outputs of its discussions shortly, but I am pleased to report that significant progress was made at the first meetings towards identifying some potential priorities, and work is now under way to further explore those priorities, with the aim of identifying actions for the group’s consideration when it meets again in the coming months.
Scotland has had its own sexual abuse scandals involving children. One well-reported case, operation planet, was an investigation into the alleged abuse of young boys recruited for sex work, many of whom were in care. That case is not included in the inquiry.
I acknowledge the presence of the First Minister, John Swinney, who has been personally dedicated, over many years, to addressing the issue of historical child sex abuse.
I wrote to Lady Smith last year to ask for the inclusion of such abuse cases involving children in care that are currently not included. I hope to have the minister’s support for that. I also ask the minister to confirm that the continuing commitment to invest in the survivors of child abuse will give practical support to those adults who have survived child sex abuse.
As I made clear in my previous answer, the inquiry is independent. As Pauline McNeill implied, it is the responsibility of its chair, Lady Smith, to decide on what exactly the inquiry examines.
I did not catch the member’s full question, but I believe that it alluded to support for victims of such behaviour. I have already laid out some of the actions that the Scottish Government is taking to support victims and to look at what more action can be taken to do that. I also draw the member’s attention to our on-going investment and commitment to the bairns’ hoose model, which is transforming victims’ access to the services that they need. I am happy to pick up those points in further discussions with the member.
There are, of course, parallels with other areas of child safeguarding failures, whereby whistleblowers have been vilified, intimidated and shut down. A civilised society must not rely on the bravery of a small number of whistleblowers. It is the Government’s role to make sure that the system supports people such as the police, social workers and care home staff to do the right thing.
Those girls were failed at every turn by a system that was meant to protect them—even, in some cases, criminalised for their own abuse, which is sickening. My unbuyable bill would allow for a debate and a vote on commercial sexual exploitation, placing the shame where it belongs—on the perpetrator.
Can the Scottish Government give assurances that such a failure has not happened, and is not happening, in Scotland? Is the Government confident that there has been no such cover up here?
Although I have set out what the Government is doing to tackle this, I have been very clear today that I am aware that there is still a way to go to fully provide the support needed and to eradicate such behaviour.
As I said, the working group has been set up, the inquiry is on-going, and actions are being taken that will help with the situation. If the member would like to discuss any specific matters with me, such as other things that we could be doing to help with this, I would be more than happy to pick those up with her.
My apologies to those members whose questions we have not been able to reach. That concludes topical questions.
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