11 hours ago
More funding to tackle youth violence in Scotland announced amid Record campaign
The Record launched the Our Kids ... Our Future campaign in February 2023 after we highlighted a worrying trend of violence among teens.
More funding has been announced to tackle youth violence in Scotland after a Daily Record campaign to combat the issue.
The Scottish Government confirmed it would be investing an additional £82,000 in the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) this year. The move comes amid the Record's applauded youth violence campaign, Our Kids ... Our Future, which was launched two years ago after we highlighted a worrying trend of violence among teens.
As part of the campaign, we have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to invest in youth clubs and in other ways to help young people as the epidemic unfortunately shows no signs of stopping in Scotland. The cash injection comes as part of a Scottish Government package to tackle violence.
It takes funding for the year to £1.217 million - an increase of 7%.
Medics Against Violence have also received increased funding of up to £345,000 to deliver a range of activities.
A further £156,000 has also been awarded to the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme.
The Record launched Our Kids ... Our Future in February 2023 after we reported the shocking assault of autistic schoolgirl Abbie Jarvis at a skatepark in Glasgow on October 4, 2022.
Abbie, then 12, was lured to the facility in the city's Drumchapel and beaten unconscious in an attack which left her in hospital for two days. She has since been diagnosed with PTSD.
Abbie's attack prompted many other parents of child victims to speak out about scenes of youth violence in Scotland, including Vicky Donald, whose 15-year-old daughter was battered on her way home from school in Ladybank in Fife just weeks later.
Since its launch, the Record has reported on three blade tragedies including the untimely deaths of 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon on May 31, 2024, Amen Teklay, 15, on March 5 this year and Kayden Moy, 16, on May 17 just last month.
Three teenage boys aged 14, 15, and 16 have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Amen, an Eritrean refugee, in Glasgow's Maryhill.
In recent weeks, three teenage boys – a pair aged 17 and a 14-year-old – have appeared in court charged with the murder of Kayden, who was allegedly attacked on Irvine Beach in North Ayrshire, and died in hospital.
And just last month, a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to five years detention after admitting culpable homicide following the death of Kory at Glasgow's Greenfield Park last year.
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Cabinet Secretary for Justice Angela Constance said: 'It's important to be clear that Scotland remains a safe place to live. But more needs to be done to change the attitudes and behaviours of some who are at risk of violence, or those young people who are considering carrying a weapon. There is no place for violence in Scotland and anyone who commits a crime, will face the consequences.
'Our work remains focused on ensuring our prevention and punishment measures respond to the changing behaviours of young people. This includes ensuring good school and community engagement with young people, appropriate police powers and tackling the root causes of violence."
