2 days ago
Scotland's justice secretary pledges £6m more to tackle youth violence after latest summit
Angela Constance announced the move following the latest emergency event at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh on Thursday.
Scotland's justice secretary has pledged an additional £6m to tackle youth violence after the latest summit.
Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance announced the move following the latest emergency event at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh. The cash will come next year as part of the Scottish Government's Cashback for Communities Fund.
It comes amid the Record's applauded Our Kids ... Our Future campaign which was launched two years ago in response to a youth violence epidemic. As part of the campaign, we have repeatedly demanded the Scottish Government to invest in young people, so they can be nurtured, mentored and guided in every community.
Speaking to the Record yesterday afternoon, Constance said: "I have increased investment in the Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence.
"Today, we reopened the cashback for communities fund which will be £26m over the next three years.
"That is about directly funding youth-related activities. Some of that work helps to keep young people out of the justice system and on the right side of the law."
The total amount of cash to go to kids between next year and 2029 will be £26 - an increase of £6m from the £20m announced as part of the fund in 2023.
Scotland has been rocked by three blade tragedies in less than 12 months.
Kory McCrimmon, 16, died after he was stabbed in Glasgow's Greenfield Park on May 31, 2024.
Amen Teklay, 15, died after he was found seriously injured on a street in the city's Maryhill on March 5 this year.
Just weeks later, 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon died in hospital following an incident at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire on May 17.
Three teenage boys aged 14, 15, and 16 have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Amen, an Eritrean refugee, while three male youths - a pair aged 17 and a 14-year-old - appeared in court charged with the murder of Kayden.
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 the park in Glasgow's east end.
Constance went on to admit there is little she can say to comfort the parents of the boys involved in all three tragedies.
She said: "I know there is probably little I can say to comfort grieving families.
"I also know from my direct engagement with families of victims who have suffered a fatality that what they want more than anything, is to know that this won't happen to any other families.
"They also want to know that the risk of this happening to others is reduced.
"That's why we are so focused on prevention because that is the best and most effective way to prevent other families from facing this."
Jimmy Paul, head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, also attended the emergency summit.
He urged the Scottish Government to invest in youth work at all levels.
He said: "In Scotland, we know creating safe spaces is a big part of youth work but so is other forms of youth work such as having steet workers, having positive role models, having whole-family support and addressing their trauma.
"There is no silver bullet but we need to work on all of these things.
"My hope now is that after this summit, we see more funding in all of these things to prevent youth crime."
Dr Christine Goodall, founder of Medics Against Violence, added: "Youth work is important both within work and in education settings.
"After today's summit, we'd like to see this be made a priority.
"We know that not all young people have access to youth work and that youths often don't get access to a trusted adult.
"We'd like to see these things prioritised and more support for families."
Vicky Donald, whose then 12-year-old daughter Kaylynn was battered on a school bus on her way home from class in Ladybank, FIfe in October 2022, said the funding was a "drop in the ocean" for the Scottish Government.
The 38-year-old said: "It's is a drop in the ocean and won't stretch far enough. The entire £ 26 isn't spread evenly enough - particularly if you look into breaking cash down into local areas.
"The majority of this cash will go to densely populated areas. Some of the cash will even go to sport centres.
"This crisis needs a specific fund where cash goes directly to tackling youth violence.
epidemic is.
"What are they doing to make the streets safer? Nothing."
Angela Jarvis' daughter, Abbie, also aged 12 at the time of her attack, was left with PTSD following the brutal beating at a skatepark in Drumchapel just three after Kaylynn's assault.
The mum called on the Scottish Government to stretch its funding further to help kids affected by crime.
Angela, 44, said: "An additional £6m is welcomed but it isn't really enough to tackle this crisis and children who are affected by it.
"The funding should go wider than just youth work - kids are facing a mental health crisis caused by violence and its aftermath. There needs to be more money for that too."
