Glasgow council leader calls for action to tackle 'new wave' of youth violence

Glasgow City Council is being urged to look at how it can tackle a “new wave” of youth violence following the death of Kory McCrimmon.

Recent incidents of violence involving young people in Glasgow and elsewhere across Scotland have led to the deaths of 16-year-old Kory, 15-year-old Amen Teklay, and 16-year-old Kayden Moy.

Now, council leader Susan Aitken has put forward a motion to full council calling for more detail on what work is being done to tackle youth violence.

In her motion, Cllr Aitken said there was “deep concern about recent incidents of violence involving young people in Glasgow” and that it was “enormously worrying for our communities.”

She said these “deep concerns about the emergence of a new wave of youth violence require a re-energised response by all agencies to tackle generational challenges in the lives of our city’s young people, along with a fresh approach to new challenges that they face in the social media age.”

She also highlighted the challenges that modern life can pose to young people, including pressure around body image, self-worth, and ideologies through social media.

The motion also raises the impact of the Covid pandemic response on today’s children and young people, saying lockdown led to “a loss of life opportunities and learning taken for granted by previous generations”.

The motion reads: “Council understands that the vast majority of young people are not involved in violence and do not carry weapons, but believes that the increasing vulnerability of some to becoming drawn into violent behaviour requires urgent work to understand the reasons behind this and develop early, effective responses.

“Council understands that well-established protocols are in place to ensure swift multi-agency co-operation following a major incident and acknowledges that officers from the Council and HSCP have already been working closely with Police Scotland.

“Council further acknowledges the wide range of existing multi-agency interventions taking place in communities across Glasgow with and for young people, whether led by the Council family, community planning partners such as Police Scotland, or by third sector and community-led organisations.”

Cllr Aitken’s motion also mentions the importance of youth work on the streets and in neighbourhoods.

It acknowledges and welcomes the activism of community groups, such as Parents Against Knives, led by the parents of Kory McCrimmon.

They recently hosted a rally in response to the spate of fatal stabbings.

The Scottish Government has also announced an increased level of funding for the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) of £1.2m.

The motion continues: “Council recalls the terrible statistics related to violence and knife crime that led to the creation of the VRU in 2005; commends its excellent and well-studied work on the prevention of gang violence; and believes that many young people are alive today because of their pioneering interventions and the ‘public health policing’ approach adopted in Scotland.

“Council recognises both that the recent incidences of violence involving young people are not of the scale experienced 20 years ago and that the current context is different and more complex, but believes that the lessons learned then about evidence-based approaches, multi-agency co-operation and early intervention remain applicable today.”

If the motion is approved, the council will instruct the chief executive to bring an updated paper to the committee after recess, detailing the discussions and actions officers have already undertaken in response to specific recent incidents of violence.

The paper should outline the existing work carried out by the council family or organisations funded through the council with young people in communities, and particularly young people at risk of becoming involved in violence.

It will make recommendations to councillors on ways in which existing funding streams could be used to extend and enhance ongoing youth work carried out by the council or in partnership with others.