Glasgow councillors agree public health response to youth violence

The deaths of three teenagers in Glasgow as a result of knife crime have been described as “a warning sign” by Glasgow’s council leader, as councillors agreed to look at what can be done to tackle the problem.

The city leader brought the issue before councillors during Thursday’s full council meeting after a large-scale march through Glasgow was held by the parents of Kory McCrimmon to raise awareness of an “epidemic” of knife crime in the country.

Councillors paid tribute to Kory, 16, who was found seriously injured in Greenfield Park in the east end of Glasgow on May 31, 2024.

A 14-year-old was later sentenced to five years’ detention over the death of Kory.

His family have since campaigned to tackle knife crime on Scotland’s streets.

Council leader Susan Aitken said his death, and the recent deaths of teenagers Amen Teklay and Kayden Moy, showed there was a growing problem with youth violence in Scotland.

During the meeting, Cllr Aitken said that the loss of young lives should be something that is never taken for granted and taken as a warning sign.

She said: “We should take the opportunity to ask what we do collectively that matches the necessity of the moment and whether it is enough.

“Today’s generation, who are at school or are leaving school, have already experienced constraints, and that is just one of the complex range of stress factors that we are dealing with.

“Let’s not forget that our city centre, our streets and our communities belong to our young people.

“If some of our young people are being drawn into violence by anti-social behaviour that negatively affects them and the wider public, then that’s a problem and we need to address it.

“If other young folk are so fearful of being affected by violence that they themselves need to carry blades, that’s a cycle we need to break.”

Councillors agreed that Glasgow’s families needed to be part of the solution, as the events in recent months have caused concerns about safety.

SNP councillor Laura Doherty said: “We must take a balanced view. While recent events have rightly drawn attention, the broader picture is more complex.

“This isn’t about labelling a generation, it’s about recognising that a small number of our young people are facing challenges and early, thoughtful intervention is essential.

“The truth is, today young people are growing up in a very different world. One person’s social media can distort values, peer pressure can be seen and accepted as constant and negative influences are just a few clicks away.

“The pandemic causes disruption to learning, social development and mental well-being. We are now seeing some of the long-term effects of that destruction.”

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.”

And while she stressed it had not yet reached the levels of violence that plagued the city 20 years ago and led to the creation of the Violence Reduction Unit, lessons learned at that time about different agencies working together remained important today.

A composite motion, agreed by the SNP, Greens and Labour, welcomed the activism of community groups, such as Parents Against Knives, led by the parents of Kory and highlighted that disadvantages such as poverty, exclusion and racism are contributing risk factors in violence.

They agreed this must be addressed through trauma-informed and anti-poverty strategies and that a public health-based response to violence affecting young people was needed.

Labour councillor Kevin Lalley said: “The horrors of knife violence are a truly heartbreaking event, an event that affects many citizens across their communities.

“Many young people have a future to look forward t,o but with the recent violence,e these [children] have no future.

“This is an opportunity for all of us here to think about recent events and reach out to our communities to help the younger generations, look for the child that sits alone, look for the child that looks sad, look for the child that doesn’t turn up to activities.

“These are the disengaged children, the ones who slip through the system, the ones we miss. Let’s commit today to help our communities to provide safety as a given, not an ask.

“We must all get involved to ensure tragedies that affect many families can be averted.”

Amen Teklay, 15, died after being found seriously injured in the St George’s Cross area of the city on March 5. The bright schoolboy, originally from Eritrea, had been living in Glasgow with his father for a number of years and had recently received “right to remain” status in the UK.

Three teenagers, aged 14, 15 and 16, have appeared at Glasgow Sheriff court charged in connection with Amen’s death. Two are charged with murder, whilst the 15-year-old is facing an assault charge. All have made no plea, and the 14-year-old and 16-year-old have been remanded in custody.

Kayden Moy, 16, was found seriously injured on Irvine beach in North Ayrshire on May 17 this year and later died at Crosshouse Hospital. His death sparked calls for more action to be taken locally on knife crime, with a petition in East Kilbride being signed by over 1500 people.

Three teenagers have been arrested following Kayden’s death. Two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old have appeared in court charged with murder.

The council will now instruct the chief executive to explore how all young people can be meaningfully involved in shaping the direction of local strategies and services to stop the violence.

Summing up, councillor Aitken said: “I think it is fair to say we do have a shared determination across this chamber to act and use all the knowledge and experience and convene in a way that responds to the moment and that we intervene to ensure no more lives are lost.

“We must make sure the opportunities are there for young people to choose the future that they want and where they are going with their lives that is positive.”