Children involved in thousands of violent crimes
Almost 8,000 violent crimes last year involved a child as the accused person, amid rising numbers of kids aged 11-15 found to be carrying weapons.
Police Scotland data shows 7,700 overall violent crimes involving offenders under 18, making up 18.1% of violent crimes overall between March 2024 and April this year.
The news comes amid concerns over knife crime in Scotland after two teenagers were allegedly knifed to death in separate incidents in recent months, and officers recovering over 200 weapons from teenagers aged 17 and under in the last year using stop and search powers.
Critics have hit out at the Scottish Government's 'soft touch' justice approach, including the increasing use of recorded police warnings, Proportionate Response To Crime (PRTC), the presumption against prosecution for under 18s and even reduced sentences for under-25s who have committed serious crimes such as rape and murder.
A senior Police Scotland officer also previously acknowledged that, in relation to shop lifting for example, young offenders and the criminal gangs who exploit them are aware of these outcomes and see it as 'low risk high/reward'.
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for justice Liam Kerr said: 'The alarming surge in the number of young people carrying weapons and the stubbornly high rate of violent crime involving children exposes the SNP's complacency around lighter penalties for young offenders.
'Despite John Swinney's insistence that real deterrents remain an option, the presumption under the SNP's soft-touch guidelines is that young people who offend are unlikely to face appropriate penalties.
'After 18 years in government, the SNP must take full responsibility for this dire situation.'
According to Police Scotland, both the volume and proportion of violent crimes involving children decreased compared to the previous year.
But they acknowledge there has been an increase in the number of youngsters carrying weapons, particularly among 11-15 year olds, with rising numbers of young girls also getting involved in violence.
Force data shows robberies and common assaults were the violent crimes with the highest proportion of accused under 18, at 22.7% and 22.1% respectively.
Just over half of violent crimes involving an accused under 18 took place in open spaces, with almost a quarter in residences and 18.3% in educational settings.
A force report says: 'Recent analytical work between Police Scotland's Analysis and Performance Unit and the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit has identified a substantial and consistent level of violent crime being committed by young people and that these crimes are often committed against other young people.
'The results of this analysis also indicate that there has been a higher frequency of younger accused persons across recent years when considering the period since 2019.
'It has also highlighted that older accused (16-18-year-olds) commit more serious violence whilst younger accused (11-15 years old) commit more crimes relating to violence and threatening behaviour.'
According to Police Scotland, the changing nature of gangs and the 'exploitation of vulnerable young people' has emerged as a 'growing issue' impacting the problem of underage violence and offending.
Force data also shows 38,802 offences went either undetected or unpunished in 2023/24 with 13,445 crime reports 'directly filed' for no further action under the PRTC scheme and 25,357 Recorded Police Warnings (RPWs) issued to offenders – an increase of more than 32% or 6,176 on the previous year when 19,181 were handed out.
Under the scheme officers have been ordered not to conduct investigations into low-level offences where there are no obvious leads, witnesses or CCTV footage.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell has said: 'I am concerned about… trends around violent crime committed by young people and often committed against other young people and we think a notable proportion of that is happening in and around schools.
'It's on policing and partners, local authorities, third sector, and beyond to work together to do all we can to prevent violence and reduce the harm it is causing.
'Reducing violence and preventing the harm it is causing continues to be an absolute priority.'
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