The comments came after two teenagers were convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering of 16-year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine beach last year.
Weapon-carrying by Scottish teenagers is on the increase as they are being “influenced by social media and the internet”, a senior police officer has said.
The comments came after two teenagers were convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering of 16-year-old Kayden Moy, who was fatally stabbed on a beach in North Ayrshire last year.
Jay Stewart, 18, and a 15-year-old boy were both found guilty of killing Kayden, acting together with 18-year-old Cole Turley, who previously admitted the murder.
Speaking to the press following the verdict, Superintendent Graeme Gallie said violent crime among young people is falling – but that weapon-carrying is on the rise as teens “don’t feel safe”.
“What we saw today was the results of a tragic incident that will have affected many people in many families,” he said.
“But what’s really important to remember is that actually Scotland is a safe place to live and work, and this year we saw the lowest amount of under-18s being accused of violent crime.
He said it was important to not to “stigmatise” young people, and that “the majority of young people are not involved in violence and not involved in carrying weapons.”
However, he went on: “We have through our stop and search activity noticed that weapon-carrying is on the increase, especially amongst teenagers.
“In order to understand that better we’ve worked with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to engage with young people, and the message we get back is they are carrying weapons because they don’t feel safe, and they’re carrying it for protection.
“They’re being influenced by social media and the internet.
“That’s why we work with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and other partners to have campaigns that we can put out online and with our campus officers through school to tackle this narrative.”
He also said the police cannot tackle this alone, and that there has to be a “societal change” to address the problem.
“That’s why we’re working with a variety of partners from across either local authorities, third sector, education to ensure we’re doing everything we can to ensure that young people have the best possible outcomes.”
