Calls for tougher justice for violent youths ‘misplaced’, says Constance

The Justice Secretary has described calls for a “tougher” justice system as “misplaced”, amid a rise in violence among young people.

Speaking on the BBC’s The Sunday Show, Angela Constance said the problem of youth violence was “complex”, and that since there were many reasons for it, there was “more than one solution” for dealing with it.

Asked whether the authorities were being “too soft” on young people, Ms Constance said it was important not to focus on the “approaches of the past”.

“When we look at what has changed in the lives of young people, it’s really important that we don’t focus on the arguments of the past or the approaches of the past that have not worked,” she said.

“Some of the rhetoric around discipline, around being tough, that we need a tougher justice system, I would suggest is misplaced.

“What families want is interventions that work, and the earlier the intervention the better.”

She was also pressed on whether there was a “direct link” between multi-million-pound cuts to youth services and a rise in violent crime among young people.

“I think that the rise in violent crime amongst young people is complex,” Ms Constance said.

“There’s not one reason. There will be many, and that means there will be more than one solution.

“Let me be absolutely clear. The contribution that youth work currently makes in this country, and could make, will be imperative going forwards as a key part of the solution.”

Ms Constance added that the Scottish Government was not responsible for running youth services, but that she was a “huge advocate of the power of youth work”.

She was being asked about the issue amid a reported 600% increase in serious assaults by teenagers in the last five years.

Commenting on Ms Constance’s appearance, Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: “We need urgent action to tackle the devastating rise in youth violence but it’s clear the SNP is still in denial about the scale of this crisis and its driving causes.

“Angela Constance has refused to take responsibility for her government’s role in this crisis and the devastating effects of the SNP’s cuts to youth work services.

“Cuts to youth work, the drop in police officer numbers, the pressure on our justice system, the chaos in our schools and the long waits for child and adolescent mental health services have all contributed to this problem.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: “Violence in Scotland’s schools is soaring amid a 600% rise in serious assaults by teens — all on the SNP’s watch.

“The SNP government has left fewer police to enforce the law, little prospect of repercussions from their soft-touch policies, and no grassroots projects to help keep children on the right path.

“Ms Constance shamefully refused to take responsibility for the cuts her government has made to youth workers across Scotland.”