Edinburgh youth violence wave sees over 500 incidents reported in one year

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Violent crimes among youths in Edinburgh has almost doubled in the last year, fresh figures have revealed.Shocking statistics obtained by our sister title Edinburgh Live from the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) revealed that the number of alleged offences referred to the body rose from 280 in 2022/23 to 529 in 2023/24, reports Edinburgh Live.Kids as young as eight have been reported for non-sexual crimes of violence in the capital in the past five years.

Meanwhile, there were further reports of dishonesty, including theft and housebreaking, at a rate of more than one a day over the past year.The staggering statistics come after Kirsty, an Edinburgh mum, claimed kids and teenagers have been let down by a lack of youth services and centres and are often viewed as "parasites in society".Kirsty's daughter Shanai was brutally attacked in Princes Street Gardens by a lare group of yobs when she was only 15.

The gang kicked and punched the teen on her head and body in front of her terrified younger sister.The horrific ordeal led to Shanai's skull being glued by doctors after she was stabbed with glass, as well as her whole body being covered in bruises.The incident escalated to a "riot" inside Mcdonald's on Princes Street where Kirsty and her husband were made to carry Shanai out of the restaurant and rush her to hospital as paramedics were unable to gain access to the fast food joint due to violence erupting inside.Three years after the terrifying ordeal, Kirsty claimed no support was provided to her daughter to overcome the traumatic experience.She said: "Shanai initially didn't want to discuss what happened to her but then she asked me 'if it makes a difference in the long run I want to help'.