The move comes amid the Record’s applauded youth violence campaign, Our Kids … Our Future – launched two years ago after we highlighted a worrying trend.
Swinney with youth violence campaigners Vicky and Angela Donald before an earlier summit on youth violence was held this year
John Swinney is to host a third summit on an epidemic of youth violence in Scotland.
The First Minister has announced that the latest event will take place on Thursday, June 12. It will include the Justice and Education secretaries, Ministers for Children and for Victims and Community Safety, cross-party MSPs, youth workers and community programmes.
The move comes amid the Record’s applauded youth violence campaign, Our Kids … Our Future, which was launched two years ago after we highlighted a worrying trend of violence among teens. As part of the campaign, we have demanded the Scottish Government to invest in young people and in initiatives to prevent violence.
Amen Teklay, left, Kayden Moy, middle, and Kory McCrimmon, right
Since its launch, we have reported on the untimely deaths of Kayden Moy, 16, Amen Teklay, 15, and Kayden Moy, 16.
Three teenage boys, aged 14, 15, and 16 years old have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Amen, an Eritrean refugee, in Glasgow on March 5.
In recent weeks, three teenage boys – a pair aged 17, and a 14-year-old – have appeared in court charged with the murder of Kayden, who was allegedly attacked on Irvine Beach, North Ayrshire, on May 17 and died in hospital.
And just last month, a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to five years detention after admitting culpable homicide following the death of Kory at Glasgow’s Greenfield Park on May 31 last year.
The Record’s Our Kids … Our Future campaign
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “Scotland remains a safe place to live.
“But more needs to be done to change the attitudes and behaviours of some who are at risk of violence, or young people considering carrying a weapon.
“There is no place for violence in Scotland and anyone who commits a crime will face the consequences.
“Our work remains focused on ensuring our prevention and punishment measures respond to the changing behaviours of young people. This includes ensuring good school and community engagement with young people, appropriate police powers and tackling the root causes of violence.
“At this meeting we want to hear the views of the youth work and third sector representatives on what more, or different, can be done, within the current financial climate, to help address this issue.
“The role of youth work and grassroots community intervention is key.
“We all must work together to help young people feel safe and realise that carrying a knife is never the answer.”
Vicky and Kaylynn Donald outside Bute House with reporter Ruth Suter, who has spearheaded the Our Kids … Our Future campaign(Image: Daily Record)
Two previous summits have been held on the topic in recent months, however, the events were later slammed as “nothing but talking shops” by campaigners.
A monumental sit-down was secured with Swinney after 15-year-old Kaylynn Donald and her mum, Vicky, from Ladybank in Fife, wrote a letter to him following Kory’s death last year.
Kaylynn, who was battered on a bus on her way home from school in October 2022, demanded the First Minister to act urgently to prevent further tragedies.
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The family wrote to Swinney again after Kayden’s death last month and slammed his government’s “inaction” to combat youth violence.
In the letter, Vicky, 38, wrote: “How many more children have to die?
“Kayden Moy’s death is not a tragedy – it’s a failure.”