 Ee, yn syddiant i ddatant yn'r i'w ddweud yn ddebyg ar y cyfnod mewn gwirionedd, Mr Johnson? I thank members across the chamber for signing my motion. It is a difficult issue. It has been very clear for a number of months now from speakers and members across the chamber that there is an issue regarding youth antisocial behaviour that is increasing. There may be a broad range of different reasons. There may be peidio gweld y bach. Diolch yn rydyn ni'n ddiddordeb am y rhaglen yn cymryd o'r bach, yn cyfeiledigion am gael y dyfodol yn gweithio a chydyn nhw i'n rhywbeth ar ddiddordeb willeau, ond rydyn ni'n rhoi'n cael ei wneud cychwyn ni yn credu bod mae'n dr uniquelyn ac yn credu fyddai i'ch gwirionedd rywmiad ar gyfer caf. Rydyn ni'n credu i'ch gwirionedd rywmiad cael ei wneud unrhyw fyddai sy'n credu bod mae'n hyn yn digwydd y bach deis你在ll. cilantro that what was happening, and some frankness about some of the steps that he can be taking in order to address it. On this, I come to this with a background that has brought forward a member's bill, successfully to deal with the issue of violence and abuse against shop workers. What I think was clear to me, as I did that, was that it was an issue that was growing in seriousness and that we had to take steps. I'm very pleased that, since the introduction of our next speaker, iawn o'r wneud cyfnod o'r perioedd y Llyfrgell, ac mae'n bod ymweldio'n 3.5 miliwn o'r cyflwyfn amgweld o'r ymweldio. Mae'n bwysig oherwydd i gweithio'r cyflwyffordiau, unigwyr, a'u cyfiadau, oherwydd gyda'n gweithio gael y brifysgol yng Nghymru, oherwydd y bwysig o'r ffordd ac oherwydd i'r bwysig. Mae'r pathyn yn gyda'r eich syniad yn ddifuall ymweld i'r bohau syniad, i wneud o bwysig o'r sgwpiau, a'r ymdau syniad yn gweithio i'r ddysgu syniad. Gwneud o ddifuall ymdau'r pathyn yn gweithio i'r ddym ni. Mae'n ddifuall yn ddifuall o'r ddifuall syniad, i ddifuall syniad, i ddifuall syniad, i ddifuall syniad. Ie wneud i ddim yn olygrin o'r ddweudeth o'r sgwpall ddiolch gwyllte a mwy o'r ddweud. Ond wrthousellol yn llwydd i ddarparu offend y byddai sy'n ei gaelio yn ddweud i ddiolch chi ddyddai wedi'n credu i ddweud o'r ddweud i gaelio i ddyddai sy'n unigol yn fawr iawn. Mae gennymig o ddweudaf, gyda ddweud stallodig, o ardull変 arweithio'r ddyddol o ddweud, o ddweud o gydag i rhan o'r arweithio'r ddyddai sydd yn ardalig. Mae'r gael o'r cymdeithasol yma mae'r cystafell ar gyfer y yw Ddalliannol, rhan o'r cymdeithasol i'r ddod i'r llam ar gyfer'i cystafell, yn ei ddod i'r byddwch. Mae'r cymdeithasol yn gwneud o'r cymdeithasol, ac mae'n dechrau i amser o'r cymdeithasol. Felly mae'n rhan o'r cymdeithasol. Mae'n ddim yn ei ddod i chi fod yn y cabrach. I am very clear. These are issues that affect all communities across Edinburgh. Frankly, my observation is that this is just as much a problem in Morningside as it is in Nidtree. I don't think necessarily family background is the indicator here. I think that hints at some of the issues that are at the heart of this. I think that we are seeing a pattern of behaviour of groups of youths, not necessarily numerous but they are persistent. I think that we also need to recognise that while free bus passes for young people have been a huge opportunity and benefit, they are being abused by a minority. We are seeing some of these young people moving quite large distances and causing a broad range of problems in different places. I am happy to give way to the member. Brian Whittle. I am very grateful for Diane Johnson for giving way. Would he agree with me that we need to look at how that privilege that is given to youth can be taken away when behaviour dictates? I think that the member raises a very important point. I will just come to it in a brief moment. I want to round off one of the points that I am making. The third strand to the phenomenon that we are seeing is the use of social media. There is definitely a situation here where young people are seeing behaviours and copying them and social media is playing a part. Talking to the police, I get a sense of deep frustration. I think that frustration is twofold. Firstly, they are equally frustrated as both community members and retail workers are in terms of their ability to attend these incidents when they occur. I think that they also ask the question whether they have the powers to intervene that they may need. I am just very grateful. I am enjoying Diane Johnson's contribution. I have just taken back to the point earlier. You said something about the charges under his own legislation being at something like £3,500. Does he have any idea of what happens after the charge and what the outcomes are, because that seems to be crucial both to that and the point that he is making now? I think that it is fair to say that there is an emerging picture there. First of all, there is the issue around the backlog of cases in the courts. That has undoubtedly impeded things. Secondly, and ununderstandably, sometimes prosecutors do not pursue the charges under my act because they wish to pursue more serious charges, in particular the ones that might carry a higher tariff. I would not like to say specifically, but not every instance of charges under my legislation is resulting in conviction, but there are a number of reasons. I think that some understand or some are of greater concern. In terms of response, let me set out three broad principles. First of all, I think that we absolutely all agree that we must have prevention and we must have progressive responses such as diversion practice, but those require investment and resource. Secondly, I am very clear to Brian Whittle's point. I absolutely believe that people have rights, but with those rights come responsibilities. When those rights are abused, I think that we need to question what happens. Thirdly to all of this, I think that we need to ask ourselves that absolutely we must focus on measures that are preventative, focus on measures that seek to divert, but we also need to ask ourselves what happens when those interventions, when those diversions do not work, what actions and steps can we take. In closing, I would like to ask the following questions. I think that we need to ask ourselves about what the impact has been in terms of the closure of youth services and youth initiatives, because everyone is clear that those play a very clear role, and we have also seen a decline in the funding for those things, and that has an impact. Secondly, I would like to ask the questions whether we have the interventions available. Should we be asking ourselves that question if young people are using bus passes to do some of these things? Should those bus passes be suspended for a period of time if they are abused? I think that we also need to understand about there being non-criminal or criminal justice interventions in the home. Ruth Maguire briefly. I appreciate him taking the intervention. I just wonder if you would reflect on whether removing a child's ability to travel around might prevent them from attending work, which can be diversionary from anti-social behaviour or the youth clubs and things that they were talking about. Daniel Johnson, if you could start. I am not being categorical. I am simply asking the question. What I do not think that you can do is continue to ask someone to use it without questioning if it is being used for nefarious purposes. I think that we are very clear about interventions that can be made in schools, in our homes, that are not in the category of criminal justice, but simply for young people to make a mess or cause a disturbance. We ask them to clear them up. I wonder whether we can look and think about non-criminal justice interventions, but absolutely ensuring that there are consequences to certain actions. Finally, there has been a real focus and, understandably, about creating centralised and specialised police functions within Police Scotland. I get the sense of talking to police officers. The question is, have we got the balance right? Has that taken resource away from response officers, from community policing, and have we got that balance right? I will close there, Deputy Presiding Officer. Mr Johnson, we now move to the open debate that I call for Stuart McMillan to be followed by Craig Hoy around four minutes. I thank Daniel Johnson for securing this debate. His motion refers to the impact of anti-social behaviour and youth disorder in businesses in his Edinburgh Southern constituency. I sympathise with this. I am not going to talk about Edinburgh Southern, but about my area and things that have happened in my location, because I know that it is an issue that every single MSP in the chamber will have had to attend to and deal with. More in constituency, I previously carried out a survey of local businesses around the Grant West train station regarding anti-social behaviour following discussions with some of the retailers. The results indicated that people were just loitering around the shop and can put people off entering. I shared the information that I got back with local stakeholders to help them to better understand the concerns of local shopkeepers and, hopefully, find ways to address them. I have also been in the issues regarding the boy racers in the Tescos and Greenock car park after the shop closes, with the noise in the headlights flashing into the adjacent homes disturbing the residents at all hours. However, youth disorder and anti-social behaviour can take many, many forms. For example, Inverclyde is currently served by 13 train stations, so youths tend to congregate at locations that they can access via a train, which is different from other parts of the country, whereas busses in my area are mostly trains. This could be part Lee near Rootol station, Macdonalds in Port Glasgow, near the Port Glasgow station and Invercip harbour side, which is a short walk from Invercip station. The real network in Inverclyde plays such a key role in the movement of youths, in most of whom are just wanting to spend some time with their pals, but often that very small cohort is the one who wants to cause trouble. I was keen to speak in today's debate to highlight some of the good partnership working in Inverclyde to deal with some of the youth disorder. Although I sympathise with Mr Johnson's concerns, his motion does not offer up any local solutions to try to attend to some of the issues, we as MSPs also have a role to play to try to help. I am not saying that we have got a magic cure in Inverclyde, I am certainly not saying that we have eradicated youth disorder. However, we have made some significant strides in dealing with the issues at the Invercip harbour side certainly this year, which I attribute to the joint working by local stakeholders. So two actions have actually taken place. First of all, for over five years I have convened a group consisting of the local community council, ward councillors, Police Scotland, BTP, community ward and ScotRail and also some local residents to help to bring a focus to the issue. This has also led to at various times targeted work at some of the local train stations to actually prevent people from heading down to the harbour side area. No party politics has been played in this issue because it has been about the safety of the community and also the safety of the younger people themselves. This localised approach certainly has been helpful. The second action has been via the partnership hub headed up by Police Scotland in Inverclyde. This involves partners from the police, Inverclyde council, local RSLs, the Fire and Rescue and Health and Social Care and others when required aiming to deal with anti-social behaviour in Inverclyde including youth disorder. The Minister for Community Safety and Victims recently visited the partnership hub at my after I invited her to come along to it and I know that she genuinely was impressed by the approach that has been taken within Inverclyde. Youth Disorder and Inverclyde, in my constituency, has been a problem for many years, often dissipating and then spiking again and typically coinciding certainly with the good weather. However, it is important to mention that during a debate on this subject that we actually all were young ones, no doubt all of us at some point in the past have probably made some mistakes. We also probably attended gatherings when the vast majority of the individuals were well behaved but that small minority did not. This can lead to others not looking for trouble, sadly actually being dragged in and in these instances Inverclyde council, they send out parent alert letters to try to address this. The parents are told that their child was at a certain occasion on a certain night when youth disorder took place. The young person might have had nothing at all to do with any of that disorder but they could have been dragged into it inadvertently, so the letters are to actually make parents aware and encourage them to check up on where the kids actually are. Now returning to the partnership hub, of course it's time to say officer and I'm about to finish, the focus given to Inverclyde before and during the summer led to what I know has actually been a vast reduction in youth disorder. Now I want to thank everyone involved and pass on the thanks from my constituents who have certainly been in contact with me. I know that this approach will continue and other areas affected by youth disorder can be addressed in a similar successful way. Thank you. Thank you Mr McMillan. I now call Craig Hoy to be followed by Stephen Kerr in four minutes Mr Hoy. Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to start by thanking Daniel Johnson for bringing forward this important debate and to concur with many of the points that Mr Johnson made. At the outset it is important to note that the vast majority of young people in Scotland are thoughtful, caring and kind even if, like all of us at that age, a little boisterous at times. They should not be tired with the same brush as the very, very small minority of young people who commit anti-social behaviour offences, sometimes though they are extreme in nature. The good behaviour of the many should not add gact as a smoke screen to avoid talking about the extreme behaviour of the small minority who make people's lives a misery on a daily basis. We cannot turn a blind eye to the mindless thuggery and anti-social behaviour by those groups. Groups who run rampant safe in the knowledge that even if they are arrested, they are very likely unlikely to be prosecuted and they are even less likely to go to jail. This summer, significant youth-related anti-social behaviour incidents were reported to me across the south of Scotland, in Harrington, in Preston Pans, in Long Nydry, in East Linton and in Peebles in the Scottish Borders. Cars damaged, pensioners targeted, houses egged, property vandalised, young people attacked, weapons used. At Linn Rocks in East Linton, a large group of young people from afar afield as Edinburgh, who were abusing their access to free bus travel, gathered to drink alcohol and consume drugs, harassing and verbally and physically threatening, passed us by. But the community did not take this lying down, Deputy Presiding Officer. Working with the council's anti-social behaviour team and Police Scotland, I convened a number of meetings to drive a cross-agency, cross-community approach and realised the extent of community concerns. Police Scotland took a zero-tolerance approach and I thank Chief Inspector Ben Leiths for this intervention. Those actions also showed the benefits of a well-organised local authority response, including the location of a temporary CCTV camera by East Lothian Council in East Linton. Young people were handcuffed and removed from the area. The community breathed a sigh of relief but sadly, as is the case in so many other incidents, the problem was displaced, not solved. Our police are overstretched and woefully under-resourced. They are unable to respond like this to every single case of anti-social behaviour in our communities. In Haddington, there have been reports of underaged hooded youths causing damage to shops, abusing and threatening staff because they refused to sell them alcohol. Windows were smashed and two staff members resigned after receiving death threats. Data has revealed that the number of bobbies on the beach in East Lothian dropped to its lowest level since 2008 between April and June of this year. At the same time, 1,352 ASB incidents were reported. Incidents of anti-social behaviour have also been felt across the Scottish borders. In Peebles, sadly, a man in his 80s had his car windscreen smashed and he was then beating up. Schoolgirls were kicked in the face, videoed by perpetrators, a process and a practice that is now, sadly, all too common in these incidents. In Peebles, a total of 56 anti-social behaviour calls were made in the second quarter of this year. It is unacceptable that people in border towns have felt unsafe in their own communities as a result of that. However, that is not the fault of our communities or the police. The buck stops with the SNP. They have left our police service under resorts since coming to power 16 years ago. I think that Craig Hoy has made some really important points in his contribution so far, but does he not agree with me that those issues are so complex and challenging and affecting so many communities that we all need to take responsibility for the solutions that we need to find together? In East Linton, where the community came together with the police and the council and the problem was resolved, sadly, when I speak to the police, they say that, due to 15 years of SNP neglect, they are simply unable to go into the communities in the way that they once were. The other issue is that, as a result of the lack of policing, many of those youths now believe that they are untouchable. They can repeat the same crimes in the same places time and time again, and councils across the south of Scotland are equally under resourced. Despite their best efforts, their anti-social behaviour teams and community wardens are severely overstretched. As anti-social behaviour incidents intensify, we owe our police, our councils, our communities more than just warm words. We owe them the financial support and the legal framework and also a justice system that allows them to do their job. Sadly, on this and on so many other problems facing Scotland today, the SNP's priorities lie elsewhere. I am grateful to Daniel Johnson for bringing this motion to Parliament. I also want to congratulate him on his speech. It was very measured. I have to say that I will not be unique in this chamber. My inbox is full of my constituents with their concerns about the issue. They are less measured than Daniel Johnson has to say. I have been working with a number of people on the issue for nearly two and a half years. One couple in particular visited their home just on Monday. This is an email that I got this morning. This is the 89th incident that occurred in the property next door to them, which is occupied by a young person. Last night, 25 to 12, the police turned up on that doorstep, thumping the door, banging the windows to try and gain access, because they have been called by the occupant of that house on the basis of a threat to life. I do not know what number I said earlier, but this is actually the 84th occasion that this has happened. It also involves the ambulance service. It is not untypical. This goes on until 20 to 1, banging, noise, trying to gain entry, still cannot get in, five past one, more police arrive, more banging, quarter to two, before the cars go away because they have had to bang through it to take force to go through the door. Council workmen arrive, blessed are cotton socks at seven minutes past two in the morning. This is just not acceptable. This kind of behaviour is intolerable, and yet we have not got things in place to deal with it. Lives are being made—miserable this couple in in Bonnie Bridge. Their lives are being made hell. The lady has health issues. The husband is driven to the very edge by this behaviour, and we seem to have a police force that is unwilling or unable to act. We often seem to prosecutors that come across as not very interested in the rights of victims. That has been my own experience, and we have a judicial system that seems unable to protect communities from violence and fear. We do not do any favours to our young people or the future by not establishing boundaries—what is right and what is wrong. Those boundaries are very clear when it comes to behaviour. Some young people are growing up believing that they can get away with just about anything, and they are more than happy to tell you their rights, whether you are a police officer or a teacher. Ask the police officers, because they have no fear of detection, no fear of sanction, and the police lack the resources to deal with that. The prosecutors probably do not have the resources either. The judicial system is about breaking points, but we must establish boundaries. Boundaries where young people know what is expected of them and how to live in a civilised society, and we have a tradition of civilised living together in our society. Stepping outside these boundaries must come with consequences. Daniel Johnson called for frank discussion about these issues. Those are the things that the people of Scotland are saying. They want to see boundaries and consequences. There must be discouragement to those who are offending and repeat offending. Boundaries clearly begin at home. Parents are the first line in giving young people a sense of a moral compass and what is right and what is wrong. Too often, the apparatus of government in Scotland, in one form or another, makes parents think and guess themselves as to whether they are doing the right thing by teaching their children boundaries and right and wrong. We must reverse this trend that so many people feel is happening in our society and give help and support to families, not hinder and undermine them. My colleague, Ross McCall, at First Minister's Questions, highlighted this week's news from Fife Council, where those responsible for the eradication of bullying in the public school system actually said that they should not do anything to upset the bullies. Where are we going? My time is up, and I appreciate that. I will conclude by saying that if we think what we have been doing is going to remedy this situation, we need to think again. We need change, we need boundaries, we need a sense of right and wrong, there need to be consequences and sanctions. Thank you, and I call Paul O'Cain to be followed by Sue Webber in four minutes, Mr O'Cain. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. The scenes in Edinburgh and across other parts of Scotland, as described across the chamber today, are hugely concerning. Perhaps most acutely in this last month, when we have had Halloween and bonfire night, there appear to be pinch points for these instances of anti-social behaviour. Indeed, attacks on police and the misuse of fireworks have seen residents scared to leave their homes, and there are unacceptable scenes on our streets, and there must rightly be investigations and assessments of what has happened and why it has happened. However, I do not think that we should see the pinch points within the year as being one-off or isolated. Indeed, as we have already heard from colleagues, problems with anti-social behaviour seem to persist at all parts of the year. Indeed, in all parts of the country, I am grateful to my friend Daniel Johnson for bringing this debate today, because I think that it gives us an opportunity to express the concerns of our own communities and start to try and explore, certainly, in a constructive way some of the solutions that we might be able to put forward. In West Scotland, it is affected by anti-social behaviour and, indeed, violence in many communities, and I have heard firsthand from constituents about the blight that plays upon their lives. In May of this year, there was a spike of anti-social behaviour in Barhead, where residents felt completely cut off and isolated in many ways due to the anti-social behaviour that was taking place in parts of the town. Indeed, residents have repeatedly complained about being assaulted in the town centre at night, particularly outside the local Asda store and the local foundry leisure centre and library. Indeed, a group of young people have repeatedly targeted security staff and customers at Asda in Barhead and at the foundry as well. Last month, in the neighbouring village of Neilston, there was a reported increase in the number of incidents as well, with eggs and stones being thrown at properties. Although that might seem fairly low-level, I spoke to, for example, a new mother this morning, a young mother, who found that quite intimidating when her car was attacked with eggs. Then, just before Halloween, McGill's local bus company was forced to suspend services at 5 p.m. on two routes through the Auckland back-of-state in Barhead due to violent incidents against its drivers and buses. We can see the real impact that that sort of anti-social behaviour is having on that cutting off of communities that I referred to. I have written to the area commander for police and engaged with the council indeed to try and work out what the solutions could be. I have also written to the minister and I hope that she will be able to engage with that correspondence in terms of what more support can be given by Government to help agencies who are working in the community. I absolutely recognise what Daniel Johnson has said about the mix of approaches that we need to take in terms of dealing with that. Of course, there is an issue in terms of police resourcing. Indeed, Police Scotland will say that it wants to take a multi-agency approach, that it wants to ensure that they are trauma-informed. However, that is often very, very challenging when the other services that have to be put into that approach are really struggling in terms of resourcing and in terms of having the staff available. There have been huge cuts to local authorities. It is not just about the diversion activities, like-use services, but more fundamentally social work services for many of the young people who come from traumatic and chaotic lives and families where they are not getting the right support because social work is having to always respond to crisis and are not able to perhaps do some of the more in-depth work that can help to divert young people away and approach them where they are, if you like. I did notice that the Government's response has been to issue the reviewing Scotland's approach to anti-social behaviour document. I noticed that, within that, there were two recommendations, one that recognised that a long-term approach is needed, and I think that everyone in the chamber would acknowledge that. However, the other is that there is going to be the convening of that expert group. I welcome that, and I think that we should all engage in it, but my concern would be that we cannot just say that it is a long-term approach, leave it to another working group and not see any tangible action. Conscious of my time, I shall leave it with that thought, and I am keen that the minister does lay out in her closing if she can where that group will go and what tangible action it will take, and I am very grateful. I call Sue Webber to be followed by Brian Whittle around four minutes. I certainly feel that it is timely to have the chance to speak in this debate today, given the shocking behaviour that took place across our capital city over the weekend. Riot Police in Edinburgh spent Sunday night battling fireworks and petrol bombs during bonfire night. Police Scotland said that their officers experienced an unprecedented level of violence as they tried to tackle the disorder. Police were called to the Nidre area of Edinburgh on Sunday evening, following reports of anti-social use of fireworks against residents. The riot police part of Operation Moonbeam were then sent into and assisted the local officers. It is believed that around 50 people were involved with clashes with the police who came under attack from fireworks, petrol bombs and other projectiles. The level of disturbance in Nidre was unacceptable and frankly disgusting. Only four weeks ago, in my column in the local paper, I wrote about the impact of the SNP's police budget cuts and how repeated cost cutting had slashed the number of front-line officers and that that was contributing to a rise in anti-social behaviour. The events of bonfire night demonstrated once again that there is a hard core element determined not just to challenge authority but who positively revel in making ordinary people feel uncomfortable in their own homes and communities. The riot in Nidre was only the most visible and shocking flash-point, but outbreaks of anti-social behaviour across the city meant police and fire services resources were stretched to their limits and they came under attack across the wider region. With our police stretched to breaking point, the criminals knew that they could get away with it frankly. One of my constituents Ian, who was the retired police officer, wrote to me earlier this week expressing his concern following the weekend. He said, as I predicted, the new legislation is utterly toothless. Pushing down decision making and blame to local authorities to create exclusion zones is now proven not to work, especially when there is a greatly reduced police service. The fifth of November is now seen as an opportunity to indulge in anarchy and the problem, in my opinion, will only get worse if left unchallenged or unchanged. Yes, I will. Minister. Thank you for taking an intervention and I appreciate everything that happened last weekend was abhorrent on every single level. But will you recognise with the legislation that's come in against emergency workers that last year 61 people were charged and only two people have been charged so far, but investigations are still ongoing and more are expected to be charged? Sue Webber. Firstly, I'd like to inquire, if you can, in your closing remarks as to what the outcomes of those charges were against those individuals that attacked our emergency workers, because that's the problem. Those are petrol bombs that are being thrown. I'm sorry, they are not covered in the fireworks legislation at all. The same policeman told me how much time he'd spent dealing with antisocial behaviour use and a ban on fireworks is a prerequisite. November 5th is, as Ian said, an excuse to create mayhem, but, given the police, the resources to deal with it will have the benefits for us all year round. We can all agree that, sadly, antisocial behaviour is not just limited to this one time of year. On Friday, I met a father called Nico, who lives in Cury. He was at the end of his tether. His family has been targeted for over a year by a group of four youths who regularly dress in black hoods, throw hoods up, throwing eggs, tins of beans and traffic cars at his possessions, his car and his home. I have seen the shocking videos of that happening. Nico and his family feel that they can't relax at home and now the nights are darker, they won't use the living room at the front of their house or leave the light on, as this encourages these people more. The night before Nico came to see me, his local neighbourhood watch met to discuss the incidents and if there was anything he could do, and the father of one of the boys tormenting his family came along as well, and they all feel the school, the police, the parents, all of their hands are tied. The police are already involved and have been to one of the boys' house many times. The father of that boy is at his wit's end and doesn't feel as if there's anything he can do about disciplining his son. I'm meeting the police on Friday in the south west of Edinburgh and I will be raising this, and many of the incidents I have. Earlier this week, the community safety minister, Siobhan Brown, announced a new independent working group to tackle antisocial behaviour. We are already hearing of potential recommendations linked to the confiscation or the curfus for the under-22 bus passes, perhaps, but one thing is clear. There is only one group of people who like a working group more than the SNP, and that is the criminals. I congratulate Daniel Johnson for bringing this debate to the chamber and for his thoughtful introduction to the debate. In September 2022, a stagecoach said that it would no longer run evening services from Cymarock bus stations due to antisocial behaviour perpetuated by our youth. They were using the free bus pass to travel to other areas to cause that behaviour. In April 2023, a teenager who attempted to stab a 14-year-old boy to death with a broken bottle at Cymarock bus station, jailed for more than four years. In October 2023, a Cymarock bus station security worker has been left with a broken nose after being assaulted by two teenagers who have subsequently been arrested and charged in connection with the incident and will appear in court. Daniel Johnson mentioned Covid, and I think that Covid has had an impact on our youth. I think that the lack of social skills there could be a driver to some of this violence. The access to youth clubs, to scouts, to guides, to sport, to music and art that I have discussed many a time in here was taken away. I think that what these activities do for our youth is an encouragement into better behaviour. It is about self-worth. It is about confidence. It is about resilience. It is about aspiration. I agree with what Brian Whittle is saying, but there is also a need for there to be a clear understanding of where the line is between good behaviour and bad behaviour, and that there are consequences that flow from bad behaviour. It may not be the kind of discussion that some members in this Parliament want to hear, but this is what the people of Scotland think and this is what the people of Scotland want to see happen. I would deny that I do believe that there should be consequences to bad behaviour, but there is another side to this coin is that we have to create an environment where we can instill better behaviour. I think that the types of activities that I have been speaking about are where we can let these youth understand the benefits of working together, of working with others, where they have the benefit of learning about hard work and understanding where those boundaries actually stand. I think that over a longer period of time, the eroding of council funding or the erosion of funding for our third sector who are so crucial in this particular issue, or even the funding in our education system, where a lot of the interventions that I have discussed actually begin. I think that the erosion of that funding is such a false economy, as we can see from recent anti-social behaviour, where we spend in one page of a ledger, or we do not spend in one page of a ledger, which means that we need to spend in another page of a ledger, as we saw in those horrific scenes in Edinburgh. I would finish by saying that I have spoken before about my own experience over my lifetime and a more diverse group of friends from such a wide variety of backgrounds that you could not meet. We were introduced to each other and our lives have actually been shaped through our intervention with sport, and that shared togetherness through our passion in sport. We need to ensure that that opportunity, whatever that may be for our youth, is available and accessible for all, because it is not just about that. There is about one side of the coin, about making sure that there are repercussions for behaviour, but there is another side of the coin that says that we have to have the opportunity to ensure that our youth can participate. I am conscious of the number of members who still want to participate in the debate to allow that to happen. I am minded to accept a motion without notice on the rule 8.14.3, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes and invite Daniel Johnson to move such a motion. The question is that the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes. Are we all agreed? That is agreed. I therefore call Ben Macpherson to be followed by Alexander Stewart around four minutes. I also want to start by thanking Daniel Johnson for bringing that really important issue to the chamber and allowing us to consider the challenge of bad behaviour generally in our society. That is not just an issue in Edinburgh Southern, it is not just an issue in Edinburgh, as others have alluded to, it is not even just an issue in Scotland, other parts of the UK are facing real challenges. There is a truth that we need to acknowledge that members have also emphasised, which is that most people who are young are behaving really well and doing really good things. Our young people have also grown up in a challenging time, the financial crash and its consequences, austerity, the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and war in the world. What is also true among those facts is that—we cannot underplay this—there are rightly concerns about a minority of some young people who are engaging in really challenging anti-social behaviour. I fear, colleagues and Presiding Officer, that it is getting worse. It is in our schools, as has been discussed, and the Government has its work on going on these very challenging issues. It is happening in our streets, and it is happening in shops. Others have talked about the challenges when it comes to big supermarkets, but it is also an issue for SMEs in our communities. For example, Argonaut bookshop in Leith, just in recent weeks, had hundreds of pounds of damage from a small minority of young people coming in and throwing eggs around the shop. It is a huge issue, and as Daniel Johnson rightly argued, a complex one. There is a broad range of reasons for this phenomenon. It is a trend, it is influenced by social media, and it has been shown on occasion, also influenced by organised crime. I cannot disagree with what Daniel Johnson said so far, but I want him to agree with me that, over that period of time, there has also been an erosion of that community spirit, coupled with a rise in poor mental health. All of that in a complex web is contributing to that behaviour. That is absolutely true, and it goes back to the context that I mentioned about the financial challenge and the pressure on our society. Our young people have grown up in that and households are experiencing that pressure in communities that are feeling that sense of depression collectively and lack of optimism because of the collective position that we have been in. The demand on the state to respond to that is really difficult, particularly in the financial circumstances that the United Kingdom as a whole in Scotland has faced. In that, the Scottish Government has acted with initiative and proactively, whether it is the higher funding for the police service than elsewhere in the United Kingdom, the support that it has tried to provide, the Crown Office, the violence reduction unit, community justice Scotland, cash back initiatives and increased spending for mental health. There is more to be done, and in that challenge is the balancing of rights, but also the need to work with partners. Where I have seen an impact in my constituency, particularly in North Edinburgh, is the youth work organisations working collaboratively that have made the biggest difference. I have to be honest and state that most of the funding for that has come from trusts and private sources. The main message that I want to emphasise is that there are criminal justice aspects to that, but most importantly, youth work works. The more resource that we can find for youth work initiatives in our communities, the bigger difference we can make. Lastly, I think that we should have more time in this chamber to debate those issues, because it is a challenge more widely about behaviour in our society. Some are to blame, but all of us are responsible, and we can all do more, including, perhaps, I would argue in this chamber, by looking to give the best example that we can. I am very pleased to contribute to this afternoon's debate and thank Daniel Johnson for securing it. I acknowledge the concerns that the motion states today, and I agree that anti-social behaviour in youth is very much on the increase. It is not just in Mr Johnson's Edinburgh constituency, but across my region of Mid Scotland in Fife, the sheer scale is deeply worrying, and those continue to be reported. As we already heard this weekend, we bore out the fact that the horrific scenes that we saw in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, when anti-social behaviour fireworks became a toxic cocktail and emergency service personnel were once again targeted during their line of duty, was absolutely appalling. I look forward to hearing what the minister says in her summing up. Only recently, in my own region, the Alaba advertiser highlighted that police patrols were having to be increased in Tullecutri and Allawa following a rise in youth-related anti-social behaviour. I am extremely concerned at the rise, and those individuals were as young as 12 and 15, and they were roaming the streets with weapons. Those incidents of anti-social behaviour have almost prevalently within the high street and within town centres, but the most worrying was that young individuals were spotted in the early hours wearing masks and attempting to intimidate workers and people making local deliveries. Similar reports have also come from Stirling city centre. I have long been a supporter and called for the initiatives to ensure the utmost safety for retail and delivery workers as long with our emergency service personnel. However, the phenomenon is now moving to another level, and there has been talk about free bus travel for under-22s being questioned. That coincides with a number of contacts that I have heard from constituents suggesting that there may be some individuals who are using that facility. However, I believe that that is still a minority of use jumping on the opportunity to travel further and create anti-social behaviour in different areas. Recently, I was delighted to learn of a man and gentleman, Craig Macintosh, who is becoming a peer mentor with views to engaging with young people. He is focusing alternative pathways for individuals who have risky behaviour in Stirling city centre. I believe that this post was funded by Stirling community enterprise, go for Stirling bid and the Police Scotland themselves. The majority of the funding that has come from voluntary enterprise community justice fund. That is a real reality and a real opportunity to show that a peer mentoring situation can draw upon the experiences of past and pass them on to the next generation. Seeing that role is an opportunity to help young people to turn their lives around. I very much wish Mr Macintosh all the encouragement that he has in going forward with a project of this nature. It is important that we see further projects that are happening across the community. We have heard today about the voluntary sector doing work and we have heard today that that needs to be advanced. In conclusion, whilst Stirling Scotland remains desperately underfunded and undermanned, that risks the force of them being undermined. We have heard that also today. There is a legal responsibility to parents and guardians to ensure that young people in their care are not exposed to likely harm. That likely harm comes in the form of harm to themselves but mental and physical harm to others and antisocial behaviour. It is also the legislation that Police Scotland needs to robustly enforce to ensure that individuals who perpetrate any of those offences are tackled and given the full parts of the law to ensure that they do not and that they know where the line lies. First of all, I thank Daniel Johnson for bringing this debate today. It seems from what we have heard that it is a problem right across Scotland. I want to share the experience of what is happening right now in Aberdeen. This year, the incidents of antisocial behaviour at Union Square, Aberdeen's main city shopping centre and joined on to the bus station as well, have surged with some truly shocking incidents being reported. The press and journal told the story of a whistleblower worker who said, what's happening is wrong. Union Square is the most hostile and dangerous place I have worked. He went on to describe that the toilets have become party rooms where kids as young as 12 lock themselves away to drink, roll joints and even have underage sex. He also told of a shopping trolley being thrown off the multi-story car park, nearly striking a woman below. Police have been drafted in to try and train security guards and senior officers are working closely with Union Square management to equip businesses with the right tools to handle youngsters hell-bent on reconhavoc. However, security guards and shop owners seem confused in what action they can take, and often they are concerned that if they were to manhandle a youth out of their shop, they may be charged. Douglas London is making an excellent speech, but it is very troubling. He mentioned shop workers and others not knowing how to deal with the youth that are causing this difficulty. This is doubly or triply true of teachers. They desperately need clear guidance about what they can and can't do, but they are not getting it. The Government is putting this off, more talk, less action. I completely agree with Stephen Kerr teachers, as well as shop owners. They need to be assured that they won't be penalised for protecting their business or protecting themselves. It is worrying that this type of behaviour from what we have heard today seems to be on the increase right across Scotland. I would call on the devolved Government to urgently carry out a piece of work to understand if this behaviour is actually on the increase and try to understand the reasons behind it. Daniel Johnson and Craig Hoy suggested that free bus travel may be having an impact, and I agree with Sue Webber that the pressure on police resources are partly to blame, and the freeze on police recruitment will only make these matters worse. Whatever the cause the devolved Government needs to act, this behaviour by groups of people are making places feel unsafe and threatening the viability of some businesses, driving people away from our city centres and putting our shop workers into situations that they should never have to deal with. It is those workers that I want to finish on. It was reported that the Nespresso stall in Union Square closed after workers said that they faced assault and sexual harassment. We need to act more needs to be done. I thank again Daniel Johnson for bringing this matter before us today and look forward to what action the Government will do to tackle this problem. I would like to thank Daniel Johnson for raising this really important issue and to everybody that has taken part in today's debate. I also want to thank Daniel Johnson for all his historical work for the protection of retail workers previously. I have appreciated hearing about how all your constituencies have been affected by antisocial behaviour, and the incidents in some constituencies, especially last weekend, were deeply concerning and quite rightly raised in the Chamber earlier this week. Many are still under investigation by the police and are treating these matters with the seriousness and the severity that it does deserve. As Craig Hoy and Ben MacPherson acknowledged in their contributions, I first of all want to recognise that, as you know, the vast majority of young people are not involved in antisocial behaviour, nor involved in the justice system. That is just not true. It is the vast majority of the young people who are the biggest victims of this behaviour because they often are living in fear themselves. At school and in other places they should be safe, so to just say, oh, the majority behave themselves, which they do, and they are not affected is just not the case. I do disagree. I would say that the majority of youth are not perpetrators of antisocial behaviour. It is a small minority. Indeed, many people who take part in antisocial behaviour are not youths. This is unacceptable behaviour of a minority within our society. Regardless of who is involved, I am nonetheless clear that everybody has the right to be and to feel safe in their community, and that is what is set out in our justice vision for Scotland. I know that that view is shared across the chamber. Everyone has the right to go about their business, their work and their home life in safety without any fear. Some of the events from the past weekend put innocent people, yes? Douglas Lameston, thank the minister for taking an intervention. We heard from Ben Macpherson about the story about youths going into a shop and throwing eggs and stuff. Can you advise what action the shopkeeper could take in that instance without any fear of him being charged? I would say that in any incident like that they should be calling the place in the first instance. Some of the events from the past weekend put innocent people within our communities at risk and put those setting the fires and throwing the projectiles at risk too. Attacks against those whose job it is to keep our community safe are never acceptable. I am grateful to Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire Rescue Service and the partners for their bravery in going about their job and for their professional response to this dangerous and thoughtless behaviour. A number of members have referred to the abuse faced by staff and the theft of items from shops and businesses. Again, this is not acceptable. I would urge any affected businesses or individuals to contact the police who continue to focus on keeping our communities safe from harm and on investigating criminal activity. Daniel Johnson I absolutely agree with the minister. People working in shops should contact the police. The problem is that they very often do not get a response. When you speak to the police, it is not because they do not want to respond, it is because quite simply there are not enough response officers available to do that. Does she agree with me that we need to re-look at that balance between central specialised resource and the number of officers we have in local divisions doing response and community work? Minister, I will give you the time back. I thank the member for that intervention. I think that one of the things that we are reviewing—I will get to it later in my speech on how we address this increase in antisocial behaviour, but I do agree with you. As police are often the first line of response of such disorder, policing continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government, and we are investing 1.45 billion in policing in 2023 to 2024, an increase of 6.3 per cent, an additional £80 million in the resource budget. I have heard from contributions from members as today saying that there have been police cuts that are not accurate. Police Scotland is strengthening its approach to dealing with accusative crime, including shoplifting, firstly through the sharing of regional best practice, but also through taking the lead role in the Scottish partnership against accusative crime. This partnership draws together key organisations from across the society to provide a robust multi-agency approach to accusative crime and to support activity at local level, which is so important. As well as police Scotland and the Scottish Government, partners also include retailers against crime. As many members are aware and some have acknowledged in their contribution, police Scotland and local authorities lead on interventions to address antisocial behaviour at a local level. Partners working on the ground are always best placed to understand issues faced by local communities and how they can be best addressed. I know that great partnership working is already taking place throughout the country, and I very much encourage it. I recently visited in the Clyde partnership hub to learn firsthand about key agencies such as the police, local authorities, social housing associations, the health and social care partnership, Scottish Fire Rescue and British Transport Police were all working together to address antisocial behaviour within the local community. Earlier this week, I was pleased to publish the report, the reviewing of Scotland's approach to antisocial behaviour. That is based on engagement work that the Scottish Government has done with the Scottish Community Safety Network to assess the appetite for reviewing our current approach to antisocial behaviour. The report's findings focus on moving towards a more preventative approach and recognising the importance of preventing antisocial behaviour from occurring in the first place, which will also continue to better tackle antisocial behaviour and provide better support for victims. Douglas Lumsden, I'm not sure if you're aware of this work that's ongoing, but members will be aware that I have accepted the recommendations and I'm setting up a working group on antisocial behaviour. Now, this will consider the effectiveness of current... Sorry, how much have I got? I can give you another minute, Minister. Okay. I want to address one issue that's raised time and time again regarding the bus passes. It is important to remember most of our young people travelling by bus do behave appropriately. The card is also used to access a variety of national and local public services across Scotland, such as school free meals and cashless catering. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for transport operators to remove cards from card holders due to the impact that this could have on access to other services. Furthermore, the Scottish Government have the power to withdraw or suspend a card if an eligible person knowingly allows a travel card to be used by another person. Travel scheme does not make the provision for blocking of cards in relation to allegations of antisocial behaviour or other inappropriate behaviour. Tackling allegations of antisocial behaviour are matters for the police and local authorities. However, we will continue to look at what may be possible and advisable and keep this under review. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much, Minister. That concludes the debate and I suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2.30.