FMQs: Deaths of teenagers prove weak justice system, opposition claim

The deaths of three teenagers show the SNP has "systematically weakened the justice system", Tory leader Russell Findlay has said.

Kayden Moy, 16, suffered fatal stab wounds during a visit to Irvine beach. Two 17-year-olds have been charged in connection with the death of the East Kilbride teenager.

In a separate incident, two teenagers aged 14 and 16 have been charged with the Glasgow murder of Amen Teklay, 15, in March.

And a 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to five years' detention after admitting to the killing of 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon in May last year.

At First Minister's Questions, Findlay, a former newspaper crime reporter, said the "the sickening rise in youth violence" can be "linked directly to the policies and actions" of the Scottish Government.

Accusing the SNP administration of having "systematically weakened the justice system, especially in youth justice", Findlay said: "They won't exclude disruptive and dangerous pupils – official guidelines prevent teachers from being able to instil basic classroom discipline.

"The SNP passed a law banning under-18s from being sent to prison even if they commit murder, and they decided that more young criminals should not be prosecuted in court. They are instead sent to children's panels, where their interests are the priority and victims are ignored. 

"Then there are the perverse under-25 sentencing guidelines, which prevent criminals – adults, by any definition – from being jailed. This approach is weak, it is reckless, and it is costing lives."

Labour leader Anas Sarwar said many parents feared the consequences of "a culture of violence going unchallenged".

Sarwar said: "The crisis didn't emerge overnight, it's been years in the making. 

"Since the SNP created Police Scotland we have lost 800 officers, and since 2017 the SNP has cut 730 officers from local divisions and shut countless local police stations – and now we're hearing horrifying reports of children, primary school children, being caught carrying knives.

"This is not a coincidence. The SNP have cut police officers, they've shut police stations, they've decimated youth work services, they've mismanaged our justice system so badly that every day 500 police officers are stuck in courtrooms with 90 per cent not even giving evidence, and they broke our NHS to the point that police officers are stuck in A&E wards, having to escort patients when they should be on the streets fighting crime. 

"So isn't what we're seeing now a direct consequence of SNP decisions and SNP failures?"

John Swinney said "Scottish society has become safer" since the creation of Police Scotland, with a reduction in incidences of homicide, attempted murder and serious assault.

Expressing sympathies to the family of Kayden Moy, he called the boy's death a "tragedy", saying "one incident is one too many" and condemning recent scenes of disorder involving youths at beaches in Ayrshire and Edinburgh.

He told MSPs education, enforcement and community engagement were all being used to tackle violence. 

Swinney said "most of Scotland's young people are responsible citizens", adding that the justice secretary is to hold talks on the matter next month.

The FM said: "There are punishments available which the courts can decide to apply, and they can involve imprisonment. 

"Nobody should be under any illusion that there are no consequences of being involved in the unacceptable actions of lifetime violence. And that will be the sustained approach the government takes forward."