Time for action – ‘only a matter of time before a child is seriously hurt’ warn locals as police called in to parts of Inverness following reports of rebellious groups of teenagers causing night-time trouble
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Undercover police are being tasked with tackling rebellious groups of teenagers causing night-time trouble in parts of Inverness.
Complaints have soared about youngsters around Culloden, Smithton and Westhill in recent weeks.
It is thought that Covid restrictions on after-school activities might be a factor.
Police confirmed patrols, including some undercover, have been stepped up in the area.
Inverness South councillor Ken Gowans said: “Recently I have had an unusually high number of people contacting me about groups of 20 to 30 kids wandering about the area basically being disruptive and displaying antisocial behaviour.
“There seems to have been quite an increase in this sort of thing whether it is as a result of lockdown, I am not sure, but it is causing problems.
“This side of the city has the highest population but there is a lack of facilities such as a sports centre for young people to let off steam – apart from part of Culloden Academy.
“Kids on bikes in Admiral’s Way was one trouble-spot. I spoke to a senior police officer who said they would try and increase their bicycle patrols in the area.”
He added: “There are a lot of things these young people would be doing if it wasn’t for Covid, but at the same time it is up to the parents to know where their children are and what they are up to.”
There have also been a string of complaints about antisocial behaviour in Dugless Wood, part of Culloden Woods fenced off by Forest and Land Scotland (FLS) for younger children to go with parents or teachers.
There have been ongoing problems there with graffiti, drinking, broken glass and fires.
A concerned resident who lives nearby called the police after seeing youngsters entering Dugless Wood where a fire was lit and bottles were broken.
“The following day the Dugless area was once again covered in broken glass with large shards sticking out of the ground,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before a child ends up seriously hurt.
“Another concern is that a fire could get out of control.
“Police Scotland needs to take a much harder stance. I know what its like to be young and bored but it’s no excuse to deliberately put other children in harms way.”
A worried mother who regularly takes her daughters to the area said: “Maybe the authorities should look into closing the woods during the hours of darkness, especially now the evenings are drawing in. I can’t think of any good reason why people would gather in the woods when its pitch black, other than to cause bother or do things they don’t want people to see them doing.”
FLS visitor services manager Paul Hibberd was disappointed to hear of more reports of antisocial incidents at the site.
“We understand that the Covid-19 restrictions on some activities are affecting young people, but we would ask them to not make things worse by damaging facilities that other local families come to use,” he said.
“We would hope that parents will join us in explaining this to young adults.
“We are looking at what measures we can take to help prevent this, and in the meantime we would urge anyone witnessing any such behaviour to report it to Police Scotland.”
A police spokeswoman said: “We are aware of issues in this area and community beat officers have been working both visibly and in plain clothes in an effort to tackle the problem.
“We would encourage anyone with any concerns to contact us on 101 immediately so we can try and respond at the time.”
