SHOCKING TOLL OF GLASGOW’S SCHOOL VANDALS
Almost a quarter of city sites have been attacked
A QUARTER of city schools and nurseries have been wrecked by vile vandals in just eight months.
The Evening Times reveals the true extent of vandalism incidents for the first time after obtaining figures through the Freedom of Information Act.
Glasgow City Council admitted that they only began recording figures earlier this year and were unable to put a cost on the damage caused by those intent on wrecking schools.
VILE vandals have wreaked havoc on almost a quarter of the city’s schools and nurseries in just eight months, official figures reveal.
A Freedom of Information request submitted to Glasgow City Council brings to light the true extent of vandalism attacks on schools and nurseries since local authority officials began recording figures in March this year.
Although it is unclear what the cost for repairs are as a result of such incidents, a total of 58 attacks were recorded.
The Freedom of Information request reveals that duplicate acts of vandalism were carried out in schools including the Former Gowanbank, Toryglen, Darnley, St Catherine’s, Sacred Heart, St Timothy’s, St Monica’s and Our Lady of the Rosary primaries.
Other schools targeted during the period up to November 5 included St Mungo’s, St Conval’s, Cardonald, Langfaulds, Blairdardie, Miller, Caledonia, St Maria Goretti, St Fillan’s, Hillington, St Marnock’s, Blackfriars, St Martha’s, St Monica’s, St Rose of Lima, Balornock, Tinto, Castleton and St Brigid’s primaries.
Keppoch Campus, Linburn Academy, Parkhill Secondary, and Scaraway and Rosshall nurseries were also the victims of acts of vandalism.
Glasgow City Council said in their official response that they only started recording this information in March. The local authority said that it does not hold information in relation to the cost of repairs. They added that this because costs for repairs of vandalism are not recorded separately.
The Freedom of Information request said: “It would not be possible to identify from our systems what repairs were due to vandalism, and what was due to wear and tear or any other reason.”
The former Gowanbank Primary was the worst hit with 12 incidents during the period.
Although the school is no longer in use, it has repeatedly been targeted by vandals over the years.
We revealed two years ago that £10,000 worth a damage was caused to the former primary in Nitshill when vandals left a devastating trail of destruction for teaching staff to find.
They even raided the school’s kitchen for snacks and took a break to eat ice cream, jelly and make popcorn.
A teenage firebug also caused £160,000 of damage when he set the school on fire two years ago.
Meanwhile this year, we revealed that vandals destroyed a sensory garden
‘‘ I hope that this will be the last of such acts of senseless destruction
at St Rose of Lima Primary in Craigend. A toy box was set on fire while the sick vandals urinated on items around the outdoor area of the school.
Haghill Park Primary was also trashed by mindless thugs who damaged a poly tunnel used to grow fruit and vegetables.
Recently Glasgow North East councillor Ruairi Kelly organised a meeting after a number of schools were targeted in his constituency.
He said: “After a number of schools in the North East were targeted by vandals I organised a meeting with the schools, the police and Community Safety Glasgow to look at ways to address this.
“Community Safety Glasgow advised the schools on security and let the surrounding community know of the problem, and the hard work of the community police team lead to a detection for each of the incidents.
“I hope that this will be the last of such acts of senseless destruction but will continue to work with all parties to prevent the disruption to local children’s education and the loss of play facilities.”
The Evening Times understands that Community Safety Glasgow has been working with Police Scotland to tackle the issue through a number of tactics.
Community Safety Glasgow has also engaged with education and youth providers to change behaviour in communities where young people’s actions are having a negative impact.
Some of the interventions taken have included home visits by both Community Safety Glasgow and Police Scotland, and work with local youth providers to look at available activity and identify gaps.
Community Safety Glasgow officers have also been providing security advice to schools and nurseries across the city.
If there is a spike in vandalism, the organisation can carry out additional patrols in the area and hold meetings to discuss the issue with community representatives.
Councillor Chris Cunningham, City Convener for Education, Skills and Early Years, said: “We know that mindless vandals will not care about the impact of their actions on not just the financial cost to the council but also the inevitable disruption to learning and teaching in the school or nursery – often in their own local communities as well.
“We will continue to work with our partners to use a variety of measure to try and reduce vandalism of the school estate across the city.”