Police report shows extent of violence involving children

Alocal police report has revealed children as young as primary age were involved in incidents of violence towards one another.

One assault in the region this year involved a 12-year-old seriously injuring a nine-year-old.

The revelations were made to councillors in the latest local quarterly police report.

Chief Superintendent Phil Davison presented the April 1 to June 30 report to Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and communities committee on Wednesday.

A large number of assaults, 41%, were between young people, particularly during the early part of the quarter.

Mr Davison said: “While boys aged 16-25 are the most common perpetrators and victims, children between primary seven and S2 have been involved in violence towards one another.

“Our commitment to reducing this violence and better engagement with young people continues under the guise of Operation Stung and towards the end of the quarter we have seen a reduction in violence between young people.”

Most assaults were committed by a male – 72% – usually by children aged under 16 and men aged 25 to 44. Between April 1 and June 30 there were 19 serious assaults recorded in Perth and Kinross.

Only one serious assault remains undetected.

The report said a suspect was identified but there was insufficient corroborative evidence.

Around two-thirds of the serious assaults recorded in this quarter happened in Perth – three were between inmates at Perth prison.

One serious assault involved young children.

Chief superintendent Davison said: “In all cases the perpetrator was known to the victim and in five of the recorded serious assaults young people were responsible for assaulting peers, in the most extreme case a 12-year-old inflicting a serious injury upon a nine-year-old.”

There has been an increase in the number of common assaults – rising by 19% compared to the same period last year and by 17.2% in relation to the five-year average.

Around 54% of the common assaults were in Perth city centre and in 73% of these crimes the victim and perpetrator were known to one another.

The most common locations were public streets followed by schools, Perth prison then licensed premises.

While 54% of the crimes were in a public place, 43% were within a domestic setting – a slight rise from the previous quarter.

The police report listed domestic abuse as the most common contributory factor in assaults.

ASSAULTS: Councillors heard that 41% of all reported attacks involved young people.