SCHOOLGIRL, 13, ACCUSED OF TEENAGE RAMPAGE
Police urged to end youth’s hammer-wielding spree
A schoolgirl aged just 13 has been blamed for a violent crimewave that led to a terrified family fleeing their home.
Scared locals say the girl arms herself with a hammer and truncheon to destroy property and threaten people.
They say she is responsible for a string of assaults, vandalism costing thousands of pounds and an arson attack.
And they have demanded that police take action to stop the out- of- control teenager making their lives hell.
The girl was placed at a children’s unit in Pollok, Glasgow, several months ago and the residents of a nearby housing estate say she has been causing havoc since then.
Bus shelters and windows of houses have been smashed, including at the home of a family who eventually moved out.
Police were called to three separate incidents, including two reports of vandalism, a week before they were relocated.
The first- floor f lat was then ransacked and set on fire.
Two crews from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze in Leithland Road on June 25.
Off icers have examined CCTV footage af ter a cash machine was destroyed last week.
It was the second ATM in the area to be targeted within days.
And St Monica’s Primary School had about 70 windows smashed during one night of mayhem earlier this month.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appears to dominate other youngsters and control them, according to locals.
One resident, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals, said: “This girl has got to be stopped. She is making life around here a misery for everyone.
“The level of vandalism has shot through the roof since she arrived in the area.
“She seems to have the other children under her control and they do whatever she tel ls them. She eggs them on to behave badly.
“I’ve seen her hitting boys as well as girls and it’s clear that they’re afraid.
“The police and the care unit have been told all about her but the damage continues.
“She’ll disappear for a couple of days but, as soon as she’s al lowed back out, the chaos starts again.”
Another worried neighbour said: “We know she must come from a troubled background and people in the area have sympathy for that.
“But there’s no excuse for this kind of behaviour. It’s got to end before someone gets hurt.
“We all thought the fire would be the last straw.
“But I saw her f ight ing w ith a young boy in the middle of the street a few days ago.
“She car r ies a hammer and a small bat up her sleeves.”
One woman, who had her window smashed, said: “It was like a bullet had been shot through the glass.
“I ran out and saw a group of kids and asked them who smashed my window,
“The young girl admitted it was her and gave me a mouthful of abuse.
“She didn’t care that I knew she was responsible.
“I contacted police but I don’t expect anything to happen. I only contacted them for insurance purposes. The vandalism is out of control.”
Police and social workers refer offences committed by young people to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA).
They received 437 reports on alleged offences car r ied out by 13- year- olds in 2014-15.
The organisation received a total of 2872 referrals over the same period.
Of this ,701 children were reported for alleged vandalism offences.
Their statistics for 2015-16 will be published on Thursday.
An SCRA spokeswoman said: “The number of children and young people referred to the Reporter on offence grounds continues to fall.
“However, the most common types of alleged offences referred to the Chi ldren’s Repor ter are assault , vandal ism and threatening or abusive behaviour.
“The most common ages for chi ldren and young people referred on offence grounds is 14 and 15 years.”
Police said inquiries into the fire were continuing.
A spokeswoman added that two girls aged 11 and 13 were the subject of a report in connection with damage to St Monica’s and two ATMs.
She said: “The report will be forwarded to the SCRA for consideration.”
A Glasgow City Counci l spokeswoman said: “I can confirm two children in local authority care are the subject of a report to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration in relation to allegations of vandalism.
“In light of this, it would be inappropr iate to comment further.”
She seems to have the other children under her control