Perth’s top police officer says the force is having to undertake “childminding duties” because of unruly youngsters in Perth.
Chief Inspector Ian Scott (left), area commander for Perth and Kinross, said Police Scotland’s Tayside division is having to deal with increased instances of teenagers behaving inappropriately in various places across the city.
He says police officers are often called out to both the North and South Inch, Moncreiffe Island and Perth College UHI’s Crieff Road campus to deal with teenagers behaving badly and drinking alcohol, taking police resources away from other areas.
Now, he has warned parents his officers are not a babysitting service.
He wants parents to be on the look out to make sure they know where their children are going, and what they will be doing, particularly as the warmer summer months approach.
He said: “Police Scotland considers this sort of behaviour to be completely unacceptable.
“People have the right to enjoy these places but they must also bear responsibility for their actions.
“We would urge parents and guardians to reinforce this message to their children and if they are travelling into Perth for the afternoon or evening then please be curious and find out what their intentions are.
“Police officers are routinely finding themselves undertaking defacto childminding duties around the inches, Moncreiffe Island and Perth College campus which takes resources away from other priorities.”
However, he added police officers will continue to focus on the areas popular with anti-social youngsters.
CI Scott continued: “Police Scotland will continue to monitor these areas and act robustly where required.
“We also target individuals and outlets which are believed to supply youths with alcohol but require the support of retailers, parents and the wider community to allow us all to delight in the joys of Perthshire at this time of year.”
Over the past year, there have been a number of reported incidents of anti-social behaviour.
In March we reported that residents were calling for action because gangs of teens were causing chaos at weekends.
And only last year CI Scott sent a letter to parents of all pupils in S3-S6 to say teenagers were blighting the Fair City with alcohol misuse, vandalism, violence, assaults and disorder.
