Scots gang members to get anger management courses
Apr 15 2008 By Magnus Gardham And Paul O'Hare
HUNDREDS of gang members are to receive anger management counselling in a bid to cut street violence.
Specially-trained police will help youngsters curb their aggressive outbursts as part of the £200,000 government initiative.
Knife-wielding thugs will be taught to count to 10 to cool down instead of lashing out.
It was confirmed yesterday that more than 500 known gang members across Scotland will be targeted. They include 120 yobs in Glasgow.
Gang members will be encouraged to attend classes on anger management and "territorialism issues" as part of local projects which also involve football coaching, music, drama and other activities.
A scheme in Drumchapel, Glasgow, will offer outward bound activities to tempt teenagers to attend classes.
Anti-violence classes will be included in a bicycle maintenance course for Edinburgh gang members.
And youths in Buckhaven, Fife, will stage a play called Culture of Violence, with counselling thrown in.
In all, 19 schemes were given the go-ahead yesterday. They will be run by police officers using a "toolkit" developed by an English charity.
Police said one unnamed Glasgow gang committed 450 crimes in less than a year.
And gangs such as Young Leith Team, in Edinburgh, and Young Ardler Pirates, in Dundee, have been linked with crime sprees.
Last month, police stopped and searched 6000 people stopped in an anti-gang drive.
More than 500 weapons were seized.
But police and ministers believe a more "softly softly" approach is also required.
Speaking in Springburn, Glasgow, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said of anger management: "The statistics speak for themselves. It works.
"Senior officers and hardened cops here say this is working fantastically well. They are amazed at the figures.
"We have kids now going into the same gang that not only their father was in but their grandfather was in! This is ridiculous and we have got to break it."
But Springburn's Labour MSP Paul Martin said: "If you live in an area affected by gang fighting, what you want is for the individuals to be dealt with rather than given a cuddle.
"It is time for Kenny MacAskill to get in the real world and deal with policing issues instead of letting people out of jail early and talking about anger management."
