YMCA Scotland has hosted an event with several Scottish politicians as they came face to face with a group of seventy young people challenging them on youth justice issues and the perception and treatment of young people in Scotland.
The meeting in Perthshire on Sunday brought together representatives from the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party to face an honest and at times passionate enquiry from the YMCA delegates.
Young people between the ages of 15 and 25 came together from YMCAs across Scotland for the event, which gave them the opportunity to craft their own questions on key youth issues before firing them to the MSPs during a lively hustings.
The hustings launched straight into a debate about youth justice and policing with several young adults sharing their stories of life on the streets.
While many young people at the debate welcomed a hardline to approach to genuine bad behaviour among youths, Peter Crory, National General Secretary for YMCA Scotland, said that many of them also felt that policing was "very hard" on young people, and were frustrated with being frequently moved on despite doing nothing wrong.
YMCA Scotland called for more resources to support young people and their positive development.
"Rather than plying resources into anti-social behaviour, we should be investing in preventing young people becoming anti-social," he said.
Crory criticised the approach of the Scottish Government to young anti-social behaviour as "very one-sided", saying it was important to see the potential of young people and invest in youth work, particularly among 11 to 14-year-olds.
