Police crack down on drunken youths gathering in park

Police have cracked down on drunken youths gathering at a Glasgow park after confiscating alcohol.

Teenagers have been flocking to Kelvingrove Park and surrounding areas, leading to complaints about drinking and anti-social behaviour.

Police Scotland has been running an operation since April with Glasgow City Council to deal with the crowds following huge amounts of revellers last year.

Inspector Kenneth Robertson said youths from outside the city were descending on the West End park, as numbers peaked in June.

Inspector Robertson said: “We have been seizing alcohol off almost everybody who is in the park.

“What has been noticeable on social media is that kids have been saying there is no point in going to Kelvingrove Park as they would have their alcohol taken from them. That has had a massive effect.”

The Inspector declared the policing victory at Glasgow City Council’s Anderston, City and Yorkhill Partnership council meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, he said: “The park was being utilised by kids and youths from all over the place – not just Glasgow but from outwith. They were on social media and for whatever reason Kelvingrove Park was the place to be, which was causing issues for ourselves.

“It made it hard for us to engage because it was different youths every weekend. What we found is since the peak it has started to noticeably decline and there has been a marked change in who has been using the park. Officers have found it is really now just local youths who are using it.”

Other young people are heading to Ayrshire, Balloch and elsewhere according to Inspector Robertson.

Complaints are now down, with the park being visited more by families.

Inspector Robertson added: “The number of complaints has dropped dramatically.”

Reporting by Local Democracy Reporter Sarah Hilley