Youth Justice

Youth justice and youth‑related antisocial behaviour were raised throughout the series of meetings, particularly in relation to the limitations of enforcement powers such as FPNs and certain banning orders, which are not applicable to people under the age of sixteen.

The Group were keen to explore what measures could be used in cases where young people have committed offences. Transport Scotland engaged with the Scottish Government’s youth justice team and as well as the Director of the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice to fully understand the balance between children and young people’s rights and criminal justice. Here the importance of education programmes as a long-term way to address youth-related antisocial behaviour was raised.

At meeting five, there was an opportunity to hear from SRT’s Travel Safe Team about the work they do engaging with young people and their aspirations to expand this work by going out into more schools. The team are currently involved with the Police, Ambulance and Fire Service ‘PAFS’ Programme which involves youths who have been involved in incidents in local communities. During the discussion it was raised that there was scope to get into schools through their online learning portals and that a digital approach may be the best one for getting nationwide engagement in schools. The success of the Travel Safe Team was recognised at the meeting, and it would be beneficial if their engagement approach could be replicated more widely across Scotland.

The cyclical nature of youth-related antisocial behaviour was also raised, particularly as it accounts for only 24% of offences on Scotland’s railway. The Group considered exploring education programmes for adults, as well as young people, as another means of keeping individuals out of the criminal justice system.

BTP noted that they are supportive of diversionary programmes for youths and adults in partnership with SRT and NR. However, ensuring compliance with these programmes will require the support of the Scottish Government in order to ensure attendance is mandatory and enforced. Support will also be required when designing these programmes alongside justice partners.

The Group were keen to emphasise that the Travel Safe Team should not be viewed as an alternative to BTP which has seen its numbers reduce in recent years. The Group were concerned that measures to tackle antisocial behaviour would not be enforced effectively if BTP Scotland is under resourced. Noting that powers over BTP are reserved to the UK Government, the Group put on record its endorsement of the Cabinet Secretary for Transport’s position against cuts to BTP funding and numbers. BTP noted that since February 2025 they have been in talks with Transport Scotland regarding additional funding to uplift resources across Scotland. Additionally, in December 2025 BTP are seeking growth in Scotland as part of their Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) submission to the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA).