A youth violence campaigner has strongly criticised plans by First Minister John Swinney and Justice Secretary Neil Gray to hold a knife amnesty in Scotland, labelling the proposal a "cop out". Kevin Martin, who runs Easterhouse Sports Centre in Glasgow, argued that the government's approach is a "knee-jerk reaction" to a recent spate of knife crime tragedies.
Demand for community investment
Martin, a father of two, urged the Scottish Government to invest in safe spaces for young people, where they can receive mentorship and guidance. He believes that violence prevention can only succeed if children and young people are "met at their own level" and provided with the tools to excel within their communities.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the 32-year-old said: "A knife amnesty is an easy option for the government. It is a cop-out and passes the problem back onto the people to resolve. The only way we can prevent youth violence and knife crime is by starting at a grassroots level."
He added: "We need to meet kids at their own level by having youth workers ready to work with them in schools and in the community. Offering kids a box to put their knives into is simply putting a temporary plaster over a long-term problem."
Our Kids ... Our Future campaign
Martin's comments come as part of the Record's ongoing youth violence campaign, Our Kids ... Our Future, which was launched over three years ago following a worrying rise in attacks on teenagers. The campaign has repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to invest in community provisions for young people.
Since the campaign's launch in February 2023, the Record has reported on the deaths of three teenage boys who lost their lives to violence within just 12 months. Kory McCrimmon, Amen Teklay, and Kayden Moy all died on Scotland's streets.
Kory, 16, died after being stabbed in the heart during a confrontation in Greenfield Park in Glasgow's east end on May 31, 2024. A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was detained for five years after admitting culpable homicide.
Amen Teklay, 15, died after being found seriously injured on a street in Glasgow's Maryhill in March 2025. Two boys, aged 15 and 16, who deny his murder, are due to stand trial.
Weeks after Amen's death, 16-year-old Kayden Moy died in hospital after being chased and stabbed in the stomach and legs at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire in May 2025. Jay Stewart, 18, and a 15-year-old male youth, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of his murder last week. A third teenager, 18-year-old Cole Turley, pleaded guilty to Kayden's murder before the trial began at the High Court in Glasgow.
Kevin said: "The Record has long warned more children will die in Scotland unless there is urgent investment in safe spaces and intervention. Youth violence has changed since the last amnesty was held in Scotland in 2006. It is no longer territorial as it used to be in the 90s and early 2000s; it is organised and sophisticated now. Working with children and giving them safe spaces will empower them and challenge them to make meaningful change in their lives."
He concluded: "A knife amnesty is short-sighted and has had no thought put into it; it's a knee-jerk reaction to these young deaths. The only way this can be tackled long-term is by meeting kids where they are."
Former Justice Secretary's view
Former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill commented: "An amnesty may be worth it to gather in unwanted blades that fall into the wrong hands, but it will not solve a knife crime or youth violence epidemic. Those intent on doing wicked and harmful things will hold on to weapons."
He added: "Kevin is speaking from experience and knowledge. Circumstances have changed and social media has moved violence into another world. We know what we have to do; we need to invest in young people and allay the fears that some people have. It is right that we need investment in children and young people via peer group support."
MacAskill also noted: "The more we close youth centres, the more kids hang about the streets and the more the devil finds the time for idle hands. Those hands will, on occasion, pick up a knife."
Government response
Justice Secretary Neil Gray defended the government's position, stating: "I was asked directly if I would consider a knife amnesty and said that the Scottish Government will take into consideration any action that will reduce knife crime with our partners. We already take a range of different measures to make sure our young people do not pick up a weapon in the first place. One of these is the support through education programmes in our schools and in the wider community such as the No Knives, Better Lives campaign, which educates young people of the dangers of carrying a knife."
Gray added: "A range of funding is provided for youth work including grants, core funding and special initiatives. This includes the local authority block grant, which gives councils significant flexibility to allocate resources for youth work in their area. Multiple youth work organisations are being supported with annual funding in 2026/27 of £1,061,550."
He continued: "To further tackle knife crime, we are committed to finance a further three years of the Cashback for Communities Programme, which reinvests money recovered from seized criminal assets into communities. We have also provided investment of more than £6 million since 2023 to implement the Violence Prevention Framework that supports targeted prevention and early intervention activity in schools, hospitals and across communities to tackle violence and its harms including the use of any form of weapon, including knives."
