Loutish behaviour is loosening the pillars society is built upon - Stephen Kerr

Recently, as I was travelling back home after a day in the Scottish Parliament, my train was halted at Falkirk Grahamston station. A man walked onto the train covered in blood, following a fight on the platform. To my shock, other passengers on the train told me it wasn’t the first time they had witness this type of incident at one of our stations.

​The stench of marijuana is everywhere and has become as commonplace as littering and vandalism (Picture: Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images)

Councillors James Bundy and Sarah Patrick both informed me that violence in and around Falkirk’s train stations is a growing problem.

Boarding a train shouting and covered in blood is obviously anti-social. But the cumulative effects of the day-to-day non-violent types of anti-social behaviour which have become the norm, are adversely affecting our communities. The stench of marijuana is everywhere and has become as commonplace as ugly littering and vandalism.

Opinions vary on why we are suffering an epidemic of anti-social behaviour. But one thing is clear; we cannot allow our society to begin to accept this kind of thoughtless loutishness as our new normal.

Nobody wants to smell marijuana as they go about their business in the centre of town but we all do. It is worse for those who must live with neighbours using illegal drugs day-in-day-out with the smell pervading their own homes.

Evidence of violence, alcohol abuse, vandalism and drug taking are sadly easy to find in our streets with blood, vomit, criminal damage to property and drug paraphernalia such as used needles all telling their own stories and undermining the sense of safety in our communities.

Through littering and vandalism, we are also seeing the pointless desecration of natural beauty.

Brought together, these acts are loosening the pillars that our society is built upon: pride, trust, and charity.

There is not one solution to tackle anti-social behaviour. We need root and branch reform which focuses on addressing the motivations which lead people to anti-social behaviour.

Giving our young people hope with a sense of purpose would be a good start. If young people have affordable opportunities to improve their technical skills and knowledge, as well as social skills, outside the classroom, then they will have confidence and a sense of purpose. This positive motivation will provide hope, which will then open opportunities and make career pathways feel achievable and real.

Of course, this is much easier to write on paper than deliver. That’s why different agencies must come together, especially in the public and charity sectors, to create unique pathways for each individual young person.

Only when we have a society filled with hope and a sense of purpose can we reverse the growing trend in anti-social behaviour.