Call for filming of violence to be made illegal

Violence by girls rose last year in Plymouth

Plymouth city councillors are calling on the government to make it illegal for people to film others committing violent acts.

It comes after a rise in violence amongst girls in the city which are being put on social media platforms like Tik Tok and Telegram.

Violence by girls has nearly doubled in Plymouth since the pandemic, peaking three months ago. Nationally more young women under the age of 25 have been committing offences.

At the city council’s children, young people and families scrutiny panel,  Plymouth Youth Justice service manager Ian Taylor said the worst act in Plymouth was when 15 girls attacked three others they didn’t know at Drake’s Circus shopping centre, having set up three recording points to capture video which was subsequently uploaded to closed groups on social media.

Mr Taylor said in many cases young people “on the periphery” who were recording were the ones “pulling the strings” but didn’t get arrested and were very hard to find.

It is not illegal to film and upload violence, as is the case for sexual offences.

Cllr Lesley Gilmour (Lab, Moor View) said films of violence on social media made it very hard for the victims to move on from it.

She said “brutal attacks” are being put online for laughs and are there forever.

The meeting heard that were 11 filmed assaults on strangers by girls in various locations in the city,  ranging from GBH where child’s head had been stamped on to cuts and bruises, and incidents of affray.

My Taylor said there is a similar trend in Cornwall.

Councillors agreed to write to the government asking why such filming of such acts is not illegal.

Cabinet member for children’s services Cllr Jemima Laing (Lab, Stoke) said it is “scandalous” that none of the blame lay with publishers, and  it appeared that many of the crimes were committed because of peer pressure.

A report for Plymouth City Council said that of the 19 girls who had committed violent offences, who were around the age of 15, only one had reoffended following the intervention of the city’s youth justice service

Youth workers from Plymouth Argyle Trust are working with schools to raise awareness around violence committed by girls.

Mr Taylor said the youth justice services is now also able to offer the same level of support to victims as perpetrators, which they couldn’t in the past, thanks to the police and crime commissioner.

Although more boys have committed violent offences in the city, with 46 currently in the system compared to 11 girls, violence amongst boys is falling. But four in 10 boys (38 per cent) go on to reoffend, a higher proportion than for girls.

There was also a difference in that much of the male violence was orchestrated by adults and relates to drugs where boys being exploited, which isn’t the case with the girls who had offended.