14/4/2008Cops called 1100 times to four care homes for kids
POLICE were called to four children's care homes in Glasgow 1098 times in a year.
Officers were sent to the council-run units an average of 21 times a week for incidents that included assaults, thefts and anti-social behaviour.
More than 700 of the visits were made because children had gone missing from the homes.
The Wallacewell Quadrant unit in Balornock had the highest number of call-outs, with 429 from January to December 2007.
On more than 100 occasions young people were arrested or reported to the Children's Panel.
The figures detail call-outs at four units at Newark Drive, Pollokshields; Gray Street, near Kelvingrove Park; Liddesdale Road, Milton; and Wallacewell.
Police refused to give details of the most serious incidents because of the risk of identifying the child involved, but the Evening Times has reported incidents of youngsters in the homes brandishing knives and getting on the roof of buildings.
Elle de Sousa, 33, who worked for an agency in a number of children's homes, including Wallacewell last year, said staff were regularly threatened with knives.
She described placing large numbers of children together with different and complex problems as "like a bomb going off."
She said: "There is no structure and the children ran riot.
"What you have, in a lot of cases, is damaged children who are there because no one else wants them as they are out of control, or have parents who have alcohol or drug problems.
"I saw children as young as 10 being violent to staff and being cautioned by police."
However, a council spokesman disputed her claims.
He said: 2There are times when it is inevitable other agencies, such as the police, have to become involved, but it should be stressed young people in our care can also become victims of crime.
"Our residential units are heavily monitored by a wide range of regulatory bodies and we simply do not recognise the claims made by this individual.
"Under the current arrangements any child late in returning to his or her unit is immediately classed as a missing person.
"This prompts a response from the police and also a follow-up visit to the unit, which will help account for the fact almost threequarters of call-outs mentioned refer to missing persons."
Feb 28
Officers were sent to the council-run units an average of 21 times a week for incidents that included assaults, thefts and anti-social behaviour.
More than 700 of the visits were made because children had gone missing from the homes.
The Wallacewell Quadrant unit in Balornock had the highest number of call-outs, with 429 from January to December 2007.
On more than 100 occasions young people were arrested or reported to the Children's Panel.
The figures detail call-outs at four units at Newark Drive, Pollokshields; Gray Street, near Kelvingrove Park; Liddesdale Road, Milton; and Wallacewell.
Police refused to give details of the most serious incidents because of the risk of identifying the child involved, but the Evening Times has reported incidents of youngsters in the homes brandishing knives and getting on the roof of buildings.
Elle de Sousa, 33, who worked for an agency in a number of children's homes, including Wallacewell last year, said staff were regularly threatened with knives.
She described placing large numbers of children together with different and complex problems as "like a bomb going off."
She said: "There is no structure and the children ran riot.
"What you have, in a lot of cases, is damaged children who are there because no one else wants them as they are out of control, or have parents who have alcohol or drug problems.
"I saw children as young as 10 being violent to staff and being cautioned by police."
However, a council spokesman disputed her claims.
He said: 2There are times when it is inevitable other agencies, such as the police, have to become involved, but it should be stressed young people in our care can also become victims of crime.
"Our residential units are heavily monitored by a wide range of regulatory bodies and we simply do not recognise the claims made by this individual.
"Under the current arrangements any child late in returning to his or her unit is immediately classed as a missing person.
"This prompts a response from the police and also a follow-up visit to the unit, which will help account for the fact almost threequarters of call-outs mentioned refer to missing persons."
Feb 28