Reports of girls under the age of 16 attacking their female peers have spiked in the west of Scotland, according to cops.
Girls attacking other girls on trains and in stations has become a “consistent trend”, British Transport Police (BTP) has revealed.
Chief Superintendent Gill Murray, the force’s Scotland commander, told of a spike of “heightened tensions” leading to the assaults involving 12 to 16-year-olds – with many scraps fuelled by social media and booze.
An expert source said triggers included youths posting things about each other on social media they would never say face to face, escalating tensions that boiled over when they met.
A BTP report to the Scottish Railway Policing Committee stated: “Violence against women and girls has mainly consisted of common assault offences.
“In the west sector, this was noted for female perpetrators aged between 12-16 years old and has been a consistent trend this year [2021-22].”
The sector covers areas including Glasgow, Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Dalmuir, West Dunbartonshire, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, and Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Ch Supt Murray said: “We talk about violence against women and girls, which is a priority.
“We find that a lot of perpetrators are females on females.
“It’s another strand of the challenges we have with youngsters.
“In the summer, we have spikes because children are out of school, and invariably we will see heightened tensions with children.
“It’s led to some incidents where girls are assaulting girls, but it’s low level.
“We know we have a challenge at times of the year, where our kids will congregate and travel to certain destinations in Scotland.
“I was quite surprised how many travel on certain parts of the network.
“That’s quite impacting on other members of the public who are travelling at the same time.”
Past cases include three teenage girls assaulting a female between Milngavie and Westerton in Glasgow in August 2020, leaving her with abrasions to her face.
