Galston teen fined after posing with sword on Bebo

Nov 14 2008

A TEENAGER seen posing with a sword on social networking site Bebo was fined £200.

Charles Bowman, 19, from Galston, admitted possessing a blade in a public place at a hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

The conviction follows the launch of Operation Access in July, which has seen Strathclyde Police officers target offenders by trawling online networking sites.

The information is passed on to the Violence Reduction Unit, which works with community police officers to identify those in the photographs.

Chief Superintendent Bill Fitzpatrick, divisional commander for Ayrshire, said: “Operation Access is an intelligence-led operation, which has been introduced to crack down on youth violence and antisocial behaviour within communities across Ayrshire.

“It is one strand of a very comprehensive strategy intended to bring about a reduction in violence by tackling it at source and in the most direct fashion.

“Youngsters who use social networking sites irresponsibly should be warned that their activities are being monitored and they may get a visit from the police.”

Kilmarnock district procurator fiscal, Les Brown, said: “This case demonstrates the benefits of using creative investigative techniques to gather evidence of crimes of violence and antisocial behaviour.

“Knife crime blights many local communities and we are committed to taking prompt and effective action to pursue those responsible and stop them in their tracks.”

Bowman was convicted of breaching the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act between January 2006 and July 2008.