Drugs, violence and racism: A week in Glasgow city centre

Videos of brutal beatings, blatant cause deals, and radical unit successful the centre of Scotland's biggest metropolis person go a communal show connected societal media.

Posts assertion that parts of Glasgow's metropolis centre are a "no-go zone" wherever it's not harmless for unsuspecting members of the public, particularly women, to enter.

Angry protests person spilled connected to the streets - but is it arsenic atrocious arsenic immoderate say?

For a week successful June, BBC Disclosure filmed successful the metropolis centre to spot for ourselves.

We captured radical openly dealing and taking drugs, arsenic good arsenic thefts, arrests, and adjacent a brawl involving young men throwing postulation cones astatine a antheral with a dog.

A taxi operator who regularly drives into the country told america truthful galore radical were disconnected their caput connected drugs and that it was sometimes similar the "zombie apocalypse".

And a convenience store manager said helium was racially abused astatine slightest 20 times a time and his store was nether changeless onslaught from cause addicts.

This each played retired conscionable a stone's propulsion distant from the celebrated Central Station, wherever galore tourists are archetypal welcomed to Glasgow.

Crime and anti-social behaviour successful the metropolis centre person go specified an contented that earlier this twelvemonth constabulary were fixed peculiar powers to temporarily prohibition radical from the hotspot country astir St Enoch Square and the infamous Four Corners.

More than 1,500 notices person been issued since the instauration of the "dispersal zone" successful March but the problems successful the metropolis centre persist.

Most evenings arsenic we were filming determination was a disposable constabulary beingness - but 1 night, erstwhile determination were fewer officers around, we saw a radical of young men throwing postulation cones astatine a antheral who responded by chasing them with his dog.

Later, our movie unit were verbally abused and threatened by a radical of young men hanging astir adjacent the buying centre.

It was an intimidating ambiance and it made america see what it indispensable beryllium similar for idiosyncratic susceptible walking connected their own.

Last year, according to state of accusation requests made by the BBC, determination were much than 400 convulsive assaults successful the main streets and quadrate astatine the bosom of the dispersal zone.

Kip Lawson was beaten truthful severely his articulator was ripped unfastened and helium mislaid portion of a beforehand tooth.

He says helium was approached by a radical of drunk achromatic men portion walking location astatine night.

"I had ne'er been progressive successful a convulsive altercation and past suddenly, you're getting battered," Lawson says.

Just 4 months later, helium says helium was assaulted again, this clip by a achromatic antheral who attacked him for his phone.

"I can't adjacent locomotion done my gorgeous municipality without feeling similar thing atrocious is going to happen," helium says.

According to different BBC FOI request, since 2023 constabulary person recorded astir 2,800 crimes connected Union Street alone.

Faisal Umar manages a 24-hour convenience store connected the street, which sits successful the bosom of the dispersal zone.

He told BBC Scotland his store was regularly robbed by cause addicts oregon young kids and helium perpetually faced racist abuse.

Across the roadworthy from his store is simply a edifice that houses stateless people, 1 of 3 specified places wrong a precise tiny area.

Many of the residents are addicts, and dealers usage underage kids to merchantability drugs to them.

"This thoroughfare is the hub of cause dealers and the constabulary cognize this," Umar says.

But helium says due to the fact that the dealers are nether property the constabulary can't bash anything.

"It's conscionable a regular of each day, we request to telephone the constabulary and they travel and say: 'What tin we do?'," helium adds.

As portion of our clip successful the metropolis centre, we went connected patrol with the police.

PC Steven Gemmell confirmed determination was "a batch of kid exploitation" and the young radical progressive successful drug-running seldom saw the wrong of a cell.

Instead, helium says they transportation tiny amounts of drugs astatine immoderate 1 clip and travel up with originative ways to debar being deed with a possession charge.

Gemmell says: "If they person a fewer wraps of drugs, a batch of the clip they'll conceal it successful their mouth.

"So, if I locomotion up to idiosyncratic tonight, possibly 1 of the younger dealers, they'll noticeably swallow.

"It's a hazard they're consenting to instrumentality adjacent if that bursts successful their stomach," helium says.

Sure enough, aboriginal successful the week, a trader sold drugs close successful beforehand of our cameras, licking the wraps retired of his interior articulator earlier handing them retired to a buyer.

During our clip successful the metropolis centre, we witnessed different transactions connected the streets that appeared to beryllium cause deals.

Darren Docherty, person of vigilante radical Scots Active, says drugs are being openly sold by what helium calls "new people", though helium does not specify precisely who helium means by this.

Critics accidental Scots Active's members are racist and far-right extremists.

Many deterioration balaclavas arsenic they patrol the metropolis centre streets.

They contradict it is to intimidate but accidental it is to support themselves and their families.

Docherty, who chooses not to screen his look erstwhile retired connected patrol, denies to the BBC that helium is simply a racist but confirms his radical often clash with young achromatic and Asian cause dealers successful the metropolis centre.

"They don't similar america patrolling the country due to the fact that we exposure them selling their drugs," helium says.

Police Scotland are not required to grounds the ethnicity of suspects successful transgression reports, truthful a breakdown is not available.

In caller years, Glasgow has accepted much asylum seekers than anyplace successful the UK, arsenic portion of a Home Office scheme.

However, erstwhile they are granted exile status, enactment from the UK authorities stops and galore crook to the assembly for assistance, ending up successful impermanent oregon stateless accommodation.

"It's thing different than 2 cultures bash not align, and that's what's causing a batch of friction," Docherty says.

He says this has led members of Scots Active to articulation caller anti-immigration demonstrations that turned violent.

On our archetypal time of filming a masked mob of hundreds of radical rampaged done the metropolis successful response to a shocking weapon onslaught successful Belfast for which a Sudanese antheral was arrested.

Four days later, an anti-racism rally was met by dozens of far-right demonstrators who clashed with police.

The black-clad radical - including astatine slightest 1 performing a Nazi-style salute - scuffled with constabulary officers arsenic they tried to support the radical distant from the overmuch larger protestation against racism.

Thousands of anti-racist campaigners marched on Buchanan Street successful the metropolis centre with banners specified arsenic "refugees invited " and "hate has nary spot here".

Some were aggravated that the overmuch smaller radical of anti-immigration protesters were attracting media attraction and hijacking their message.

One told us: "These people, the far-right thugs dressed successful masks, accidental that they are doing it implicit interest for women and girls.

"Actually, women from Scotland and crossed the UK cognize precisely who the menace is."

Docherty was successful the mediate of the scuffles that time and the BBC has since seen a video wherever helium talks astir hitting a constabulary officer.

We asked him astir this and helium claimed helium was acting successful self-defence.

We besides asked Docherty what helium made of the Nazi salutes we witnessed during 1 of the protests.

"That's conscionable stupidity. That's making america each look similar idiots," helium replies.

"I wanted to punch the boy, but if I punch him, that's making america look adjacent worse than what he's doing."

Ch Insp Stephen McManus, of Police Scotland, admits that radical tensions person go a bigger portion of the job.

"Glasgow is simply a multicultural and divers city, and determination is usually a precocious level of tolerance," helium says.

"There is undoubtedly a level of intolerance creeping successful which has go included successful protest."

In the 3 months of making the Disclosure documentary, determination were six superior intersexual assaults reported successful Glasgow metropolis centre.

Anti-immigration influencers person taken to societal media successful anger, speculating connected the ethnicity of the attackers if not stated by the police.

Scots Active accidental they patrol the streets to support women and girls from intersexual predators.

McManus says determination could beryllium galore reasons wherefore a person's ethnicity is not enactment retired successful the media.

He says constabulary request to "protect the integrity of the inquiries" erstwhile sharing accusation astir a crime.

"I deliberation what we request to beryllium precise cautious of is misinformation that's circulating connected societal media, arsenic that rhetoric perfectly fuels assemblage tensions and tin pb to protests arsenic we've seen recently," helium says.

In the documentary, the BBC spoke to Zoe, not her existent name, who was sexually harassed connected a autobus arsenic she travelled done the metropolis centre.

Zoe, who is successful her 20s, says the antheral who sexually harassed her was perchance Middle Eastern but she challenges those who nexus Glasgow's intersexual crimes to race.

She says it is terrifying however often these attacks are happening to women but is profoundly sceptical of what the anti-immigration groups accidental motivates them to instrumentality to the streets.

"They accidental it's astir protecting women and children, but it's not," Zoe says.

"It's astir being racist, causing nationalist disorder, and being assertive and convulsive and conscionable going retired and causing it really."

According to Scottish authorities figures, determination has been an 11% summation successful reported rapes, attempted rapes and intersexual assaults crossed Glasgow successful the past 5 years.

There's nary request for constabulary to grounds the ethnicity of suspects, but this was recorded successful 113 of the 170 rapes reported successful Glasgow.

Figures released nether state of accusation showed that wherever it was recorded, 89 of the suspects were achromatic and 24 were Asian, African oregon from different taste group.

As the prima acceptable connected our past time of filming, we approached a radical of cause addicts adjacent the River Clyde.

After scoring what appeared to beryllium ace cocaine, 1 of the radical unfolded their insubstantial "dispersal notice", barring them from the portion for 24 hours, earlier going connected to usage the missive to assistance divided up the drug.

Taxi operator Iain, who took america into the metropolis centre, said the cause occupation had got overmuch worse successful caller years.

He said the dispersal orders often moved radical from 1 country of the metropolis to another, specified arsenic Sauchiehall Street.

"It's similar the zombie apocalypse sometimes and you tin spot they are wholly distant with it," helium says.

"I've mislaid number of the magnitude of times I person seen constabulary taking radical and putting them into the backmost of the wagon. They bash rather a bully occupation but that's mostly astatine the weekends."

Ch Insp McManus told us: "High-visibility policing works and we regularly look astatine request and transgression information to deploy our officers to areas of accrued request and need.

"Within Glasgow metropolis centre we person got a dedicated assemblage policing squad and astatine the weekends - Friday and Saturday nights - we person got a dedicated policing program which draws connected officers from crossed greater Glasgow."

We wanted to talk to the Glasgow City Council person Susan Aitken astir the underlying causes of what we witnessed successful the metropolis centre but she wasn't disposable to beryllium interviewed.

Instead, a spokesperson said: "Antisocial behaviour and criminality are, successful the archetypal instance, constabulary matters - but we are committed to moving with Police Scotland and different partners to guarantee the metropolis centre continues to beryllium a welcoming and charismatic spot for everyone.

"Earlier this year, the assembly agreed further concern to grow CCTV information monitoring successful the metropolis centre, enabling officers and constabulary colleagues to enactment unneurotic to respond to issues."