Nearly 600 police incidents were reported at the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow's city centre in the past six months, leaving staff terrified for their welfare.
A Freedom of Information request submitted to Police Scotland revealed that between July 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022, 597 incidents occurred at the centre.
These included 145 incidents of theft, 80 public nuisances, 48 disturbances, 31 assaults, eight incidents of drug/substance abuse and eight hate crimes.
One staff member who works in a managerial position at a unit within the centre spoke of the fear staff are experiencing due to the worsening antisocial behaviour.
The worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Over the last six months, antisocial behaviour from gangs of youths has steadily been on the increase and is now at its most heightened and frankly frightening point I have ever seen."
He continued: "The security at the centre is overwhelmed by incidents and are ill-equipped to tackle the severity of the violence and antisocial behaviour they have encountered. With the lack of security and the fact that security cannot touch these youths, over time they have identified The St Enoch Centre as somewhere that can be used as a point of meeting, drinking, fighting or preparing to meet to fight without great risk."
He described incidents of stores being trashed, theft, and abuse towards members of staff as well as substance abuse within the building.
"Stores have been trashed with gangs of youths running in and out and in a matter of seconds violently trashing stores and stealing merchandise. The Works and the Fragrance Shop both have recently been victims of this. The Fragrance Shop had youths smash cabinets and take stock, terrifying their workers," he said.
"We have also had youths throwing items directly at staff, attempting to assault them."
He continued: "Drinking and drug use is obvious in and around the centre, my unit which is very child and family-friendly is regularly filled with the smell of marijuana."
Last week, a mass brawl broke out at St Enoch Square, leading to three teenagers being arrested.
Emergency services were called to the scene around 8.20pm on February 25 following the large scale disturbance.
Chief Inspector Ross Kelly, Local Area Commander, said: “We are aware of a rise in incidents of anti-social behaviour in the city centre over the past few months.
“We are working closely with a number of partner agencies to address these issues. We have also increased police patrols in the key areas that are affected with officers providing reassurance to local businesses and security staff as well as engaging with young people and discouraging anti-social behaviour.
“We are committed to supporting the local community and will continue to take appropriate action when incidents are reported and offenders identified.”
