Abstract

Violence is an enduring public health problem that is as infectious as it is devastating. Over the last few years Scotland has made major strides in adopting a national public health approach to tackling violence. One of the major influencers that encapsulate the problem of violence, its stubbornness and its impact is a presentation called David's story.

David's story is an insight into the life of a young adolescent from Glasgow convicted of culpable homicide. It looks at the pressures on David's life from a very early age and the impact of services and agencies (including health, education, social services, police and justice etc.). It asks the questions was it inevitable that he would kill and what else could we have done?

This is a very powerful presentation which takes the audience on a journey and questions the way we all do business, but it is not about blame and finger pointing: it is about understanding the failures of the past so that we may learn for the future and prevent this happening again.