Police officers are being trained to understand the impact of “toxic stress” caused by childhood trauma amid evidence it can dramatically increase a person’s likelihood of offending.

Officers and staff from Police Scotland’s Ayrshire division are among the first in the country to become “trauma informed” by learning about the effect of so-called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

According to the Scottish Government, someone who has experienced four or more ACEs is 14 times more likely to be a victim of crime, 15 times more likely to be a perpetrator of violent crime and 20 times more likely to go to prison.

[For more on this story by Chris Marshall, go to https://www.scotsman.com/news/...childhoods-1-4863902]