General Chat

I agree, I was gob smacked when I read about two youngsters that abducted, tortured and killed a toddler only to serve a few years in detention before being released to lead adult lives....no not the killers of the little Bulger boy but a similar incident that occurred 150 years or so ago

I think most things are these days and talked about more openly to

sorry didn't see much after early evening as was busy with work...and of course Mick is right street crime is nothing new and in that respect can we ever solve and erradicate it...perhaps its just better reported these days

Heartily agree with that one Mick.

In Victorian england, it was very common for gentlemen to carry a swordstick cane or even a small pistol.

Let us not forget that guns were only licensed to prevent the Bolsheviks getting their hands on them....not to prevent crime!

I do think parents have a responsibilty .I brought my daughter up on my own well she knows right from wrong and respects others. She works hard and is doing well. My Partners child is different, his mother spends her time in the pubs she dosent work he never goes to school, and my partner says its not his responsibilty ! and he is a nice lad but I get annoyed because they both seem to care that he has no future what can I do to save him

Violence on TV / films and the more nasty play station etc games have possibly desensetised the younger generation to violence.

Some kids carry knives through fear ( I removed a small pen knife from my daughter some years ago and dropped it behind the big cupboard ) she had intended to take it to school as another girl was threatening to beat her up.

Parents do need to be more vigilant and shops / Internet should make it much harder for youngsters to get the weapons in the first place.

Tory lol its just the mushrooms

Here in Cyprus we have compulsory military service from 18 years for 26 months.
Unfortunatley ,the yobs that go in are still yobs when they come out .
It's the 10-18 year olds here that are a major problem---total lack of respect for anyone and anything,parents ,grandparents ,teachers and property .But I put the blame totally on the parents--who were not much more than teenagers when they became parents,

sorry den but so you don't look silly yes I deleted .

Fuzzy, thanks :))
Tory i was no angel in hindsight & you very lucky to have had support :)

none taken den:))))))

Hi,all.
Surf i agree with you totaly,there is only so much that parents can do.Sadly these days that is even more defined. i have prime example where same parenting with my son & daughter both turned out opposite mainly due to their peer groups.
Fuzzy, i sorry no disrespect intended :(

Do you mean tension between racial groups, LWH? I don't think that's a big factor personally.

One brave father Heather - his son may never forgive him, but on the other hand live to thank him

LWH, I certainly don't think the parents of every criminal are responsible - my oh is one of seven and 6 are fairly well balanced and hard working citizens. The middle brother died last year following 20 years of a very unhappy life involving crime and drugs. His needs were more complex than the others and out of the scope of his parents to help or understand.

There aren't always answers but I do think, in general that parents need to take more responsibility, Round here there are kids just into their teens wandering the streets late at night in groups currently committing only minor crimes. There parents don't know what they're doing and don't take effective measures when they find out.

So can we stop the rot with individual kids before it sets in...this is a serious question as I think if we can as adults get involved we might just start to make a difference

no matter how good the parent is life out side the family enclosure for the young teen can be hard with the amount of gangs about it doesn`t seem much different to when i was young (long time ago)

Some ideas seem potty though...one local one was to put local thugs into a 'boxing school' run by a retired professional boxer to teach fitness and discipline...it turned out fitter kids who knew how to fight properly!

No, I think it's just the route that any particular kid is tempted down, whether it stems from poor parenting, peer pressure, poor achievement, poor self value, sibling competition, whatever.

Some kids are more susceptible to things than others...I dont think there is a catch all reason. For me, anyone who can escape the luridity of the false world propagated by TV, the media and playstations stands a decent chance.

Those who succumb or are allowed to succumb stand to lose big style.

Society has created or developed a new underclass in recent years - the whole mentality has to change. Kids need not to feel marginalised but relevant. It's when they feel excluded that they get the sense of fraternity and importance within a gang mentality.