Stand together campaign - How we can beat the yobs

[BasilRathbon 10]

Prison's a bit like living at Gleadless Valley except your neighbours are nicer.

[fox20thc 10]

Prison's a bit like living at Gleadless Valley except your neighbours are nicer.

Basil! stop teasing!

[Guest Mod_Man]

A few months ago i was on a crowded bus home from work when some "yoofs" upstairs started to make a fire on one of the seats. The driver went upstairs to investigate the matter and asked the culprits to leave the Bus. After a period of 5 or so minutes the agrument had'nt been sorted and the police ended up being called whilst i and the rest of the passengers on the bus sat idley by.

 

My point is and i know i too am guilty of this, is that we all seem too frightened to say anything whilst it is happening.

 

Would the "yoofs" have carried on argueing had myself and the rest of the passengers on the Bus gone upstairs and said something like " We are all just wanting to get home and they are stopping the rest of us from doing so."? A bit simplistic i know but "Yoofs" tend to look to adults for guidance and if all we are going to do is ignore it and phone the police then all that will happen is the "Yoofs" will end up disrespecting the police and us.

 

I personally think it is sometimes the lack of good parenting that leads to bad behaviour in kids. I dont think its wise for us to keep "slating them" and "calling the police" or "moving them on". As what seems like sensible adults perhaps we should teach them the error of their ways as it happens.

 

Obviously im not saying that one little old dear should have a word with a gang on her own but i do think it is wrong for a group of adults to sit idley by when they see what is nothing more than a couple of kids being unruly or misbehaving.

[Ms Macbeth 73]

Bad parenting is the root of most of the anti social problems that are caused by young people. Most people of all ages just want to get on with their lives and not cause harm or distress to anyone, but unfortunately there is a small, but growing minority who need to be tackled. Children need to be taught responsibility, and be shown good examples of it at home. Unfortunately bad parenting is usually learnt behaviour, passed down generationally. Its not a good idea to neglect, abuse or otherwise ill treat a child, but neither is it healthy to think your child is perfect and can do as he or she likes. Its not a good idea to steal for a living, but neither is it a good idea to encourage children to aspire to no more than claiming benefits. Children also learn about working and contributing to the family (and wider society) at home.

 

I don't think there are any simple answers, it could take several generations to change entrenched attitudes. Perhaps we need more Ray Mallons?

[pyedwaket 10]

While im impressed with the attempts to understand the kids anti-social behaviour im a bit confused about the way nobody adresses the way in which it humiliates the rest of society. I sat on a bus not a long time ago and watched the whole bus load of passengers have pieces of paper flicked at them, nobody did a thing. I cant believe that the people on this thread have not walked down roads and have kids throwing stuff at them and saying the most disgusting things its possible to imagine and not felt frustrated that they arent able to say or do anything in response. I do think that these kids need help, but i also think that people cant rely on the government to solve all problems for them, and sitting and being humiliated by anti-social kids isnt acceptable. You need to be able to stand up and say something and not rely on some anti-social helpline to come and sort things out for you. I would like to add that i dont think its the parents fault, as many people have said kids have been acting like this for ages i was a proper nigthmare myself, but i think the lines have been pulled back in the name of liberallism so far that we all have to endure humiliation.

[Colin Foster 70]

Live in a more affluent area.

[tom3t0 10]

at 16 a child knows right from wrong be it taught to them by their parents or by themselves, why should a parent be punished for their child's actions-this is ludicrous, ie- the man who tried to commit suicide in spain with his children, surviving but killing one child, "i know lets punish the mother" this mentality achieves nothing.

the 16 year old knows aged under 17 and driving a car the most hes gonna get is a few hours in a cell+ reprimand/caution/final warning before he will be hauled up before the courts. in other words he'll get let off, he probably did not mean to kill a young child but he did, cant see him getting too long. if the system imposed a punisment which caused the perpetrator to feel punished maybe they would think twice, rather than i got clean away with that Again again again (4th time he's in court though-£43 fine) you get my point.

So if a criminals parents are locked up for their childs crime would a criminal parent be released if their child did something of benefit to society going on this mentality.

[tom3t0 10]

yobs exist because they are not adequetly dealt with by our justice system. force the out of work into work building prisons and such and the country would prosper

[THCAyle 10]

no,they exist because some people are just plain ******s

[pyedwaket 10]

While i agree with Toms point that it isnt down to the parents he seems to be falling into a very familiar trap, that its the courts responsibility to deal with everything. Perhaps the people on the bus should have stood up and protested at having paper flicked at them. If kids are walking around hurling abuse and smashing up property perhaps people should stand together and protest. Im not for a second saying that people should be violent, but we shouldnt always look to the government or the law to sort things out for us. If people came together (and by this i mean people act together and not vigilantie groups or lone people taking on mobs of kids) at least the anti-social kids wouldnt think that there behaviour was going unchallenged. I think the problem that we are in at the moment is that weve handed responsibility for our place in the community over to the law/government and stopped sticking up for ourselves and our comunnities.

[tom3t0 10]

it is down to the justice system, because the of the confusion with punishment and abuse if there was a general agreement people could get on a lot better, people of older generations tell stories of the cane at school, slipper at home, etc. these were respected and they learnt they lesson or so they tell me.

[shelby46 10]

Sheffield Star today!

 

http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=4974&ArticleID=1699769

 

" GO on any street in Sheffield tonight and chances are there will be a gang of kids, usually in hoodies, loitering around.

 

It's a common sight in the city but when are they just bored kids with nowhere else to go and when does it become something more threatening?

 

Their message is Stand Together - there's strength in numbers and rather than sitting at home alone and worried, band together with your neighbours to get help and tackle the problem.

 

But along with offering help, councillors also want people to pause and just think about whether those kids really are causing problems or whether our fear of crime is making us take things out of proportion.

 

So is the city right to be afraid of these mini terrorists or is it all being blown out of proportion?

 

I recently had my car totally trashed by a gang of about 20 youths aged around 14 - 18. 2 policemen attended and their car even had stones thrown at it. The police told us to stay indoors, and when I told them to check their records to see that this behaviour was regular, they told me to move out fast.The next morning my car was left a wreck -smashed windows,seats & tyres slashed etc.My insurance was 3rd party fire & theft, so they wouldn't pay.Result - I got £20 scrap value. Consequently I moved house. I'd love to know why the parents of these youths did not seem to know or care what their kids got up to at night. In case you are wondering, I have brought up 3 children who are now adults - never angels, but certainly would never dream of wilfully damaging peoples' property.I say if the parents can't look after or control their kids- make them pay for the damage caused.