Shot 11 Year Old

[Guest]

[quote="Sally-AnneMay I be as impolite as to ask what you, personally, are doing to ameliorate this problem? Are you working in your wider community to help children find a different path?

Sally-Anne[/quote]

Nice one, Sally-Anne! I bet she isn't.

[Appeal Mum]

I had to reply to my favourite topic of "Criminology." This debate has been going on for centuries and for somebody to refer to recent attacks and accuse the young society as a whole of being bad is wrong.
We could go back further to a young girl in the 60s going by the name of Myra Hinley. Where do we stop? I believe that by tarring youth of today with the same brush is not teaching children respect.
Respect is a 2 way road, if you will not show any respect to today’s young don't be shocked when you don't receive any back.

This article is very interesting..
Don't worry guest there is a name for your thoughts it’s called historical amnesia.

http://society.guardian.co.uk/youthjust ... 53,00.html

AM

[Catherine]

This is ONE incident. It is a tragedy, but we shouldn't use it to draw hasty conclusions on the state of society.

Really?, What about the murders of YOUNG BLACK boys in London, Manchester, Birmingham and so forth this year, and last? Or the chap who had chocalate thrown in his and was stabbed to death, or the murder of Jamie Bulger 10 years plus ago?

Do you need anymore examples or shall we praise our young society?

Why not praise our young society? Are you implying that all young people are criminals, or even bad?

I have to say that I agree 100% with Appeal Mum stance on this.

Also you are blaming the 'yob' culture when in fact it is much more likeky that the 'gang' culture is at fault and this is very different.

The 'yob culture' describes the behaviour of young people from any backgound whose idea of a good time is to fill up their body with the maximum of alcohol and loose control of their behaviour.

The 'gang culture' is seen in deprived areas of inner cities and are fuelled by adults preying on youngsters deprivation and lack of status mainly for drug related interests. In this case, it is not right to lay the blame exclusively on these young people and it even more wrong to lay the blame on all the young people.

[Mike]

I would also wish to pass on my sympathies to Rhys´s family.

Mike

[Catherine]

One of the root causes of the UK "violent youth culture" disease is multi-generational failure to instill discipline within the family and school.

But is it that simple?

from The Telegraph –
"But, above all, he would tackle the causes of crime: the breakdown of the family, the "fracturing of society", the loss of moral purpose and vision."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ime126.xml

from The Times
“This challenges the notion that there is a policing or punishment solution to this problem. Success in tackling knife-related violence will require a concerted strategy to deal with the causes of violence, of which the social antagonisms caused by poverty and inequality are key.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 284258.ece

from Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founder of Kids Company in the Independent
"Now, in the midst of outrage at the loss of another young boy's life, there is some recognition that society's monsters are often also frightened kids, allowed to fail and fall from infancy until they discover the awesome power of destroying the lives of others while also throwing away their own.
…
Let us not pretend we do not know who these youths with guns are. We know at the age of three or four who they are but we do not have the resources or infrastructure in place to help them."
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/ ... 893902.ece

[Mike]

Hi Catherine

It is easy enough to identify a plethora of reasons, excuses, explanations, ideologies, theories of "violent youth culture" any sociology, psychology, criminology, community studies, etc student could come up with similar lists.

Regards

Mike

[Catherine]

It is easy enough to identify a plethora of reasons, excuses, explanations, ideologies, theories of "violent youth culture" any sociology, psychology, criminology, community studies, etc student could come up with similar lists.

What is needed more than anything is for the UK government to take each of the identified issues and do something about it.

Mike,

My problem with this is that your do not discuss each of the identified issues, but only the policing and punishment side of things.

The press is unanimous that the origin of the situation is gang war, and in my opinion the best description is here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 324358.ece

It involves drugs, deprivation, lack of identity, lack of sense of belonging, family breakdown, and so forth.
It may also involve discipline and punishment, but I don't see it as being even remotely the root of the problem.

We will probably have to agree to disagree on this.

Regards

Catherine

[Mike]

Hi Catherine

On reflection, some of my views may be considered emotive on this subject, therefore I have edited them.

Regards

Mike

[Grumpy etc..]

Seems everyone has an opinion - not just on this board - as to how to solve the problems that lead to tragedies like the murders of Rhys Jones, Damilola Taylor and many others.
Shame that nobody in government or with the power and influence to do anything about it seems yet to be doing so..

[Tom's mum]

The one thing that irritates me intensely about some of the reports on this tragedy is that the media continues to place some of the blame on schools for not 'instilling the right values'.

In my experience, both professionally and personally, schools work really hard on developing a sense of citizenship and encouraging responsible behaviour, and have always done so. How many of these reporters spend any time in our schools before passing judgement?