You take the flick knife and I will have the machete..
By ruby222
@ruby222 (4847)
July 13, 2008 8:44am CST
A contraversial subject at the moment here in the United Kingdom.We have a big problem with the young males carrying knifes and weapons.Last night on the news they showed a gang of youths who were readilly admitting that they all had some sort of `blade` on their person,and some of them showed the cameramen what they were carrying.Its not acceptable for this to continue,and there has to be some way in which the problem can be curbed,as there is a knife related incident that has lrad to someones death reported most days in the news.The idea of a countrywide curfew has been suggested,that all the youths will have to be in thier own homes by a certain time of night.Would this idea help ??have you any other ideas that may help??
2 people like this
5 responses
@gabrifvg (167)
• Italy
13 Jul 08
i think there's not much that can be done.
kerfews and other such systems can only be useful on the short term, but soon kids will find even less controllable ways to get out and make damage, and in the best case there will be a huge increase in minor convictions and trials, making it extremely expencive for the state, not to mention the fact that prison rarely makes a person better...
i think the problem has to do with a collapse in our society, loss of role models, general confusion, lack of stable possibilities...
the sooner we realize it's the world they live in that makes the new generations, the sooner we will be rid of this plague
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
13 Jul 08
Of course it is a collapse of society,and as you readilly point out the children have fewer role models ,where years ago the Doctors ,the Priests and the Lords ,rightly or wrongly created respect.But today there is so very little respect.But how to generate interest in regaining the respect is a mystery!..prisons dont make better people,but what else is left?do we keep on letting all of this happen,and then tap them on the back of the hands and say Naughty boy go home!!The employment market is dire,the expectations of life are high for many,the dissapointments in life are too much for some...so where does anyone begin to look for an answer??..what is going to be the first step forwards ??
@ruby222 (4847)
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14 Jul 08
Well it seems fron this mornings news that the curfew idea may well be imposed here in the UK .the proposal is that all youngsters under 16 will have to be inside by nine or ten o clock,not too sure which yet.If they are seen on the streets they will be taken off the streets by the police and taken somewhere else indoors,like a hall,or taken home.Like you im not at all sure whether this will have an effect,it could backfire totally,who knows?I appreciate you saying that all of todays youth arent the same,and im the first to take that on board,but this has to be addressed before it all gets even more so out of hand.
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
13 Jul 08
That will be the best solution for me ruby...ANd another effective way also is for parents to monitor their kids and know whom they hang out and what are their activities...That is rampant also in our City and when the government implemented a curfew for teens, it was minimized! That time, a lot of group will be fighting and they a lot of these teens ended up in a hospital due to the riot!
By then, the police were so strict about implementing curfew and will really arrest kids who will be caught roaming around the city beyond 10 pm!
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
13 Jul 08
A curfew may or may not work Che,im just wondering if the majority will stick to it though,if the time stated that they should be in by is say ten o clock,then they will more than likely plie into each others houses,and stay with mates etc,but at least yes it would keep them off of the streets.I feel that the police should be given powers to search at a moments notice,and if a weapon of any kind is found then the person in question should be detained immediately.But maybe theres an amount of concentration that should be put into things for these youths to do!on saying that I full well know that athere are a few who would rather wreck something than join it!!but I still feel that we have to try something!!!
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
14 Jul 08
I agree..it's not also an assurance and the best method is to be thrown to the parents! They have to monitor their kids and know what are they doing..But, the problem is how about those who have no parents! Kinda tough!
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
14 Jul 08
Funny how times change Ruby. When I was a boy we all wore sheath knives on our belts. Not for stabbing each other, but for whittling wood and building camps. I never heard of anyone being stabbed. I think that some of this is the media. There will always be those people that will do something just because they are not supposed to. I don't think that curfew will work. They'll just stab each other at other times. In any case, how would it be enforced? especially in inner cities. Neither do I think that taking perpetrators to visit their victims will work either. I think that something draconian is the answer. You WILL go to prison for 12 months if you are found to be carrying a knife in the street without good reason. two years on the second offence and five years the third time. In fact I think that rather than rot in prison. They should be incarcerated at night and put to work on a chain gang during the day. I'd do the same for people that use their mobile phones whilst driving. I'd remove radios and cd players from cars too. I am becoming too tolerant in my old age I know. LOL.
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
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13 Jul 08
I really dont know what can be done to stop it, if anything. The other day the news was horrendous and there were six deaths due to stabbings all in the space of hours. None of them seem to have any regard for life and how precious it is to us, they dont care that the person they kill is someones son, brother, lover or friend. It is like it is of no consequence to them, if they get caught they know that they will not serve long in prison either.
1 person likes this
@ella1bella (839)
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13 Jul 08
The youths of today are so brazen that they just are scary,they hang about in the gangs and just seem tp prey on the vulnerable.There should be a system in place whereby the police can stop them and search them at a seconds notice,and if anyone is found to be carrying a knife or a weapon of any kind then they should get no second chance,I say put them into a boot camp,and not a soft option either,a borstal type boot camp,one where they will have it really hard ,lets see if they can stand the pace.
@ruby222 (4847)
•
13 Jul 08
Im semi in agreement with what you say,but the system here seems to make any type of punishment turn into a holiday,whereby the prisoners/offenders end up getting more them a normal working person,which cant be deemed as being correct.If we as a country are going to mete out punshments for crimes,then the punshment must fit the crime,and no soft touches.In days gone by the prisons were tougher places to be and there was a certain amount of fear attached to them,but nowadays the prisoners admit that they will happily reoffend in order to get back into prison,this sees them with a roof over their heads and three meals a day,a few ciggies and a little pocket money for a job done.If this is happening as reported its cretainly no deterrent,the prison system should be looked into again and it all should be tightened up,so that the punishment is actually that...a punishment!!
