Loopey
Thursday 14th February 2008 9:11pm
Fairyland
2,635 posts
Ok - here's my two penneth, as my Dad used to say. I know loads of teenagers. There is NOWHERE for them to go where we live. A few weeks ago, they came out of a swimming session and were hanging around, chatting and eating chips, when another gang of hoodies approached them and pinched one of their hats. He ignored them, so they punched him in the face. They ran away, as advised by their parents, as the others were obviously looking for trouble and may have had weapons.
A week later, the same lad was leaving off work at 10pm and was on the phone to his Dad asking if he could go to the chippie with his mates before he was picked up. A Police car drove past and the officer inside shouted at them to clear off. They tried to explain what they were doing and he shouted even louder, 'are you ignoring me, clear off!'
I also know a few Policeman. One of them was recently one of only two officers covering 30, yes THIRTY, parishes over a weekend. They often do not have the time or resources to handle incidents like this. This does not excuse the behaviour above, but does explain why they cannot deal with every incident, or simply be 'on the beat' and getting to know the local lads.
So, that mixed bag leaves me thinking that there are many reasons for these problems and no one person or organisation can be blamed.