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Taking on the challenge of youth crime By Lloyd Bedeau
Unfortunately in the eyes of many, knife crime is increasingly being viewed as a black problem. It’s not! However we must acknowledge that the problem exists in our community and we all need to stand up and take responsibility in tackling this problem. It seems as though a day does not go by without news of another senseless murder, and another young life extinguished. Every day there is a politician or so called expert on TV, coming up with hair brain schemes and ill thought through solutions that are not workable and do not deal with the root of the problem. If you look in any country in the world, anywhere where there is community brake down, where children have nothing to do and where parents have no rights to discipline their children. You will see that gang membership, general social disorder and violent crime thrive. The knee jerk reaction of the UK government is not going to help, because their solutions are for political gain, as they must be seen to be doing something. The solutions are simple but require a long term commitment from both the government, parents and their communities. Solutions · For those that have already committed violent crimes, Boot Camps run jointly by the Prison Service and Army should be setup. They are then to be given a choice of reduced sentence if they complete their assigned time in the boot camp. In the camp the Army ethos of discipline and teamwork is to be instilled in the youths, if they mess up they are to be given a three strikes and your out. If they are returned to the general Prison population then there time in the boot Camp is not counted towards their prison time. This will prove to be an incentive to succeed. They must complete the time in order to benefit. · Prison life in youth institutions needs to be a punishment and not a place to hang out, so the use of play stations, radio’s and TV should be a privilege earned and not a right for all. Inmates should be made to do hard labour and taught a skill. At the moment the only skills people learn in prison is how to commit more crime. How can incarceration be a deterrent if its an easy life? · Parents need to be given the support to bring up their child and discipline their child as they see fit. The state has got too involved with the way parents bring up their children. What parents need is support not threats. Parenting classes should be made available through community organisations. The power of authority in the home has been placed in the hands of the child not the parent. Children are threatening parents with a call to social services if they don't get their way. For most children a simple telling off is sufficient, although we do not condone abuse i do feel some children need more than a simple telling off or withdrawal of privileges. I believe there are times when a smack is needed to reinforce a healthy fear and respect of Parents word. This healthy fear is what is sadly lost in many of our youths. They don’t respect the authority and right of parents to tell them what to do and how to behave. If a child does not respect his or hers own mother or father, how can we expect them to have respect for any authority outside of the home, hence lack of respect in schools and on the streets. · Our Youth have nothing to do; they have nothing to apply themselves too. Youths will always separate into gangs or small groups, its actually human nature. If you are in a crowd you will gravitate to those you can associate with and feel comfortable with, we all do it at. What we need to challenge is gang violence and find ways to channel that competitiveness and aggression between groups into something positive. In my day we had youth centres in abundance as a places to congregate, there were always things going on of interest. We had break dancing, although i could not break dance to save my life i was still involved with the culture. Back then groups, crews, gangs (What ever you like to call them) challenged each other for bragging rights, it was all done in a non violent way. We also had sound systems where young men would work together towards a common goal of building the best music system and challenge others from other area’s. Now that’s what worked then, we need to engage the youth in discussion to find out what interests they now have and how we can help promote it. I believe an increase in available youth centres is a good place to start, but financial backing must be given to allow the managers and staff to put on a program of events that will entice the youth off the streets. · There is great power in numbers and unity. Strong communities are more likely to have less local crime. The government needs to encourage community groups which encourage family involvement. If a child belongs to a community he or she is less likely to grow up to want to hurt or harm someone from within that community. More importantly it negates the need to join a gang as they are already part of a group. · More needs to be done by the police, to encourage anonymous tipping. Simply creating a force to go on the offensive against the black community is not the way to get many in that community on their side and improve relations. When most crimes are committed there are witnesses within the community, but most will not talk because of the the fear of reprisal. More must be done to make people feel that they can give the police a tip without jeopardising the safety of themselves and their family. · Finally it’s a way of life that more and more families are breaking up and we have an increase of single parent families. The lack of a positive male influence in a child’s life does have a negative impact on children. This can be addressed through the use of Mentoring. There are many organisations that offer mentor’s, however the average parent does not know about them, and would not know how to go about acquiring a mentor for their child. Government backing should be given to create a Mentoring Standard, to Ensure positive influence. The violent streets of our communities can be changed, but long term commitment from all is required. There is a saying "it takes a village to raise a child". Parents cannot do it on their own, they need the support of all in their extended families, local community and Government to effect change. You may or may not agree with everything in this article, it's my view. Hopefully it will stimulate you to share your opinion with others and start taking action. If we all take action together and take more of an interest in our sons, daughters, nieces and nephews we can make a difference. Are you making a difference?
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The
scourge of youth crime in particular knife crime in Britain is the
topic of discussion for many, and has the political parties’
squabbling over who has the best idea to deal with the situation.