It's a tragedy that shocked the nation. Two serving Police Officers, PC Tom Clough, and PC Matt Blades (above), were killed by a bunch of five feral youths, speeding in the wrong direction on a motorway, in a stolen car. The five youths also died in the head-on crash, but that doesn't concern me.
The youths all had criminal records, and by all accounts were completely 'out of control'.
As if this wasn't bad enough, local masked hooligans later got together in memory of their mates, tearing about on E Bikes and taunting the police, whilst letting-off flares and shouting obscenities.
This took place in N Yorkshire/Teesside, but it could have been anywhere. Sadly the government has made it too difficult to employ such people, so just over a million of them now live on the dole, ride around terrorising their local communities, and creating havoc. They have nothing better to do.
So, what is the solution to this ever increasing problem? Well, the easiest course of action would be to return to the days when young people could get employment on leaving school or college. Politicians created the problem; they can un-create it. When I left school in the mid 60's, there was no question that I wouldn't have been offered whatever job I applied for. We must return to those days!
The other solution might be to re-introduce some form of National Service. Not necessarily 100% military training, but maybe 50/50 social work as well. There are acres of graffiti that needs removing, vast amounts of potholes that need filling, and countless other national, and international, projects that would improve people's lives. At the same time, these people might learn some discipline. And, don't forget, in our dangerous times, conscription might not be a bad idea
Maybe, then, they wouldn't go around stealing cars, making idiotic Tik Tok videos, and needlessly taking the lives of innocent people.
It beggars belief that in an allegedly civilised country individuals with the criminal records that these had were out on the streets and not locked away. But, I forgot, our current government has abandoned prison time for any but those who make unfortunate comments on social media - thuggery, murder, all kinds of violent behaviour seemingly are get-out-of-jail cards now.
ReplyDeleteIt must be sickening to be a police officer and see someone that you've got to the courts 15 times for criminal behaviour still out on the streets. That, I think, is why we see this kind of behaviour. Jail time should be a seriously nasty experience that no-one would want to endure to be any kind of deterrent, not the holiday camp experience that it apparently is these days, and sentences should be served in full, with no early releases.
I'm sure that there must be some cold, barren Scottish islands that would be ideal sites for a new tranche of prisons......
We have all said the same thing. Prisons are a joke. Those little scumbags should, at the very least, have been sent to Borstal. But maybe Borstals don't exist any more; they've been replaced by Tik Tok.
DeleteThat was a terrible tragedy. I had read the headlines, 7 dead in a crash, but didn't know the details. You can just hope this is some sort of wake up call
ReplyDeleteBy the reaction of their 'mates' I don't think it is. They treated them as heroes, and will probably all be out there doing the same thing.
DeleteMmm... Interesting response. These yobs need hope, need to feel that their lives matter. But providing that in this AI/social media/ zero hours contract world seems like climbing a daunting granite cliff. Where did the youth clubs go? Where did the youth workers go? What about parental control?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the idea of bringing back pukka National Service isn't such a bad idea. I ran a Youth Club for one year in Shropshire. The kids loved it, and I even managed to send a bunch of them on an adventure holiday in the Bavarian Alps ; all expenses paid. Something they'll never forget.
DeleteUnlike you and me Cro, these youths didn’t have all the advantages that a public (US private) expensive education brings. I often wonder how my life would be different if my parents hadn’t prioritized my education.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting thought, but even so, there were jobs for everyone, and everyone seemed happy. The type of employment we aimed at might have been different, but that's all.
DeleteCould not agree more with every word you've said! I heard that some idiotic Labour MP had paid tribute to the 5 yobs as well!
ReplyDeleteThat DOES NOT surprise me. They seem to be obsessed with always backing the baddies!
DeleteLocal M.P. Anna Turley did not "pay tribute" to the dead yobs nor did she give them moral equivalence with the two police officers. She simply paid her respects to all of those who had died in this terrible accident. Shadow Justice Secretary Nicholas Timothy tried to cynically exploit the moment of tragedy by deliberately and in my view wickedly misreading the situation to make cheap political capital. He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. Anna Turley deserves a wholehearted apology.
DeleteI haven't heard what she said, so I wouldn't know.
DeleteI understand that the police requested that they be icluded in the speech, not just the police victims. Probavly to not 'stir the pot' even more.
ReplyDeleteKathy
The Police always have to be seen to be impartial. And so they should.
DeleteWe lived on Teesside for more than 20 years, things were more in control then. I am sick of the lack of youth clubs/things to do excuse for gross disorder. A member of my family is married to a man from that area. He is the only male of 6.children. His father never had a job in his life, they had 2 council houses to accommodate them all with Sky tv in every room. The son went to university, and never returned to Teesside, now has a house, good job, wife and family, it’s not impossible if you want it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a matter of choice. One can either chose to hang around with the idiots and become a failure, or decide that you want something better out of life. Sadly there is a lot of pressure on boys to opt for the former.
DeleteIf underprivileged young men aren't guided into a skilled trade, college, or the military and are just allowed to drift around as they become adults, there's almost always going to be trouble. That's common sense. The government (yours and mine) need to make that an absolute priority as children grow up. And of course young women need opportunities too, but it's the 18-30 year old men that really wreak havoc on society when they're unemployed and allowed to be "feral" as you say. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteWe're a small country, but we now have over a Million young people unemployed, and they are becoming out of control. Something needs to be with them very quickly. Military Service is probably the best solution, but it may not be too popular.
DeleteI'm not sure that youth clubs and/or national service is necessarily the best answer, although agree that they can be a benefit to some. I also don't believe that it is just "the current generation", or either the present government or the last who must be blamed. I have observed over several decades how certain areas of the country have lost their traditional industries which provided good employment prospects for those who did not wish, or were unable, to continue into further education at that point. Although there have been various attempts to assist such areas from both side to the House, they are often short-lived and seemingly end up being just a political football to be kicked around. Whilst I agree that it is up to the individual to make efforts to improve their lives, I can also see that for young people who have grown up where schools are often seriously underfunded, along with local suppport services which may have been able to assist at an early age declining, seeing their parents and possibly grandparents struggling after years oif unemployment and few prospects for those less academically inclined, it can be only too easy to feel they have little hope other than escape through drink and drugs, or the quick thrill of their 5 minutes of fame on Tik-Tok. I must qualify this, as it is a huge generalisation and I believe the majority of people everywhere are law abiding and do their best to set good examples to their children, whether rich or desperately poor. So too, many teens who may go down the wrong paths for a time are able to turn their lives around and thrive as they mature, or receive the guidance which may have been lacking previously. Unfortunately, although I agree that "something needs to done", that something will involve a serious long term commitment by whichever party holds power (hopefully a cross-party commitment so things are just thrown out at the next change of government) and which undoubtedly will require higher taxes to fund serious initiatives rather than quick fixes. I'm not so sure that would be a popular platform to stand on.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I hope any initiatives AREN'T thrown out at changes of government, rather than my mistyping above.
ReplyDeleteUnemployment MUST be at the heart of the problem; idle hands, and all that. If the government stopped punishing businesses, and gave them incentives instead, all these people would eventually have a purpose in life. At the moment they have none.
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