Buzz off kids !!!
I am referring to the 'Mosquito' alarms that have apparently been put outside many shops to disperse kids. I have to say i think this is an apalling thing to do. Some kids are hanging around a shop. In a lot of cases doing nothing more than that. So what do you do ? Unleash an alarm that specifically targets them. Now you have the same group of kids who now feel more victimised and more likely to act in an anti-social manner. It divides the young from the old and tells them 'we think you are scum.' Its like the lessons of football control were never looked at. in the 70's and 80's football fans were treated like scumbags. Pushed around, caged in and the result was they were violent. Take down the barriers act a bit more sensibly and football fans behaviour gets better. The most frustrating thing is this does nothing to alleviate the problem of anti-social behaviour just moves it on. And nobody adresses the central issue. Which is kids have nothing to do. that's why some of them act like morons. Ok building youth clubs won't wipe out anti-social behaviour. but it will help some kids. This solution of moving them on just papers over the cracks. Over to you.

Funny how this comes out after that report on attacks by youths on firefighters... To be honest, I really don't know what a solution to this would be... efficient policing and proper parenting? Raising the legal age to purchase alcohol to 21? Curfews for the under 18s? There doesn't seem to be a simple solution to this, all I know that enough people have died already lately.

For as long as there have been kids and shops there have been kids hanging around outside them. If it's not shops it's street corners. I can't say I ever found it appealing, but then I didn't actually have any kind of social life until I was 16. The problem is that in most places there just simply isn't anything for kids to do other than go to other's houses. Some places have good sports centres, but what if you're not into sport? I used to think drop in centres were a good idea until I saw three of them being vandelised by bored kids. The fact is that in some cases there really isn't anything that can be done but that doesn't mean we should all just shrug our shoulders and give up on the problem. I know the Danielle Beccan Trust (in Nottingham) is trying to raise funds in order to get a centre up and running that will concentrate on music and performing arts to try and get kids off the street and away from the drug and gun culture. They have to raise £750,000 by themselves before the Council will help out with any form of grant. After nearly 4 years of fundraising they're still off target by around £450,000. Personally, and this is just my feelings on it, areas that gave kids some kind of initiative, something to get involved with, like theatre work, like performing arts, like music would all help build confidence and self-esteem and would give them places to go.

I can actually hear them - they don't hurt, it's just irritating. I totally agree with them I'm afraid. I feel for the kids that they don't seem to have anywhere to go, but that's something for the local councils to sort out. The kids hanging around being loud and abusive to every poor bugger who simply wish to go into the shops should be moved on. Yeah, they should have rights, but what about the rights of other people who simply want to go to the shops without feeling threatened? We have community links in the area doing alot with youths, the ones hanging around the shops are the ones who aren't interested in getting involved - I know this as I work for the community link. I also love that at the main bus station they play classical music - it has dispersed gangs (and is proven to work). I don't care really if things like this divide the old from the young, my mum has to use the bus stop at night time, why should she be intimidated by a bunch of idiots with nothing better to do?