This actually Tues into the ongoing freedom of speech, Farage, Trump, January 6th debate relating to social media. People are allowed to make posts encouraging and glamorising this behaviour without consequence because freedom of speech. If we stop it we're China apparently. I'm all for freedom of speech but only as long as there is accountability and consequences for the results of said free speech. Accept that there are huge numbers of disillusioned people in every generation who can easily be influenced into stupid actions... Then punish the people deliberately instigating these actions.
I had a similar experience in London athough it didn't make it as far as theft. I had my phone on in my hand looking down at it whilst looking at Google maps for directions. From the corner of my eye I noticed some kid on a e-bike handmade quite a severe change of direction and when I looked up it was riding straight at me. It was absolutely obvious he was going to try and grab my phone out of my hand and take off with it. I tightened my grip and moved the phone down by my side he just pedalled past me slower whilst laughing as if to congratulate me on spotting him. I have no doubt that other people didn't spot him that day and had their phones taken off and by him yet if I dragged him off the bike like I wanted to I'd somehow be the bad guy.
Yeah, we have a couple of little shits round here terrorising the neighbourhood. But there is literally nothing you can do about it. They're 12ish, so any sort of physicality would be child abuse and there's nothing you can say to them. Need police back walking the beat.
When I was growing up local kid broke into my dad's car - police came and said it was roughly the 40th car he had damaged. They said there wasn't much they could do with him - their exact words were do us a favour get a mask and a baseball bat and sort him out for us
For me we have to get more police , get back to local patrols ( ideally on foot) and then make the perpetrators accountable, enforced community work etc. We simply can’t keep making excuses for the shits that are making life a misery for law abiding people and making them fearful of being out at certain times. At the minute anybody up to no good knows it’s highly unlikely they are going to be stopped by the police or even taken to court. I know it makes me sound old but parents used to sort out a lot of the delinquents.
Threads like this are funny as ****. 18th & 19th century London was a far more violent and lawless place then it is today. Locally you don’t have to go far back for the Sheffield Outrages or even more recently the Strike, Orgreave and Hillsborough. Poll tax riots. Mods and rockers. There’s nothing new about violence and lawlessness. If you were a teenager 80years ago you’d be popping off to war. For our country we are living in the most peaceful period in our history. The other thing that never changes is old fogies thinking that the past was a mystical place of calm and tranquility.
oh that’s alright then, let’s just let the little shits crack on making life miserable for folk just because footpads and highwaymen were more violent shall we?
I’ve seen loads around Barnsley recently riding motorbikes without helmets and number plates, or souped up e-bikes. Generally causing mayhem but are untouchable.
alright smartarse, it’s you disrespecting the older generations, you’re happy to let things go are you?
Bigger deterrents are needed I think especially for the young ones riding the ebikes motor bikes no helmets etc I watched a programe on these down London on the scooters robbing people. Even when the police caught up with them if they had no helmets on the police would have to abort the chase as its dangerous for the scumbags on the bikes (the ones stealing)
It’s always interesting to see society break down under a Tory government. It literally happens every time. It gives rise to the selfish, it pressures the working class and lower demographics of society. If you cut public services and create more and more poverty then mob rule ensues. This is the worst time I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime and I grew up in the late 70s and Early 80s. People and kids will be knobheads, but don’t point your ire at them, point it at the people who created the environment for anti social behaviour to exist and grow. Social media hasn’t helped like and I’ve often said that Social media will kill more people in the future than any war. It’s rocket fuel being poured on the fire (I’ve spoken about above). The UK is broken and I can only see it getting worse unless some politician with balls drives significant change. Automation is coming and it’s going to be even harder for young people to get jobs. We are on the precipice of disaster and we’re skiing down Everest.
Great post,sums up the social media problem when police in Northern Ireland are scared their names are out in public domain