Mosquito Anti Gang device "not fair"

[vetran]

It disperses youths from areas where they congregate and cause fear & distress without causing pain or damage. Seems like a reasonable solution to me.

If Shami etc want to stop anyone being caused discomfort or pain they would be better off calling for zero tolerance policing and more family responsibilities.

By all means require these devices to have planning permission or similiar before being errected where they affect public areas so their use is restricted.

I see them a bit like sleeping policemen, annoying, they generate slight discomfort but they have overall a positive effect on society.

Its only discrimination when little old ladies & gents start hanging around Costcutter swearing & throwing stones at passers by.

[chicane]

Where would you prefer teenagers to loiter? If it's not at the shops, it'll be in the street near houses, or in a park, or an industrial estate, or a building site... I think the root cause of this anti-social behaviour is boredem. They're too young for pubs, but nobody wants them anywhere else either. That's what leads to trouble, and every time some old fuddy duddys say "we don't want kids hanging around" and they get pushed somewhere else the problem gets worse.

I can deal with the idea of kids hanging around - it's not ideal, but I understand that they have nowhere else to go and can sympathise with this situation.

What I can't be doing with (and I see these things on a regular basis) is groups of kids breaking glass bottles, scrawling on walls with markers, drinking beer, throwing insults at passers by and generally being obnoxious and intimidating.

Yes, there is a need for long-term action to address the problem of kids having nothing to do, but in the meantime the rest of us need to be able to get on with our lives without the same hassle every time we leave the house.

[Ardesco]

Assuming it works you still have to suffer a bit of sonic assault to get into the off licence? I think I'd choose to go elsewhere.

Where would you prefer teenagers to loiter? If it's not at the shops, it'll be in the street near houses, or in a park, or an industrial estate, or a building site... I think the root cause of this anti-social behaviour is boredem. They're too young for pubs, but nobody wants them anywhere else either. That's what leads to trouble, and every time some old fuddy duddys say "we don't want kids hanging around" and they get pushed somewhere else the problem gets worse.

Of course I don't want kids hanging round where I live either.

What a load of old bollocks!!

I was bored as a teenager, so what did I do? I went out on my bike and rode all over the place seeing what was about. I sat in home and played one of the 5 odd games I had on my Amiga again and again and again. I vegged in front of the TV. I went out with my friends and messed about with a football, or a rugby ball. Occasionally we would all go round somebody else's house and have a few drinks.

Most of the time I would moan that I was bored and that there was nothing to do.

Did I ever assault anybody? NO! Did I ever shout and scream at, or intimidate anybody? NO!

I knew that if I did anything like that the police would get involved and if I was ever brought home by the police I would get a damn good kicking and lose any privileges that I had.

The problem these days is that kids have no respect and parents don't teach them any. IMHO the blame lies squarely with the parents.

[Spacecadet]

What a load of old bollocks!!

I was bored as a teenager, so what did I do? I went out on my bike and rode all over the place seeing what was about. I sat in home and played one of the 5 odd games I had on my Amiga again and again and again. I vegged in front of the TV. I went out with my friends and messed about with a football, or a rugby ball. Occasionally we would all go round somebody else's house and have a few drinks.

Most of the time I would moan that I was bored and that there was nothing to do.

Did I ever assault anybody? NO! Did I ever shout and scream at, or intimidate anybody? NO!

I knew that if I did anything like that the police would get involved and if I was ever brought home by the police I would get a damn good kicking and lose any privileges that I had.

The problem these days is that kids have no respect and parents don't teach them any. IMHO the blame lies squarely with the parents.

my thoughts exactly
(except I had a SNES)

[VectraMan]

What I can't be doing with (and I see these things on a regular basis) is groups of kids breaking glass bottles, scrawling on walls with markers, drinking beer, throwing insults at passers by and generally being obnoxious and intimidating.

I agree completely, but you can't be suggesting that these devices are clever enough to only target the kids doing those things. They target the well behaved kids just as much as the yobs, and that is discrimination.

And are we going to have these devices on every corner of every road? You're not stopping anti-social behaviour, you're just moving it somewhere else. Not to mention this is exactly the sort of thing that builds divisions and animosity and makes the problem worse. Treat people like animals and they tend to comply.

[Lucifer Box]

I had too much homework to do to be able to even think about being bored. Then when I had finished there was the latest copy of White Dwarf to read or Fighting Fantasy book to get through.

Oh, and that old copy of Mayfair I found under the hedge to study for "art classes".

[VectraMan]

I was bored as a teenager, so what did I do? I went out on my bike and rode all over the place seeing what was about. I sat in home and played one of the 5 odd games I had on my Amiga again and again and again. I vegged in front of the TV. I went out with my friends and messed about with a football, or a rugby ball. Occasionally we would all go round somebody else's house and have a few drinks.

Which according to some would be anti-social behaviour. How would you have felt if you'd been prevented from doing that by somebody putting one of these devices near where you used to play?

It's indeterminate discrimination. That's the point: it doesn't matter whether you intend any harm or not. You still suffer for it because you happen to be young.

[chicane]

I agree completely, but you can't be suggesting that these devices are clever enough to only target the kids doing those things. They target the well behaved kids just as much as the yobs, and that is discrimination.

You're missing the point - the well behaved kids don't participate in this practice of "hanging around" - they're either staying at friends houses (as my generation used to do as kids) or participating in activities organised by their parents or between themselves.

There are a number of "hotspots" for kids hanging around in my locality - the thing they all have in common is that there is absolutely no reason for the kids to be loitering there. The folks just passing by will be unaffected - I can't imagine many people would take a load of verbal abuse and intimidation in preference to a slightly uncomfortable whining sound for 30 seconds whilst they pop in and out of the shop.

[Sockpuppet]

What if you're a 24 year old, with a degree, a good job and a young family, and suddenly you can't go to the shops and get told "we don't want you troublemakers around here".?

You're assuming that 24 year olds with degrees good jobs and young families are not trouble makers

[PAH]

It's ridiculous that the police have no real power over minors. All they can do is take them home in the hope the parents give a flying-**** what their kids are getting up to. Some hope, it's the cycle of kids becoming their parents, thinking it's cool to skive off school and generally be a waster claiming benefits for their entire adult life.

What's wrong with setting up a boot camp for the anti-social ones? If they can't find anything better to do than make a nuisance of themselves send them to an army camp in the evenings to hopefully instill some form of respect and discipline. It's evident the parents can't be arsed to do this, or have no idea how to successfully control their own kids.

If they keep misbehaving during/after boot camp, enlist them into the proper army and use them as cannon fodder.