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PARENTS MUST ACT
7:00am Wednesday 3rd October 2007
Comments (38)PARENTS are being urged to take responsibility for children's bad behaviour after new figures showed complaints of antisocial behaviour in Bournemouth and Poole are rising.
Bournemouth council's antisocial behaviour co-ordinator Jayne Robertson has revealed that 15,839 incidents were reported to police during 006/2007, compared with 13,338 during 2004/2005. And in Poole 9,270 complaints were reported in 2006/2007 - an increase of 825 on the previous year.
Addressing a meeting of the Throop, Muscliff, Strouden, Townsend and Holdenhurst area forum, Ms Robertson said: "There could be a number of reasons for this rise.
"It could be that antisocial behaviour is on the rise or that people are getting more confident in reporting this type of behaviour. We have been trying to encourage them to report it."
Local residents heard how antisocial behaviour incidents had escalated in the Strouden Park area, with 126 incidents reported to police during a six-month period four years ago, compared to 163 in the last six months.
But in the once troubled Townsend estate reports of antisocial behaviour have dropped from 254 to 218.
In Muscliff there has been a dramatic rise, from 105 during a six-month period four years ago, to 182 in the past six months.
Ms Robertson described the statistics for Muscliff as "quite a big jump".
She added: "Parents need to take responsibility for their children's behaviour.
"Bournemouth is now a Respect Action Area and we have been given more powers, such as parental contracts."
Muscliff ward councillor Ron Whittaker has called for a greater police presence in Muscliff to help combat antisocial behaviour. He said: "The government talks so much about policing and reducing crime levels but it is not the picture I am receiving from residents."
There are currently two antisocial behaviour orders in place in the Townsend area.
Ms Robertson said: "One is currently active in Strouden Park and we are applying for another three in the area."
Anthi Stylianou, community safety officer for the Poole Safe Together Partnership, said the council had been working on a community-based approach rather than strict enforcement, targeting resources in Hamworthy, Alderney and Poole Town and Oakdale.
She said: "What we want to do is get our community development workers out there to build up relationships rather than relying on enforcement.
"Working with people and engaging with the community seems to be working."
Just five under-18s in Poole currently have Asbos and there are 15 active orders in the borough.
Miss Stylianou said: "In some cases, when all else has failed, we will have to go down that route, but we have seen a drop in the number of Asbos."
She put the rise in the number of reported incidents down to ongoing projects to promote awareness of antisocial behaviour.
She said: "We haven't seen a huge increase. I believe it's down to more awareness - I think people increasingly understand what to tolerate and what not to tolerate."
She said the borough had been ranked as the second safest place to live in the country based on crime figures and population.
"I think that is something we really need to be proud of," she added.
Your Say YourBournemouth Echo
Nigel Gillespie, Bournemouth says...
9:22am Wed 3 Oct 07
line should start within the home and maybe the focus should be on the parents as well as the child.
Tru Belle, purbeck says...
9:36am Wed 3 Oct 07
This seems to be a cultural disease, wild undisciplined youngsters.
Curfews, high resonance whistles, Mozart played in public places, large groups of youngsters banned. 6 month trial cannot do any harm whatsoever. The message may register in their little minds , behave or else!!!!
Jaynee, Parkstone says...
9:43am Wed 3 Oct 07
Emulated, Bournemouth says...
11:05am Wed 3 Oct 07
Davey Gilmour, Boscombe,Bournemouth says...
11:17am Wed 3 Oct 07
Emulated wrote:Worse than that Emulated.Halloween!l
Its going to get alot worse with Nov 5th coming up. Even now it can be quite bad. A ban on the really lound bangers would help but better still only allow public displays. I am weary of not being able to take my dog in the evenings around Nov 5th for a month. But yobs come first in society, asylum seekers 2nd tax payers come 3rd and pensioners are last.
ook how much trouble that causes.
denis, bournemouth says...
11:27am Wed 3 Oct 07
Gastines, St.Malo ex Bournemouth says...
11:28am Wed 3 Oct 07
rebus, Corfe Mullen says...
1:12pm Wed 3 Oct 07
I know it's a very well used saying, but personally I DO blame parents, they just don't give a *** what they do.
Either that or the little b******s need a good slapping!
rebus, Corfe Mullen says...
1:13pm Wed 3 Oct 07
I know it's a very well used saying, but personally I DO blame parents, they just don't give a *** what they do.
Either that or the little b******s need a good slapping!
Pooh, Parkstone says...
1:34pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Pooh, Parkstone says...
1:36pm Wed 3 Oct 07
paul, boscombe says...
3:26pm Wed 3 Oct 07
rebus, Corfe Mullen says...
3:42pm Wed 3 Oct 07
As you say Paul, you can't lay a finger on them for fear of being prosecuted or branded a child molester!
jonnie s, bournemouth says...
3:46pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Maria, christchurch says...
4:03pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Dan Rooke, Poole says...
4:18pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Geoff, Kinson says...
4:19pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Nigel Gillespie wrote:Well said Nigel regarding the Kinson "Safer Neighbourhood Team ".They are a superb example of how the Police and community can work together.The PSCO's are out and about in the community which is what most people have wanted for years !
And this was my case from yesterday story about Section 30 being used in Bournemouth Town Centre and not other parts of the Town.Central Goverment introduced the "Safer Neighbourhood Teams" throught-out the Country and in Kinson we have a very pro-active one which gets results.However, as the previous writer has said we need more police to make other SNT, more effective.Yes,there has to be a multi-agency approach but if we have not enough Officers how can we combat the problem.The PCSO need to have more powers other-wise the way they stand at the moment it is a pointless exercise.True,discip line should start within the home and maybe the focus should be on the parents as well as the child.
Parents are responsible for their offspring and should be made responsible for their actions.Discipline is the answer and what about conscription to the armed forces ?
Phil, Poole says...
4:20pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Maria wrote:Spot on, Maria. The benefits system needs urgent radical reform to discourage these lowlifes from having so many children - preferably none at all. Otherwise the country will soon be overrun with feral youths (if it isn't already).
It was bound to happen..unmarried mothers, some still kids themselves, give them big council houses, let them breed lots of offspring, then put them all together on estates, stand back and watch them destroy our once lovely towns. Punish the parents, hit them where it hurts, stop their benefits. Most worryingly of all these yobs are our future generation,what are there kids going to be like.
fergie, Wallisdown says...
4:23pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Nick, Bournemouth says...
4:33pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Maria wrote:I think there is something in this. These are the kids of the lager louts of the 80s and 90s. I just wish I could time travel forward 10 years and see them complaining about the kids that bother them..
It was bound to happen..unmarried mothers, some still kids themselves, give them big council houses, let them breed lots of offspring, then put them all together on estates, stand back and watch them destroy our once lovely towns. Punish the parents, hit them where it hurts, stop their benefits. Most worryingly of all these yobs are our future generation,what are there kids going to be like.
Id love to stop monetary benefits and introduce exchange coupons. This combined with a sliding scale of income in relation to responsibility.
Id hate to tarnish them all with the same brush though. I have said before, a child walking down the street in the 1930s kicking a can would have been playing. Nowadays they are being anti- social.
We are really paying for our own mistakes here in believing in a youth culture. There is no such thing.
Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate"), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity.
Take a look on the beach, how many kids build sand castles and how many delight in destroying them.
Long ago young adults used to try to emulate their parents. Now the parents emulate their kids. Have a look at the grannies in mini skirts down town. Yuk.
Geoff, Kinson says...
4:44pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Nick wrote:I agree Nick. We are paying for the selfish society that was created in the 1980's.When I was a kid I was taught to respect my elders.The word "respect" does not exist with many young people now. Whose fault is that ? The parents of course!
Maria wrote: It was bound to happen..unmarried mothers, some still kids themselves, give them big council houses, let them breed lots of offspring, then put them all together on estates, stand back and watch them destroy our once lovely towns. Punish the parents, hit them where it hurts, stop their benefits. Most worryingly of all these yobs are our future generation,what are there kids going to be like.I think there is something in this. These are the kids of the lager louts of the 80s and 90s. I just wish I could time travel forward 10 years and see them complaining about the kids that bother them.. Id love to stop monetary benefits and introduce exchange coupons. This combined with a sliding scale of income in relation to responsibility. Id hate to tarnish them all with the same brush though. I have said before, a child walking down the street in the 1930s kicking a can would have been playing. Nowadays they are being anti- social. We are really paying for our own mistakes here in believing in a youth culture. There is no such thing. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate"), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity. Take a look on the beach, how many kids build sand castles and how many delight in destroying them. Long ago young adults used to try to emulate their parents. Now the parents emulate their kids. Have a look at the grannies in mini skirts down town. Yuk.
Emulated, Bournemouth says...
5:21pm Wed 3 Oct 07
littlerob, New York says...
6:01pm Wed 3 Oct 07
the listener, bournemouth says...
8:19pm Wed 3 Oct 07
These kids are getting away with this in the midst of so called police control more police please
Dave Turner BNP, says...
8:50pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Remember tasers work by firing metal barbs into the skin which then discharge an electrical charge of 50,000 volts to the lucky recipient.
Is this what Miss Stylianou means by engaging with the com-u-niteee.
Unbelievable 50,000 volts, when a clip round the ear will suffice on the majority of occasions
aphesis, Springbourne says...
8:58pm Wed 3 Oct 07
t the finger elsewhere.
Is society broken? I don't think so. I hope not. But if there is a fundamental problem with society, it resides in the attitudes expressed above. You see, Bournemouth is your town, and these kids, they're your kids. I mean, let's send them all off to the trenches, 14,000,000 slaughtered youth. That'll make the world a better place.
And guess what? These councillors, they're your councillors, because we live in a democracy and that's what democracy means.
These kids we are told have no respect for authority - but you yourselves have no respect for authority.
Why should these children wish you any good, since you clearly do not wish them any good?
The society you get, it just reflects who you are, there's nothing magical about society or culture; it's simply 'you' on a bigger scale.
This town can be changed, it can become a better place to live, but not by wishful thinking.
Why not be part of the answer rather than part of the problem. What will it take? Serious intellectual and moral commitment.
www.bournecentral.co
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PETE WOODLEY, says...
9:36pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Phil wrote:As you said phil, spot on maria.start on the scroungers.one of our former neighbours,unmarried
Maria wrote:Spot on, Maria. The benefits system needs urgent radical reform to discourage these lowlifes from having so many children - preferably none at all. Otherwise the country will soon be overrun with feral youths (if it isn't already).
It was bound to happen..unmarried mothers, some still kids themselves, give them big council houses, let them breed lots of offspring, then put them all together on estates, stand back and watch them destroy our once lovely towns. Punish the parents, hit them where it hurts, stop their benefits. Most worryingly of all these yobs are our future generation,what are there kids going to be like.
,3 kids,3 different fathers,did not have to work.
paul, boscombe says...
9:59pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Mike Pickering, Bournemouth says...
10:31pm Wed 3 Oct 07
I used to hang around outside in places where other people my age congregated, and we never caused any trouble, we knew where the boundaries of acceptable, respectful behavior were with regard to being a nuisance, destroying property, scaring people, etc, but nonetheless, as the countrywide 'fear' of gangs of unruly youths spread, our presence in public places was decreasingly tolerated.
That being said, this was 20 odd years ago, long ago enough for there to have been a marked change in the family structure of the average briton, with so many children living with only one parent, who has to work all the hours god sends to pay rent and mortgage, or just give up, and live on benefits with all the criminal-mindedness that brings as in effect you sell much of your privacy to state in return for just enough money to live on.. Parents, if present, don't have the time or the value-sets to bring up responsible, loved children, who in turn dont actually have many places to go, when they all live in 1 bedroom flats with no garden. Put unstable, unhappy groups of teenagers together in a group outside, and mere boredom and frustration will manifest in antisocial behavior. Anti-social behavior, it should be noted, is actually the symptomatic name for a form of mental illness, which as outlined above is at epidemic proportions.
One thing that could almost be seen to characterise the vast majority of britains under 21s at the moment is a sense of hopelessness, brought about by the polarization of wealth and opportunity - even if these kids did do well in their failing school, and qualified for what passes as a University course these days, the chances are that their degree would only secure a job that would support the same dismal level of housing in the same run-down corner of some fetid little market town somewhere near where they wanted to live - if they're lucky.
There will always be success stories, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, capricious captains of industry who make 7figures before they're 25, but for the majority of those below the 75th percentile of ability, their future in this country is bleak indeed, and they know it.
How can you possibly engender respect in a society and a system that is obsessed with snide celebrity, still-rigid class structure, conflict and judgementalism of and from everyone, from the bullies on playground, the snarky newspaper columnists, the clones on BBC news telling us what to think, how to act, what to smoke and where, to the exorbitant amount of tax that the nanny state requires to fund the whole sorry sham. Faced with 50 years of that no wonder we have a thousand tiny riots on our streets every night.
As Aphesis points out, this is ALL of ours problem, we our encouraged to think and act in an entirely selfish fashion, to want more and care less about everyone else, and the youths looking bored and angry on the corner are the first visible signs that this system is failing us all.
Tru Belle, purbeck says...
10:58pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Give them all the snip---------!!!
ditto the parents also, and the young grandparents too
aphesis, Springbourne says...
11:21pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Tony, South West says...
12:37am Thu 4 Oct 07
Notayob, Bournemouth says...
2:06am Thu 4 Oct 07
If you are a drug addict and have no means of supporting it, you are a dead cert to go out and steal for drugs, so why not just lock them up until they are off drugs. It will keep them away from starting others with the habit and in the long run less people in jail.
To aphesis, Springbourne. We "fedupjobsworths" are not having a go at all youngsters, just the very small minority that make life unpleasant for everybody, mostly other youngsters. PS: nice website, Can I come and have a moan there?
Ernestine, Bermagui says...
11:48am Thu 4 Oct 07
But what good is all the ranting and raving and name calling, the hatred and anger against youth and the unemployed and unmarried mothers. Many of whom need support, encouragement, discipline and guidance.
Everyone has the potential to succeed as everyone has the ability to help.
There are numerous organisations within the community who are trying to fix the problem of anti-social behaviour. Many are successful and deserve support.
So in addition to all the ranting and raving, I hope people are also volunteering to be part of the solution rather than stirring up more anger and making the situation worse. We can fix this broken society but we are all part of society and we all have a responsibility and duty to help.
Get out there, lend a hand you might just surprise yourself at how much fun youll have!
PETE WOODLEY, says...
1:33pm Thu 4 Oct 07
Ernestine, Bermagui says...
4:37am Fri 5 Oct 07
storm, poole says...
8:02pm Sun 7 Oct 07
COMPLAINTS: There is less tolerance of young people in this area says a Poole antisocial behaviour order co-ordinator even an innocent kick-about can spark phone calls
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fedupwithjobsworths, Moordown says...
8:51am Wed 3 Oct 07