High court rules that 'dispersal zones' are not allowed

[Al Khalifah]

Personally, I am against them (not that there are any near me). As a 15 year old, I resent the fact that I am not allowed to go out on the streets simply because the police thinks that anyone under the age of 16 is a trouble maker.

Perhaps its because so many people under the age of 16 are little turds with no respect for authority (present company not included of course). The problem for the police in the UK is that even if they catch young people in the act, their powers to do anything about it are so limitted and the punishments that get handed out are pathetic and inneffective that it just isn't worth their while. Plus the parens in these cases always assume that their child could do no wrong and that it is the police that must be mistaken.

I agree this is not the right solution to this problem. What is needed is tougher sentancing for misbehaving children.

[English assassin]

In the UK those people would be called asocial. Anti-social means you sniff glue and smash things up.

Alas, the high court obviously has little idea of the problems of modern policing. Of course, we COULD wait until the little toe rags have committed a crime. or we could take a sensible measure to stop the crime in the first place. Yobs aren't stupid, they don't walk about tooled up, for instance, they hide the knives in stairwells or bushes where they can get them in seconds. So if the police search them, they find nothing.

Nothing in these orders required the police to remove ALL under 16s, it just gave them the power, and only in a limited area where the police have shown trouble is likely. Now instead they will have to wait until a crime is committed, If that crime happens to be someone being stabbed I hope the judge and the plaintiff will have the decency to visit them in the hopsital...

[scooter_the_shooter]

I saw a thing on the news about london could any one there tell me if its true.

here it is


The youths there go beat people up, sometimes rape the person, and video tape it, and call it "happy slapping"

[Kanamori]

Yeah, they're misbehaved; don't have that problem where I live.

[BDC]

If you aren't doing anything, you should be free to go.

If you are trouble making (and it's pretty obvious who is really) then off home you go (although of course assuming you're under 16, out after 9 and trouble making then chances are your home life isn't much to up anyway).

[Marcellus]

Perhaps its because so many people under the age of 16 are little turds with no respect for authority

Some are, but by no means all. These powers treat ALL people under 16 years old as if they had no respect for others and for authority.

(present company not included of course).

Of course

The problem for the police in the UK is that even if they catch young people in the act, their powers to do anything about it are so limitted and the punishments that get handed out are pathetic and inneffective that it just isn't worth their while

The police still have dispersal powers, so if there is a group of people who are causing trouble or potentially intimidating people, the police can still break the group up. And for real trouble makers, as well as regular powers, the police can try to have an ASBO (Anti Social Behaviour Order) issued.

Nothing in these orders required the police to remove ALL under 16s

But they have the power to, and I am opposed to that. Often I suspect that the police won't bother trying to differentiate between trouble maker and not, and just send the child home regardless. If the police are only going to force trouble makers home, then the law should only allow them to do that.

And although adults are still around, you still have to consider that maybe a third or more of the potential criminal population is sitting in their bed-room.

And two thirds are allowed onto the street simply because of their age?

[scooter_the_shooter]

How common is that happy slapping thing. in london