The Howdenshire Neighbourhood Action Team, as a key delivery partner in crime and disorder issues, is looking into the perceptions of anti-social behaviour. The team is talking to both young people and older people to try and more fully understand the issues. This included a visit by a group of older residents to Howden School last week to engage in ‘one on one conversations’ with young people specifically about perceptions of anti-social behaviour. As one of the facilitators it was fascinating to listen as the two generations expressed their thoughts to each other, and at the end for all to say they now have more of an understanding of anti-social behaviour, proved the exercise very much worth while, and something to build on.
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council is also conducting a review of anti-social behaviour through a panel of Councillors, of which I am part. As part of this review Cllr Pat Smith and I visited Bridlington to spend some time with the Council’s detached youth workers, talk to some of Bridlington’s young people, and look at facilities for young people in the area. One of the highlight of the visit was visiting the Bridlington Gasworx Skate Park, a fantastic facility greatly valued by the kids we spoke to. (pictured with Cllr Pat Smith and the the ERYC Detached Youth Workers)I have spent quite a lot of time with the Council’s detached youth workers in the past, and continue to be impressed with what they do, but more importantly how they interact with young people.
2 comments:
The Giberdyke kids quite independantly found a bit of disused land adjoining the railway for their own unofficial skate/bmx park but it seems the land is owned by Network Rail. NR are concerned that the kids will get onto the line and someone get killed so don't want them there.
Has ERYC any funds available to lease from NR and fence the plot so the kids have somewhere safe to play and NR are satisfied regarding exclusion from the tracks?
What's to understand?
Anti social behaviour has always been around. It isn't a new phenomenon its just when we grow older we tend to forget the antics WE used to get up to that grown ups of our youth never really liked.
We all (if we're honest) acted anti socially at some point in our youth...perhaps not at the same intensity we tend to see it nowadays, but nevertheless we did.
In my day anti-socialism was sporting DA haircuts wearing winkle-picker shoes and riding motorbikes or growing your hair longer whilst wearing a parka and riding a scooter. Mods, Rockers and teddy boys are the chavs, indies and emo's of today.
Those not old enough to fit into the mainstream 'clans' ran around the streets kicking balls against walls or banging on doors and running away...some even managed to 'blag' the odd bottle of Watneys Pale Ale from the 'Offy' or 'half inch' their Mum's supply of draught sherry or Dad's bottle of vodka and get a little more rowdy...
It was called growing up...grown ups back then didn't approve either.
Nowadays it's name has changed to 'anti social behaviour'.
Some may argue that conditions today are a lot worse than "what they used to be", to an extent I would agree, but we should remember when many of us were these anti social kids we were liable to a clip around the ears from the local Beat Bobbie and a bigger hiding from our parents when he escorted us home and told them what we'd been up to. Teachers could also punish rowdy pupils without fear of being charged with assault.
So in actuality we need look no further than to ourselves for providing the medium where anti social behaviour flourishes and those who commit the behaviour we don't like, do so without fear of retribution from their elders or authority. That really is all we need to understand.
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