Anti Social behaviour, how can we prevent it?

[bradán feasa]

I would like to kick a debate off on Anti Social behaviour. By all accounts this lawlessness/violence/vandalism/public nuisance seems to be on the increase. As a result thousands of the most vulnerable in society are living in fear The traditional approach is to call for more Gardaí etc. However this focus on the after the act response to anti social behaviour does not seem adequate to me. Its costly and it allows for more people to become criminals. What prevention solutions are available?

One viable prevention method cited by the left regularly is the development of community services and facilities for young people. On the right others feel that society and family breakdown is at the route of the growth in anti social behaviour. Obviously I have by no means exhausted left and right responses here to allow for others to do so.

I would like the debate to be as all encompassing as possible. However solutions should be legal and contributors should cite examples where possible.

[David Cochrane]

Why did you post this in Fianna Fail?

Moving this to justice.

[The Collective.]

"One viable prevention method cited by the left regularly is the development of community services and facilities for young people. On the right others feel that society and family breakdown is at the route of the growth in anti social behaviour."


I say both. Hows that? Too radical for you? We also need more batons.

[locke]

On the more petty level of anti-social behaviour, one preventive measure is to clean up what's already there. People are less likely to throw litter on an unlittered street; they're less likely to paint graffiti in an area where there is none.

Failing to fix the problems sends a message that it's tolerated.

[Sligoboy]

To apply a zero tolerance approach you must first establish that every citizen has been given equal and ample access/opportunity to avail of all strata of education, amenities etc etc.

The Soviets thought they had achieved this which in turn resulted in policing methods of anti-social behaviour that would have any looney right winger salivating. It simply wasn’t tolerated.

Inequality and deprivation are very real problems but they are not uniquely responsible for anti-social behaviour. However there is higher incidence amongst those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The point is Blanket policing (OK you can stop laughing now) under such circumstances wont cut it. The Law needs to flexible enough to deal with those who are genuinely venting frustration through disaffection from those who would be thugs and scumbags regardless of background.

No mean feat but do-able if the political will is there.

[Auditor #9]

I would like to kick a debate off on Anti Social behaviour. By all accounts this lawlessness/violence/vandalism/public nuisance seems to be on the increase. As a result thousands of the most vulnerable in society are living in fear The traditional approach is to call for more Gardaí etc. However this focus on the after the act response to anti social behaviour does not seem adequate to me. Its costly and it allows for more people to become criminals. What prevention solutions are available?

There is violence on the scale of the hit on John Daly and then the randomness of the burning of the children in Moy Ross last year, attacks on older people and the recent murder of Manuela in Galway and then there's the much less serious case of everyday public nuisance we might see usually in bigger towns. And would you include Boy Racers in the last category? And is it my imagination or is there less vandalism in terms of property (maybe the phone boxes themselves have disappeared) than a while ago, although you do see bus stops in Dublin busted. I honestly can't cite an instance of vandalism that I've seen recently but I wasn't looking for it either.

Do you think the above strains of problem are related? There will always be boisterous teenage boys (and girls) - a perennial issue but that could be seperate from the other extreme stuff we've seen lately. In my view, boys with souped up cars are one thing, boys with guns another thing entirely.

Moyross is getting regenerated at present and may be worth using as an example for this thread if you can drum up links. There is also the gangland activity. There could be a number of disparate issues which may not necessarily be related.

[Sligoboy]

Moyross is getting regenerated at present and may be worth using as an example for this thread if you can drum up links. There is also the gangland activity. There could be a number of disparate issues which may not necessarily be related.

I fear they are merely plastering over the cracks.

I wouldn't be surprised if some Hack is making a packet out the rebuilding scheme as well.

[stretchneil]

I don't believe we necessarily need a huge number more Gardaí, but I think they need to be deployed differently. The focus of the Gardaí should be on community policing - a method which has been proven to have a massive effect on anti-social behaviour north of the border.

I also believe we should invest properly in our communities, but that's probably a little more obvious coming from a lefty!

[Auditor #9]

Moyross is getting regenerated at present and may be worth using as an example for this thread if you can drum up links. There is also the gangland activity. There could be a number of disparate issues which may not necessarily be related.

I fear they are merely plastering over the cracks.

So do I unfortunately - the solution has to be a lot more radical and long term because of the generational nature of it - undoing it will take generations. It might be interesting to compare Ballymun and Moyross projects to see what other mistakes we might be making thinking we're clearing up the mess.

[MichaelR]

Providing youth facilities is a key thing, and I would not view it just in terms of preventing anti social behaviour. Helping teenagers develop in more ways that their particular school provides is good for society generally - even the parts where ASB is not a big problem.