Where are the parents?

[Shellym13]

I'm a firefighter. For the second week we've responded to fires set by a group of kids. We have got to know them and don't want them to get into trpuble but now the police accompany us. One of the wee boys is only 8 years old, smokes dope and is out till well after midnight.
Wtf is his parents or social services!
If you don't know where your wee boy is at that time of night you aren't fit to have him.
Sorry rant over but it's so sad to see.

What chance has that poor lad got?

What?? "You don't want them to get into trouble"...They already are!

Ss won't know about it unless they have been told. I presume you have reported your concerns to them.

At 8 Years old they are craving attention and are easily swayed so would rather they choose the right path. Fat chance though. That's another few children in the scrapheap.

Where are the parents?

Are you in Scotland? This very much points to a socio-economic problem. Sad

The police attend every call now, we work in partnership. Unfortunately we can't attend every house or every child which is a Shame. All we do is put the fires out. The police and social work will pick up the circumstances.

Could you ask the youth service to do some outreach work there? This sounds really sad. Maybe talk to the social care duty desk about it too. This may be the piece of info that helps them to act to safeguard the poor kids.

Yes, I work in a pretty deprived area of Glasgow. The lost generation is really abundant there.

Cross post

We are limited as we are firefighters. We can't refer that's up to the police and social work if they actually catch them, we only know their first names.

Don't you have a LiFE course in your Brigade?

LeSquigh that's for over 14s. OP says one boy is 8! Can you imagine him even managing to get to a LIFE course regularly? That's half the problem with some of the youth services. Kids aren't brought to them by the families who need them most....and at 14 plus, it's almost too late for many.

It's heartbreaking, we have done all we can from our end. I'm night shift the next 2 nights so I'll prob see him again then. I'm raging that this goes on!

You can report and you should. Anyone can!

Shit this is awful. Mine are19/22 now so I cannot remember them being Eight, but DN is ten, he plays with lego and doesn't like mixing with rough boys, this s truly saddening.

Ermm we have reported what we know but it's only their first names?

In one of the areas I would we had a problem much the same.

We aranged for a YOT officer and a EDT social worker to attend as well and that made it easier to identify the kids and put intervention in place. It was a few years ago mind you

Kids are doing it in our local park. They set fire to bins and are all ages.
The parents believe the children are at our local youth centre that has different groups for different ages.
A free bus delivers them to the centre, then as soon as they can get out they do. They have completed ruined our neighbourhood and the centre was donated to the kids for somewhere to go.
it's a fantastic place, all new and modern and the facilities and activities are really second to none.
I don't know why they do it, I honestly don't.
I'm forever reporting fires as we over look the park and are usually one of the first to see the flames rising.

As a Police Despatcher in Glasgow im gobsmacked any division has the resources to accompany you to every call. The only time I've known that happen in bonfire night/weekend

Yep they have ruined 2 kids play parks with fireworks and fires which is angering as it is. We tried engaging with them, they climbed in top of the fire engine and refused to get off. I do feel sorry for them but can't help but think a spank on the arse might be what's needed if no one else gives a toss.

We be had police at the last 3 calls but we didn't call them. I was a dispatcher for the fire service for 12 years, it's not unusual to request it if there's been problems in the past but only to certain call outs where youths are in attendance.

You should be allowed to blast the little shits with the hoses

I wondered if you were talking about Glasgow. Deprivation is rife across many areas of Glasgow, and SS must be completely snowed under - this is not one 8yo boy smoking dope and out on the streets after midnight, there are huge estates full of primary aged kids doing much the same thing. It's cultural. By the time they're 13/14 they'll have produced kids of their own, and so the cycle continues. Nobody knows the answer, not the police, or SS, or schools, or youth outreach teams. It's awful.

Unfortunately that got done away with a while ago.... Tempting though! We missed a house fire due to attending this crap. The fire engines came from 10 mins away. It's so dangerous, they just dont understand!

Totally agree jocktamsonsbairns it's so sad but is life now for many x