parents of older kid in london - arent you worried?

[CODalmighty]

by allt hese muggings thagt go on.
and isnt it ironic that the more we gave kdi mobile phones " to eb safe"
they seem to haev the opposite effect

It's a worry that looms
Where we live is comparatively safe and you just have to cling to probability.
Of all teens/young adults I know round here only two have ever been mugged - bad enough - and interestingly both muggings were in a posh part of town.
My burb is so socially negligible even the gangs can't be *rsed

the poor boy who died in Hammersmith was stabbed right where we used to live - just awful

I think muggings happen everywhere though

I had a boy of about 9 (on a bike) try to take my phone off me in Hammersmith. I was so surprised (he still had baby cheeks) that I ended telling him off rather than being frightened.

I don't think it's a new thing or necessarily to do with mobile phones. My brother was mugged twice as a young teenager (OK, we did grow up in Manchester, so no rural idyll) - once for his coat; once for about 20p in loose change. The second time he was beaten up quite badly - kicked in the head.

don knwo aone who ahs been mugged ever
am a shletered fihs

My dss has been 'mugged' loads of times from the age of about 14 til 17,. It has stopped now because he is 18 and to my mind it is not really mugging, it is aggrivated bullying and now kids have stuff that is more valuable than their lunch money it is called mugging.

I do not say this lightly but I think there should be some kind of physical(not quite birching) punishment for the little shits who decide to physically intimidate phones and ipods ect off other kids. they don't care about the police, they are not scared of them so I think they should be sent to do military service or something particularly unpleasant.

Children these days( yes I'm old!!) have no fear and no concept of consequences of their actions and waste a lot of police time. There should be a dedicated 'cocky little brat' devision of the police who are solely in charge of making life difficult for trainee criminals.

It might concentrate their minds if they faced a couple of months of early mornings, tons of physical exercise and no privlidges whatsoever.

I felt more worried about this sort of thing when I lived in a rural village full of bored teenagers with nothing better to do than I do now living in central London!

but the evidence is that there si a hige rise in this kidn of crime

But the kids are going straight into the criminal justice system making them branded criminals at a very young age.

well they are thoguh arnt they
hmm cuts btoh ways i suppose

feel safer in a city than out in the country or in any of our middle england villages where who knows what bubbles underneath?

thst odd

Soham, Hungerford etc

Yes they are but I just think that there should be another way of dealing with stupid kids who are generally menacing other kids iyswim. They don't have the nerve to 'mug' other people and they won't because they don't 'need' the money because they are usually fully supported by their parents. They are not your average criminal driven by poverty or drug addiction ect.
They need a virtual kick in arse before they end up with a record.

In the words of Half Man Half biscuit "although there was a drive-by shouting once", lucky you cod.
Agree with moo that this is not a new thing per se, but the level of violence that is used nowadays is a big worry

lol
i think the research ( courtesy of our trade mag) is that its all done for thrills ;(

They need 2yrs in the army to get them off the streets!!!

Exactly, the thrills need to have really nasty consequences to deter them.

I think national service is rather a good idea

But not with guns

I agree. It would be particularly effective if there was a chance you were to be sent off to be cannon fodder in Iraq if you reoffended. Now that would give them the 'respec' they desire.

Peace Corps
Rebuilding playgrounds, tidying up derelict land, doing UN tours of duty where aid and support are the main rationale for being in the country

DS1 doesn't have a mobile phone for the reason you give, Cod. He has had a few minor incidents with a group of reprobates, one of whom asked him the time, accused him in a very threatening way of insulting his mum and then proceeded to fall off his bike. DS1 walked away, trying not to laugh too much.

One of DS1's friends suffered a very weedy attempted mugging in which his assailant told him to hand over his money, DS1's friend denied having any, or a phone, and that was the end of the matter.

So I'm not too worried.

Cod, DW's brothers and sisters never use their mobiles in public for fear of muggings. They are in Hackney, so no surprise. They all want out as soon as they are able.

Oh dear, another incident. DS1 had a half day today. On his way home he was targeted by a gang of "three or four". I commented that surely he could remember how many there were, and he told me "One of them was so fat I think he counts as two". The fat one grabbed hold of him and demanded a pound, which DS1 refused to give then walked on. DS1's friend, who is made of stern stuff, was then approached. "Pardon my language" he said quietly to my son. "FUCK OFF FATTY" he shouted at the big one. And off the yobs duly sloped.

Pathetic innit? (Please excuse language and politically incorrect stereotyping - just telling it as it was told to me).

Cod, I take it young criminals are more competent and diligent in their calling in your neck of the woods...

I'm not any more worried than I would be living anywhere else tbh.

Incidents happen everywhere with teenagers, not just London, and at least in London there are many different places to go. Bored teenagers are a danger, especially those in out of the way areas.

Most of these recent incidents are concentrated within a particular area of London and have remained within one community.

Although my children are still very young, I am very concerned that one day they might notice the needles which we sometimes see dropped on pavements/parks in our local area and ask me what they are .

There have always been bullies, petty thieves etc but as Marina says its the level of violence which is a real worry.

A form of National Service might help, I really don't know. I think lowering the school-leaving age might be an idea too.