This summer quite a few teens I know spent the evenings hanging about in a local park. Most of it was just teens larking about plus no doubt a bit of illicit alcohol (I don't approve of that but am realistic about the fact that it happens). We live in a small town so lots of people would know who the kids are and know that none of them are scary or dangerous in any way, although I can understand that people find this kind of thing intimidating.
The park is now subject to a dispersal order and local news has been reporting it as large unruly groups of youths.
I'm just wondering what the alternative is for teens to do - they want to meet up with their friends. They aren't allowed in pubs/ clubs and haven't got much money so even going to a cafe or similar is not really feasible.
How can they want to meet up with friends out of school in an unstructured way without getting demonised?