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Scott2006 · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:19 am Post subject: Kenny MacAskill and Gang Culture

http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.2196391.0.0.php
Fresh drive in bid to tackle gang culture
(by Declan Harte)
More than 500 youngsters are being helped by police and local groups who want them to break free from gangs and violence.

They will be urged to take part in projects tackling issues such as anger management, as well as sport, music, drama and other activities.

The move, announced yesterday by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, forms part of a wider anti-gang drive which led to 6000 people being stopped and searched in March alone.

More than 500 weapons were also seized, and alcohol was confiscated from more than 870 under-age drinkers.

The mixture of "hard-edged" enforcement, programmes to change attitudes, and activities to divert youngsters from gang culture is claimed to be already paying dividends.

Mr MacAskill yesterday visited Operation Reclaim in Springburn, Glasgow, which will receive more than £15,000 to work intensively over a six-month period with 120 known gang members. Earlier this year he announced a £200,000 fund to which police and local bodies could make bids for schemes to tackle gangs and youth disorder.

Mr MacAskill said: "We need to get them (youths) out of the cycle of cheap drink and get them burning up their energy playing football. The next step is to get them into jobs. The hands they have used to pummel each other can be used to build the infrastructure we need in this city for the Commonwealth Games."

Operation Reclaim was set up in 2004 to provide a safe environment for sports after many of the city's large playing fields were deemed to be too dangerous by police.
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Respect.
The gang members don't have it for authority.
The police don't show respect to the youths.
A group of boys or young men with common experiences - being slighted and picked on by those in positions of power - turn to the 'buzz' of destruction, assertion of masculinity through confrontation, buzz they achieve through petty crime or alcohol excess and estrangement from politicians in nice suits that don't really walk the walk they do. Give a politician a stab proof vest...

The police as brought about by Robert Peel have been around for less than 200 years - gang culture extends back in time further than that.
Could the police learn to use language that conveys the possibility of respect to those they interact with, one more than one occassion they have been lacking respect towards me for no reason.
I've been walking along the street, say Woodlands Road, don't look like i'm in a gang, nor do I know of any gang activity there... unmarked police car stops, plain clothes persons - police officers(?) get out and they already assumed an unpleasant aggressive tone of voice demanding where I had come from... I was rather surprised - is this how public servants address law abiding citizens?
I can understand a situation where you can come to expect a them or us mentality.
The police are deficient and not fully trained to deal with the public.

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Scotland deserves a First rate Parliament for a First rate People
The Scottish Parliamentarians who voted for Treaty of Union in 1706 and signed away Independence had been voted for by less than 2% of the Scottish population

Aventinian

RadgeJougal · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject:

"They will be urged to take part in projects tackling issues such as anger management, as well as sport, music, drama and other activities."

Aye right - that will REALLY help them. Well, the sport anyway. The rest is naive crap - anger management won't help them, nor will doing drama, and pretending to be a tree.