A 14 year old boy in Telford has been given an ASBO after terrorising his local estate, jumping up and down on neighbours cars, wrecking peoples gardens and setting things on fire. As part of his ASBO the judge has rewarded him with quad bike lessons.
Apparently this is to show him that you can get a buzz by doing something good but apart from the fact that it shows him he can get a treat for all the things he’s done, it sends out a message to all the other 14 year olds that if they get into trouble then they can get rewarded as well.
The ASBO tells him that he’s not allowed to be abusive or threatening or vandalise things. Why does the judge need to make a court order to tell him he can’t do things that are illegal anyway?
Does anyone think this a good idea? What’s he going to do when he finishes his lessons? He’ll probably start terrorising the neighbourhood on a quad bike instead!
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I think that unsupervised quad bike lessons, preferably in flooded quarries but certainly in remote and inaccessible areas, would be a positive step in reducing ‘anti-social’ behaviour in the young.
I saw this in the paper too. My kids now understand why I can’t buy them as many treats as we used to, as more money has to go on tax / council-tax to pay for guttersnipes like this to get treats at our expense. They feel there’s an injustice somewhere along the lines. How come a bunch of kids can see this is wrong, but the so called “leaders” of the people think this is correct?
All i have to say is, ‘…so let it be flame throwers and cattle prods for all’
A better idea than giving him an ASBO would have been to make him do some gardening for all of the residents of the estate, wash their cars, etc to repay the people whose possessions he has destroyed. This would be a punishment for him as it would be long and tiring, but also it would get him doing something productive for the people he has harmed. I can’t see how giving him quad bike lessons would help – as you say, it could make the problem worse.
The judge’s decision shows that there needs to be some accountability for the decisions made by the judiciary. I favour the election of police chiefs and judges by those communities they serve.
Crime certainly does pay – in Telford anyway! I’m trying to raise the bond for a (rented) house. There’s a bond scheme in Telford, but only if you’re under 25, if you’re over 25, they “may” help, but only if you have convictions for “substance misuse”….my next move is to sit on the town hall steps sniffing the brasso tin!
[…] addition to this, we give our local scum quad bike days out as “punishment” for terrorising residents of his local estate, vandalism, […]