Editorial: Arm teenagers with common sense
Andy Hillier
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Lots has been written and said over the past few months about ways of tackling youth crime and in particular weapons-related crime.
Most of the focus has been firmly on central government trying to find a magic-wand solution that would end these tragic deaths in one fell swoop. Measures such as increasing the penalties for those found carrying weapons and offering young people more things to do and places to go have all been suggested in some quarters as "the" answer to the problem.
But one debate that seems to have been drowned out is how we can change the attitudes of the current generation of young people who feel the need to carry a weapon or use violence as means to settle disputes.
While providing young people with more places to go might help them stay away from trouble in the first place, it won't stop them from turning to violence when trouble comes their way. That's why it is encouraging to see a charity such as Leap Confronting Conflict receiving substantial amounts of government funding to work with young people (see p14). Its approach is all about showing young people how to react in conflict situations and avoid minor disputes escalating into violent incidents. The young people who go through the charity's programmes leave knowing about the common triggers behind conflict and how to defuse situations peacefully.
Ultimately, preventing youth violence is going to require a change in mindset among the potential perpetrators. Arming teenagers with the skills to avoid conflict has to be better than young people feeling they have no option but to arm themselves in other ways.