Reading on the Echo about this lad. Been in trouble with the police since he was 14 basically.
Zero qualifications. Has a few kids himself.
Got me thinking, how the hell do we sort people like him out?
I really don't know how we sort them out once they've reached the stage he and his type are at. The problem is multifaceted, and no doubt the answers are too.
For me, though, I believe prevention is far better and far less costly in the long-run than looking to cure things after they've gone to hell.
Sadly, I think our country is run in such a lazy, neglectful way. Systems and people are run into the ground until they break, rather than nurtured and well maintained so they don't. We all then stand around looking puzzled over how to fix the mess that's been left to fester and grow.
I think early intervention is necessary. Support available for those who are going off the rails early on. Also punishment for those who refuse to address their ways. Good education is crucial. The issue of how antisocial behavior impacts communities should also be looked at and discussed in schools.
I remember the start of the 80s and the neglect that was rampant back then. I saw children acting up without consequence. Being cheeky turned into being abusive. Being abusive turned into being violent. Being like that led to entitlement. That entitlement led to them then breaking into cars and stealing radios and contents. That progressed to then stealing the actual cars are ragging them. That turned into then burning them out. Getting away with all that led to them burgling houses and shops locally. That then led to them robbing cars and travelling elsewhere to burgle and rob. Only then did they really start coming onto the radar of the police. Even then it tended to be a slap on the wrist.
Drugs came into the equation. Some became addled addicts, some became dealers. The money and the need to acquire money in that world keeps the ever growing spiral of decline and crime going. All due to neglect. All down to not addressing things at grass roots level, but waiting until the problem is well established and rooted.
Where was the intervention? Where was the focus on prevention? Where was the willingness to address issues as they arise rather than waiting until it's too late?
What we now have are emotionally immature manchildren running round with machine guns protecting high value drugs rackets. Not long ago these were scruffy ketwigged dickheads hanging around outside shops being a nuisance. Society then stands back and let's them quickly work through the cycle I mentioned earlier without any serious intervention until it's far too late.
Other things that don't help is the media and TV glamourisation of violence, gangsterism and the fetishisation of guns. Too many people these days can't separate all that from real life, and they want to emulate it.