UK youths blame violent video games and films for rise in knife crimes

Posted Nov 26, 2008 at 1:10PM by QJ Staff Listed in: News Tags: UK
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A debate was held in Liverpool with a panel consisting of youths from the local area and the North Western territories. This was the first of a series of regional consultations stemming from a booklet delivered to Prime Minister Gordon Brown containing young people's views on gun and knife crimes.

According to the panel, indulging in certain movies, video games, and music encourages some young people to carry knives and other weapons. Also mentioned was pressure from friends and family members who are already involved in criminal activity and/or gangs contributing to a desire to carry a weapon.

Bob Croxton, an ex-offender now working as an outreach worker in Liverpool's Criminal Information Bureaux, asked the panel what they thought should be done and was told that the age rating on violent video games and movies would stop young people from committing these crimes.

They also advised that parents should prevent their children from hanging out in the streets all day and night.



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Via Liverpool Daily Post

 
 
 

Comments [refresh]

by phiyuku - 2008-11-26 08:58
» Atleast its a step away from just blaming games...

Now they went back to blaming violent movies as well as violent games!!!!!!!!!! !!

by papajag - 2008-11-26 09:05
» MAN STOP WITH THE BLAMING!!!!

Killing others is a part of human nature. Many don't understand that everyone has the desires to kill. It's just their trap by society and what society sees as good and evil, cool and uncool, beautiful and ugly. If people want to blame something blame society for categorizing each individual.

by emcp - 2008-11-26 09:16
» mmm

ok

1. im a teenager



2. when i sit in class and yeah some of the *****, that my mates come out with, its sad really, they dont have an opinion the dont think, nor care about anything, the just echo back what theyve been told, theyre submissive



3. my experience of americans, is that alot of them is submissive, not just teenagers, they take what they are told and dont ask why



4. do you think these teenagers cared about their answer, no they just wanted to say something and get away from thoses taking the survey, so tell them what they want to hear



5. the mainn problem is adults get it terribly wrong, give the kids an excuse [its not them its videogames], it gives them a get out of jail free card, kind of like alcohol can reduce a sentence, and they start to believe it



6. the problem is, theres not enough people to go and beat the ***** out of the ones causing the crimes, i dont care what love the children, were all equal organisation, violence dosnt solve violence says, its simple theyre people not children, they should be treated as people who are causing problems shouldnt be fed excuses, its not as if they are a month old, if they want a gun, violence v violence only causes a problem if the violence stops



7. i dont care what people say, were animals, humans are not superior to animals in anyway [i dont care about your religion], the fact is look at animals carefully and youll see they have just as much conscious as we do, whats wrong with violence, were animals and must protect are people/area, anyone rebels in a pack of animals, theyre chucked out of the pack if not killed, its been working for 1000000000 years, and problems are only really developing now, yes humans can develop etc, but does that mean we should reject animal instinct.



put it like this anyone harms anyone i know, youll be sure theyll pay, the justice system is a *****ing joke, ffs you protect your house and a robber can sue you (way to fix that kill the bastard, hes obviously isnt helping people)





ok so it went into a rant and no7 is a bit weird, but i dont like this equality crap, were long disgustion are needed to help solve this problem, simple thing beat the ***** out of them its been working in the animal kingdom for sometime now

by Mentality - 2008-11-26 09:27
» >>

Those dirty horrible scouse bog-rat scumbags. (Some scousers are not bog-rats, this is not generalisation I am on about those particular people who made the vote). Honestly this will get thrown out of proportion as though those youths are speaking on behalf of all youths and here we will see a ban on violent games in the UK. Thanks alot dip*****s. Violent video games do not create violent people bad up bringings from parents that cannot be arsed to do anything but get drunk, take drugs and kick the crap out of there kids create violent people. Governments knocking down parks and hang outs without putting any other incentives in place so that youths have nothing to do creates violent people since they have no other form of release. When are they going to start realising this instead of trying to put the blame on the only type of entertainment we actually have left FFS!!!

by corytheidiot - 2008-11-26 09:31
» I agree with mmm

Human nature is impossible for us to change. We really are just animals. We may have a leg up on other animals, but we are still animals. Distrust, greed, etc. are in our DNA.



Video games are not what is causing all this. The site of people being forgiven for placing blame elsewhere is the problem. If you know you are not going to be caught then you are willing to do alot more things like stealing and so on.



Society is not to blame, the ones blaming society are the problems. Gangs are WAY more of a problem than movies and games combined.



STOP BLAMING GAMES!!!!! is the basic point to get across.

by Uhyve - 2008-11-26 09:59
» Lulz

"They also advised that parents should prevent their children from hanging out in the streets all day and night."



Heh, yeah, right. Chav parents being responsible for their children. Don't think so. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them gave their children knives.

by mysterysword - 2008-11-26 10:02
» .

Only violence that spawns from video games are from people who interpret them into their own reality, and those are the people who shouldn't even be playing video games, anyway.



Well, it's human instinct to blame. Vindication...

by Matt-N - 2008-11-26 10:08
» ...

Are you from the UK? If you are, run for Prime Minister - you get my vote :o)

by BIH - 2008-11-26 10:08
» ...

Idiots blame the stupid crack head parents for not giving a """" about their kids and teaching them right from wrong it has nothing to do with video games. Just not facing up to the real problem. Efing Chavs...

by rollypoly - 2008-11-26 10:21
» actually...

animals don't kill for sport, so plus one to them.

by frank_the_bunny - 2008-11-26 10:48
» blaming...

Blaming games and other forms of media for people's mistakes is stupid. If they are that weak and prone to copying what they see, they shouldn't play the games in the first place.

by Orlyeh - 2008-11-26 12:14
» Halfway there

Peole in the UK tend to blame just about anything they can instead of their own society and subcultures for the problems they see.



In spite of banning any and all firearm ownership and making carrying anything larger than a knife file illegal, their violent and nonviolent crime rate keeps going up and up.



Want to solve petty thuggery? Allow honest citizens to arm themselves on the street. The youth will learn quickly enough not to target the old lady for her purse when a few get shot dead.



Alas, Britons are fairly stupid in this regard and believe that the police will protect them.

by Orlyeh - 2008-11-26 12:16
» typo

meant to write "nail file"

by matts1900 - 2008-11-26 13:34
» ...

Wow... just wow. Beat the ***** out of everyone? By that standard you're right to say that your idea of a human is no more advanced than an animal. Aaaanyway



Main points to consider:



*Religion has nothing to do with evolution or human superiority over animals, however you look at it



*Kids' attitudes depend greatly on their upbringing. If they're taught to give a ***** about things, they will, and they will become more educated. Makes no difference if people are young or old, if they are shown to not know enough about a topic they will deride it.



*'right' and 'wrong' are subjective terms. Your interpretation of 'right' might be someone elses' wrong. For example, your 'right' involves beating wrongdoers up. That's something i'd say is 'wrong'. What happened to rehabilitation? Or is that too big a word?



*Education is *mostly* inversely proportional to violence in my experience. Those without brains resort to violence when they can't get what they want.



*Using discussion instead of violence is more commonly referred to as civility and intelligence. I suggest that if you propose to beat the ***** out of everyone that does something 'wrong' then you are the opposite.

by emcp - 2008-11-26 13:36
» lol

have you been to the top of ireland [im choosing my words very carefully], even though were not brits



the hatred for the palers (mm not sure how to spell it) is a community thing lol



someone from here, caught a joyrider breaking into his car, so out came the crowbar, he was charged for assault, luckily though the community objected to it, hehe

by Rikichan - 2008-11-26 13:42
» papajag

Your way of thinking is so scary, I honestly would run the ***** away from you if you were in my uni or something.

by joemontana03 - 2008-11-26 21:55
» indeed

i call the "be stupid" kinda culture.



"look forward to being a stereotypical black american gangster, my son. you will be rich crossing over to rapping about the ***** you did." go britons go!

by Musev - 2008-11-26 23:34
» ...

Lmao most of these stabbings are by the (mostly) black kids pretending to be that guy from menace to socity with the platts



this has a much bigger real conection with grime (the music genre) and hip hop

by xyal_zx - 2008-11-27 04:33
» kill or be killed

anyone wonder what situation someone would have to be in to actually kill with a knife? sure there are a lot of psychos out there that want to. but what actually drove the bastard to use the knife you know? what would drive you to do such a thing? like if my dog dies first thing in the morning then my teacher sends me home for being late and my dad beats on me for having the school phone home i might just snap myself.

by xyal_zx - 2008-11-27 04:37
» i dont believe you are a teenager

you sound more like 8-11 to me

by Torch - 2008-11-27 05:22
» .

I for one, love to left click twice and right click people.

by MrEvo - 2008-11-27 05:31
» Its A Joke

So, they are blaming violent games for them carrying knifes? How retarded can you get. If they cannot tell the difference between real life and fiction then there must be something wrong with them in the first place. I really don’t understand why people carry knifes, anyone who feels the need to carry a knife are COWARDS. I am not that old, 30+ and I grew up in a rough part of South East London, and I was taught to use my fists. If you carried a knife, or anything come to that, you were considered a coward or a mug. And that is what the kids are today, nothing but cowards. One Teenager says “well, I am going to carry one because the other guys are” and the other guys say the same thing. So you see my point. Let’s see and end to this knife craze that will separate the men from the girls.

by rollypoly - 2008-11-27 06:21
» rehab

is for addictions...



not for people who know better, but do it anyway.



the idea of physically punishing people is just reacting in kind... yes not very civil, but then eye for an eye.



and yes i'd rather have the whole world blind, not just the victims...

by the by - 2008-11-27 08:25
» hmmmmm

think i'll finish GTA4, then go out and stab someone....





........sod it, its too cold outside!! lol



seriously though, i think this is just kids trying to use something to blame, when the real reason is that they know, in the soft handed society that we now live in, they honestly think they can get away with anything!



its because they're not scared, yet when i was young i was frightened to get into trouble due to getting a hard slap from my old folks!

by lavino - 2008-11-27 17:41
» sadly in the real world...

back stabbing in office does NOT requires any knife....

by LordRussell - 2008-11-28 04:55
» Here we go again....

I have *****ed Ad nauseum about this very thing, so let me put it into a different perspective...



In US history, there was a little thing called the Salem Witch trials. It got started in the early 1690's and is believed to have come about because a couple of teenage girls were trying to cover up the fact that a young female slave was teaching them about Voodoo or other Pagan beliefs.



When their father caught them practicing this faith system they faked an epileptic seizure. After their demon defecate dance they then claimed the devil was in them. Blaming the slave as the cauldron of evil.



It wasn't until years later (and several innocent deaths) that the girls fessed up and told the truth. Yet the lie was so great and so well played that there was little or no turning back.



Putting things into current perspective, kids today don't even remotely know the meaning behind "Saving Your Ass" or what it's true context means.



Up until about the mid 80's (1900's for those who lost the thread) it was a common practice to beat the **** out of your kids. You screwed up, your ass literally paid the piper. So to say that the girls from yore didn't want a beating to end all beatings makes it easier to believe that they would risk the grand charade.



Kids today DON'T get beaten. There is no excuse for NOT telling the truth, yet the typical act of not wanting to loose something is still in practice today.



Humans are either prone to violence or they are not. ALL humans are prone to catastrophic violence.



Don't think so? Then i propose this scenario...



A girl in the street is being attacked by an assailant with a knife. 1. Do you help her or hesitate with the thought of your own survival if you were to intervene? 2. What if the same situation were to happen, but it were your mother/loved one as the victim. What would your value on self preservation be?



Violence is a conditioned behavior. Saying that a video game or movie is sufficient to 'condition' the human mind for violence is preposterous. The viewer is NEVER IN the violence.



Ask a combat veteran how apt he/she is to strike out physically if in a stressful situation. A soldier would only be CAPABLE of doing it because the years of conditioning and exposure to the real thing have touched on a primal programming, thus insuring his/her survival.



Even the criminally retarded know that a movie or game is just that. It isn't real. "REAL" hurts and is permanent.

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