Jèrriais

bob
1 Q. what is the legal age for allowing drinking in jersey.
A 18.

2 Q is there a law that says anyone under the age of 18 found with alcohol or drugs on the streets is liable to a fine or imprisonment.
A Yes.

3 Q how come when the police arrest these people and charge them, then the courts say that they are too young to be prosecuted or the sentance is a joke for the crime commited.
A. too lenient.

4. Q when somebody has no respect for anyone or anything regardless of the circumstances, then we have a huge problem, we blame the parents, teachers, police, courts, but who is causing the problem? if someone causes a problem that is punishable by law, why don't we do that correcttly regardless of age.unfortunatly we live in an age of NO RESPECT FROM YOUNGSTERS ok not all youngsters. so who's fault is it, well the parents should be held accountable for there kids, the teachers should have powers to restrict the childs libertys when they have misbehaved in school, as adults we should not be afraid to stand up and SAY HEY THIS IS NOT RIGHT. look whats happning in the UK all the knife crime is a matter of time before it happens here, many years ago there were deterents like the threat of the birch, ok it was never used but look what example that had LESS CRIME. i am not saying we shoild flog the little darlings but why should we let these people walk all over society in general. why cant the states take a lead and use the old jersey collage for girls site, and turn it into a milatary school for offenders like a boot camp, then show them what respect is.

Chris
Things are no different from what they have always been. There will always be the minority of kids causing the majority of problems! Well said Ben Fox though, need far more facilities for the kids, including a top class Skatepark, not the half hearted attempt the States are trying to get away with...again!!! When will they learn?

Chap
Its all the kids in lacoste and sports clothing, hanging around town throwing old people about and getting 'wasted'. These people are pustules on society, they will only grow to take more our of society through their doings, purge them. Sterilize them, if they produce it will only lead to a circle of more and more of them, do we really want no social progression due to a bunch of townie stains?! no we don't, they are ruining the island, confiscate their life privelages.

Mark
Ask Jeeves:For years all around the world politicians have talked to youngsters and nothing ever gets done. I grew up in a suburb between two cities and we had nothing to keep us out of trouble, but we did stay out of trouble. Unfortunatly there are a minority of youngsters who do make it look bad for the other good ones out there.It does not matter what the politicians do it will never change unless the parents get off thier arses and stop thier kids from becoming anti social louts.Oh and i like the idea about the reservoirs!

Kneoprene
I think there are at least 3 key issues here. First, there are plenty of kids here who don't see an awful lot of their parents because they both have to work long hours to pay off a large mortgage. Second, the houses they live in as a result of the large mortgage often don't come with a decent amount of garden and communal space in which to play without impinging on neighbours. Third comes discipline. Kids simply don't have as much structure and discipline anymore. Parents blame teachers and teachers blame parents but the fact is they're both to blame. Sadly the lack of structure and discipline on the parents side is all too often a by-product of divorces - sometimes brought about by the pressure of full time jobs to pay those large mortgages off...

chimpface
deport them to england

Heather
What I think we need to is start offering young people more positive rewards. Not just punishing them with ASBOs. Provide them with more activities they can try out, free of charge. Put on out of school sports sessions in youth clubs, offer them ways that they can get extra curricular awards and certificates, at the same time keeping active and learning life skills. For example (and this is just an example) get them involved in free cookery courses, they could learn how to cook healthy food and come out with a certificate marking their achievement. Make sure it's fun and not too much like school and I'm sure you'll get them coming along out of curiousity and if the offering is rewarding enough (and fun is a reward) they'll keep coming. We spend too much energy looking at ways to stop young people doing the wrong things, or punishing for them, and not enough energy on rewarding them and providing positive experiences. kids, and you've got to

Brands
To Ask Jeeves : using the reservoirs for watersports? What a fab idea!!! How come nobody else thought of that one before?!

Scott
I used to live in jersey and was a volunteer with Mark Caphern. Since leaving i have worked as an outdoor instructor, and with several other youth establishments. Jersey has got something very special with the you, you provide them with a loud voice. But there's not point having a loud voice without people actually listening to them: politicians. I don't think habits of youth have changed over the years, think back to what you used to get up to when you were a young adult: it's easy to look up the ladder than back down when giving opinions isn't it! Yeah the young ones get drunk, but the news is some much more highlighted today, every movement is monitored than it has ever been. You telling me the mods, punks and rockers youth were angels? Listen to young adults, and politicians to back up their aural skills with money!!!!! you would be amazed and what money the jersey government doesn't give the youth of today. It relies on donations way too much

ASK JEEVES
Why don't the people who have the say say, sit down with the youth's of jersey and actually ask them what they want to have, involve them, with regards amenities. So far the politicians have been 'indian givers'. They took away everything from us: belle vue, the bmx track, most youth centres in town, and skate park on esplanade. Involve them don't just push them away to a different part of town. What that island needs is an outdoor centre, and if only the states would allow people to wind suf, kayak, canoe on the resevoirs it would make an ideal place to start learning watersports. You may say the sea is ideal, i think not for beginners.

Flash
You're right, Chris - there was Fort Regent...it's not a patch on what it used to be...I miss the snake...

Chris
Very well said by Ben Fox, teenagers are inherently no different then they have always been. Certain people are just making it a huge issue.Jersey IS in desperate need of more Youth Facilities though. There is less to do when i was a teenager in the early 1990's.When i was young there was a skatepark, amusement arcade, more youth clubs, a choice of 2 0r 3 under 18's club nights, even under 18's Raves at the Inn on the Park, and if we were that bored we would hang out at Fort Regent.

dave
woah there Heather, a proactive contribution would be if you suggested something rather than simply disagreeing with someone without offering an alternative solution.Go on, post for a 3rd time without actually making a suggestion on how to tackle the issue at hand.

Brands
Nick - I'm not trying to suggest that all UK mainland youther are violent(I live in safish Canterbury), but in larger inner cities on the mainland violent gun crime has become an undeniable reality among a minority of young people (read the papers...)As for St.Helier, yes there are problems with drunken youths, but Jerseyfolk really should count themselves lucky for living on a small island.

Heather
Woah there Dave - I'm only stating my opinon that I don't think a 'shame list' would work. So my comment is only proactive if I agree is it? I'm intitled to my own opinion. Looks like Virtual Individual agrees with me too!

dave
sorry Heather but without trying the shame list in Jersey how can you even comment? it would be productive to the debate if you made a proactive contribution.

Jordan
I am 15 and have never been drunk in my life and I think it's really harsh that all of us are blamed 4 causing trouble when it's not all of us. And I also think the main reason people go out and drink is because there is nothing to do!

I'm in a band and there is nowhere for us to play a gig to people of our age anymore. The only gig we get is once a year at battle of the bands. I think it's time that something was built for the youth and not just those same old rubbish youth clubs I really want somewhere we can go for gigs.

Nick - in the dangerous UK
What is is with you Jersey people always generalising about the UK! Brands sweeping statement about all the UK youth walking round with guns is hilarious. The UK is very diverse and I can testify that there are more dangerous places than Jersey here but also safer ones! Idiot.

Virtual Individual
I agree that in a lot of cases, parents are to blame for the misbehaviour of their children, but it is worth remembering that ASBOS used in the UK to 'shame' those labelled with them are now almost a badge of respect - we would have to be careful that any measures of 'shaming' parents and their children does not emulate this.

Bobby
Trevor & Brands you are diverting the issue away from the subject in hand, namely drunken YOUNG people on the streets of JERSEY. We agree that most young people are sound, however there are some nasty little youths on our streets.

And to compare us with the UK is ridiculous, this is Jersey and there is a problem that is being debated here and now in this island. It exists and is real.The sad fact is that if we look at numbers and demographics we are probably only talking about 50 people at most.These 50 are giving their peers a bad name and the streets of Jersey a bad name.

I'm sure that the police know who these degenerates are yet they are powerless to act.

Its about time one of our elected politicians stood up and did something worthwhile for once !!Why not name and shame them and their parents? Are we scared of infringing their human rights? They're not scared of ruining your night out !!!!

Heather
It's all well and good to suggest naming and shaming in the media but I don't think it would work. I think being put on the 'shame list' would become like a street badge of honour - just like ASBOs have become in the UK - it's cool to have one!

Phil
It's all to do with bad parenting. Clearly. Why can't their parents control their kids, and why did they get out of control in the first place? I agree with Bobby - a system of naming and shaming would deter stupidity on such a small island.

Trevor
How can people go about selfish, irresponsible youth? To those people I would just say take a look at the majority of our Council of Ministers - selfish, irresponsible, vested-interest driven, greedy and judging from perfomance levels - cleaarly not paying too much attantion when they were at school!

Most young people are sound. Critics tend to forget that young people are largely products of their socialisation. If they are out of control and anti-social then along with tackling the young people we need to take a long, honest look at ourselves to see what examples we are setting.

Brands
Yes, there has always been a small minority of trouble-making youthes on the island, but one cannot compare the shenanigans they get up to with those of their UK mainland counterparts; gun-toting, crack-selling, juvenile hoodlums ready to kill for the sake of a vicious, illegal trade is mercifully not the case in our cosy little granite oblong.

Bobby
Name and shame the underage drinkers and their parents by having a shame list in the JEP.Use the 3 strikes and your out principle to imprison the parents of re-offenders if the 'children' are too young to convict.

We all know that the lack of respect shown by these teenagers is allowed to fester and deteriorate because in the majority of cases the parents couldn't care less. Well, its time to make them care !!Before the lily livered liberal brigade jump on my back let me add that teenage drinking and disturbance etc is nothing new and I AGREE that its only a handful of undesirables, which makes it all the more shocking that its allowed to continue.

However, the lack of respect for authority, property and community CAN be blamed on the parents.This is a problem of Jerseys own doing by Jerseys own inhabitants.Somebody should grow a pair and sort it out !!!