Feral kids.

O.M.G. Kids think 🤔 the world owes them ,so they do what the hell they want.. give them phones for safety yes. NO social media on them. Give some boundaries try bit tough love. They will maybe respect others more..

Perhaps I am being naive but where were the parents? did they not wonder where there child was at age 13?
maybe i am being a bit rosy coloured glasses but i grew up in a small town and believe me, even though my family had no telephone if you did something in town then by time you get home your parents knew! everyone knew everyone how the news got to them I was in trouble when i got home

Grandmabatty

Those kids are the product of poor parenting, social media and years of tory cuts to the very services to help avoid this. It's not new, is it? Mods and rockers fighting in the 60s, punks in the 70s.

I don’t see that it’s all down to ‘Tory cuts’. IMO it’s largely down to parents who never say no, and even if they do, never stick to it.
And of course the downright anti-social, chav* element, the sort who drop litter everywhere and produce kids with no idea of civilised behaviour.
*no apologies for using the C word.

Need zero tolerance of these anti social events but with Labour and Khan in charge there is no chance of that. Put it down as another nail in Britains coffin.

Cossy

I attended Primary School in the sixties and Secondary School in the seventies, in Essex, there certainly were gangs.

Remember the Krays?

Seriously?? The Krays were grown men from the East end of London.

This is the result of liberalism, fear of discrimination and children growing up with no boundaries. In my day you’d get a clip round the ear from an adult if you were carrying on like that but these days they do as they’re like and immediately threaten to sue you if you do anything to them even if they’re stealing and wrecking someone’s shop. It’s gone too far.

Witzend, I said in my post it was mainly poor parenting, then social media then cuts to services. I did not blame only the previous tory governments. Nowhere did I say it was 'all down to tory cuts.'

I think all this is due to children going online and getting influenced by sites like TikTok etc, and also filming acts of violence against innocent members of the public, have been a fair few murders of other children and adults by a bunch of kids who then film their misdeeds for others to see. Is beyond horrible. Get one of these children alone and he/she would probably be ok but put a crowd of them together and is mob mentality. Scary stuff.
Seeing as this is now a trend I think our policing has to reflect this. We need to give police more powers to tackle these children in a more robust way. The same goes for teachers. The softly softly approach isn’t working. Teachers also need more powers to tackle violent/abusive children.
And parents of children arrested for committing anti social crimes should be charged with parental negligence and fined heavily or given community service.
Also those children arrested for recent mob behaviour should be made to sit with innocent members of the community who were affected by their actions who will tell them exactly how they felt.

You really think it's acceptable to use a water cannon against children? Do you actually know how powerful they are?

Grandmabatty What services that no longer exist do you suggest would stop this craze? It's social media in the main that cultivates the current problem. Yes, the 60s had the Mods and Rockers and then Punks came along but disputes were between the followers and were adults. Not youngsters raiding anything and anywhere they fancy. The youngsters know tge penalties if caught are no more than a slap on the wrist and hold no consequences for them in later life. So, just carry on doing what they please.

I suppose we can thank the Tories for the years of not underfunded but completely cut youth services along with the rise of social media. Some parents are to blame but are we also blaming middle class parents or just the council estate ones? Because I live near a rather posh school, 90% of the kids are from middle class and up families and it's horrendous. The police are there at least once a week, the kids come out of school and fight, attack buses and are more feral than the council estate kids inthe school diwbtje road. They're also far less polite or even helpful. I've had kids from the other school say hello, offer to help me with shopping bags, hold shop doors open... The posh kids? They're rude, rarely polite and would be more likely to harass and old lady than to help them.

The only solution to this kind of thing is keeping kids off social media and as there are many parents who couldn't care less what they're kids see online then ban it for under 16s. Spend money on youth services so kids have something to do, alter how kids are educated and stop teaching them things they'll have no use for in life (I'm still wondering when I'll use my knowledge of how roads are built or if I'll ever even consider making rock buns again) and educate them on the important things. And educate them how to be good parents when it's their turn, for some reason this is completely neglected, along with budgeting, buying a home, living real life.

Not good to read about shoppers corralled into shops for their own safety, a big impact on local businesses being told to close, even for only an hour. Those staffing the shops shouldn't have to put up with running battles and fear they may be assaulted. Clearly something drastic should be done, Tik Tok is a fairly new phenomenon in how it galvanizes these spontaneous hook ups of mass bad behaviour. There was some clown known as "Mizzi" a while back who played to a mass audience through umpteen displays of criminal acts, he got away with too many frequent slaps on the wrist, not good optics, just weak laissez faire turning a blind eye, which is why we are where are. Particularly ad sometimes he committed nasty acts towards elderly people, before he got sentenced. It begs the question is there not the wherewithal to shut these social media platforms down when they're the catalyst that drives much flash mobs along.

I'm not sure in every instance, it's a fair assumption to say, where are the parents? By the time most young people reach early teens they're not escorted around by parents 24/7, it's a time of burgeoning independence, and of course most don't behave in this manner, at times they're sucked in through bullying and intimidation. The parents may well be working, teenagers are beyond the age of needing round the clock care.

However, having said that punishments for criminal damage need to be dealt with swiftly and appropriately. Confiscation of phones and other means of communication for an indefinite period. It might be a good idea to earn them back through compulsory community work that is repetitive, dull and dirty, cleaning up public places. Maybe trying to educate them in how retail businesses are part of a cog in a larger wheel that the economy is dependent on and ultimately the country is dependent on how the economy performs.. Most importantly if people are allowed to go about scaring and intimidating others, it might be a laugh to them, but ultimately it makes for a horrible society to live in.

Poor parenting mainly. I regularly see parent on phones while ignoring small children. Some parents are so liberal that the children can become entitled to doing whatever they want to do regardless of the effect on others. After years of teaching I have seen parents making excuses for the most disruptive behaviour and being almost afraid to confront their child.

I think it’s more likely we’re seeing all the effects of world leaders and politicians sowing hate, fascism and intolerance…

It doesn't surprise me in least. We've had decades of Sixties. Let it all hang out attitudes and then Thatcherite materialism and individualism.

And
Not to forget slime ball New Labour manipulators who really championed feckless and wreckless parenting. These people could no wrong. Labour really needed their votes .

Coupled with Bleeding Heart Middle Class Liberalism and Political Correctness and Wokeism.

Some kids do it because they can and to become.legends on Snap Chat. Digital media has addled their brains and some can barely speak or function. :

I don't know what the answer is but it doesn't bode well for the future of this country.

mum2three

Now we are seeing the effects of all this liberalism. There have been riots in the past, but they were quickly controlled by riot police. Was it Boris Johnson who suggested having water cannon for just this sort of situation?
In short, they are doing it because they can. We have bred a generation of savages. If they behave like wild animals, treat them accordingly. Round them up and put them in a secure enclosure. Make the parents pay to have them released.

Parents, plural?

Very, very often it's Parent, singular.

What activities are available for poorer children? My grandson keeps off the street by doing Duke of Edinburgh, youth club, Golf and football 3 times a week and has a job at the weekend.
His mother would kill him if he was roaming the streets.

My teenaged grandchildren are very well behaved and they are family oriented rather than just hanging out around the town like I did when I was their age. They have a mother who is very firm with them and they respect her.

kircubbin2000

What activities are available for poorer children? My grandson keeps off the street by doing Duke of Edinburgh, youth club, Golf and football 3 times a week and has a job at the weekend.
His mother would kill him if he was roaming the streets.

D of E is often attached to the local secondary school, and pressure in school these days means few teachers are prepared to take pupils off site (so much paperwork) and give up time for overnights. Youth Club is great if there's one nearby. Golf kit is expensive, and practice/actual games are usually attached to a golf club. Obviously there are driving ranges too.

As a retired teacher who worked in several different counties, the only activity that's pretty much everywhere is lads' football clubs. The numbers of girls' football clubs is growing, but slowly.

Basgetti

Grandmabatty

Those kids are the product of poor parenting, social media and years of tory cuts to the very services to help avoid this. It's not new, is it? Mods and rockers fighting in the 60s, punks in the 70s.

Quite.

Yes and no.

Parents are busy working to keep their kids. No childcare funding past 11. At some point you have to trust them to behave alone, but kids get caught up with their friends.

Even the football is not cheap with the kit and travel expenses.We are lucky as the doe teachers are very involved and go camping etc.

kircubbin2000

Even the football is not cheap with the kit and travel expenses.We are lucky as the doe teachers are very involved and go camping etc.

Everything costs!
Soccer skills were popular here, not expensive but possibly out of reach of some, swimming lessons run at the local Leisure Centre but still had to be paid for etc.

If junior football clubs can get a local sponsor, they will provide the kit as long as their name is displayed on the shirts.

I went to a local supermarket today,thankfully it was only for a few bits.There were children running round,screaming, shouting at parents ,toddlers crying.The lady on the check out said ,it’s hell when it’s school holidays…..

Good comment TerriBull
It’s TikTok trends that drive this kind of thing and a lot of young teens find it exciting/exhilarating to be part of a crowd doing anarchic and low level criminal stuff.I don’t blame parents or any government cuts past or present.It’s the rise of SM a new phenomenon and hasn’t been seen before.The police need new powers (maybe/ maybe not) but they need to stamp on it heavily when it crops up.
Small businesses already suffer from the most aggressive and blatant shoplifting and the police rarely do anything about it, as a crime it’s out of control and has been for quite a while.

Yes, six teenage girls were arrested following chaotic, large-scale gatherings of young people on Clapham High Street in South London, which targeted shops including Marks & Spencer. Groups organised via social media to cause anti-social behaviour, including looting, assaulting staff, and throwing fireworks on March 28th and 31st, 2026, prompting police to issue a 48-hour dispersal order.
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Key Details of the Incidents:

for those who don't believe these things are happening

and more details;
Key Details of the Incidents:
Arrests: Six teenage girls (ranging in age, including 13, 15, and 16) were arrested for offenses such as theft, shoplifting, and assault.
Impact on Stores: Shops on Clapham High Street were forced to close, with some staff forced to lock shoppers inside for safety.
The Trend: These gatherings, described by locals as "intimidating," involved hundreds of youths.
Police Response: The Metropolitan Police deployed significant resources, including using CCTV and body-worn cameras to identify further suspects, warning that more arrests would be made.
Location: The chaos was centered around Clapham High Street, particularly targeting the M&S food hall.
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