Priti 4 Witham

Although I am out of the country on holiday, the shocking murder of Rhys Jones has really brought home just how brutalised and broken our society has become. Since January 2007 there have been 18 murders (shootings and stabbings) of juveniles in Britain. Overseas the perception of Britain is that it has become the new Wild West with the increase of firearm and knife offences reflecting a genuine disregard by criminals of human life. Gang culture that perceives itself to be above the law has been allowed to thrive on our streets due to our pathetic laws and claims that our police are too over stretched to respond to increasing levels of gang related disorder. Social breakdown and violent crime are booming across Britain which off course is a world away from that ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ vision promised by Labour all those years ago. Although I do not have the answer on how to reverse this trend, it seems clear to me that w e need to end the culture of individuals having ‘rights’ whilst abdicating all forms of responsibility. Parental love and responsibility can help to prevent the making of young criminals, as can a strengthened criminal justice system with deterrents such as automatic jail sentences for the possession of a weapon, along with life sentences (and no exceptions) and capital punishment for the most abhorrent crimes. Young people need boundaries and an understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. The state can no longer solve the problem of violent crime on its own. Families and individuals have a significant role to play in helping to mend our broken society. They need to recognise that ‘rights’ bring a responsibility to wider society and can help to create the stable communities which we would all like to live in.