tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post7191958264292635257..comments2023-10-16T15:59:02.445+01:00Comments on NEIL HARDING: Don't Panic! Knife deaths (like Gun deaths) are falling.Neil Hardinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333739272733802133noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post-21583500659737860122007-09-04T12:49:00.000+01:002007-09-04T12:49:00.000+01:00I am suggesting exactly that. 'The devil makes ill...I am suggesting exactly that. 'The devil makes ill for idle hands'.<BR/><BR/>I think it is really important that children have somewhere easily accessible to physically play out their frustrations.<BR/><BR/>Of course it is not just down to cars, like I said, inequality is a big factor.<BR/><BR/>There may be more sports centres, but a lot of kids cannot afford to go there or are not particularly welcome even if they can.<BR/><BR/>I've heard it suggested that governments should subsidise sports centres - but better than this would be to close some roads to traffic.Neil Hardinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333739272733802133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post-50425529520754964902007-09-02T20:16:00.000+01:002007-09-02T20:16:00.000+01:00"What we did have in the 1960s of course is less i..."What we did have in the 1960s of course is less inequality and also many more areas where youths could play sport."<BR/><BR/>No there wasn't, and I know because I lived through it. Today, virtually every town in the UK has a sports centre and that wasn't the case in 1960. <BR/><BR/>"The massive growth in car traffic has undoubtedly reduced opportunities for children to play safely in their local areas."<BR/><BR/>You are not seriously suggesting that because children can't kick a football in their streets that is the reason they go our and stab and kill other people!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post-10837261159919549932007-09-01T15:51:00.000+01:002007-09-01T15:51:00.000+01:00The homicide rate in the UK is undoubtedly higher ...The homicide rate in the UK is undoubtedly higher than 1960 (although significantly less than the growth in homicides in the same period in the US).<BR/><BR/>I imagine that there were a similar number of youth/social clubs in the 1960s as today. <BR/><BR/>What we did have in the 1960s of course is less inequality and also many more areas where youths could play sport. The massive growth in car traffic has undoubtedly reduced opportunities for children to play safely in their local areas. So we also need to address the detrimental effects on our society of car travel if we want to reduce the homicide rate.Neil Hardinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333739272733802133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post-37210856795488844492007-08-30T21:36:00.000+01:002007-08-30T21:36:00.000+01:00In 1960 the number of homicides in England and Wal...In 1960 the number of homicides in England and Wales was around 250, today it is around 750.<BR/><BR/>Or to be slightly more precise, in 1960 the murder rate per 100k of population was .62 and in 2002 it was 2.03 - and that was on a hugely increased population so the dead are piled even higher!<BR/><BR/>So, to return to your 'solution', do you think that there are more or less "sporting facilities and youth social clubs" today than in 1960?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post-42412835806179938122007-08-23T17:06:00.000+01:002007-08-23T17:06:00.000+01:00We need to spend more on sporting facilities and y...We need to spend more on sporting facilities and youth social clubs, open our schools earlier and into the evening, provide meals, creches - more focal points for the community (and it can't be done on the cheap - we need highly qualified staff).<BR/><BR/>We need to engage the whole community and bring the together. We need to really get communities organised and this will mean devolving more political power down the local areas and getting teenagers involved in making decisions on how this is spent - we have really neglected all this in the past which, is why we have so many dissaffected bored youth making their own anti-social entertainment.Neil Hardinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333739272733802133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115431.post-3969329645480675232007-08-23T16:53:00.000+01:002007-08-23T16:53:00.000+01:00The solution is simple...but it could mean a littl...<I>The solution is simple...but it could mean a little more taxes to pay.</I><BR/><BR/>Did I miss where you describe this "simple" solution? I don't mind paying if there's a good chance of success, but I'd like to know what it is.......John Eckersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12874387296463362537noreply@blogger.com