I’m writing this article in a bad mood! I have just got back from West Lavington Village Hall where I have been asked to retrieve CCTV footage of an incident…again.
A member of the public alerted me to anti-social behaviour via my Facebook page; youths smashing beer bottles on the path around the hall to the infants’ playground. This is a path used by adults and children of all ages as well as dogs out for a walk; the impact of broken glass on small hands, feet and paws is obvious.
No sooner had I got in and emailed four videos to Wiltshire Police did I see that the Gazette & Herald had reported the vandalism of the nativity trail in Trowbridge (read the full article here). Having only just completed a successful funding project for Dauntsey Academy Primary School to enable them to buy a CCTV system that will protect the school and recreation ground from vandalism, this recent spate of vandalism can now be added to the list.
Looking back it is the same old story, bored youths with nothing to do decide that they will spoil other people’s enjoyment of their surroundings. The Devizes Halloween display in the tennis courts in Hillworth Park, the pumpkin displays in Market Lavington, the BMX shelter in West Lavington… the list goes on. There are wider community issues that should be tackled, availability of youth clubs, sports facilities etc in order to occupy young minds, however, the lack of these facilities is no excuse for criminal behaviour.
So, what are we to do? With every incident, good, honest members of our community gain an increased fear of the dregs of our community. With every incident, residents feel less inclined to make our communities beautiful and fun. With every incident, the perpetrators become more confident that they can do what they want without reprisals. This has to stop!
Our community exists in various forms, at its smallest it is you and your neighbours either side. It then extends to your street, the close you may live in, the particular part of your village as well as your village as a whole. Good communities extend beyond this even, counties, even countries can happily co-exist as giant communities if people work together.
We have to start defending our communities and (sorry to say these words!), take back control! If you see anti-social behaviour in your street report it to the police and insist that it is followed up. Once you have reported the incident you should also tell your parish council about it, you can use their website to submit a quick form or send an email if you don’t want to do it in person. Speak to your neighbours, work together to ensure the police deal with the matter. If you do not report it because you assume someone else will or because you think nothing will be done then the problem will grow. By reporting it to the police AND your parish council you can ensure that the parish council us aware of problem areas and they will work on your behalf to push the matter forwards with our local police contacts.
This is OUR community and these are OUR streets. The more we contribute to them by making them look beautiful or by participating in events like Scarecrow Trails, Christmas Displays or fetes, the more heart and soul we give them. If, like me, you are tired of reading reports of mindless idiots trying to destroy our communities, please help to stamp it out. A simple, free phone call to 101, anonymous if you prefer, is all it takes to report an issue.
If I am elected next May I will personally ensure that our parish councils work together to hold our local police teams and community support officers to account. They can only do this if you make them aware of an issue BUT you must let the police know first.
Good evening
Just Reading your article in a bad mood! I am just wondering if you are referring to any of my children as “Dregs of our community ” and if my neighbor’s live in fear of my children and their friends??? Smashing glass isnt acceptable, but Poor choice of words Mr Mums.
Using a common stock image which is often used when referring to anti social behaviour is also lazy.
You are right, this is OUR community and these are OUR streets. They are also OUR children!
I have lived in the Lavingtons for more than 20 years, my wife a lot longer. I have four children who have all gone DAPS and we have probably done a lot more fund raising for DAPS, Roberts Playground and other village organisations than you. We care about our community and it is frustrating when things like this happen. My children have used the youth club facilities and spend a lot of time in and around the village. Teenagers try smoking and drinking, some even drugs. Some smash a beer bottle or even a window. Camping up Strawberry Hill, lighting fires, swimming in the river. But they will grow up and move on for the next generation to follow in their footsteps. Village life you could say. If you are local you will know this.
I have been up to the BMX track in the past and asked the “Dregs of our community ” to tidy up the litter and any broken glass. They are always polite and helpful! I have taken my own children to the playing field to clear up any excessive litter or glass if there has been any. The youth of this village are the same now as when we were their age. They just want to have a laugh with their mates. Have you taken the time to go and speak with them?
I agree with most of what you say but, your article lost it’s way, and was probably 3-4 paragraphs too long!
You are clearly doing good for the community, as are the rest of the parish council l! Most of us are either too busy to get involved more or just happy to let others do it. We need people like you to keep doing what your doing, but think before calling our children ” dregs of our community ”
You haven’t got my vote yet.
Good evening Christopher and many thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your thoughts and you raise a very good point.
As I said in the opening line of my post, I was in a bad mood. You are right to pick me up on my choice of words and I should have sat and had a cup of tea before clicking “submit” to ensure the words correctly reflected what I wanted to say.
Whilst I opened with the specific example of youths smashing beer bottles and throwing them around I went on to mention numerous other acts of vandalism and anti-social behaviour across the county. These acts are certainly not exclusively committed by teenagers. Rather than aiming my comments at a specific demographic I was aiming it at the perpetrators of such acts, whoever they are.
The vast majority of the teenagers in our villages who I have had the pleasure of getting to know are polite, responsible and inspiring. What I failed to do was to give clarity to who, in my bad mood, I was blaming for anti-social behaviour which does have a massive negative impact on communities. To be clearer this time, I absolutely do not claim that “teenagers” are a problem within society!
Teenagers get up to all sorts of mischief, that’s part and parcel of the age. I think it’s fair to say that camping on Strawberry Hill, lighting fires, swimming in the river and, dare I say it, even smashing the odd window is pretty innocent. The examples you gave are not “nasty” where as a number of incidents that fellow residents have notified me of are far more malicious.
My post was aimed specifically at people who decide that it is ok to smash bottles and scatter the glass around a path risking injury to toddlers and pets. Last summer we had the same done in the goal mouths on the playing field, a blatant attempt to cause serious injury. I have no idea who did this and have no reason to believe it to be teenagers since they seem to make most use of the goals. This sort of behaviour, whoever commits it, is unacceptable and unjustifiable; I am sure you agree.
Teenagers, perhaps more than any other group, have my absolute sympathy during this pandemic. 15-17 years in particular is an age of discovery, growing responsibility, independence and excitement and yet these poor souls are not allowed into their schools, not sure if they will be able to sit exams, not able to go to clubs or meet their friends. My kids are younger so not at this stage yet but I really feel for the children of my friends and my nieces who have had these exciting years taken away from them.
So, once again, I thank you for responding and forcing me to rethink how I presented my previous comments. Rest assured, I am not seeking to point the finger at teenagers; we need to report anti-social behaviour in whatever form it comes so that the police can deal with it appropriately.
Hi Dominic
I am not arguing with you – although of course I am.
I know you have done some good stuff. I’m not dismissing that.
But you are talking about ‘your’ local community members as ‘dregs’. Please just reflect on that for one moment.
These are ‘our’ young people. Yes they may well be a pain in the arse at times, cause distress and fear, but they are still our people, and if you represent ‘your’ community, the parents of these young people, I would be very careful about how you reference them.
You are building fear, you are posting an ‘angry’ viewpoint and you are not addressing this in a positive way.
I understand you need to take a political stance, and perhaps a strong stance, but language can be very divisive as you no doubt understand.
Perhaps show some compassion, care and support of these young people, go and talk to them.
When I returned here after nearly 20 years away we were subject to considerable antisocial behaviour.
We worked really hard to connect with the young people and it stopped.
Two years on in their young lives and they move on, grow up, become more adult in their behaviour and join in with our community in a different way.
This is village life. This is usually simply about growing up.
Recently a local youth worker made very similar comments publicly on the web and deeply upset some local parents and also the young people he ‘anonymously’ and inaccurately referenced.
You are – by using your stock image – and the language you have chosen – supporting a view and fear of young people that is negative and not wholly correct.
Read back your message to me. Are they really the ‘worst’ members of our society? Young lives? Half formed? It’s a ridiculous assertion, and assumes that people don’t grow up, don’t change.
Have you never done anything ridiculous as a young person which you regret and would undo as an adult? I think most of not all of us have if we are honest.
I am as entitled to my view as you are our own, I also have undertaken significant work with communities, our own included, to support and address antisocial behaviour. I am not a key board warrior as I think you might have assumed from your message, I work with antisocial behaviour everyday.
People change. Give them a chance. Don’t create fear and turn their own community against them.
Charity Easton
Hi Charity,
Many thanks for your comments, it is vital we are able to share ideas on tackling problems within our community.
My choice of words was poor, I was frustrated that I was having to deal with yet another example of anti-social behaviour that seems to have malicious intent to cause physical harm. My intention was not to label all teenagers as a menace to society!
What I failed to do was to adequately explain that my frustration was directed at the perpetrators of such acts, whatever age they may be. When broken glass is smashed and scattered over the path to Robert’s Playground, when glass is smashed and scattered in the goal mouths of the football pitches or when dog excrement is smeared over the play equipment used daily by young children we are not talking about innocent boredom.
Teenagers do silly things as they navigate the exciting and frightening road to adulthood. I am sure we both did things as teenagers that we regret. The young people in our communities are inspiring, the vast majority of them playing an active and valuable role in society. Only last week Rose Kent from Market Lavington was awarded the Young Community Minded Person of the Year award for her work with elderly residents of the village.
In short, what I should have made more clear is that anti-social behaviour must be tackled regardless of who commits it. We must alert the police to allow them to bring it to an end.
There is a much larger conversation to be had about why people (of all ages and backgrounds) seek to cause harm to our surroundings and communities. That is a discussion I would welcome if I am elected in May 2021. You have invaluable knowledge of the root causes of such social issues and I thank you for making contact with me.