Weekly Competition #20
08 February 2019WINNERS ANNOUNCED:
educated_economics and committed_physics
The winning question this week came from educated_economics who asked, 'Why do young people feel the need to carry around a weapon to save their own lives when it usually ends in them taking another person's life?'. We thought that this really got to the root of the problem and sparked some interesting thinking about causes and experiences.
The winning answer from committed_physics was very different to other things we had read and suggested that restorative justice could reduce violent crime. Their open-minded and empathetic approach drew on Sephton's story, who is an an example of someone who uses their experience to educate other people.
Absolutely brilliant questions and answers this week. Well done!
WEEKLY COMPETITION #20
Q&A Competition!
Our competition this week is a tough one and a little bit different. Are you up for the challenge? It's all about curiosity-rich questions and answers to other Burnet News Club members.
We'd like you to choose whether to write a question about this Issue, or answer one of the questions written by another BNC member.
The first few people to enter will want to ask the questions to get the conversation started and if you find one that you'd like to answer then please click 'reply to this comment'. We'd like nice open-ended questions that will spark some interesting thinking!
There won't necessarily be a primary and secondary winner this week - there will be one WINNING QUESTION, and one WINNING ANSWER. Good luck! Winners will be announced on Friday.
We'll hand over to you now...
Comments (125)
why do people still commit violent crimes if the repercussions are publicly announced with real life examples that show the impact on the convict's life after and during they're in prison?
I think that they do still do it after a conviction because they might be addicted to committing crimes and don't want to stop. This means that they will just spend most of their lives in prison. For example, if someone like Sephton takes part in a riot and are used to them then most of the time they will do it more and more. This means that they don't spend time normally with their family because they're usually in prison. This concludes my opinion and answer
I think they do it because they think that if they do these things they are going to get away with it easily.
Also I think that when they start committing crimes they think they`re going to be as powerful as people like Pablo Escobar that have been "successful" committing crimes.
Finally they might do it because they desperately need the money because nowadays people who don`t have money don`t have another choice, money is so important that the amount of it you have decides if you`re going to have a good life or a terrible life. Some people have a family and they`re good persons but they find themselves in a situation in which they feel as they don`t have another choice.
why is it important we dont stay silent
so people can be heard and their ideas as well so people share ideas.
If we stay silent then criminals will think that it is okay to commit crimes and it isn't. If we were to stay silent, how would criminals get punished for what they have done? We need to speak up for what we believe in. If we believe that crime should end, we need to get our opinion out there. We don't need to stay silent because criminals need to know what we think about them and their crimes and we need to ask them why they do this. Are they just greedy? We mustn't stay silent. Criminals need to know.
It is important we do not stay silent so we can fight for our right to live and be safe.
It is is important that we do not stay silent because for example lets say that someone commits a crime and kills a child and the mother is an eye witness, if she did not call the police the police will not know what happened and the criminal will be free, but on the other hand if she did talk the police would have arrested him.
But why does gang people would do that. Doing that, they would become more cool or interesting?
If we stay silent more and more cases of violence are going to be produced and more sorry are we going to be if we dont tell nothing to no one, because in fact, it can happen to you. On the one hand we can appreciate how the cases of gender violence are being made, showing that people treat others as objects or they think their better or superior. Guys, this has to stop. We have to tell it and shout it out loud and we are going to beat them making a better world and atmosphere. Do it for everyone, do it for you!
As the new generation, and as young people, if we start something against knife crime people may be more likely to listen to us because it may be slightly surprising and worrying that we are worrying about issues that are generally considered 'grown up' and 'for adults'.
Because if we stay silent, our relevant feelings and emotions are not heard by others and so nothing can be done with them whether they are problems, or maybe even solutions to problems.
we should not stay silent as we could make a change. allowing are voice to be heard
Do you think schools are doing enough to stop the future generation from committing violent crimes.
I think that schools are now making their students aware of the dangers of getting involved in violent crimes. In my school, we have PSHE lessons around knife crime and gangs and how to protect yourself and keep yourself and others safe in your local area. Year 5 went to a workshop all about knife crime and the consequences of making the wrong choices, and they found it really shocking.
However, this may not be happening in all schools. I think it is the responsibility of all teachers to educate children about crime and to make them aware of the consequences of being both the victim and the perpetrator. Schools need to prepare their pupils for real life as well as just teaching them about maths and English, and I’m not sure that enough schools do this.
I am lucky to feel prepared for life’s challenges and I wish all children had access to the same opportunities.
Clearly explained and good reasoning and open-mindedness shown. Well done!
In my opinion, the answer is no because the educational system focuses a lot more on academic success rather than to teach everyone something that they are talented at. For example, one student may be better at Science but bad at PE, whereas someone else will be better at PE but worse at Science. Although both of these subjects compensate for each other, the child who is better at Science will be perceived as more intelligent due to the curriculum valuing that higher than something less academic like, as I mentioned, PE, Art or Music. Evidence for this is that the mandatory subjects that you will study for your GCSEs and A Levels will be mostly academic subjects like: Maths, Science, Geography and History.
Unsurprisingly, this will anger children who are worse at academic subjects because they are considered less intelligent than their more academic counterparts. Because they are angry, they may resort to other ways of getting the recognition that they deserve. There is a high probability that they will resort to violent ways of doing so due to their anger. What makes this even worse is that this will probably lead to exclusion, hence many other schools will not accept them. One of the only ways for them to get attention is to join a youth club. However, they are diminishing very rapidly at the moment since a lot of councils do not have enough money to provide such facilities, which leads to many young people joining gangs. What makes this even worse is that some families also do not give them enough attention. As you know, gangs are centred around crime, violence and drugs. Inevitably, that leads onto violent crime.
Why hasn’t this been changed?
I think it is due to the government introducing austerity, which caused less funding to healthcare and education, hence there is less action being taken in order to teach everyone well and there is less support for people with mental health problems. I think mental health is a key factor in causing people to join gangs because they are feeling depressed so they want to feel loved and joining one, for a lot of people, is a very easy way to get a lot of attention and love in the short term. I say a short term because, of course, it will just make your life worse due to drugs and violent crime. Moving back to my first point, schools and the government, in my opinion, are not doing enough to prevent children from feeling worthless and brainless.
What is the main reason that violent crime is occuring?
I think the main reason for why violent crime is occurring is that the criminal/perpetrator had something happen in their life.
For example maybe they were bullied when they were younger, a loved one has died, they've been neglected or isolated or they might have mental challenges.
If they were bullied when they were younger then they would probably want to harm other people to ease the pain that they had experienced or to get revenge on the people that they were bullied by.
If they have lost a loved one then they would probably think that when they lost that special person that there was nothing in the world that really mattered anymore, so they just do what they want.
If they have been neglected or isolated then they probably want others to feel the pain and abandonment that they have gone through themselves.
If they have mental like depression or anxiety, then they might commit crimes to try and fill the gap inside of them.
In conclusion I think these are the main reasons for committing crimes.
The reason violent crime is increasing may be because of children being exposed to violent video games at a young age. Even though there are age limits some parents don't listen to this and still buy them the game. This means that they may become desensitised to violence and are then more likely to commit a violent crime. It also trains them how to use weapons lethally. Even though they are using a games console it may be improving accuracy.
Why do youths feel the need to join violence to show strength to their peers and enemies?
In our session last week, we learnt a story from a young adult and why he was brought up in a gang: it depended on where he came from( a high crime-rated town) and that he was in search and need for attention, love and support; and he claims that the youths in the gang provided that. I think that he needed to show strength to his peers because I think he was given “peer-pressure” to join a gang and act bad and violent. Furthermore, as I explained before, he was in search for love, attention and support, and the gang-members were like role-models to him, and I think by acting like a brave, strong rebellious person, it would make the gang-members to give him more support, love and attention- which is why he joined the gang and is what he wanted.
Why do we? We feel like we need to prove to people that we have strength. That we are strong. That we aren’t scared, even of knives. Because we look at other people on social media or in our lives and we believe we have to show something. We look up to certain people that we idolise and we start to think we need to act like them. Even if they aren’t the greatest people to look up to. Peer pressure is still something in the 21st century and we let people trick us into making us do something. We forget we have minds of our own and follow like sheep. These are the reasons we feel like we have to join crime. To show we’re cool. But we’re not if this is what we think is cool. If this is what the world has come to then we need to change. These are the reasons we believe we need to pick up a knife. These are the reasons our world needs to change.
why do gangs get involved with violent crime?
gangs involve voilent crimes because most of them sell drugs and they attack people they don't like and try to attack other gangs. this is the axact reason why not to join gangs even if you get payed.
gangs get involved in violence because children want to be cool and their trying to get respect and money because they dont have theyre wright education so they go to a gang.
i believe that gangs get involved with knife because they may think its cool to carry weapons, they may see that kind of news all over the internet or perhaps they are pressured by a peer to carry out crimes.
why do young people feel the need to carry around a weapon to save their own lives when it usually ends in them taking another person's life?
Usually it is because they are scared that someone is going to come and attack them but there is no real reason why young people should be carrying knives and other violent things around.
why is it important we don't stay silent?
Why should people feel the need to protect themselves from other people?
People feel the need to protect themselves because of violent crime. Every day (nearly) we hear about murders, attacks etc. and I think people are aware of that, and try to protect themselves. However, they need to protect themselves both mentally and physically: mentally because they need to be prepared if someone says nasty things about them or their race. Physically, they have to be open-minded and look out for what is happening around them, because otherwise bad things may happen... (they have to be aware!!)
It is important we don't stay quiet because if we do that will result in gangs forming more regularly which is not a thing we want to happen so it is important that we are clear and heard so we could stop violence and crimes.
why has violent crime increased over the years?
does the upbringing of the convict affect the severity of their crimes?
In my opinion, I think that the upbringing of a person can effect the severity of the crime they commit as if they grew up with someone who was not a good role model, then they may want to join a gang to have a sense of family and this may result in them committing a gang crime. This crime may be extremely severe as more people are involved.
what should we do to stop this violent crimes around the world?
we could say that if we do not act now we might be not be able to stop the world crime problems at all
Why aren't more people taking a stand to knife crime?
some people are quite scared to make a stand to knife crime due to the fact that they think that other people could be stabbed and it should not happen.They need to know that they can stand up to them instead of being scared. We should never be scared of them.
I lack of education the main reason for knife crime?
In my opinion yes. I think that many children who have a lack of education normally are the ones that join gangs and are the ones that get involved in violent and knife crimes. Poor families can not afford education for their kids. Furthermore, in our session last week, a person who, when he was a youth, joined a gang because he was in search of love, support and attention. Schools freely provide all of these things, in addition friendship. If you don’t have an education and don’t go to school, it is unlikely you will be able to make any friends. Therefore, as most people believe that gangs provide a family- although a negative family that commits crime. Furthermore, I believe that kids with a lack of education will join a gang because they will want friends, attention and love; and people assume that gangs provide that- although negatively.
Children receive an education for free in the UK
Sorry! The person I was replying to didn't say if she meant if it was in the UK or not. But if it was in any other place in the world, I think my opinion is true.
why don't more people stand up to knife crime? are they too scared?
does living in neighbourhoods that have poor living conditions affect the rate of crimes?
My initial thought when reading this question was that poor living conditions lead to a greater rate of crime. I didn’t know that for sure so I decided to do some research.
My first piece of research took me to a paper by Peter Cuthbertson, writing for CIVITAS (Institute for the Study of Civil Society). He states in his introduction that he has used extensive survey and crime data to formulate his writing, so it made me think it was probably going to be rather reliable.
The first paragraph shocked me. Rather than talking about poor people being perpetrators of crime (like I initially thought) it talks about them being victims of crime.
Compared to households on incomes above £50,000, those on incomes below £10,000 are:
Considerably more likely to be attacked by someone they know and far more likely to be attacked by a stranger;
Twice as likely to suffer violence with injury;
Twice as likely to be burgled;
Three times as likely to be robbed and mugged;
Six times as likely to be a victim of domestic violence
According to the paper, people living in poorer areas are more likely to be frightened by the prospect of crime and I thought this was probably because:
they have less money to replace stolen items
they are less likely to have insurance as they are living on the edge
they are less likely to have a social network to talk to people, as they might struggle to travel to meet others.
This paper absolutely backs up the fact that poor living conditions does indeed affect the rate of crime, especially from the point of view of the victim.
Brilliant research and interpretation of the information. Well done!
Why do youths misbehave as a cry for help?
why are there suddenly more children commiting knife crime?
What can you do to prevent more knife crimes occurring?
do you think that the police are doing as much as they can to protect our generation from knife crime?
How would citizens be able to help stop violent crimes around the UK?
how should you respond if you witness a crime?
What i would like to know is if a criminal does something wrong how do people decide on how to deal with it or their punishment do they have a system? Or do they just discuss it?
How is violence changing our society ?
When criminals are tracked down by the police and when they are sentenced to prison, do they end up changing their personality for the good? Or do they change for the worse and revenge?
Some may change the way of their lives, but some may not because they might not want to change the way the think and decide revenge and danger is the right way in life.
In my opinion, criminals who are sentenced to prison end up changing their personality and can learn a thing or two.
I think this because when people go to prison, they will experience how it feels to be there and I am sure that they would not like it and do not want to experience it again. In addition, prisoners get education in prison and they can learn new things. This could help them to find a new career and they might give up crime and start a new job or business when they get out of prison.
Should we do more to stop this or should we upgrade?
What is violence doing to teens around the country?
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why do people still do violent crimes i mean its really pathetic because if you do this disgusting action what do you get? Jail, fined your life destroyed shame, nothing good will happen so this is the question in one word WHY? why do it?
Why do we do anything? Why do we eat? So that we do not get hungry.
Why do we commit crimes?
Well there are several reasons one of them could be peer-pressure. Someone else wanting you to do something. Or you could be so unhappy with your life that you feel pressured to ruin others to. Some people might think that it is impressive to commit crime.
There are lots of reasons we do things. Even if they are not always good ones.
It may also be a form of entertainment for some, or a form of revenge.
Why is violence mainly happening to teens? and how should the police stop it from happening?
do you think it is right that the police have decided that anyone 12 or over can be punished for knife crime
why is the age for social media 13? do you think that this is right?should it be a higher age or a lower age
Do you think there is a way to prevent violent crime without any serious restrictions ? If there is how ?
how will you try to stop crime for good
how should you respond if you witness a crime.
you should respond to violent crime because if you don't people might not get caught. Also it could put us in more danger then we already are because people would think they could get away with it.
If you were a witness of a crime you should tell a police officer or someone you know to stop the person from committing a crime again.
Why does violence exist and what do we get out of it?
Are all gangs bad?
Who is the main person to blame in the rise if Violen Crime?
Why are people not doing anything to stop this?
Would carrying weapons for our safety gives a better solution/ reduce crimes?
Do people learn things in prison or do they get worse?
why are knifes used violently in london
Can we stop crime? Yes. But how do we stop it?
Why is this happening? why now?
Why is knife crime the most used term when talking about violent crime?
Why do you think violent\knife crime is increasing?
Are people born a criminal?
Why do so many people want to join gangs?
Violent crime is increasing as people join gangs and they do bad things which increase violent crime as people are forced into doing this. It also increases crime as people do this (mostly in gangs) to fit in with their peers and it can pressure them into doing things they do. It may also be rising as people get influenced by bad things that have happened on the news. This is another reason why people can commit violent or knife crime.
No, people are not born a criminal. I think this because it depends on where or how the person was brought up. If they were brought up in an area which has high crime rates it can influence that person to do bad things. They are not born a criminal, they just do not take the right path. Also, the people around them can make a difference if someone went out and gangs were roaming the streets and their friends were in the gang they might be pressured to join a gang.
As I said, people join gangs because of peer pressure. There are many other reasons such as, like Sephton, people want attention, find love or support. People want to join gangs because they want a family if they don't have one, and they want to have a sense of belonging. They might look up to gang members like they are older siblings to them or role-models. Sometimes people have no choice to join gangs they might be abused, exploited or put in dangerous situations if they don't. These are some initial reasons why people join gangs.
What solutions can you think of to protect those at risk of joining a gang?