Police Chief Constable - Mike Craik has made this statement today

What's your views?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7525076.stm

Public should 'confront disorder'

Ordinary people take risks every day, says Mr Craik
Members of the public should stand up to anti-social behaviour, despite the risks, according to Northumbria Police's chief constable.

Mike Craik said ordinary people should challenge rowdy behaviour such as drinking or swearing.

Society would be improved if people looked out for each other, he added.

But John Johnson, whose son Kevin was stabbed to death after confronting three youths in Sunderland, said it is the police's job to tackle disorder.

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle, Mr Craik said: "I know that people will perceive an element of risk, but there is risk in everything we do for ourselves every day.

"We all get in the car every morning and one or two of us are going to die.

"I just think the world would be a better place if we were all prepared every now and again - once in a blue moon - just to protect one another."

Tougher sentences

However, police should be called if a situation becomes threatening, he stressed.

Kevin Johnson, 22, was stabbed outside his Pennywell home last May after he challenged teenagers Dean Curtis, 19, 17-year-old Tony Hawkes and Jordan Towers, 16.

His father John, who has since called for tougher sentences for knife crime, claims the risk is too great for ordinary people.

He said: "My son went out and confronted three youths who were being rowdy and he ended up losing his life."

my opinion:
we should NOT attempt to protect each other in the way he mentions. yer, if i see an old bloke getting kicked in by a bunch of chavs i'll probably jump in after i dial the 9's, but seriously, where does it end?
so we are all protecting each other right? lets say there are a bunch of guys argueing outside, which do you protect? your friend? your neighbour? the guys from your area?
this is clearly a gang mentality.
bottom line, we should not try to protect each other by means of confrontation. dont get involved, just call the cops. if its really bad and you feel you have to jump in, do no more than you absolutely must. as far as confronting a rowdy bunch of chavs, forget it. just cal the cops and leave it.
or would you rather your tax money went into the NHS to pay for your hospital treatment if it goes wrong?

or would you rather your tax money went into the NHS to pay for your hospital treatment if it goes wrong?

I like that bit

I tend to agree, but what I offer as advice, I may contradict with my actions sometimes.

I think it's a standard rule in mountaineering that you don't risk your own life to save someone else's
However, I know that, on many occasions I have put myself in harms way to help someone else. Admittedly, alot of those times I was being paid to do that, but on plenty of other occasions I wasnt.
Fortunately I got away with it and am still here to tell the tale.

But I think your first option, whether you decide to intervene or not should be to inform the authorities before you do anything.

If you call the 9's first, then get stuck in trying to help someone out and you both get nailed, at least the forces have been informed - they may show up in time to help - you never know!

The decision on whether we Should jump in or not will vary depending on the situation. For example, if it was a gang of hoodies simply intimidating people, I would probably just avoid the situation.
If it was some one breaking into a house, I'd call the cops
If it was an elderly person being harassed or robbed, I'd dive in and destroy them!

But there's always a grey area and it has to be down to personal choice.
Which is why I think it's wrong of this Police Chief to say we should all intervene.
For sure, the only way we can change this worrying trend of gangs, knife culture, loutish behaviour, is to stick together as a society and rise up against it, but we still have to do that safely.

More thoughts please folks

Hey Al
3 words
Anthony
Acton
Blackpool
where did that get us? X

Hey Al Nice post mate

Rick, I tend to agree mate, gang mentalities are the order of the day especially when most if not all of them on their own are too chicken shit to do owt else than intimidate pensioners, women and kids.

Intervention as Al said is personal preference, I wont stand by and watch someone getting a pasting esp as in the elderly scenario above. I have seen it happen and jumped in ( not thinking just reacting ).

There are consequences for everything we do, this is true. however mindful we may be of a situation there are pros and cons to it all. Looking out for each other is one thing and as nice as it sounds we dont live in an ideal world where this happens. I look out for my family. and myself and friends if needs be but this does not involve physical action all of the time if any.

call the 9's this is what they are paid to do, tax payers pay good money for them to do a job so let them sort it out, fair enough its not all dealt with as quickly as it should be. Like Al says, make the judgement for yourself. the only scenario I can see myself getting into something like this is with the folks who cant defend themselves IE the elderly.

Call the 9's let them sort it out and go home safe in the knowledge you did do something, just done it the right way.

Craig

The question is - can you live with yourself if you don't?

There are times I've walked past pissheads thrashing each other and let 'em get on with it.

Other times - a mugging, a man hitting a woman, a man hitting a child, a man hitting an animal, a policeman trying to make an arrest, where I've naturally intervened before even questioning whether I should.

TBH the action was always obvious to me, I didn't need to ask.

Hey Steve

I have also done this on many an occasion without thinking.
Helping police to make an arrest, stopping someone running from the police after a mugging, helping an old lady with guys trying to intimidate and take her pension. I cant say it wont happen again but would do the same more than likely as its just something you do.

But when rational thought kicks in after its all done, whatever the outcome. then I always think, " ah crap, coulda been in the crap there ".

Still another grandma is safely at her son or daughters house now having tea and playing with her grandkids. same with the grandads too, I dont distintuish. Ill be old one day, ( unless its true that immortals exist ).

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE......

ahem, sorry, was just watching Highlander.....

hopefully not the one where they are from the planet Geist! x

No No No

The first movie mate

Awesome.

Craig wrote:
Ill be old one day......

one day?

Ok Ok

Who let Rick out to play without a note from his mother again.

Mmmm interesting post AL! and some great replies. I think it’s a really difficult call, firstly you would HOPE you would help, and yeah I am sure that most of the people on here have in some way have situations like this, so I am in no way saying anything against people here, I am talking about me bascially.. I would hope I would jump in if I saw something bad happening. However if you are not there at the start how do you know what the situation is, for example, you see a guy pushing and swearing at a girl and you jump in and go for the guy – how do you know it was not the girl who started it? (yep we is a mean bred at times!).

Secondly and this is thing that actually scares me! An ex boyfriend of mine had to do jury duty a long time ago and one of the cases he was on was of a group of guys who had got on a train and started on one bloke, another guy jumped in to help, when the train pulled into a station the first guy jumped off leaving the guy who had jumped in to help in this situation alone and basically (no nice way to say this) got the living sh*t kicked out of him, ended up in hospital for months, broken jaw, the works! – this really made me think, what if I did jump in what could happen to me? – selfish I know, but I think most people know I am speaking what they think!

My Father also once stopped a fight on a tube, where a girl had a knife – even now he just says he was bl**dy luckly, the tube was busy and there where enough people that once he stood up the rest did as well! And all that was in his mind was his wife and his two children! But what if he was not on a busy tube? I dread to think!!!

I don’t agree with Mike Craik and personally I am quite horrified that a Police Chief Constable has said such a thing! What does he want vigilantes running around the streets?

I was on a train not so long ago during the day going to London, the carriage was full of old folk and a group of yobs got one cursing and swearing. An old boy who must have been in his seventies at least got up and asked them to stop "because there was ladies present". The biggest of the group (and he was BIG) told him in no uncertain terms to f*** off. At this point I was out of my seat and standing behind the old boy without a thought just knowing I would give the big 'un my best shot as soon as he opened his mouth again. He saw me and apologised to the old boy (the old boy didn't know I was behind him) and the old boy then proceeded to give them all a lecture I slid back into my chair before the old boy realised I had been there.

I hope he went home and told his wife to 'get upstairs' as he 'still had what it takes'

Briliant,

Yes indeed!
X

Pure Class

Awesome!
On the note of jumping right in. I'm not sure I'm 100% correct here, but i'm pretty positive that the police are told not to intervene in a violent confrontation until it has finished, so if that's true, then the chief constable would be talking out of his daft shaped hat Wait until one of them is sufficiently injured enough and then arrest the one left standing?!
Also, if you told a big gang of chavs to stop swearing and a big kick off ensued would you be held responsible for inciting a riot?
Just some thoughts folks.