Viewing Thread:
"The Streets"

Not as in Mike Skinner, but as in the streets that people walk every day. They always seems to be in the news, more so recently with journalists looking towards Gordon Brown to see how he will tackle anti-social behaviour, and how safe people feel as they walk down them. Statistics always get thrown around as this topic is discussed, but I was wondering how many of you on here actually feel safe as you take a stroll around your town or other places?

And if you believe anti-social behaviour to be a great problem how do you think it should be tackled? By preventing family breakdowns, often put down to the poverty trap? Or by giving offenders a short, sharp shock as used in Margaret Thatcher's premiership where joyriders for instance could be imprisoned for up to 15 years?

Silent Thunder wrote:
> It's strange that, feeling safer in other countries. I know I do
> even though it's the first time I've been there, when really I
> should probably feel uneasy because it's a new place and I don't
> know what to expect, but it isn't the case. I don't know what it
> is, other countries, especially Belgium which I visited
> recently, just had a really good atmosphere and the people had a
> great attitude and were willing to help out as much as they
> could. Maybe that's the problem here, a not so positive
> attitude.

Fairly common attitude in my experience. Given I spend alot of time in the US when people hear my accent they're always eager to tell me about their UK visits. They all say the same thing, what a nice place and how friendly everybody is etc. and at the same time tell me how bad america is. Clearly this isnt our perception of the place though.
I've concluded that somehow people delude themselves and confuse different with better. :)

Don't forget though that tourists are hardly likely to go to Mosside in Manchester or somewhere, are they.

Well not really talking about tourists but people who come for work...so their destinations are pretty wide ranging.

I don't usually have a problem walking around town, but then I do live in a boring, quiet part of Surrey. I've had a few problems with the local neanderthals/chavs in the past, but they're no real problem - though I wouldn't reccomend walking around the park or council estates at night.

The Police? Their response varies from non-existant to very efficient, I guess it's the luck of the draw really.

America? Well, I was told by an American martial arts instructor (The son of the guy who taught Bruce Lee, incidentally) that the current situation with guns, gangs, knifings etc is almost like what it was in the States 15 or so years back - so maybe we're catching them up with this lunacy. Maybe people are ruder in the States as well? It wouldn't surprise me, but I've never been over there.