KEY POINTS:
Whangarei's mayor has suggested compulsory military training as an answer to youth crime in the city.
Stan Semenoff said violence by rival youth gangs in Raumanga last weekend was largely a result of the lack of direction which began in their parents' lives.
"It's the same old story,
it's all about parenting," he said.
"Reports say there were around 200 young people involved in the skirmish on Friday. That means there are 200 parents or sets of parents that didn't know where their kids were, or didn't care. Or both."
Police were called to Warwick Place in Raumanga when 100 to 200 youths turned up at a girl's 16th birthday party.
Mr Semenoff visited the scene and spoke to residents on Saturday.
He said he felt for the police and hospitals, which he said were under-resourced to deal with such "stupidity".
The chaos occupied 18 police - three-quarters of the available staff in the Whangarei district - for almost three hours.
"It's just a shame ... these young people live in one of the best places in the country, and they've got nothing to focus on."
He said the closure of several large factories had had huge ramifications for the parents, who had now passed down their outlook on life to their children.
The Ministry of Works, Telecom, railways, freezing works, glass works and the money factory all closed down a generation ago, and Mr Semenoff said a lack of opportunities was one reason young people felt they had nothing to do.
Playing sport could help young people to be part of a team, and compulsory military training could teach them discipline.
Whangarei police area commander Inspector Paul Dimery said police met the council yesterday and came up with some solutions to "out of control youth" - but the community also needed to play its part.
"The Raumanga community has taken on issues before, like the graffiti, and they'll come to the party again if we come up with some initiatives for this. But it's not confined to Raumanga," he said.
Parents too had to take responsibility for their youngsters at night, and particularly about their access to alcohol.
"It's about setting boundaries for their kids, and that's the responsibility of any parent."
Mr Dimery said some youths had become desensitised to violence.
"They think if they hit somebody with a baseball bat they'll bounce back up like on a video game - but that is far from reality."
