Retired Detective Inspector Graham Bell. Photo / NZME
OPINION:
Retired Bay of Plenty police detective inspector and former host of Police Ten 7 weighed in on the current spate of ram raids plaguing the country. Armed robberies were reasonably rare until the '80s and '90s. But through this period we also saw Walkmans and computers become commonplace, followed by laptops, flat-screen TVs, videos, cellphones, tablets, stereo equipment and camera gear finding their way into every home. Burglaries burgeoned again and ram raids are just another branch of that. Make no mistake, ram raids are violent, thuggish and dangerous.
Read the full story: Graham Bell: Ram raids are violent, thuggish and dangerous
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Bang on Graham. Your line about getting into prison being as hard as getting into the All Blacks sounds funny but sadly sums our 'justice' system up. Unfortunately as you say the woke liberals label sensible people "grumpy old men", "dinosaurs" or "Karens" as a means to silence or discredit them. I feel most of society's ills stem from a breakdown in the family unit, failing education, and lack of accountability - largely driven from the so-called progressive politicians and left-leaning media. Unfortunately doesn't feel so progressive when you become a victim of crime.
- Kitz H
In reply to Kitz H:
The use of 'veto' or 'cancel' words like "grumpy old men" or "dinosaurs" shuts down the argument without offering any refutation and demonstrates an unwillingness to engage in discussion. Much of the tidal wave of youth offending falls at the feet of the Youth Court which focuses on 'saving the children' rather than demonstrating that there are boundaries and fixing them.
- David H
Graham's points are irrefutable. I tire of seeing that young thugs "have been referred to Youth Aid", or whatever the jargon for the land of wet bus ticket punishment is. Judges are hamstrung by the snakes and ladders processes dictated by the Sentencing Act, which seems designed to keep all but the very worst of offenders out of jail when, all too often, incarceration is the only protection the public has.
- Rod J
That's right... it's a disaster waiting to happen... people will get seriously injured or killed... then somebody, somewhere might do something. Sad times.
- Andre R
Link all child benefits to school attendance. Parents will make certain their progeny attend school under those circumstances. 50 per cent school attendance = 50 per cent child benefit.
- Geoff B
Full marks to Graham Bell - every word a gem. It should be copied to all schools. I came from a faraway time when we used to stand as a matter of respect when our teachers came into the classroom. We looked on all service providers with gratitude and respect - firefighters, ambulance staff, police, bus drivers. Our children were certainly not paragons of virtue but community respect and stealing from people trying to make a living was not on their daily agenda. And we knew where they were. It was something they relied on. Oranga Tamariki did not exist but the Ministry for Children and Young People gave a name which was understood for where all could go for help and advice. School counsellors did a job that insisted on parental involvement in their children's behaviour. We seem to need to apologise for putting people in jail. Prison would not be an option if parents today cared enough to act.
- Rayna S
Brilliant comments reflecting the views of so many of us. Too many 'namby pamby' social workers out there trying to justify and excuse the behaviour of these kids. The parents should be held directly responsible for the actions of their offspring. We make too many excuses about socio-economic divides when the responsibility lies with family and whanau to educate and control these kids. For some 14-year-old to have 130 charges is not acceptable and there are no excuses for this. There needs to be some form of youth programme that takes these kids off the streets and sorts them out and educates them rather than all this social welfare BS we get from Oranga Tamaki - in itself an abject failure at every level! Stop making excuses and start making examples before some are seriously injured or killed. And where's the 'sympathy' for the victims, business owners, those whose cars are stolen and damaged or written off by these out of control kids?
- Alan B
Lack of consequences is a key. We have developed a society where gangs get away with things that everyday people can't. The Government doesn't want to keep criminals in jail.
The Police Minister wouldn't even admit a big increase in violence on the streets when we can all see it is happening. We are sending all the wrong signals. Sure, kids have bad upbringings and bad parents but what about a safe society - and the victims?
- Ian U
I couldn't agree more. Blame the parents for not knowing where their 7-year-old is.
We need a generation of parents to stand up and take responsibility for their children and not be so self-centred and selfish. There are plenty of other countries in the world where the poor people don't commit the crimes that they do in this country. No accountability throughout our society today. That's the problem.
- Wayne K
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Mark Hohua, known as Shark, was allegedly beaten to death by fellow gang members in 2022.