Thugs Smoking Drugs

posted by john b on 16 Mar 2011 at 12:02 pm

i live close to the park and have many times walked past children smoking weed in the little huts. when i report this to the police they come over talk to them then go.
why do they allow them to smoke everyday in the park and why don't they ban them. or take them home to there parents !

< back to previous | Post Follow-up |

Thugs

posted by dave on 07 May 2011 at 3:44 am

quite simply the police dont give a dam,its more paperwork than they want to deal with, if arrested some smart alec lawyer paid for by hard working tax payers will have them sent on a free holiday somewhere sunny because they are hard done by,
but the main reason is that the general public ignores the problem looks at the ground and walks by instead of getting involved.our indifference as a society is the main reason, in the good old days a policeman would give them a clip round the ear ,frog march them home where they would get a good thrashing,sadly either of these things will get you locked up nowadays,so who has more rights the honest hard working joe public of the thugs ?

OMG!

posted by Gary on 08 May 2011 at 4:23 pm

Where to begin!

Just because the kids are smoking does not instigate that they are thugs. Are you sure they are drugs? The police will arrest people if they have anything from Cannabis upwards. And Dave, the good old days involved authority figures using physical attacks whilst 'a good thrashing' is good parenting? SADLY???

There are so many misconceptions here that it is unbelievable. Stereotypes galore! So, someone who is smoking in a hut somewhere is now on drugs, a thug, on benefits (since they can now get legal aid) and deserve beating up. How judgemental!

Yes

posted by john b on 11 May 2011 at 4:23 pm

i live so close to the hut i can see them pull there baggies out and pull apart the weed and then roll it up so yes i'm sure it's weed. and when the police arrive they drive in the main entrance the kids see them and hide the weed so by the time they get there it's hidden. they do this every time what a joke !

Regulations

posted by Gary on 18 May 2011 at 10:00 pm

If the police suspect the use of drugs (purely based upon the behaviour of the individuals, the smell or by statements from the public) they have the obligation to do a personal search. Since Cannabis is a Class B drug it carries quite high penalties; though the initial step is a warning.

If the individual is under 18 then they HAVE to be taken to the Police Station and then a responsible adult needs to be called to hear the official warning (step 1 of 3).

I would assume that the police of Bexhill, who are far more apparent than they are in West Sussex, know what they are doing and that what you believe you are witnessing is different to what they are encountering.

Kids smoke (sadly) but the assumptions posted on here are unfair. Why not go and talk to them yourself? You'll be pleasantly surprised by their reaction IF you approach them with kindness.

PCSO

posted by Julie on 20 May 2011 at 6:50 pm

After working in a Police Communication Room for several years I would suggest that you DO NOT approach the youths, but have a quiet word with your local Police Community Support Officer - tell him/her when and where they congregate. I suspect they are smoking 'roll ups' rather than 'joints', and are probably decent kids (many smoke) but the PCSO should investigate on your behalf if foul play is suspected.

Smoking

posted by dave on 24 May 2011 at 2:51 am

good advise from pcso about not aproaching the youths in question, that could put you in harms way,maybe gary would like to go and have a chat with them??? I suspect not, the realities are this, if they are smoking weed it's more paper work and hassle for the police to deal with because they know as well as I do that the Thugs and I use the word loosely because I dont know them, have more rights than you can shake a stick at,and the police know that after many hours of hard work taking statements collecting evidence etc it will all be dismissed by the courts or the Cant Prosecute Service,and they would have wasted their time, a sad reality I'm afraid.

And That's Why There Is Fear

posted by Gary on 24 May 2011 at 10:44 am

I'm sorry Julie but I would understand if we were talking about the Tavey Bridge in Thamesmead (I've worked there; NOT a nice place) but we are not. This is Bexhill Seafront! Teenagers per se are fine and we should not see them as a distinct subgroup that should be avoided by the general public - that way leads to unfounded fear!

I was going to say that if those residents are concerned about these teenagers then I for one would be very happy to introduce you (I work with the teenagers in this area) and clarify the situation. If the police have no interest then that is because there is nothing of interest there.

Don't avoid speaking to teenagers; they are only human!

Reply

posted by dave on 25 May 2011 at 1:22 am

I agree with you gary 99% of teens and the public in general are good honest people, and teens will be teens I was one once,however the days of respect for the police and the general population just dosnt seem to be there now,there was a time when a quick word in someones ear was enough to send them on their way, not now you just get a bunch of abuse ,Im ex millitary and have a short fuse so they only tend to do that to me once,however I do find that the next time I meet up with certain Teens etc they have a completely different respect for the situation,and funny enough dont have any smart alec comments anymore.
Im not suggesting that this is the best way to deal with situations like this but it sure does work.
my advise to julie would be to set up a video camera and see what happens, go over the tape and if you are convinced its drugs etc then hand it to the police and ask for a receipt ,and ask for the follow up report.

Not MY Problem!

posted by Julie on 26 May 2011 at 10:47 pm

Sorry Dave, it's not me with the suspected problem. John b started this thread.
To be honest, I don't know what the 'problem' is... the title describes 'thugs', but the comment mentions 'children'. Not all children who smoke in groups are thugs - if it IS weed they will be 'chilled' and unlikely to display 'thuggish' behaviour.
I just suggested that if 'foul play' is suspected it is best not to approach the group - we do reside in sleepy 'safe' Bexhill but I am aware of more than one serious (unprovoked) assault carried out by gangs locally, albeit not recently..

Video?

posted by Gary on 01 Jun 2011 at 1:10 pm

Until a few years back you didn't chat back because you didn't know how that person would react and generally you knew the people around us. Nowadays most of us work out of town and so we don't get to know our neighbours nor their children. Julie is right, most kids are perfectly pleasant enough and the one's who chat back are generally seeking attention and can be 'persuaded' to toe the line. There are some who will provoke some other action but these are few and far between.

As regards the videoing, I wouldn't do that. You are in fact infringing a number of laws there and likely to find yourself on the wrong side of the discussion with the police!

Teenagers

posted by lisa on 20 Feb 2014 at 9:27 am

I don't understand why all of you are so bothered, people seem to look there noses up a teenagers all the time when really the problem is that no one knows them. To say the dangerous and to keep away from them I find quite shocking, I know for a fact no of the teenagers I know wouldn't cause any harm to anyone. Come there hardly causing a problem either, smoking cannabis isn't harming anyone and has been found to cure cancer and help things such as epilepsy yet its still illegal, im pretty sure that teenagers aren't the only ones smoking it either. I fear the problem you have here is your little knowledge on teenagers and the harsh judgement being placed on them. yeah there will be a few outliners im not seeing that teenagers will never cause trouble, however treating/calling teenagers 'thugs' I find quite disgusting an rude. I bet you cant see your perfect when you were a teenager.

Drug Use

posted by dave on 24 Feb 2014 at 1:03 am

Statistically the biggest drug using group are well healed middle class people with disposable income to waste on such things, you would be amazed at how many lawyers, doctors,bankers etc are regular drug users, but i doubt anyone would call a group of bankers on a street corner THUGS, it is a perception thing,most kids and teens i know are good people there are some bad apples as with any cross section of the population. how about buying the next teen a coffee or cuppa tea next time you see them instead of crossing the street.

Drugs In The Park

posted by Brenda on 04 Apr 2014 at 3:07 pm

In a controlled environment Cannabis seems to have properties that seem to help some illnesses. My daughter is a mental health worker and has seen only too often ,the results of various kinds of drugs used by SOME young and not so young alike. Ad to why the police haven't the powers to escort those using drugs in the park back home to their parents is beyond me.