Bringing back national service?

Although i no longer live in the uk i obviously still care what goes on there.

I would vote for any goverment that decided to bring back compulsary national service for anyone that commits a crime before the age of 21.

By crimes i mean your standard scally/chav behaviour.....vandalism, theft, violence, happy slapping, joy riding etc,etc, you all know what im talking about right?

my reasons are simple, every time i visit the place i am shocked by the complete lack of respect shown by the scallys/chavs/townys/street urchins i encounter when out and about in the towns and cities.

These (normally foul mouthed and respectless retards) seem to have nothing to do but wander the streets carrying weapons drinking 'alky pops' and attempting to intimidate 'normal' decent people that are going about their daily business.

2 years in the military (un paid) should provide a reasonable deterent than anything else we have?

(hopefully) teach some respect to what is a disgusting and worthless group of fools.

so....national service for young offenders or not?

The two points at which all these periodic calls for a return to one form or another national service always fall down are -

1) the last thing the professional British Army wants is a return to an annual intake of little erks that don't want to be there or, even worse, be used as an adjunct to the judicial system to attempt to straightening out delinquent youths, this is the big one everytime and

2) cost.
Both cost in terms of housing, feeding and training said erks and also the cost to the wider economy if people find themselves competing with these cheap erks as they do 'socially useful work' when previously a 'normal' paid job used to do it.

This crops up every once in a while but so far has been resisted for those (sound) reasons.

It's a funny one, on the one hand people (often on the right-wing of British politics) complain about Labour/Blair's 'respect agenda' as examples of a profligate and intrusive nanny state and on the other many of the self same people hold on to this constant and great attraction to the hugely expensive and comparitively enormous intrusion of authority by the imposition of some kind of conscription and national service.

The variation of this call for national service involving young criminals is not much of an appealing one for the forces, I'd bet.

Hell no do not bring back the national service.

I wouldnt allow any of my nephews to go into National service, then be shipped off to somewhere, where they can be killed.

For what reason to serve their country?

Oh please

No one should be forced into something he or she does not want to do.

Ii would take them into hiding even if I had to go to jail to stop them for having to join.

[edit on 8-9-2006 by spencerjohnstone]

Mabye we should bring a national service where you have to work for the comunity for atleast 3 years or you go to jail, doesnt matter what but you must do something for the comunity.

i agree with National Service.

our society lacks respect towards each other and the army teaches discipline. it should be brought back, plus it will help to increase the numbers in our forces

Mabye we should bring a national service where you have to work for the comunity for atleast 3 years or you go to jail, doesnt matter what but you must do something for the comunity.

agreed, that would seem like a 'fairer' option but ive had the misfortune of having to work with young offenders in the community and they just treat it as a joke.

I was working on this countrside commisions project (voluntarly) and we got these 3 idiots assigned to us. Afore mentioned idiots and young offenders were given a simple list of tasks to do...as soon as something came up they didnt like they pooled their very limited brain resources and told the project manager that if he didnt just tick them as 'present' when they werent that they would find out where he lived and beat his wife and kids up after smashing his house and car?

he was so genuinley frightned he agreed and we never saw them again.

Now, i highly doubt they would be saying that to a seargant in the royal marines?

hopefully they would.... and after the immediate beasting im sure they would be more than willing to participate in a group and perhaps actually even learn something?

Community service is a total joke in the uk.

(quote)
"No one should be forced into something he or she does not want to do."

spencer....you mean when your robbed at knife point by some little scally and your forced into having to deal with the ensuing trauma and distress...that kind of 'being forced into somethin you dont want to do'?



[edit on 9-9-2006 by optimus fett]

I think National Service would be great, but its one of those things what would be great if we as a nation could afford it, which sadly we can't.

Across the country the feral aspect of the youth, and the not so youthful is disgusting, I would like to state that not all hoody wearing people under 25 are knife wielding granny robbing nutters.
I know plenty of people who wear hoodies, and their as dangerous as fluffy bunnies inside fort Knox.

Its the Chav culture and I'm using the word Chav to describe a sub-culture here, who prides threats over peaceful discussion, mugging over long term hard work and a bottle over the head of some bloke at the bar who might have looked at his girl.

Chav culture is not just me picking on the working class, its me stepping back and looking at the problem.
Chav culture has grown within the working and middle class, its not suddenly popped up out of no where, its a generation issue, something that can't be fixed we a few slaps on the wrists... oh sorry can't do that, fixed with an ASBO I mean.

Its not simply a law and order issue, the problem is across the system, change is needed to sort the problem out, change that people might not like and might feel guilty about.

A reworking of the benefits system is needed, if a person can't find work and remains on heavier benefits they have spare time, bettering their community through work will benefit not only the council saving money but also help people to better their community through rubbish clearing, graffiti removal etc and if they don't like it, the strings to the benefit purse can be tightened.

Benefits is the life blood of those who cause havoc, control the benefits maintain the order.
If a child vandalises and fights in the street then their whole family suffers, benefits are reduced and they have to learn otherwise the state will stop being so nice with the tax payer money.

The Government current efforts I'm ashamed of, ASBO's and on the spot fines, I'm worried by the "big brother will help raise your children database" slap a bar code on me and call me Child of the state 101.

The state should be a tool to better society.

I'm against arming the Chavs with self defence skills. This would be a likely side affect of putting them in the army. I would only do it if I knew they were going to get killed in battle.
Maybe if we let them drink enough Alco pops; and sing the national anthem enough times we could use them as our own Suicide Bomber squad? In reality this looks a bit tricky so I guess they can only be used for target practice.

The real solution is that whenever you commit a crime the amount you may have to serve for the next one will double. This would be a good way of giving the good effective treatment for the problems they dish out to completely innocent people.

Failing that: If crime ever got too bad in my area I'm sure there's always a way of building a Community Self Defence Force? This may work in partnership with the police but using more "Traditional" methods.

Sminkey's right, and I'd also like to ask: WHY only under-21s? Are they inferior or what?