What is Going on?

wolfpawnat

The city is turning into a gang land and the terrifying thing is its just gangs of teenagers.

On friday at approx 7pm, I passed one of the alleys off Pauls Street, and a gang of girls and some lads saw 2 girls going by, about 20-23 years old, talking and laughing happily between themselves, having walked behind them up the street, I heard one saying she was a student in another part of Ireland and came to Cork to see the other girl for the weekend. They mentioned Eddie Rockets and were on their way there.

The gang of youths took an instant set against them, accusing them of laughing at them and their "posse" however I knew they were innocently just joking about college, having been just walking behind them, they dragged the 2 girls and one of the 2 girls pushed one of the gang off her and the gang girl (clearly drunk) fell to the floor and because of her drunken state the girl did not put her hands in front of her face and got quite an injury.

The 2 girls tried to run away and the whole time saying calmly that the one who had come to Cork for the weekend and pushed the gang girl to the floor was pregnant. She looked about 6 months pregnant to me!

They got away because a man threatened to kill the boys in the group if they did not get the girls away from the 2 girls, which caused the boys in th group to grab the girls off the 2 innocent ones. The pregnant girl risked her baby's life when she used leg to defend her friends face as they tried to knee it in. Both girls spoke well and were clearly shaken and upset, I would not think for one minute they were of the calibre of girls that would involve themselves in hooligan behaviour!

What is happening to our city, when I called the gardai to help I was told that all available gardai were less than 2 streets away dealing with the fire on North Main Street. So in the whole city of Cork 2 gardai were not available to help these girls! They were innocent but the gardai didnt care that 2 girls and a baby could have been severely injured.

We have to sort this out as a city before we get a reputation as a dangerous and horrible place. I know my location is Dublin, but I am a Cork girl, in Dub

wolfpawnat

What are we to do, am I actually alone in thinking this?

Rebeller

wolfpawnat wrote: »

What are we to do, am I actually alone in thinking this?

You're certainly not alone in your feelings of fear and frustration at witnessing random acts of savagery.

There is something particularly unnerving about the idea of random acts of violence being perpetrated against innocent passers by.

Unfortunately, I do not see any quick-fix solution to the problem.

The teenage gang phenomenon is fairly recent in Ireland and seems to have only become more visible over the past 5+ years. There seems to be a sort of feral animal aspect to much of this teenage violence.

You have the phenomenon of teenagers with no confident, loving adult guidance in their lives who are allowed to roam the streets like packs of feral dogs from dawn 'til dusk. As with feral dogs a "gang mentality" develops where the most basest of instincts comes to the fore with attacks on adults of both genders now common.

It is frightening to think that in many cases I, as an adult male, would be more wary around gangs of teenagers (in the 14-16 age bracket), than I would be around older gangs. The reason being the element of unpredictability associated with that age group.

As a teenager I know that I would never have even considered squaring up to a grown adult man for fear of the beating I would likely (and deservedly in the case of any unprovoked attack) have received.

That respect for adults seems to have evaporated.

Combined with the lack of any meaningful sanction for such violence and you have a recipe for disaster.

All aspects of policing in Cork City leave a lot to be desired. From my own personal experience there is a distinct lack of professionalism, concern and ability in the force in Cork. Appeals for assistance when witnessing or having to deal with savage violence (more often than not perpetrated by males and females in the 14-17 age bracket) are regularly met with a "couldn't give a damn" attitude by the Garda to whom the report is made. Lack of resources and manpower often being the justification (even when you can see a squad car sitting idle in front of the station and 3 Gardai watching "Cops" behind the desk!).

On many occasions I have called into my local Garda station to report an incident only to have the desk Garda take down the details on the back of his hand:eek:

In contrast, many of the Gardai serving in the Dublin district seem to actually give a damn. Whether this is because newly graduated Gardai seem to be sent to Dublin stations for their first postings and therefore have not yet been corrupted by the prevailing ineptness of an Garda Siochana is unclear.

I would suggest that you follow up your reporting of the incident you witnessed by calling into the Bridewell station (located at the river end of the Coal Quay) which I think is the closest station to the Paul Street area. Just like the local authorities the Garda practice a particular insidious form of discouragement of public contact. Any attempt to report a crime or seek assistance is met with such a devastating level of apathy, rudeness, inefficiency and downright incompetence that word soon gets around that there is little point in reporting crimes to the Gardai as "they'll do nothing about it". This suits them down to the ground as it means expectations are lowered and they have less to do.

Cork City Centre has been flooded with CCTV over the past few years so there should more than enough footage of the assault you witnessed. The likelihood is that the teenage gang are Paul Street regulars so if the Gardai bothered to get off their doughnut stuffed asses they should be able to identify and track down the assailants.

Notwithstanding all of the above, don't be frightened by the sensationalism of the tabloid "press" which would have you believe that the streets of Ireland are controlled by marauding, out of control gangs of teenagers with murder on their (alcohol atrophied) minds.

Philush

totally agree with ye its out of control,like you say they've no respect for adults or anyone else,im only 22 and people say my views are out dated that its cos their parents dont discipline them,ive heard the kids say they've nuttin to do but i remember that if i ever was found hangin around the streets like them that my parents would find something for me to do that there was plenty of work to do at home, and they werent overly strict towards me like, have had a few run ins with them, myself and my cousin were picked out by them at one stage, and they were just avid for a fight which unfortunatley they got (not by any means advocating violence here by the way it was a last resort and in defense) now we were able to handle ourselves in this particular situation, but its nothin to do with being able to, usually the sheer numbers they're in would succeed in doing damage to any size of a person as i think anyway that tv has ruined their perceptions of actually how much they can hurt someone, ie kicking somone in the head: that person is not gonna get back up and go another 14 rounds.

but, before i start ranting more, there is no quick fix solution as there is no sense of discipline instilled in them, where could it start, i dont know, a severly drastic step would be a two year mandatory spell in the army, for every child regarless of social situation, as this would give the needed discipline.

but surely it shouldnt come to this?but i agree someting needs to be done, long gone are the days whereby if your neighbour or anyone saw you doing something wrong you'd be dragged by the ear down to your mothers, it seems the current irish sociaety has a "none of our business" mentality, granted a mot of this is due to the very real possibility of being turned on themselves, but surely no one should live in fear of standing up to these low lives.

anyway rant over,apologies for it turning into one,

ps after the above incident people actaully remarked to us that we shouldnt have hit them, that they were only teenagers!but it was either hit back or end up seriously injured.

rotinaj

Philush wrote: »

ps after the above incident people actaully remarked to us that we shouldnt have hit them, that they were only teenagers!but it was either hit back or end up seriously injured.

You were right to hit back. Part of the problem is people wont or are afraid to stand up to these "kids". Imo a good kickin is what they need.

wolfpawnat

Yes I have filed a full report but as you said they couldn't care less!

My concern was that a pregnant woman and her friend were savagely assaulted. The friend was violently shaking and couldn't understand why the pregnant girl wouldnt just run and protect the baby. They took quite an assaulting between them.

The only thing I can say is after speaking properly with the two of them, they were well mannered and politely speaking, but one thing I found myself laughing at was, when the teenagers were claiming their friends face was badly injured from her fall to the floor and were claiming to ring the gardai on the pregnant girl, i noticed the pregnant woman was wearing a UCD boxing club hoodie. If she had not been pregnant I have no doubt she'd have taught them a lesson or 2.

In Cork the gardai do not have the gangs that Limerick and Dublin have, I feel that in these cities the gardai know that letting small problems go allows the youngsters to become more violent adults. Cork needs to forbid any bad beaviour too. In some ways I would love to be in America where the cops would slam their teenage asses against the car with some force they may actually knock some sense into them!

These kids do not abide by the law, the feral animal description is beyoud perfect to discribe them! Hopefully they will pick on another person with as little morals as them and have their asses haded to them in a bedpan

Big Tone

Random, unprovoked, attacks are nothing new and have been going on for years and years.

Myself and a friend were attacked circa 1987 in the City for absolutely no reason whatsoever, but they picked a bad night to start a fight with me I can tell you! Cowardly bastards jumped us from behind, blind-sided us but they ended up the worse for it!

An ex-girlfriend of mine attacked circa 1989 again for no reason, these teen girls started pulling her hair and tried to drag her to the ground..and this in broad daylight in Washington Street! Luckily she managed to break free and return home safely!

I agree its bad out there but its certainly not a new phenomenon by any means.

Bill-e

Bring in more CCTV technology, with cops that are intelligent enough to use it.

craichoe

Bill-e wrote: »

Bring in more CCTV technology, with cops that are intelligent enough to use it.

And Neuter the parents, which are usually fecking skangers that can't afford to support 1 kid, let alone 12

wolfpawnat

Well thats the thing, the parents are usually middle class people thinking their kids are at the cinema when they are drinking down alleys at 16! and no one can tell these parents what these kids are like because never in a million years would their precious angel be involved in that sort of thing!

I got a phonecall off the gardai as the injured little scumbags family are pressing charges against the other 2 for an unprovoked physical assault! The little feral animal and her gang of similar animals attacked a pregnant boxer! What did she expect, that she was going to let them kill her baby!? Apparently the gardai want my statement as many in the gang have previous assault charges as does the injured one. The parents are claiming that since the pregnant woman was older than them so she shouldn't have harmed "children" these were teenagers between 16-18 and well able to harm anyone.

dahamsta

Bill-e wrote: »

Bring in more CCTV technology, with cops that are intelligent enough to use it.

CCTV doesn't stop crime, it simply moves it elsewhere. Unless you're willing to accept cameras on every street and every corner, including ones pointing at your doors and windows, it's not the answer.

Please, do a bit of research on CCTV before commenting on it, you're just propogating a myth.

adam

Loco

wolfpawnat wrote: »

The parents are claiming that since the pregnant woman was older than them so she shouldn't have harmed "children" these were teenagers between 16-18 and well able to harm anyone.

Please keep us updated.

I can see the Echo headline! Pregnant woman charged over defending herself against gang of teenagers!

Stargate

Our Beautiful Cork City isnt safe at night anymore , what a pity

dahamsta

I remember people saying the same thing 10-15 years ago when I was in my clubbing heyday, and never encountered worse that having cigarettes bummed off me; this despite my hanging around - on my own, inadvisedly - down darks lanes trying to grab a taxi on their routes back into the city.

Yes, it's terrible that people are subjected to harassment and worse, but 1 or 2 or even a half dozen incidents does not make an epidemic. People would do well to stop reading the Star and the Mirror, or at least get a bit of range in their current affairs input.

adam

wolfpawnat

DaMelodrama wrote: »

I remember people saying the same thing 10-15 years ago when I was in my clubbing heyday, and never encountered worse that having cigarettes bummed off me; this despite my hanging around - on my own, inadvisedly - down darks lanes trying to grab a taxi on their routes back into the city.

Yes, it's terrible that people are subjected to harassment and worse, but 1 or 2 or even a half dozen incidents does not make an epidemic. People would do well to stop reading the Star and the Mirror, or at least get a bit of range in their current affairs input.

adam

Have you not read the posts correctly, we are actually talking about personal experiences, not something we read in the tabloids.

It is this attitude of ooh its just the one thing happening here and there ignorance that had led to this becoming a problem, what if it was your pregnant sister they attacked!?

dahamsta

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Have you not read the posts correctly, we are actually talking about personal experiences, not something we read in the tabloids.

I have read the posts correctly, have you? You have personal experience of 1 incident, and only 1 other person in the thread has posted personal experiences, for a total of 3 incidents. (All of which are hearsay to the rest of us btw, from a web forum.) And you're calling this "gang land". In the best traditions of the aforementioned Star newspaper.

what if it was your pregnant sister they attacked!?

You're not actually a headline writer for the aforementioned rag, are you? If not you may have missed your vocation :rolleyes:

I shouldn't justify your question with an answer but I will, so people don't think I'm trolling. If it was my sister I would be outraged and I'd want to hurt the people that did it; despite my belief in the law. I wouldn't, however, start ranting about "gang land" unless I had facts and statistics to back it up. Because that's how reasonable, intelligent people deal with the world.

adam

wolfpawnat

I was saying that Limerick and Dublin have severe gang problems, which is something RTE and the Irish Times also agree with, not just Paul Williams on a Sunday! These problems do stem from allowing teenagers act like feral animals, and that is social psychology!

dahamsta

wolfpawnat wrote: »

I was saying that Limerick and Dublin have severe gang problems

[...]

wolfpawnat wrote:

The city is turning into a gang land

craichoe

Maybe they should set up something in Cork similar to the Black Panthers since the Gardai can't sort it out.

wolfpawnat

Well we are all entitled to our opinions, but if you read older newspapers from Limerick and Dublin, you wil see that it started out with little street gangs and escalated to these "crimelords" and without sounding nasty I dare you to walk into the tougher parts of Limerick or Dublin late at night, look at that poor Rugby player a few weeks ago!

DecentBee

craichoe wrote: »

Maybe they should set up something in Cork similar to the Black Panthers since the Gardai can't sort it out.

I'm assuming you mean the Guardian Angels, unless you really think what Cork needs is some militant black guys to keep the scobes in check. Anyway, Cork's been a violent ****hole for years. I don't see how this has come to as a surprise to anyone.

Mr Cork Man

DecentBee wrote: »

I'm assuming you mean the Guardian Angels, unless you really think what Cork needs is some militant black guys to keep the scobes in check. Anyway, Cork's been a violent ****hole for years. I don't see how this has come to as a surprise to anyone.

www.rte.ie/news/2008/1208/dublin.html

Think before you post.

DecentBee

Yeah sorry bro, I should have used my spidey senses to scan the rest of the country for violent crimes before posting last night. Does this somehow nullify the situation in Cork?

wolfpawnat

Cork is getting worse and worse. Sadly it would be more correct to say that Ireland is getting worse.

I merely started this thread wondering what the hell is going on, because our poor city is been given a bad name by feral hooligans.

I am only 21 and I have to say, when I was 16 the worst I did was try to go to an 18s movie. I wasnt allowed act like an animal hanging arund the streets at night and as you can tell from my age, that was only a few years ago

Mr Cork Man

DecentBee wrote: »

Yeah sorry bro, I should have used my spidey senses to scan the rest of the country for violent crimes before posting last night. Does this somehow nullify the situation in Cork?

Innocent people dont get shot dead in cork.

Mr Cork Man

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Cork is getting worse and worse. Sadly it would be more correct to say that Ireland is getting worse.

I merely started this thread wondering what the hell is going on, because our poor city is been given a bad name by feral hooligans.

I am only 21 and I have to say, when I was 16 the worst I did was try to go to an 18s movie. I wasnt allowed act like an animal hanging arund the streets at night and as you can tell from my age, that was only a few years ago

Sure a fella was beaten up in mcdonalds in galway in broad daylight.

wolfpawnat

Mr Cork Man wrote: »

Innocent people dont get shot dead in cork.

Yet! Dont put it past any of them these days.

Sadly Ireland as a whole is terrible, but I think it is easier to comment about the city you notice these acts occuring in!

Mr Cork Man

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Yet! Dont put it past any of them these days.

Sadly Ireland as a whole is terrible, but I think it is easier to comment about the city you notice these acts occuring in!

As i far as im concerned cork is a much safer city than dublin.

wolfpawnat

I have lived in Cork or years and I now live in Dublin. I have yet to personally see the behaviour I have seen in Cork. It does not mean it does not occur, I am merely saying what I have seen myself

Mr Cork Man

wolfpawnat wrote: »

I have lived in Cork or years and I now live in Dublin. I have yet to personally see the behaviour I have seen in Cork. It does not mean it does not occur, I am merely saying what I have seen myself

What are you talking about they shoot innocent plumbers in dublin.They stab innocent polish men to death with screwdrivers.An innocent man was shot dead in dublin last night for defending his property and the cork scumbags didnt trash their city centre like the dublin scumbags did on february 25th 06.

DecentBee

Mr Cork Man wrote: »

Innocent people dont get shot dead in cork.

Six million jews didn't get killed in Dublin. Do you see?