Rioting spreading through London & to other English cities.

It's very easy for us to say "walk away" and "say no" - but a lot of those kids probably don't feel they can.

As long as these kids don't fear consequences or punishment,

Kids or anyone who has nothing to live for does not care what you threaten to punish them with, or do punish them with.

Contrary to your opinion the police state and harsh laws are not the solution to every problem.

"I don't think the implications of this have been fully thought through or accepted yet," said Pepe Egger, western Europe analyst for London-based consultancy Exclusive Analysis.
"What we have here is the result of decades of growing divisions and marginalization, but austerity will almost certainly make it worse. Yes, the police can restore control with massive force but that is not sustainable either in the long term. You have to accept that this may happen again."
Speaking to Reuters late on Tuesday, looters and other local people in east London pointed to the wealth gap as the underlying cause, also blaming what they saw as police prejudice and a host of recent scandals.
Spending cuts were now hitting the poorest hardest, they said, and after tales of politicians claiming excessive expenses, alleged police corruption and bankers getting rich it was their turn to take what they wanted [ID:nL6E7J91RM].
"They set the example," said one youth after riots in the London district of Hackney. "It's time to loot."
Unsurprisingly, the criminality produced a swift popular backlash. Vigilante groups patrolled some streets, while media and social networks were deluged with demands for tough action.
This itself could pose one of the greatest initial challenges to spending cuts. Prime Minister David Cameron made it clear all necessary resources would be available to the police, but the government also says it will still stick to its plans to cut police spending by roughly a fifth.

However, he warned that this alone would not restore social or financial stability without more fundamental systemic change. "For a society to grow and move forward all social classes need to benefit from growth," he said.

I am struck by all of the analysis now comming out that has it that everyone in the UK was aware that they had created a throw away class, but that no one seems to have put 2 + 2 together to realize that massive cuts in welfare payments was going to be a problem.

Charity chief says cuts could destroy David Cameron's 'big society'Key supporter of PM's social policy initiative says spending cuts could become Hurricane Katrina moment for government
Patrick Butler blog: A dire warning the PM would do well to heed


David Cameron's 'unsustainable' cuts will damage Britain's poorest neighbourhoods, says David Robinson. Photograph: Getty Images
A leading charity figure and key supporter of David Cameron's "big society" project warns that massive public spending cuts could doom the prime minister's main social policy initiative to failure and become a Hurricane Katrina moment for the government.

As Ed Miliband accuses the government of adopting a "forbidding and unheeding" approach to reducing Britain's fiscal deficit, David Robinson declares that a barrage of unsustainable cuts will damage Britain's poorest neighbourhoods.

In an open letter to Cameron, the co-founder of the Community Links charity warns that vital local voluntary organisations will be wiped out.

Robinson, whose charity has been described by Cameron as "one of Britain's most inspiring community organisations", writes: "Forcing an unsustainable pace on a barrage of uncoordinated cuts that hit the poorest hardest is not an act of God. Why let it be your Katrina?"

The attack on the PM comes as Miliband launches one of his strongest attacks on the coalition's plans to eliminate the structural deficit over the course of this parliament, in contrast to the Labour proposal to halve it over four years. In his new year message, the Labour leader says: "Here at home, 2011 will be a year of consequences for Britain. Consequences that will be felt by hardworking families across the country. Consequences of the decision taken to reduce the deficit at what I believe to be an irresponsible pace and scale.

"Many people feel powerless in the face of these decisions that will affect their lives, families and communities. The political forces in Whitehall which have made these choices appear forbidding and unheeding."

There were also warnings from trade unionists of possible strike action. Mark Serwotka, the leader of the Public and Commercial Services Union, told the Times: "Strikes are inevitable. We are looking at the spring. The more of us that stand together against the cuts, the more problems we can create.

"Unless you look like you want a fight, they won't negotiate. The government has to see we are serious."

Robinson gives a practical example of the impact of the cuts when he warns that deprived areas face a "double whammy" of increasing unemployment and cuts to services. He says that Community Links, based in east London, faces an uncertain future because of the government's changes to legal aid and welfare-to-work funding. "Charities like us are surely the bedrock of the big society, and we are wobbling."

Robinson, who regards himself as a "critical friend" of Cameron, praises his "big-hearted vision" and commitment to big society principles, but warns that without a big injection of cash, Cameron is in danger of losing any credibility he has a compassionate politician.

His comments reflect widespread nervousness and anger in UK charities at the speed and unco-ordinated nature of the cuts. As councils, NHS primary care trusts and Whitehall departments attempt to deliver the massive budget cuts from next March, recent surveys suggest huge numbers of charities face potentially calamitous losses of grants, contracts and infrastructure support. Examples in the last fortnight include:

• About 2,500 charities that provide welfare services in Greater Manchester – around a quarter of all voluntary groups in the area – could go bust because of the cuts, according to estimates by the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation.

• A quarter of charities in the north-east of England which depend at least partially on public funding will go bust in the next 12 months, according to research by Voluntary Organisations Network North East. It says that while demand for services has rocketed, 64% of charities surveyed say they will be forced to close services.

• A third of charities nationally that receive state cash say they will have to reduce the level of services they provide, while over a quarter expect to make staff redundant, a survey by the Charity Finance Directors Group, consultants PWC and the Institute of Fundraising found.

The charity thinktank New Philanthropy Capital recently estimated that the voluntary sector's income from state sources could shrink by between £3bn and £5bn as a result of the cuts.

Nearly a quarter of all charities get cash from the government, and 13% rely on state funding for more than half of their income.

Robinson calls for an urgent assessment of the cuts. He tells Cameron: "I'm not asking you to renege on policy pledges, but give us more time … Allow us to draw breath or you will kill off the agencies you need to build the society you seek."

Although the government is preparing to launch a big society bank to lend to charities and social enterprises next spring, Robinson argues it is undercapitalised, and will not solve the immediate funding crisis. "Our most desperate need now is to maintain those services for the most vulnerable which will never be self-sustaining.

"It is these that are least likely to survive and it is the public funding of this provision that marks out our economy as that of a civilised and compassionate society."

He says the rapid withdrawal of resources as a result of cuts will cause a build-up of unmet social need among the most disadvantaged citizens that will in turn create an expensive long-term problem for the state.

Community Links, which was set up in a back room in East Ham by Robinson, Kevin Jenkins and a group of volunteers, has grown into the UK's biggest and most admired community organisation, providing a range of welfare services, from housing and debt advice to employment support and children's centres and youth clubs to more than 30,000 East End residents. Its latest accounts show it has an income of £9m, of which the lion's share comes from central or local government sources.

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It's very easy for us to say "walk away" and "say no" - but a lot of those kids probably don't feel they can.

And a lot of those kids don't want to walk away and "say no"--they feel that, if other people are taking stuff, why shouldn't they. There is a sense of entitlement going on here.

I agree with you that teens can get caught up in a mob mentality, or succumb to peer pressure, but I also think I agree with aidan that there has to be an underlying predisposition toward criminal activity, or at least an acceptance of, and tolerance for, criminal behavior that pervades the communities these teens live in and affects how they think and how they are behaving at the moment. As long as these kids don't fear consequences or punishment, as is the case at the moment, they are acting opportunistically and without an internal conscience, and without regard for the welfare of other people, and that, to me, suggests something very disturbing, and something that's more than slightly sociopathic.

I can only speak for myself, but I know that there is nothing anyone could do or say to make me steal from someone or set fire to their belongings.
And I I know many, many people of whom I could say the same- with almost 100% confidence.