Has anyone else noticed the amount of youths outside the capitol pub on a weekend night? It smells stronger than an amsterdam coffee shop.

We never have a police presence anymore. I dont feel its too safe at night.

Shock horror! Young people hanging around the pub on a Saturday night. And even more shocking they might be experimenting with some interesting cigarettes.

So what?

Is there any actual (and just not perceived) threatening and abusive behaviour? What evidence do you have that that it's not safe to go out. Are there any crimes being committed (apart from the relatively minor smoking)? If there are crimes, call the police.

Otherwise just ignore them, they probably aren't doing anyone any harm.

Can't say I've ever had any issues with the youths outside the Capitol while waiting for a bus on a Fri/Sat night.

I haven't either but as a lone woman walking home from work I do sometimes feel a bit wary passing large gangs of youths wherever they are.

Young people are often intimidating, but it only takes one teacher to keep about 30 of them under control!

As for gangs... to be fair to them, what on earth else is for youths to do on a weekend evening around here? And if they're smoking, they're probably fairly chilled out...

Applespider, I was young once. It was a good while ago mind you. I had things to do because I have an imagination, I could read books etc etc. I didn't need to hang around in a group smoking weed, I didn't even feel the need to get smashed out of my scull on booze.

My friends and I met at our houses, watched VHS recordings of Top of The Pop's and films. No one snuck off to the loo for a line of coke and decided that experimenting with horse tranquiliser was a good thing.

Aaah, bring back the 80's.

When I was 16 my friends and I spent a lot of time on Saturday nights trying to get into pubs, with varying degrees of success.

The 80s, a great time for underage drinking.

This post was last modified: 14-02-2014 08:37 PM by BringOutTheCranston.

I was young too and had other things to occupy my time than hanging around street corners.

But I knew others who were less fortunate. Their homes weren't happy places to be or they weren't allowed to bring friends around. In those cases, there aren't many places to go. Cafes (or cheap restaurants like McDs/KFC) don't want groups sitting around unless they are spending money. Leisure facilities often shut around 8. Cinema is expensive. Sitting on a wall chatting with friends is free... and the price of a joint to pass around (the smell can often be stronger than the amount there warrants) is cheap and probably does less harm than if they were buying cheap booze.

I walk past large groups as a single woman and it's easy to feel intimidated as we generally only hear the bad stories and assume they are gangs out to rob us. Often if you actually look them in the eye and smile or say hello, you'll get an embarrassed smile back.

I have been working with gangs for the last ten years and have recently moved into the area as it is the complete contrast to the area I work in. Let's count ourselves lucky that we reside in an area with a diverse community which does not have a gang problem. Believe me, they are not a gang!

I believe that there are many pro active things we can do as a community to celebrate and support our young people. We are lucky to have organisations like Platform 1 on our doorstep who do amazing work for young people in our area. It can be as simple as supporting these great organisations to extend their service provisions. For example, funding a place for young people to play football once a week. I have 40 young people attend a football session in the area I work in and they really get a lot from it.

This is a wonderful community, let's continue being inclusive :-)

Well said Mondella!