Editorial: Don't let kids ruin our city

To quote Tana Umaga, "young people are not playing Tiddlywinks". Photo / Jason Oxenham.

Ask anyone who has spent time in the central city in the past few weeks at night and many will tell you they have noticed groups of young people loitering and getting up to mischief.

To quote Tana Umaga, they are not playing Tiddlywinks.

Young people - and we are talking 8-year-olds to 18-year-olds - are hanging out in the central business district until the early hours of the morning.

They are smashing windows, breaking into cars and businesses, running on top of parked cars, fighting, tagging property and being a general nuisance.

When they're not committing crime, they are just hanging around, and that's intimidating.

So where are their parents? Apparently most don't give a damn and these children have a revolving door at home to do whatever they like.

If parents have been deceived by their children who have told them they are at a friend's house, they haven't checked well enough.

Police say they are not taking a softly approach and are charging young people with the crimes they commit. They have also sent letters to their parents warning they could be arrested too or be referred to Child Youth and Family if the behaviour continues.

But clearly the police action, although commendable, isn't enough. They need our help.

I know only too well the frustration. During the last school holidays I returned to my car after being at Eat Streat to find it had tagging from one end of the car to the other, including all through the mag wheels.

It took hours of cleaning to get it off followed by hundreds of dollars to rebuff the paintwork.

Someone nearby said they saw groups of teens in hoodies hanging around my car earlier.

So as a community, let's declare war on the behaviour of these kids. Don't let them get away with it. Ring the police - always. Confront them (if you feel safe to do so), let them know they're seen and even film them on your phones.

Don't ignore them. They cannot be allowed to ruin our summer just so they can get their kicks during the school holidays.