The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Paul Scott-Lee says his force receives many calls from people worried by the presence of youths on local streets.

However, very often the youngsters are found to be doing nothing wrong but "simply existing or walking down the street".

Do you agree with Chief Constable Paul Scott-Lee? Are young people too often seen as a threat?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

The behaviour of young people on the streets is usually a reflection of their behaviour at home. Encourage parents to raise their children with love and security and youngsters will behave in a dignified manner on the streets. I tend to agree with the Chief Constable as the majority of youngsters are not doing anything wrong. It's only the small criminal element that causes a problem and of course crime needs to be dealt with in a suitable way.
Raymond Rudaizky, London U.K.

Too often people are willing to put the blame onto youths. There are youths who are trouble makers, who indeed drink and take drugs and generally cause trouble. But then there are young, middle aged and older adults who do this too! Being a 17 year-old, I often find it quite discomforting the looks you get when walking down the road for example, because many people do think you're up to no good. I suppose it's just a stereotype people have of teenagers but it's not really fair at all.
Adam Williams, Horsham, West Sussex

The degree to which the troublemakers will go has certainly increased Dave, UK

The proportion of those who cause trouble to those who are just hanging about may or may not have changed, but the degree to which the troublemakers will go has certainly increased. Anyone who remonstrates with them is in very real danger of being seriously assaulted. It's easy for those who haven't experienced it to say it isn't a problem.
Dave, UK

I was one of the biggest 'tearaways' my home town in the UK had seen for years. I lived in a community which could not tolerate youngsters gathering on street corners because we had nothing else to do, but our intentions for the most part were perfectly harmless. I agree that people forget what it's like to be young as they get older themselves. Give the kids a break - 99% will just grow in the same way as yourselves. Some go on to actually achieve, and do good things which far outweigh any previous minor misdemeanours - as I have.
Anon, Brussels Belgium

In many cases, the really bad behaviour belongs to the parents C, Oxford, UK

I think some contributors must have spent their adolescence in an Enid Blyton novel, not an average comprehensive. When I was a teenager, I had a Mohican haircut, and spent my Saturdays hanging around the city centre with a similar-looking bunch of kids, getting drunk and stoned, occasionally shoplifting and dodging the police. I am now a teacher, specialising in working with kids risking exclusion. I don't find them any worse than I was when I was excluded. Kids are the same now as they were 30 years ago, mostly good, and even the bad ones generally grow out of it. In many cases, the really bad behaviour belongs to the parents.
C, Oxford, UK

I'm 22, I have a degree in political science and am currently studying for an MA in journalism. I've never stolen anything, hit anyone or been rude to an old person. Yet I still get followed around shops by security guards, old ladies cross the road when I walk towards them, and I feel like a criminal if I stand within ten feet of someone at a cash point. I'm fed up of being made to feel like a threat - and I'm more fed up of holding doors open for older people and being ignored.
Russell Spink, Bournemouth

Do people forget what it's like to be a teenager? Simon Goldsmith, London, England

Do people forget what it's like to be a teenager? I remember hanging out on the streets for a few reasons. 1. To see friends, 2. To get away from my parents, 3. Because there was nowhere else to go where we felt at ease. Now I still do the same thing, like many people, only now instead of the street, the location is the pub. For example, a sports centre has opened near me about a year ago, and now all the local teenagers go there. I'm sure they're not there plotting crimes.
Simon Goldsmith, London, England

As a young person myself, I remember the stigmatisation of being a 15 year old; too young to go to clubs too old to go to youth clubs. There is not enough done to accommodate young people, who all generally work hard at school and just want to spend their free time with friends, as everyone, including them, have the right to. Perhaps it is the constant complaints that lead young people to misbehave, give a dog a bad name and hang it?
Elena, Surrey

The live and let live comments below are very laudable. However, I'm pretty sure the commentators have not had rubbish thrown in their garden, fences broken, stones thrown at the house, rubbish put through the letter box or a bottle smashed in their doorway by the kids who hang around the nearby park. If, as a homeowner you confront them, you will merely get a mouthful of abuse and more of the same the next day. There is very little the police can do either. Fortunately the house was rented and I could quickly and easily move out.
Tim, Bristol, UK

Young people are what we make them! If we provide no rules, guidance or values they will not know how to behave. We must provide them with a "space" of their own, where they learn, within boundaries, how to develop into the young adults we want to be proud of. Stop complaining about them and support their needs, which will in turn support our community needs.
Eve Murray, Newcastle

As a 20 year old, I experience a lot of this prejudice against young people. On my way to work, almost every morning I see elderly people stare at me as i walk past them, or wait till I am past their car to unlock it. Many are simply acting out of irrational fear caused by the media.
Dan

It's only a small minority who make all the noise and cause all the trouble. This is all through sheer boredom. Mac, Coventry

It's true that youths on the streets are a problem. In a lot of cases, that's as far as the problem goes - they're just bored. However, although the majority simply hang around and do no harm, there will always be those few who cause trouble. How many times have you seen a loud or rowdy group in a bar, or indeed when you're out anywhere? It's the same type of person, they just have something to do now they're older and have more cash! It's only a small minority who make all the noise and cause all the trouble. This is all through sheer boredom, and if there were some facilities for young people, maybe they'd be a lower chance of the kind of youth who'd cause trouble on the street being on the street in the first place. It can't be a half-hearted attempt at keeping them occupied either, as they'd just get bored and return to the streets. We need some real commitment from the kinds of groups, agencies and businesses that'll not just help keep youths from wandering the streets, but ensure their youth isn't just endless boredom.
Mac, Coventry

I have fathered three well-mannered teenagers and have had to hear constant complaints about the rudeness, arrogance and animosity of older people. Our kids have to choose between a lifetime of low-paid jobs and going to university and living with enormous debt for years, thanks to a greedy and self-centred older generation.
Neil McCall, Manchester, UK

What I find deeply sad is the often-said idea that these poor kids have nothing to do, and that we need to find them youth groups or other activities. There is a world of opportunity and the real tragedy is that we have young people with so little imagination that all they can find to do is to hang around and do nothing except cause the occasional menace.
Ed Manning, Coventry, UK.

Give them a break, yes there are bad ones, but there is bad in every section of the population. Fiona, Fleet, Hants

I know that not all young people are good, but neither are all adults and we don't live in fear of the whole adult population. I think the biggest problem is that people have forgotten what it's like to be 15 and be too old for a youth club, but too young for clubbing and pubs. I'm 38 but I remember clearly having nothing to do and nowhere to go. Also we have to remember that these are teenagers, with all the hormones that go with that, I hate to admit it, but I would have probably thought it hilarious when I was that age of adults running scared of me, and I was a good kid! Give them a break, yes there are bad ones, but there is bad in every section of the population and it is always the minority.
Fiona, Fleet, Hants

Generally with smaller groups they are usually just fine and its only the easily intimidated which take issue with it. However with larger groups I also feel its often just a matter of time before some members of the group gets troublesome or actively intimidating, as was certainly my experience when a teenager. Maybe because of the safety in numbers feeling. The public needs to be reasonable by not assuming every gathering is a problem though.
Mike Devonport, Reading

My wife and I visit England several times a year and love it mostly. However we are very uncomfortable being out after dark because groups of young louts suddenly appear. We have been pushed in Sidmouth, bumped into purposely and repeatedly in Canterbury, and saw kids throw apples at nearby elderly people strolling in Windsor. We also were insulted and cursed in Christchurch for trying to persuade a group of teenagers (girls and boys) to stop beating a very young child. (they eventually threw him into the harbour). It seems many young people in England have a serious chip on their shoulder. Working after school, doing homework and visiting friends at their homes instead of loitering on streets would give these kids a more positive focus.
Phil, Loudon, Tennessee

Just the fact that a group of youths are hanging around together seems to worry some people Dominic Smith, Reading, UK

Mostly people between the ages of 13-17 want to spend some time away from their parents but can't go out to pubs yet or can't afford to do something else. So they hang out around estates etc. Just the fact that a group of youths are hanging around together seems to worry some people. I think politicians often pander to the prejudice of people who consider they must be up to no good.
Dominic Smith, Reading, UK

The way they dress has a lot to do with it. It is very scary to find some six foot tall youngsters in baseball caps AND hooded track suits hanging three feet outside your glass doors and windows late at night. On top of that, their language is very intimidating and obscene. How on earth do our children get to be like this?
Helen King, Ruislip, UK

As a youth worker I am all too aware that many young people are very often ostracised by society. Many have nowhere to go and socialise and where there are youth clubs, the lack of proper funding is forcing them to shut. As an outreach worker, working on the streets, with young people I have seen the effects of such negative attitudes towards our youth and very often the positive things we achieve are overshadowed by this negativity. Also, it needs to be remembered that not all young people live in caring or safe homes. Where is their support?
Heloise, Cheshire

I myself am a teenager and it's horrible to be glared at by adults just because of your age or the clothes that you're wearing. It's not fair the amount of stereotypical attitudes there are about teens. Everybody's been there but it still happens.
Josh, London

I think it's unfair to say that all young people are a threat. In our church we have well over 20 young people who are involved with the youth group and some play in the worship band. We were all young once so give them a chance.
H, Manchester

The majority just like to go out and see their mates Emma Johnston, Middlesbrough, Teesside

I think it is a case of a few spoiling it for the rest of us. There are some young people who do go out to cause fights and to start trouble, but the majority just like to go out and see their mates. However the lack of facilities such as youth clubs etc has meant that people gather on street corners, and because of the growing numbers and growing media hype, there is a bad name surrounding these youths even thought most are decent law abiding citizens.
Emma Johnston, Middlesbrough, Teesside

If you show respect to young people, it is amazing how positive, helpful and polite they can be. They then learn to respect others.
Jim Oswald, Hinckley, UK

I grew up on a council estate in Wandsworth. I had a big group of friends and we always seemed to find something to do - so this excuse of kids being bored, leading them into trouble doesn't wash with me. Most kids are fine and we all go through a rebellious stage. There are a significant number that are wilfully abusive and troublesome and nothing seems to be done to deal with them. But then again, hasn't this always been the case?
Aiden Truss, Kent, UK

Well you start to believe it when you're followed around in a store just because you're 17. I don't see why teenagers would be prone to stealing something any more than an adult. After all, these days many make enough money to be able to buy what they want just as much as any 28-year-old.
Maria Korogodsky, Geneseo, NY

Young people who hang around in groups are often drinking and are on drugs. These groups of youths frighten people and are not innocent. There should be a law that prohibits more than a set number of people gathering in public. This problem needs to be stamped out.
Daniel T, Chester

Walking to my car last night, I saw two youths staring into it. I was more than a bit concerned. So concerned in fact I did not really notice the 50-something year old lady who walked straight between them and my car, promptly breaking my side mirror and then proceeded to blame it on me! Yes youths can be misjudged. Guilty!
Anon

Some kids are to be feared, but most aren't Philippa Williams, Worthing, West Sussex

I have a 17 year old son who often takes part in beach parties and the like. He and his friends do not want to cause trouble but really have nothing else to do and nowhere else to go to socialise. It seems to me that they are just hanging on until they are 18 and can go to the pub, which isn't an ideal situation. Sometimes they do encounter trouble, from a small minority that they call 'townies', who seem to want to do nothing but instigate some kind of conflict. Indeed my son once had to be escorted home by the police from the local Co-op after doing nothing worse than looking at one of these teenagers. So, yes, some kids are to be feared, but most aren't. It seems a bit naive to expect them all to stay home and do maths homework!
Philippa Williams, Worthing, West Sussex

Too often young people are branded as unruly and anti-social. The media has a large part to play in all this in demonising many innocent individuals who are often provoked into confrontation purely because they are fed up of being victimised and judged on the fact they are young. Young people have very little space these days and need positive encouragement from elder peers, to make them feel wanted, and valued - something so many children and teenagers lack today. We were all children once, perhaps we should understand their needs better rather than just the needs of adult society all the time.
Victoria Lamburn, Brighton, East Sussex

Thoroughly sensible comment. The greater majority of young people are perfectly innocently socialising in what is sometimes the only free space that they have. Media portrayals of young people as unruly 'youths' has developed an unreal fear of young people which is without foundation. Yes, there are the odd group of idiots but in proportion to the amount of complaints the police get, they are very few. It should also be remembered that young men aged between 17-30 are more likely than any other group in this country to be the victims of crimes against the person than any other grouping.
Neal Terry, Newcastle upon Tyne

One of the saddest things in life is that people "grow up" and forget what it was like to be child or teenager. The fact that so many grow up to be sound citizens is often ignored.
Stuart Bailey, Colchester

The problem seems to be kids hanging around on street corners when they should be at home doing their maths homework.
Duncan Harris, Bath, England

Leave the kids alone, they'll soon have enough problems of their own Dave, Ramsgate, England

There are always young people hanging around, that's what they do. You do get the occasional noisy obnoxious ones, but so what? We were just as bad when we were growing up, if not worse. Leave the kids alone, they'll soon have enough problems of their own trying to fund Gordon's Utopia.
Dave, Ramsgate, England

I agree that the majority of kids are just out. However, there are a few who give us a bad reputation. For instance, I have recently bought myself a new car, and as a 20 year old male, am always getting pulled over. I am breathalysed with nothing found and no reason for it. Innocent until proven guilty remember?
Steve, Bedfordshire, UK

Well said Mr Scott-Lee. As a policeman I was so often sent to 'yobs' who turned out to be a group of fine kids just 'hanging out'. I was lucky as a youngster, I lived in a village that had plenty of space. We 'hung out' at the local bus shelter, talking, laughing, learning to smoke and all the other things that we all did at that age. Now, of course, thanks to the paranoia spread by the media and the government, when two or more young people gather together it is presumed that they are about to go on the rampage. What has happened to the tolerance of others once prized in Britain?
Barry P, Havant England

This fear of young people frequently seems unfounded. As a young person, recently out of my teens, I often feel insulted by older people's attitude towards me and my friends simply because we are young. I don't know how many times I have had older people rudely just move in front of me in a line at a store or a bathroom, only to then give me a look as though I'M the one who cut in front of THEM.
Claire, Aerdenhout, The Netherlands

It's a 50/50 situation. The youngster may appear to be just walking down the street but what happens when the policeman's back is turned? It's that sort of situation in my area. Many complaints are founded and they are a threat but nothing can be done about it when the children deny all knowledge. I think it is due to a lack of activities in the area. The children have nothing to do apart from be bored on the streets and unfortunately this leads to crime and bad behaviour. There are next to no facilities to keep them entertained.
Rachael, Barnsley, South Yorkshire