Meh, having lived within stumbling distance of the most dangerous neighborhood in the Murder Capital of the United Kingdom -- where the murder rate is still 1 per 100k lower than that of New York (which is, if I remember correctly, lowest among the big American cities) -- I have to say that my impression is of the Brits being afraid of the bogeyman.
Not to say the the kids aren't occasionally a problem, but mostly the annual Missing White Women Invasion of the Yobs season seems be more of a matter of old people being afraid of young people. It's quite common in college towns here.
The fear of kids over there puzzled me. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
There are gaps in the social security systems and if you fall threw them, can not find a job and do not have (or is to proud to use) family and friends you can leech of, you are just about out of legal options. Of course, you can argue that there are better criminal options then the violent ones, but that would depend on your particular set of skills. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
The only exception is if you're a drug addict. Then you do need to commit crimes to finance your habit.
The problem here is dual, one that Sweden has a War on Drugs mentality that would make the US proud, and two, because all the massive centralised insitutions (mental hospitals, narcotics clinics etc) were closed in the 80's because they were considered "inhumane". Which well, was partly true. But the principle was sound, the practice was just a little harsh at times, and they could have been reformed. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
