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>>>> I read a report recently about the suicide rate being at an all time high among young men in prisons now. What an awful state of affairs. I wonder why? Could it be, and this is my speculating, I admit, that for 15 or more years they've been 'untouchable' throughout the educational systems, and when finally, as adults, they end up in jail, there's an horrific realisation that inside prison there is no 'political correctness'.  <<<<<

 

My cousin is an ex prison officer and served in amongst other places Brixton and Dartmoor. On a daily basis he dealt with inmates who were 'evil' (his words not mine). He left the service a considerable time ago when in his 40s. Last year I asked him what he felt about the problems in prisons these days. His view is that their are too many 'contractors' among prison staff who do not have the mental skills or training to deal with the problems they face. At the start of his career my cousin was subject to many and varied assessments to determine if he could deal with the job. One point he did make was that for the worst offenders any trouble they caused was dealt with instantly by the harshest possible means...

 

Before he left the service he spent some time at a young offenders establishment, by which time I was old enough to understand what he did, and I remember him putting great effort into trying to ensure that the 'naughty boys' didn't become the evil villains  he had dealt with previously.

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I'd like to see the evidence for that assertion, Tim.

 

I seem to have read recently that the death rate from knife and gun crimes this year is higher in London than it is in New York. I know more crime is supposed to be recorded than in the past, but I'm not sure things have improved since the '60s and '70s. 

I will see if I can find time in the not too distant future to look up some of the articles and reports that inform my comment (I will PM you). I think that things had certainly improved considerably up to and including 2008 but have fallen back since.

 

As is so often the case, if you either have a level of personal knowledge and expertise in an area or you start to dig a little deeper the picture tends to be so much more complex than is ever presented in the media. My area of expertise does not lie in crime and crime figures, so my assertion is based purely on some more detailed reading I happen to have done around the subject and is based upon the research of others (whom I believe to be reputable).

 

I live in central London ... in Southwark which is one of the areas where there has been a spike in knife crime. Furthermore, my Children attend school where the ethnic diversity and the religious diversity is wide. It does make you look into things from a different angle and perspective than might have been the case before.

 

Also ...  an observation - I recall reading somewhere that there has been a high degree of success over recent years in dealing with knife and gun crime in New York which I believe has fallen dramatically and in some ways we should be admiring of New York for this. I also think the comparative figures may have been pretty heavily bracketed for effect.

 

Furthermore, It is not just that more crime is reported nowadays, it is also how it is recorded and categorised - statistics are malleable particularly when used selectively (and particularly when the subject matter is highly politicised). This is complicated by a lack of comparative data. I was careful to say that violent crime rather than purely knife crime (and its relation to youth gangs) was according to my reading around the subject higher in the 60s & 70s. Overall violent crime across the age spectrum may well be different.

 

If you are interested at all in a Central London perspective on this, there was an interesting interview which James O'brien recorded with Akala recently (who has been doing a lot of work in the area of Knife crime in schools - both practical and academic) - The interview is interesting because alongside some of the facts and figures presented, it also shows a broader perspective which is rarely given. Whether or not you agree with the views expressed, I still think it broadens understanding.

 

 

My caveat would be that we are all reliant upon the information we have accessed and someone with more knowledge could well view things differently.

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A rare sighting of the t-b-g in his natural environment. Playing trains and talking nonsense.

 

I would have got in sooner but the evening was spent running the layout with a friend who lives a long way away but visits from time to time. Two hours went by in about 20 minutes. Buckingham is a time machine in more ways than one!

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 Interestingly, I was part of a group which set up a 'tunnel committee' enabling teachers to get out of teaching. 

 

 

This is always amusing to me, both my parents (mother and step dad) were teachers  (Geography, English and Economics, the other Physics, Science and Maths). They left teaching in the later half of the eighties to run a "off licence" and grocery shop. I have come to suspect it  was to get cheaper booze!

 

A little surprisingly they went back to "teaching" but at TAFE. Where you can kick out the students and it hurts the student... they have to turn up and explain to the department head and beg to be let back into the subject! 

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I will see if I can find time in the not too distant future to look up some of the articles and reports that inform my comment (I will PM you). I think that things had certainly improved considerably up to and including 2008 but have fallen back since.

 

As is so often the case, if you either have a level of personal knowledge and expertise in an area or you start to dig a little deeper the picture tends to be so much more complex than is ever presented in the media. My area of expertise does not lie in crime and crime figures, so my assertion is based purely on some more detailed reading I happen to have done around the subject and is based upon the research of others (whom I believe to be reputable).

 

I live in central London ... in Southwark which is one of the areas where there has been a spike in knife crime. Furthermore, my Children attend school where the ethnic diversity and the religious diversity is wide. It does make you look into things from a different angle and perspective than might have been the case before.

 

Also ...  an observation - I recall reading somewhere that there has been a high degree of success over recent years in dealing with knife and gun crime in New York which I believe has fallen dramatically and in some ways we should be admiring of New York for this. I also think the comparative figures may have been pretty heavily bracketed for effect.

 

Furthermore, It is not just that more crime is reported nowadays, it is also how it is recorded and categorised - statistics are malleable particularly when used selectively (and particularly when the subject matter is highly politicised). This is complicated by a lack of comparative data. I was careful to say that violent crime rather than purely knife crime (and its relation to youth gangs) was according to my reading around the subject higher in the 60s & 70s. Overall violent crime across the age spectrum may well be different.

 

If you are interested at all in a Central London perspective on this, there was an interesting interview which James O'brien recorded with Akala recently (who has been doing a lot of work in the area of Knife crime in schools - both practical and academic) - The interview is interesting because alongside some of the facts and figures presented, it also shows a broader perspective which is rarely given. Whether or not you agree with the views expressed, I still think it broadens understanding.

 

 

My caveat would be that we are all reliant upon the information we have accessed and someone with more knowledge could well view things differently.

Thanks Tim,

 

Very interesting.

 

This thread is certainly diverse. 

 

Other than posting the following, I'll say no more on the subjects raised recently because I'd like to refocus on railway modelling.

 

Regarding New York's 'success', from what I've read it was down to a zero tolerance of even the most menial of crimes. It had to be resourced, of course. Britain's policy on this seems to be reducing the police force. 

 

One thing which blights our railways (and not just our railways) is graffiti. I will accept no counter-argument to this - all graffiti is visually-offensive, intolerable and the perpetrators should be dealt with most-severely (of which, more later). I don't regard the 'official' painting of murals by accomplished artists on the bare walls of subways and the like as graffiti, though these are often daubed-over by the brain dead. 

 

Coming back to the notion of punishment for such as crime as graffiti, I recall some few years ago an American youth (of about 18) being caught spraying a wall (or it might have been a car) with an aerosol can in Singapore. He was drunk, and thought it was a bit of a giggle. His punishment? To be soundly birched! There was an international outcry about this sort of brutality - his dignity had been compromised, his human rights had been violated and the punishment was absolutely unfair. A member of the Singapore government was asked to comment. His response was to ask the reporter to go anywhere in Singapore and find evidence of graffiti. There was, of course, no evidence. Cause and effect? 

 

Taken to extremes, then this kind of punishment results in the horrors one hears of in some states. However, in this case, the perpetrator was not executed, did not lose appendages and probably will never touch a rattle can again. 

 

Back to railway modelling......................

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Graffiti - a modern scourge if ever there was one. It's bad over in the USA, virtually every freight car is now "tagged". I like to watch these live streams of US locations - it makes you weep when a mile long train passes - where do they get there massive amounts of spray paint from - it must cost them an arm and a leg.

 

Pick any of these live railroad streams - you can also rewind an hour or two - very interesting.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIkT9bq-1N2BvrsBjhNlag

 

It's also sad that the American modeller can buy graffiti decals to add to his / her modern model railroad scene.!!

 

A while ago I won this O scale freight car on ebay quite cheaply

 

0-scale-2-rail-Conrail-covered-hopper.jp

 

The graffiti is a decal (both sides different) - they will be "patch painted" out as will the Conrail logo (too modern) ASAP.

 

Sad world when this stuff spills into our modelling !!

 

Brit15

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...The graffiti is a decal (both sides different) - they will be "patch painted" out as will the Conrail logo (too modern) ASAP.

 

Sad world when this stuff spills into our modelling !!

 

Brit15

Graffiti is surely an integral part of weathering modern image stuff, unless you have an idealised view of the world.

 

Rule 1... etc.

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Graffiti is surely an integral part of weathering modern image stuff, unless you have an idealised view of the world.

 

Rule 1... etc.

 

True - but probably just one (of the many) reasons why I don't model post 1968 (either British OO or American O) though a few of my models are 1970's - modeller's licence !!

 

Notice I didn't mention "Modern Image" which started with the Railway Modeller back in 1964, (an oft discussed subject on this forum !!).

 

Brit15

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Back to railway modelling, how is the point rodding going? We are about to start thinking about this for our depiction of Larbert, and the questions are starting to be raised. Despite a fair bit of searching I can't find any detail about how far apart the rodding stools are on a run of rodding. One of the guys seemed to think it was about six to eight feet apart (24 t0 32mm) - were you able to find out this basic piece of info?

 

Chas

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Graffiti didn't begin after 1968. It's very old indeed, starting many hundreds of years ago. Think cavemen, Romans, kilroy and so on.

 

Problem these days is that it has expanded and increased but not all defaces and mars. Mural style pictures provide art and can be decorative. And there is also witty political and social comment to be found. However the trend for simply 'tagging' is moronic, unnecessary and antisocial.

 

G

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Back to railway modelling, how is the point rodding going? We are about to start thinking about this for our depiction of Larbert, and the questions are starting to be raised. Despite a fair bit of searching I can't find any detail about how far apart the rodding stools are on a run of rodding. One of the guys seemed to think it was about six to eight feet apart (24 t0 32mm) - were you able to find out this basic piece of info?

 

Chas

A shameless plug but what you need is the new handbook on point rodding written by my friend Laurie Adams and published through the 2mm Association. Perhaps some kind 2mm person can tell us if non members can get hold of a copy as Laurie is away this week and I can't ask him.

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A shameless plug but what you need is the new handbook on point rodding written by my friend Laurie Adams and published through the 2mm Association. Perhaps some kind 2mm person can tell us if non members can get hold of a copy as Laurie is away this week and I can't ask him.

 

Fully agree, an excellent publication. It can be had from the 2mm Roadshow which attends numerous exhibitions up and down the country. It can also be bought from the 2mm shops by mail order but you need to be a member.

 

Jerry

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 In fact in the last general election she was a Tory (wrong Party, I obviously didn't teach her well) candidate.

 

That would appear to be party political comment, which is supposed to be excluded from the forum.

 

Or are all of those who might take issue with the comment now free to respond?

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Lovely piece of work ... and despite Tony's reservations I think the sand pipes really add to it.

 

Thanks Tim,

 

I make the chassis electricaly dead so that it dosn't really matter that much about such things as the sanding gear. Infact, the front ones need tweaking slightly closer to the wheel, I shall attend to that after a nice cup of coffee and a chocky biscuit. After the exhibtion I shall have another look at the front bogie or frames, too much daylight there for my liking.

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Lovely to meet you, too, Rob,

 

And thanks for your contribution to CRUK.

 

I'll be putting the buffers in the post to you this week. I'll look for a chimney and dome as well.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Received today Tony - very many thanks again.  I really didn't expect all this when popping to your stand at Woking.  I've no excuses to not finish the O4 off now.

 

I will put a further suitable donation in the local CRUK shop this weekend, if that's OK? 

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