Why are children prepared to kill in the UK?

[pauljaw]

How can children be taught not to kill? Ridiculous question. But it seems the moral compass of children in the UK has drifted wildly awry. What can be done about it?

[severusinfurs]

Actually, I'm from the UK, and I always felt much safer there (mostly in London) than I do now that I live in the United States. Can someone provide sources regarding the rising crime rate there, and how it compares with other western nations?

How can children be taught not to kill? Ridiculous question.

The best way I can imagine would be to make sure young people are raised with compassion and the feeling that their own life and other people's lives are of value. When children are encouraged to value trinkets, to see themselves as little more than billboards advertising brands of clothes and to engage in meaningless, superficial relationships with others, it would seem they would struggle to find meaning in their life and meaning in the lives of others. Of course, most don't respond by killing. They just lead fairly lethargic lives. Kids who get involved with their communities and find purpose in their lives seem to behaved in a more balanced fashion.

The reason murder is increasing so sporadically is because the punishments are much more leniant than they used to be.
In my opinion, the only way which people will be persuaded to stop killing is by reintroducing the death penalty.

I disagree. Threatening people with death has never served much purpose. When has the threat of lung cancer caused smokers to quit? How often do people refrain from pushing the speed limit by a few miles for fear of dying when they go around the turn? Someone who engages in a crime of passion, especially on impulse, isn't thinking about what might happen. They're thinking about their feelings. A better method would be to address the lack of control many people exhibit over their emotions, which unfortunately has been lost in some people who live in this world of instant gratification.