FAMILIES CAN ‘HELP TO END’ STREET RACING

Family ties are key to solving the problem of motorcycle street racing among the young, not suppression, says Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection director Srinara Krainara.

Speaking on the last day of a so-called “shock therapy” programme at Ban Metta Juvenile Remand Home in Bangkok, Mr Srinara said parents should build a healthy relationship with their children as suppression does not get to the cause of the problem.

More than 400 young people were arrested in the biggest crackdown yet on street racers on Ratchaphruek Road in Bangkok’s Thon Buri district last Sunday.

Officials transferred 84 minors to Ban Metta Juvenile Remand Home and Ban Pranee Training Centre for Girls to attend a one-week behavioural correction programme. The programme teaches them to think more about others and the consequences of their actions.

Mr Srinara said families are a significant factor in improving their behaviour after they are released from the remand home. Parents should encourage them to spend more time on useful activities.

He said their parents were required to attend the last day yesterday.

However, one young girl’s parents refused to go. “Authorities will talk to her parents,” Mr Srinara said. “If parents are not ready to help their own child, they could end up repeating the offences.”

A report on each teenager indicated family and age are the main cause of juvenile misbehaviour, while new technology plays a crucial role in gathering them together for racing.

The department has also j oined with Prince of Songkla University (Pattani Campus) and juvenile organisations to run 20 youth self-improvement camps in the North, Central, Northeast and South in a bid to stop motorcycle street racing gangs.