Posted on 10/01/2006 4:38:53 PM PDT by blam
Banned: Police ordered to stop calling young tearaways 'yobs'
By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent
(Filed: 01/10/2006)
They are the menacing youths who hang about in gangs, causing trouble. For decades they have been known as "yobs". It has been rare for anybody to have a good word to say about them.
But now, it seems, police officers are going to have to find a more "polite" way to describe the nation's troublemakers, because Scotland Yard has banned its officers from using the word "yob", for fear that it might alienate young people. The edict has the backing of Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and will gird his reputation as "the PC pc".
Not a yob, but a tearaway or ne'er-do-well
The ban applies to all reports submitted by officers to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), which oversees the force. It was imposed last week after a "safer neighbourhoods" report by Chief Supt Stephen Bloomfield, put before MPA members, disclosed that Scotland Yard was "pro-actively tackling gangs and yobs across London".
Objecting at the meeting, Cindy Butts, the MPA's deputy chairman, told Sir Ian that the term was "alienating" and added: "I have a problem with the language of 'yobs'. It sort of sets up and defines too much a 'self' and 'other'."
Asst Commissioner Tim Godwin replied: "I agree. I'm sorry about that. We won't use that again."
Afterwards AC Godwin confirmed that the use of "yobs" would not be repeated in Met documentation and was now officially banned. He claimed that "yobs" could be taken as a slur on groups of law-abiding youngsters who gather for innocent reasons. He said: "It can reflect on groups of youths who congregate, rather than those who carry out criminal activity. We have to be careful because of the need to engage with young people."
Critics condemned the ban. Richard Barnes, a Conservative on the MPA, said: "We have to use words which are in common parlance, as long as they are not insulting. When we hear the word 'yobs' we all know what we're talking about."
It remains unclear whether "hoodlums", "tearaways" or "ne'er-do-wells" will be seen as acceptable substitutes for the dreaded y-word. However, the restriction is unlikely to be obeyed by politicians on all sides who regularly berate yobs.
"Yob" is a rare example of backslang, a 19th-century cockney underworld parlance, and is simply "boy" spelt backwards.Tony Blair used the word in the Commons in 2004, while Labour pledged in its 2005 manifesto to "exclude yobs from town centres".
Does that make "yob" as bad as the "n word"?
"Shithead" would be a proper substitute.
no, "wog" is roughly the equivalent, but it includes SW "asians", arabs, and a few others.
I think "yobs" is the equivalent of hoodlum or gangmembers.
Completely unacceptable, I suspect. We'll see something like "our rambunctious but lovable youth" instead.
a Yob by any other name...
May I suggest "dysfunctional barbarian buttholes"? "DBBs"?
Hey, I'm only trying to help! "DBAs" really sounds better, but I don't want to get banned from the forum!
How 'bout "punk"?
Is it still ok to call a cigarette a fag?
Rare? Not in this Yank's experience:
Great Britain-Yob family all get ASBO (Thug family kicked out of neighborhood for SEVEN years)
Great Britain- Yobs' mums face sin-bins (Teachers will be allowed to detain students AND parents)
Great Britain- Time to make yobs fear the police again, says Howard
Great Britain- Blair war on yob gangs (Sweeping new legislation proposed)
Blair- Get shot of yobs (PM proposes tough pre-emptive measures for problem youths and parents)
Last time I checked, yes :-)
Great Britain- 17,000 blinded by fags (Smoking, that is)
"CIGGIE-loving Marie Ellis was laid to rest yesterday — after living to 105 despite smoking nearly half a million fags."
Oh brother...Somebody just take over the UK now.
One of the beautiful things about our anglo-saxon heritage is that the shorter words in our language lend themselves to no such confusion.
Gee, amybe we could loan our British friends a word or two.
"Banger"
"Hooligan"
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