Violent video games incite kids to crime, says Scipione

KNIFE crime is soaring among youngsters because brutal video games that reward players for murder, rape and theft have made violence seem acceptable, the state's top cop said yesterday.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione believes young people are being desensitised by spending hours acting out deadly scenarios on their computer screens.

[extermin8or]

"We phone parent's and say 'little Jonny's here'.... They don't care they just say " he got himself there he can get himself back'" Not the exact quote I know I closed the tab before copying and pasting it and cba to re-find it however he is wrong- that, the quote about the way the parents treat and care about their child is more than likely the reason behind it. I've played video games since forever yet I don't want to go stabbing and shooting people? No it's right there in his comment bad parenting; not caring about their children (I'm not saying they all ahve bad parents) because no sane person of a developed mind would be driven to do the things in video games. And alot of the really young children who could be influenced by what they see in films and games shouldn't be playing/watching them then? (Although that same child might well watch a cartoon and think they can fly for really and go try it for example but that's not down to the video game they shouldn't have been playing? That arguably is yet again iffy/bad parenting if they are just being allowed to watch want, or play games like GTA at the age of 5/6; it's why we have age rating but no the games themselves are not to blame.

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

blame the parents NOT the game.

mature,violent and bloody games are meant for adults not children. kids can not buy these games without an adult.

its always the parents fault: boy of 12 spends £1,000 of parents money on XboxLive.....parents want to sue microsoft. sorry to say mr & mrs erresresponsible ITS YOUR FAULT.

[HammadTheBeast]

This is my reply to this "Commissioner"...

http://m.youtube.com/#/watc...

[jadenkorri]

parents will always blame something else. Any parent that has to deal with a troubled kid who resorted to violence or committed suicide. They will be wondering if they did something wrong, maybe they didn't, and it may just be a little bit easier blaming their problems on external source. I def agree, kids shouldn't be playing M rated games, theirs a rating for a reason. Just shake your heads on this and hope it goes away. Was it not long ago violence was blamed on rap music and rock music, then movies, now its just video games turn. Rock and rap music is still around along with movies. Video games won't go anywhere.

[extermin8or]

Yep that £1,000 thing was rediculous; how didn't they notice he was using their Credit cards anyway? O_o shouldn't have known the PIN etc or had details saved on his account; just asking for it. And I get say letting a 17 year old play 18's maybe or even a 16 year old, or an 11 year old play 12, a 13/14 year old play 15's I can see that as reasonable (partly because my parents used to let me :P although from about 16 I discovered that in the UK you could buy games online without them checking your age :P ) but it's when you see an 8 year old who plays GTA or you hear some 10 year old discussing how he stabs people on Assassins Creed you just think "wtf, why on earth are you playing that.... how old are you- go back and play sonic and mario an rachet and clank and James Bond like I did at your age and be a kid instead of playing the games made to be more mature and sold supposedly only to adults. I mean most parents wouldn't go into a shop and buy a 10 year old a Litre of vodka or wiskey etc so why do they buy them an 18 game? here in the UK they have the same age restrictions...

[Skateboard]

THEY SHOULDN'T BE PLAYING THEM.

[Lord_Sloth]

You know they aren't supposed to be playing the violent ones, right? We have a rating system for this...

Ninja'd by Skateboard.

[-Alpha]

Rape? What game has that?

[Holeran]

Only some japanese games that I know of like Rapelay.

[extermin8or]

Hahaha @-Alpha that was my 1s thought when I read it, I assume he's talking of GTA and the prostitutes and random killing when he says that, or something similar but still....

[007Bond]

Screw this BS Dumb parents and undisciplined kids are to blame for this shit, im sick of people blaming everyone except the REAL ones responsible.

[Holeran]

Video games don't make kids more violent, not having a father figure and not having stiff enough consequences allows kids to be more violent. He says the figures of violence in kids has gone up dramatically in recent years, maybe he should look at the rate of how many kids are without fathers in recent years, I bet there is more of a corelation there. And if these dumbass kids knew there was going to be extreme consequences you could bet that crime would dwindle. They see the guy in the papers after killing all of those people in the theater in auorora colorado just sitting in court and of course going to claim insanity so he might get out later in life where we should of sent him directly to the chipper/shredder and televised it. Seeing stuff like that might get them to think twice.

[Kopite_2020]

He really means exposure, the title is a bit sensationalist.

[JBSleek]

When will society learn to take responsibility for their own actions instead of always pushing the blame.

Games don't hurt people, people hurt people and the sooner we start to take responsibility the better off we will be.

"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

[Zha1tan]

I have to question ones intelligence if they cant read a big number on a box that says "18" with a huge red circle around it.

Infact they shouldnt be allowed to have kids at all because they are just passing on the stupid gene.

[N311V]

Watch Idiocracy www.rottentomatoes.com/m/idioc racy/

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Key word "kids" like 10, 12 and under. Not to say Teenagers can't get influenced but kids are more impressionable overall.

[12345bnm]

The biggest mistake Mrs. Hitler ever made was buying that copy of GTA4 for little Adolf.
Mrs. Hitler: Oh Mein Fuhrer, i've got a special surprise for you.
Adolf: Why thank you mother dearest.
Mrs. Hitler: Here you go, it's a game called GTA4, i'm not going to bother with the age ratings because they don't matter.
Adolf: *plays game for five minutes*
Adolf: O.o EVERYONE MUST DIE NOW!!!.......

[Cpt Jack House]

It's been said time and time again, blame the parents not the games. Game ratings are there to prevent kids at the impressionable age, if you want to generalize it, from getting these games.
I spend some of my free time around my local Gamestop, I'm shocked not only at the parents' lack of concern at the age rating but the age of the kids with those parents, couldn't be more than 12 and they're picking up GTAIV and pre-ordering the latest CoD.
I think I'll pass by for the midnight of Black Ops II, just to see exactly who is waiting on that line.

[SephirothX21]

Clearly it is games that are driving youngsters to commit such hideous crimes. The games should know that these youngsters are too young to play and not grant them access to the content. Obviously their parents are to expect such features and it can't be their fault for that reason. It is the fault of lazy developers who can't be bothered to build in age detection into their games! Shame on them! /s

[Donnywho]

I blame thunderstorms and cellophane.

[smashcrashbash]

Sure they do.That is if you are psychotic and/or stupid. Because that is what you must be if you can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy. I came from a very violent generation and I never killed, murdered or raped anyone.

[kma2k]

"I came from a very violent generation and I never killed, murdered or raped anyone"...yet!

Sorry i couldnt resist it was just to easy!

[TheRealHeisenberg]

I put it on the parents myself. As a parent, I recently had to bar my son from playing violent games (shooters) because I felt he was being negatively influenced to the point where all he was talking about and thinking about was guns. I won't get in to specifics, but I felt his thought process/decision making just was not where it needed to be in few cases.

I in no way blame the games. I have been gaming for over 30 years now and I have never made a decision based on something I saw in a game. It is on the parents to teach their kids right from wrong. It is on the kids to make the decisions at their level based on what they have been taught and what they have experienced. Parents have to closely monitor their kids decisions, that is why it is called parenting.

Of course it is different for every situation/mental make up, but the constant has to be good parenting.

[HammadTheBeast]

The thing to do is to teach a kid basic moral principles and the difference between rigt and wrong beforehand. I don't feel that a person should be restricted from certain games at a certain age level, just a level of maturity.

Nice to know we still have good parents these days.

[swat_teem]

lol its the nature of the person some people acually do the stuff they see in video games (issues or something) and the rest of us do not copy what we see for example my self i have been playing GTA since i was a kid and i have not killed or hurt anyone with a knife or any sort.

[DeadSpaced]

That's a clear difference between the gaming world and reality. If a minor has access to the game, that's part of the problem. In a minor has access to weapons to commit violent crimes, that's worse.

There's a big difference between virtual gun and the real deal. If common sense won't stop them from using one in reality, the surprise recoil that they didn't feel in the video game will make them think twice.

[ApolloTheBoss]

Will it ever end?

[YodaCracker]

I do not recall ever performing rape in a video game, let alone being rewarded for it.

[AIndoria]

Rapelay is waiting for you.

[Hicken]

Old, played-out misconception is old and played-out.

[yeahokchief]

No I disagree. Video games do not cause people to become violent. It's the opposite.

If anything video games make people lazy, apathetic and complacent because you spend so much time playing them that could have otherwise been devoted to something more important. They relieve stress and they allow us to pass the time.

But I do believe that NOT getting new games to feed the addiction or provide escapism is what causes violence perhaps.

Violence is caused when you impoverish someone, fill their mind with negative thoughts and make them feel like they have no other options.

You can thank the rich assholes who created the SOCIETY we live in for the shootings we have been having lately.

You can thank their extremist political party for cutting funding to education, opposing stricter gun control, and just making our lives miserable in general in congress to make the president look bad.

So you have uneducated people with easy access to guns without any way to spend their time being productive for society because they have no jobs. It's very fucking hot outside. Poor motherfuckers don't have air conditioning and as a result they'll be outside doing what poor, uneducated motherfuckers with nothing to lose do best.

The price of everything is going up from water to electricity to gas to food. Unemployment rises while the rich motherfuckers keep filling their moneybags waiting for some crisis.

What did you expect would happen? You think this is sustainable?

[yeahokchief]

And let me just say that if Obama is not re-elected, it's only going to get worse down the road.

He was being moderate in his 1st term so he could get a 2nd term. They didn't really give him much of a choice along the way. For example, he was forced to renew tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires so that people could keep their unemployment benefits. Who do you think would have felt those cuts the most if he didn't play ball? You think people are going to re-elect someone who lets everything go to hell?

Give Obama a 2nd term and you'll get your change. If you give in to the attacks funded by the money of billionaires, the select few get their way and you'll get more of this.

Give people good paying jobs and they won't be out on the street holding protests, they won't be out shooting people and they won't be bitching about video games. They'll be doing something productive.

In an ideal world, your contributions and hard work would determine your social status or prestige, but in America all that matters is how much money you have. So the focus of the game becomes to acquire as much money by whatever means necessary as opposed to doing what's right and being a benefit to society and cheating gets it faster.

People are getting used now more than ever. If the working class (i would say middle class, but we really don't have one) decided to put their foot down and bring the system to a halt, we could have our change today.

[Ethereal]

Wrong.

[AIndoria]

Hello sir, there is a reason sir, that these games are given a rating of Mature/18 sir, and if so sir, maybe your 10 year old child shouldn't play that game, sir?
...you getting me, you idiots who all think violent games have a bad affect on your children?

[Roccetarius]

I also believe the Media causes Amnesia. You don't see anyone complaining about that.

/s