Teenagers' hooliganism and crimes

Teenage horrendous crimes are relatively rare in Morocco. Teenage football hooliganism is getting worse, especially in Moroccan biggest city Casablanca. Teenagers get on rampage, damaging properties, especially vehicles (cars and city buses) and shops. So when there is a big match in this city between the major local teams WAC (Widad) and RAC (Raja), this becomes a nightmare for the security forces who become overwhelmed by the uncontrollable rage of the fans.

The other problem facing Moroccan teenagers of different social categories, poor and rich, is drug use. Apart from this, there are also the problems of other crimes like theft and prostitution.

But on the whole, teenagers in Morocco are peaceful. They aren’t as threatening as it can be in some societies. There are rare cases of murder among them. There aren’t armed gangs causing havoc in their neighbourhood, although they practise their misdeeds in other areas. Teenagers can be rowdy but usually outside their neighbourhood. This has to do with the relations between parents who still have some influence on their children. There is still a somewhat kind of neighbourship.

In Morocco, at least, violent teenagers are predominantly from poor areas with poor education and poor or non-existent social services like clubs or equipped open spaces in their neighborhoods that should absorb their energy.

In every society, teenagers need orientation from their surroundings, especially their families. When parents, each according to their role, fulfill their responsibilities towards their children and the local authorities provide them with the means to constructively vent their energy, teenagers won’t think of violence as a means of expression or imposing their identity. It’s the void and the sense of loss that make teenagers consider their violent deeds as a normal thing to do in the absence of the care from those who are older than them.

If adults know how to guide teenagers without making them feel under their authority, they can be peaceful people. Leaving them exposed to bad trends, through what they see on the media or in the street, will make them just copycats whose actions can throw them in total loss, at least in this critical period of their lives.