On this blog I often write about how the Perth of today compares to the one I grew up in. In so many ways it's a different and more dangerous place. 

One notable aspect of the change is how teenagers and young people behave. So many of them are feral these days it's scary!

Sure, being over fifty now, I'm well on the way to codgerdom. And oldsters have been griping out whippersnappers since time immemorial. 

But this is different. Take reports of out of control parties in this city. I know they occurred back in the seventies and eighties. But compared to the massively crowded riots you keep reading about they were like beach parties in a crap Elvis movie.

Granted, they're not as frequent as they were a couple of years ago. So perhaps the stern legislation enacted to deal with the problem did have an effect. But they still do occur from time to time. And some of them are truly bizarre and frightening.

Take this one that occurred in the northern suburb of Girrawheen:

A 14-year-old girl has been charged after police were attacked with rocks and bottles at an out of control party in Girrawheen on Friday night.

Officers were called to Templeton Crescent after groups of teens spilled out of a house and onto the street drinking and fighting.

About 120 juveniles, aged between 16 and 18, were at the party and groups of them confronted police when they arrived.

Don't know about you, but I reckon an event like this paints a disturbing picture of today's society. Why are so many teenagers behaving like this? Do the parents know, or even care, about what their kids are up to? 

There are many factors that have created this situation. But whatever the causes, there's no doubt that something is seriously wrong.