Games Blamed for New Zealand Chase

Once again, games are being handed the blame for the lawbreaking escapades of teenagers. This time, it’s in New Zealand. Apparently, two 14-year-olds stole a high-performance Ford Falcon XR6 sometime Sunday in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

During the chase, the teenagers fired a .303 rifle at police. Once the stolen car had hit two spike strips and been brought to a stop, the boys held police at bay with the rifle, and tried to steal a police car. However, they were tackled by two unarmed officers and a police dog.

Inspector Karl Wright St Clair, of Tauranga said, “It was like one of those video games the kids play where they steal a car and shoot at police.” When asked if he was linking video games and the incident, he said: “Well, they don’t come up with these things by themselves.”

Inspector Wright wouldn’t name a game that he was referring to, but the article had no qualms about tossing Grand Theft Auto into the mix. The two teenagers are scheduled to appear in Tauranga Youth Court today facing several charges, including aggravated burglary, escaping custody, aggravated assault and using a firearm against police, a crime which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ jail.

The crazy thing here is that there is NOTHING in the article to suggest that these two teens were gamers at all. The fact that games were even mentioned in connection with this incident just goes to show you the effect that the mainstream media’s portrayal of games as violent crime training machines is doing to perception of games as an industry and a pastime. 10 years ago, if this same incident had occurred, who knows who the inspector might have blamed without GTA to scapegoat. Maybe the parents of the kids? Now that IS a radical thought.