The sense of injustice and questions of why started to flowing back like a tsunami.

Not too long ago (a couple of months ago to be exact) a mate of mine was senslessly beaten up and his car trashed by a bunch of guys originating from a suburban 24 hour McDonalds outlet here in Melbourne. It was around that same time the ‘good samaritan’ was stabbed to death in a 7 Eleven store in Brunswick.

At a recent squad reunion in Melbourne, a group of police with more than 200 years of street work between them agreed that they have never known Melbourne to be so violent — and they don’t know why it has changed so quickly.

That is the question being asked by so many in Melbourne, termed the most liveable city in the world not too long ago. Today it is more liveable between between 9 to 5 or inside your home. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time can literally cost you your life for no reason!

Not only are the water levels declining in Melbourne, so is value for life, respect for authority and fellow human beings, and self control. Culture is certainly on the decline (ironically technology is on the incline). Don’t take my word for it. Chief Commissioner Simon Overland says it is simplistic and naive to believe police can be the penicillin for society’s disease: “We are not the answer.”

The Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe told The Age: “I think that it is clear that young people from 16 to 25 seem to have a diminished respect for authority, not just police. Could this give a clue.

In my profession as a project manager I have always been taught not to focus on the symptoms of problems. Rather search for what is really causing the problems. In corporate terminology identifying the “root cause” is the first step to fixing the problem.

So what is the root cause(s)? Nothing happens out of nothing for no reason. Every action has a reaction. So what are these actions.

I don’t want to sound like a some puritan or try to make this complex social problem as one that is simple. Though I am not a specialist in dealing with social issues there are three reasons for the increase in violence in the streets of Melbourne.

1. The breakdown of the family structure in our society
2. The consistent diet of violence children, teenagers and adults are exposed to in games, movies, music, etc.
3. The lack of self control manifested in the binge drinking, drug taking and heavy disregard for the moral

Analysing each of these I believe will lead us to the root cause(s) of this social disease we are facing.

In the next few blogs I will aim to cover off the three points and derive the root cause(s) for this issue.