Do kids get incited by violent video games? According to Andrew Scipione, Police Commissioner of New South Wales, Australia, the answer is yes.
"The thing that's concerning me is the prevalence of people who are at this stage not just prepared to carry a knife, but prepared to use it. That has increased significantly," Scipione told reporters."Nothing more potentially damaging than the sort of violence they're being exposed to, be it in movies, be it in console games they're playing.
"How can it not affect you if you're a young adolescent growing up in an era where to be violent is almost praiseworthy, where you engage in virtual crime on a daily basis and many of these young people (do) for hours and hours on end."
There's been a rash of violence involving stabbings over the past month in Australia. The result has led to arrests and teenagers being killed or wounded. The crime involving teenagers has been an area of major concern to the auhorities and many believe video games are to blame.
"(Hours of playing video games), that's not going to affect the vast majority but it's only got to affect one or two and what have you got?," Scipione said. "You've got some potentially really disturbed young person out there who's got access to weapons like knives or is good with the fist, can go out there and almost live that life now in the streets of modern Australia. That's concerning."