Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2008-02-11 Parkour/draft001

This is a draft workspace. (Categories and interwiki links have been removed for sandbox purposes.)

Legality section 1
Parkour is sometimes criticized for the perceived illegality of actions taken by some traceurs. In 2008 the high profile arrest of four youths in Gloucestershire was briefly covered by the BBC. Gloucestershire police investigated alleged damage to a roof caused by the teenagers. A spokesman asked traceurs to use common sense and continued that “Those who don't take this request in the spirit it's intended should be aware that we will vigorously enforce the law if they trespass on private property or cause damage.”

In 2008 Sutton Police announced that they received several calls a week concerning youths climbing on rooftops. However Your Local Guardian also stated that “The difficulty with dealing with the problem is that to be on the roof is not a criminal offence but causing damage to buildings is.”

Parkour is of particular concern to some university officials who fear a lawsuit should a student become seriously injured through parkour. A Time Magazine article in April 2007 described insurance claims brought before United Educators Insurance for a variety of injuries suffered during parkour activities on college campuses.

Traceurs have responded to these accusations of vandalism by stating that traceurs are careful not to damage property. In response to accusations of trespassing traceurs also point out that by definition Parkour can be used anywhere.

Legality section 2
Parkour practitioners have been criticised in the past for trespassing on private property and the possibility of practitioners causing criminal damage (ref 3), however there is agreement from both officials(ref 4) and the parkour community (refs 6,7) that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly endangering themselves as well as property by practicing at height, with both police forces and parkour figures calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops (ref 4).

However, these issues do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one (ref 5).

Legality section 3
Parkour has no legal places for practice as skateboarding has skateparks, although there is an effort to create such places, traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds, abandoned structures, and other places.

Due to freedom's aspect in parkour, concerns have been raised regarding to the practice in inappropriate places, trespassing, and damage of property. There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly endangering rooftops by practicing at height, with both police forces and David Belle calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops. There is agreement from both officials, and parkour communities that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

These issues do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.

Legality section 4
Parkour has no dedicated public places as skateboarding has skateparks, although there is an effort to create such places, traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds, abandoned structures, and other places.

Concerns have been raised regarding to the practice in inappropriate places, trespassing, and damage of property. There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly damaging rooftops by practicing at height, with both police forces and David Belle, calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops. There is agreement from both officials, and parkour communities that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

These issues, however, do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.

Legality section 5
Parkour has no dedicated public places as skateboarding has skateparks, although there is an effort to create such places, traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds, abandoned structures, and other places.

Concerns have been raised regarding to the practice in inappropriate places, trespassing, and damage of property. There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly damaging rooftops by practicing at height, with both police forces and David Belle, calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops. There is agreement from both officials, and parkour communities that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

Parkour is of particular concern to some university officials who fear a lawsuit should a student become seriously injured through parkour. A Time Magazine article in April 2007 described insurance claims brought before United Educators Insurance for a variety of injuries suffered during parkour activities on college campuses.

These issues, however, do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.

Criticism section 6
Unlike many other activities Parkour is not currently practiced in dedicated public facilities (e.g. skateparks), although efforts are being made to create places for it. Traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds and abandoned structures, and concerns have been raised regarding trespassing, damage of property and the practice in inappropriate places.

There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly damaging rooftops by practicing at height, with both police forces and David Belle, calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops. There is agreement from both officials, and parkour communities that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

Some officials also fear a lawsuit should a practitioner become seriously injured through parkour while in an area that the official is responsible for.

These issues, however, do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.

Training places section 7
Unlike many other activities parkour is not currently practiced in dedicated public facilities (e.g. skateparks), although efforts are being made to create places for it. Traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds, abandoned structures, and other places. Concerns have been raised regarding trespassing, damage of property, and the practice in inappropriate places.

There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly damaging rooftops by practicing at height, with police forces, David Belle, and parkour instructors calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops. Both officials and parkour communities have also agreed that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

These issues, however, do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.

Concerns section 8
Unlike many other activities parkour is not currently practiced in dedicated public facilities (e.g. skateparks), although efforts are being made to create places for it. Traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds and abandoned structures, and concerns have been raised regarding trespassing, damage of property, and the practice in inappropriate places.

There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly risking damage to both themselves and rooftops by practicing at height, with police forces calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops. Figures within the parkour community, including parkour instructors and David Belle, agree that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.

These issues, however, do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.