Get Control of Your Friggin' Kids
Make parents accountable for kids
By Kelvin Wade | | January 29, 2009 00:32
Last Saturday night, Suisun police arrested Joseph Leigh Johnson, 18, who they say had an SKS assault rifle with bayonet attached under his coat. He was accompanied by a juvenile who was carrying a pellet gun. According to reports, the two fit the description of suspects in an armed robbery in Suisun City.
Police had responded to a report of 20 male juveniles loitering near Montebello Drive around 11 p.m. If you put 20 teenage males together in public at 11 p.m. on a city street on the weekend, it's quite unlikely anything positive will come of it.
Who are these parents who unleash these little predators on the community? Do they have any clue as to where their son is late on a Saturday night?
Some are just awful parents who don't have a clue.
But I'm reminded of a time when I spoke to a class of Sem Yeto students. I walked in there expecting a meeting of the FCA (Future Criminals of America) but I found some really bright kids who'd just screwed up. After speaking with them, I found they had parents who were hard-working and some were business owners. The kids didn't describe horrible parents but they painted a picture of parents who were too involved in their own lives and oblivious to their kids' lives.
In other cases, these teens who are left to their own devices come from single-parent homes and there's no one to supervise them. I know this because when I was a teenager, my mother worked swing shift at NorthBay Medical Center and my father lived in Vallejo. I wasn't always on my best behavior when left unsupervised.
But this is where the city should step in. Suisun City police should strictly enforce youth curfews. Section 9.16.010 of the Suisun City Code says, 'It is unlawful for any minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.' Those hours are between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Beyond that, it continues, '(It is unlawful) for any parent or guardian of a minor to knowingly permit, or by insufficient control allow, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.'
For the first infraction, it's a $100 fine. For the second, $200. And for each additional infraction, there's a $500 fine.
Now the city code provides a whole list of defenses for juveniles to be out past curfew. There are lots of reasons why a young person would be out after 10 p.m. that would pass muster. Loitering with your friends on a city street is not one of them.
Make it expensive for those up to no good to hang out. When junior starts bringing home citations or mom and dad get dinged with a $100 ticket for letting their teen violate curfew, it might be enough to get parents involved in their child's whereabouts.
If my mother had received tickets for me being out after dark and had to shell out her hard-earned money for my stupidity, she would've been so ticked that . . . let's just say you probably wouldn't be reading these words today. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This isn't the column I was going to run this week. I actually was going to run one about the marketing deception that is going on in the food industry now in the wake of the recession. But this is a pet topic of mine and when I see an opportunity to tackle it, I take it. I'm sure you will be reading that other column soon.
The graphic I used isn't really tied into the column. I just thought it was funny and had to include it.
On the Other Side DR blog, you can read about a company that is in dire straits that once did something wonderful for Fairfield.
On the Wading In Blog, I worship the excellent film, "The Wrestler."
Police had responded to a report of 20 male juveniles loitering near Montebello Drive around 11 p.m. If you put 20 teenage males together in public at 11 p.m. on a city street on the weekend, it's quite unlikely anything positive will come of it.
Who are these parents who unleash these little predators on the community? Do they have any clue as to where their son is late on a Saturday night?
Some are just awful parents who don't have a clue.
But I'm reminded of a time when I spoke to a class of Sem Yeto students. I walked in there expecting a meeting of the FCA (Future Criminals of America) but I found some really bright kids who'd just screwed up. After speaking with them, I found they had parents who were hard-working and some were business owners. The kids didn't describe horrible parents but they painted a picture of parents who were too involved in their own lives and oblivious to their kids' lives.
In other cases, these teens who are left to their own devices come from single-parent homes and there's no one to supervise them. I know this because when I was a teenager, my mother worked swing shift at NorthBay Medical Center and my father lived in Vallejo. I wasn't always on my best behavior when left unsupervised.
But this is where the city should step in. Suisun City police should strictly enforce youth curfews. Section 9.16.010 of the Suisun City Code says, 'It is unlawful for any minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.' Those hours are between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Beyond that, it continues, '(It is unlawful) for any parent or guardian of a minor to knowingly permit, or by insufficient control allow, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.'
For the first infraction, it's a $100 fine. For the second, $200. And for each additional infraction, there's a $500 fine.
Now the city code provides a whole list of defenses for juveniles to be out past curfew. There are lots of reasons why a young person would be out after 10 p.m. that would pass muster. Loitering with your friends on a city street is not one of them.
Make it expensive for those up to no good to hang out. When junior starts bringing home citations or mom and dad get dinged with a $100 ticket for letting their teen violate curfew, it might be enough to get parents involved in their child's whereabouts.
If my mother had received tickets for me being out after dark and had to shell out her hard-earned money for my stupidity, she would've been so ticked that . . . let's just say you probably wouldn't be reading these words today. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This isn't the column I was going to run this week. I actually was going to run one about the marketing deception that is going on in the food industry now in the wake of the recession. But this is a pet topic of mine and when I see an opportunity to tackle it, I take it. I'm sure you will be reading that other column soon.
The graphic I used isn't really tied into the column. I just thought it was funny and had to include it.
On the Other Side DR blog, you can read about a company that is in dire straits that once did something wonderful for Fairfield.
On the Wading In Blog, I worship the excellent film, "The Wrestler."
Comments