Why is crime not crime until a certain age?
Yes. Give us the perpetrators’ names, so we can identify each one of them and take some responsibility.
Post their photographs in the paper, on billboards, make them infamous for the disrespect to their community, give them a substantial community service time or, maybe, indefinitely until they É get it.
Let us help them become valuable citizens.
Parents are not always the best teachers, as we know. Give our community an opportunity to work with these kids, teach them mutual respect and the value of the community in their future.
Vandalism is a crime to society as a whole. Vandalism costs society and the property owners’ time, anxiety, fear and, sometimes, sufficient anger to strike out and get back at these members of our society instead of retraining and helping them become equal and contributing members of our society.
We have a competent police force, but we don’t have supportive laws and/or sufficient social programming to de-program these social offenders.
They could be good people with a bright future given appropriate training.
Why don’t the rules and laws apply to kids?
They are the easiest to train with a little love. Why aren’t all kids vandals? What’s the difference between respect and no respect? I’m sure you can answer that one. When kids don’t learn the rules of living in a working society as a child, their problems have only just begun.
It is our responsibility, as adults, to take action as parents, friends, neighbours and society. We must say “no,” you can’t vandalize property, we are watching you and you have options for your time that we will help you make.
You have an opportunity to turn your lives around now and make every action in your future a positive choice.
There could be hope for our youth; instead we hide the problem until it’s more mature and entrenched behaviour.
Stop means stop now. Praise and recognition when the behaviour changes.
We need laws and positive mandatory training at any age, but especially in the early years.
Vandalism, alcoholism, drug addition, theft, abusive behaviour are just the clues that say to us É this person needs help and is crying out for it. Oh well É.
Society has laws for behaviour, but we just don’t pay any attention or really take the appropriate long-term action necessary for change.
It’s probably just too expensive to help these folks.
S. Greetham
Marsh Lake