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Editorials - 08/15/02Curfew discussion should sound alarm to parents |
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For more than a month now, we have been forced to face the reality that yet another troublesome national trend has reached our small town.
But the fact that a number of our area's young teenagers don't have proper supervision at home has been apparent to Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison for much longer. Dealing with kids under 16 who are found out - alone - between midnight and 5 a.m. has become such a dilemma that Jamison has recommended a curfew be placed on local youth and has drafted an ordinance for Sylva's town board to consider. Jamison's primary concern is the safety of the children; his proposed ordinance is labeled a "youth protection ordinance." If Jamison's proposal becomes law, it will give Sylva Police officers a mechanism to crack down on parents who are failing to protect and supervise their minor children. The proposed ordinance sets forth criminal penalties for the parents of juveniles picked up more than once and outlines procedures for involving the Department of Social Services when necessary to protect the interests of the unsupervised minors. Sylva's public safety committee approved the draft ordinance Tuesday; town board members could act on it as early as Oct. 3. We applaud Jamison's concern for these children, but we regret the deterioration in family life that has created the need for such a measure. We don't understand how any parent could allow a child to be unsupervised after midnight. "You wouldn't believe the problems we've had trying to find these kids a ride home, and sometimes we can't even find the parents," Jamison said last month. What a sad scenario for these families and our community. It's hard for us to imagine that adults can take their responsibilities as parents so lightly. Kids younger than 16 do not have the maturity and judgment necessary to make smart decisions about their own safety or anyone else's. That's why the law classifies them as minors, and our court system deals with them under a different set of rules. If the draft ordinance becomes law, the kids may be the ones picked up, but it's the parents who will be viewed as criminals. Maybe a day in court will get their attention.
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