The city of St. Petersburg, Florida could probably
benefit from a model like that of Baltimore, Maryland's new youth
curfew. In an online article by Ian Simpson and entitled, "Baltimore poised to impose strict new youth curfew",
the police department and many concerned citizens of Baltimore are
making an attempt to save their inner city youths from the clutches of
crime before their life options are destroyed early in life. One of the
major steps to saving these youths is by enforcing stronger curfews
that holds parents and caregivers more responsible for the actions and
whereabouts of their children.
Like
Baltimore, many of the inner city youth in St. Petersburg, particularly
those witnessed here in the black communities are often seen outside
after 10 p.m. and as early as 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. in the morning. It is
generally assumed that these youths are out without their parents
knowledge. Some of these children seen out so late at night are youths
as young as 4 years old, and they are usually in the companies of
youths between the ages of 13 or 14 years of age.
More
often than not these children end up disturbing the areas of the
community in which they have invaded. Later, and by the reactions of
their parents, who appear clueless to what their children are really
about, a community war ensues because their children are not truthful to
them from the start. Then, these parents believing they are saving
their children, turn and harass the very people their children have
disturbed. Sadly, these children quickly learn that they can cause harm
this way and some do so because it seems easier to them than facing
their parents with the truth of their wrong doings. While other youths
do it out of plain meanness against adult authority. Some of the
parents behave hostile and threaten violent in various ways that infects
the neighboring areas in which they live, and it is all based on the
untruthful words of children causing trouble at places where they should
not be without adult supervision.
It
must be strongly stressed and stressed often that these unsupervised
youths make trouble for themselves, their parents, and the rest of their
community by taking minor problems and making those problem major ones
and even criminal ones.
In April of 2013, the St. Petersburg City Council rejected imposing an 11 p.m. curfew on school nights
for those 16 and younger, the problems addressed with that motion and
the ensuing crimes committed by youths since the Council's decision --
has escalated.
Therefore, will stricter
curfews with monetary fines and counseling of both parents and their
children through social services help stop some of the senseless crimes
done by youth here in St. Petersburg? It is worth a try. Will imposing
stronger parental awareness of their youths whereabouts, and who their
children are with at any hour of the day and night help prevent some of
the youth orientated crime in this city. Once again, it is worth a try.
But, somehow the communities and authorities figures of this city have
to get these parents on-board to save their children using positive
solutions.
Like my parents told me and my siblings, "There is nothing in those streets worth destroying your life over."
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When Adults Gave Their Mixed Messages
