While I’m going to have some fun on the subject of curfews, the real problem, as the Mayor identified, are parents. Curfews you see, are something parents should impose, and apparently too many parents think that its okay to arm their hormone raging teens with time, money, cars and cellphones and that somehow college prep study groups will spawn. Seriously, hasn’t anyone seen Footloose?
The Hour reports:
Saying he is drawing a line in the sand, Mayor Richard A. Moccia on Tuesday threatened to impose curfews on youths in the city if they continue to be involved in out-of-control house parties and roam the streets at night committing mischief.
“I really don’t want to do that,” said Moccia, “but if it continues, we’re going to have to send a message to somebody.”Moccia spoke at a City Hall news conference in reaction to a party last Friday on Linden Street that turned violent, with four youths being stabbed, one of whom died.
“I’m angry. I really am,” said Moccia. “We lost a young man and we’re going to stop it.”
Moccia said he has repeatedly asked, “Where are the parents?” when youths are out late at night committing vandalism and scrawling graffiti on city and private property. He said he understands parenting in today’s society is not easy, but there are many resources to help, including churches, social services agencies, and school resource officers and guidance counselors.
“They cannot just throw up their hands in the air and say, ‘I can’t control them,’” said Moccia. “They cannot use the excuse, ‘They have a cell phone, I know where they are.’ It’s no longer parent involvement. It has to be parent engagement.”
Friday night, police were called to a home at 10 Linden St. twice on complaints of noise, with the second complaint adding that people were roaming in the street. When they arrived the second time, officers reported as many as 100 youths were in the area, many of whom began running away at the appearance of police.
source: The Hour, Mayor poses curfew as way to curb teen violence, January 16, 2008
