Parents: Do you really know where your teens are at night??

A recent rash of criminal activity including vandalism and mischief in southern El Paso County invovling youths has prompted the El Paso County Sheriffís office to (twice now) remind area residents of its curfews for those under the age of 18.

According to police (see related story on page 3) most recently five female juveniles were cited for multiple counts of criminal tampering and/or curfew violations after police were called to investigate reports of obscene messages being written on car windows in a Security neighborhood.

A week prior, a 20-year-old man and four juvenile males were arrested for multiple counts of criminal mischief. The arrest cleared 25 cases of criminal mischief in the Security Widefield area.

In the City of Fountain, (see related ìChiefís Cornerî on page 5), Fountain Police have made 23 curfew-related arrests thus far this year.

Clearly, these incidents are cause for concern, and what prompted the heading on this column. All too often, parents may ìthinkî they know where their kids are at night- only to find out later that they were wrong.

I think we have a majority of responsible young people in our community, but it only takes a bad few to try and ecourage otherwise well-meaning youths to make bad choices... choices they could seriously regret. Some bad choices could even have dire consequences on their plans for the future, especially if they result in arrests and charges being brought against them, for what they thought were just ìharmlessî pranks or antics.

Gone are the days when ìbumps or noises in the dark of nightî could most often be dismissed to the neighborhoodís kids playing kick the can, or some other activities; just as gone, also, are the days when most people left their doors unlocked, trusting that their young would be safe outside in the evening- playing in the cul-de-sac, or on the next street over.

These days, we are blessed to have some great Neighborhood Watch groups keeping their eyes open, which can be reassuring, but still, this doesnít guarantee our young people 100% safety while they are ìout and aboutî in our neighborhoods, either. Just last week, there was a kidnapping attempt made in a neighborhood in northeastern El Paso County. Fortunately, the child avoided contact and managed to get away- and to the safety of her home.

The increased violence and criminal activity (among adults) in our society in more recent years has prompted many of us to better prepare ourselves to defend our homes, property and family members. Too often we hear of thefts, robberies, home invasions, assaults, etc. What a juvenile might consider to be a minor offense or prank could end not only in his or her arrest if caught... but- God forbid- they might also find themselves on the wrong end of a shotgun or worse...

Parents, I would highly urge you to talk to your teenagers about the law, peer pressure, the curfews that are enforced here in the local community- and whatever it takes to ensure that when the time comes and they are pressured or tempted to do that which they know in their hearts to be wrong- that they make the right choices. Not only do such choices have a direct impact on the safety of our community, they can also have direct impacts on their own safety, too.

PATTY'S ARCHIVES
4-11-07 | 4-25-07 | 5-2-07 | 5-16-07 | 5-23-07 | 6-6-07 | 6-13-07 | 6-20-07
6-13-07 | 7-4-07 | 7-11-07 | 7-18-07 |7-25-07 | 8-8-07 | 10-24-07 | 11-1-07
| 11-12-07 | 11-26-07 | 11-28-07 | 12-5-07 | 12-12-07 | 12-26-07 | 1-2-08
1-9-08 | 1-16-08 | 2-20-08 | 2-27-08 | 3-5-08 | 3-12-08 | 3-26-08 | 4-2-08 | 4-9-08 | 4-16-08 | 4-23-08 | 5-7-08
5-14-08 | 5-21-08 | 5-28-08 | 6-4-08 | 6-11-08 | 6-18-08