Spare the Rod — Punish the Parents?

November 20, 2006

That’s some battle-cry.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the city of Royal Oak (MI) is “expected to pass an ordinance tonight that would give police the power to ticket parents whose children misbehave,” and that the ordinance would cover everything from truancy to curfew violations to drug-crimes.

I fail to see how this ill-conceived ordinance will evolve into anything other than a revenue-generator for the city, which, by all outward appearances, seems to be thriving on a veritable orgasm of development upon luxury development.

The downtown district is packed with post-kitsch boutiques, neo-bondage leather outfitters, “alternative lifestyle” bookstores, dance clubs, bars, restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets, and thrift stores - and as soon as one of them closes, another one takes its place.

There is probably some justification for holding parents criminally negligent in some extreme circumstances. But this is not such a circumstance. These are neither criminal offenses, nor offenses for which the parents can demonstrably be held responsible.

This is a seatbelt law that aims to hold the vehicle manufacturers responsible for the occupants irresponsibility and irreverance. If you want to crack down on petty teen crime, crack down on the teens. Send them to community service, force them to pay fines, hold their high-school diplomas hostage - it makes no difference. These youthful offenders are, in most cases, old enough to be tried as an adult for capital crimes - we should not hold anyone else responsible for their petty offenses.


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