Youth Crime

[Fred Tripp]

In 2004 in the City Of Pueblo We arrested 2700 youth from 10 years of age to 18 and from 18 to 24 another 1700. that is just about 5000 young people. what in the world are we coming to. To stop this trend we as a community have to be involved in the community
We are spreading hate. The Drug use in our community is out of site. Youth are begging us to help. I am doing all that I can do but it takes an involved community. our leaders need to have a plan. they need to look at what works and support it. We as a community are going in circles with no answers.

[Hell To Pay]

Usually the parent's fault.

[sweet_chin_music]

How about if instead of a community being responsible for raising juvenile delinquents, the parents of said children are held accountable? How many parents of those 2,700 minor youths were held responsible for their child’s actions? Without naming events, look at many of the things we see in the paper about kids getting in trouble. In almost every instance, the parent had no idea what their kid was doing.

I don’t see anything wrong with a parent being fined or jailed for a short period of time (less than 5-10 days) when their kid gets into trouble. Sadly, I’m willing to bet that probably 50% of those parents have already served a much longer jail sentence in the past five years. Holding most of those parents accountable won’t matter to them, they have more important issues than raising their kids.

As far as spreading hate, I see very little of that happening in Pueblo. There are some community “activists” who do a good job of riling up a few people now and then, but for the most part, Pueblo has much less “hate” being spread than towns like Colorado Springs and Boulder.

I do understand that something has to be done, but let’s be logical about it….where is the money going to come from? Our state is almost broke thanks to Tabor. Our higher education fund is shrinking and within a few years the university on the hill may be closed. Having reasonably priced local colleges are more important in my opinion than after school programs that baby-sit troublemakers. Without local colleges, it doesn’t matter how good of a job we do raising *any* kid…they will just move out of state to attend school and not come back.

[xanthme]

How many parents of those 2,700 minor youths were held responsible for their child’s actions? Without naming events, look at many of the things we see in the paper about kids getting in trouble. In almost every instance, the parent had no idea what their kid was doing.

I don’t see anything wrong with a parent being fined or jailed for a short period of time (less than 5-10 days) when their kid gets into trouble. Sadly, I’m willing to bet that probably 50% of those parents have already served a much longer jail sentence in the past five years. Holding most of those parents accountable won’t matter to them, they have more important issues than raising their kids.
.
How about the parents who are punished ??? My son is a manic depressive/ bipolar who is under at a Mental health care facilty, and in the special education program at D60 if he has a bad day (such as yells a bad word) he gets a ticket from the resident cop at the school for disorderly conduct... regardless of what I do I cannot be there 24/7 especially when I entrust him to teachers and other professionals at the school but I pay for the tickets and for everything that goes with it. I am the one punished, my son does not recognize his behavior as bad because it erases from his mind as quickly as it comes into it. Do you really believe that hurting us more will help? So I say go ahead put me in jail all you will accomplish is hurting a wounded person and hurt my other children who have done nothing to deserve it.

[Zen Curmudgeon]

Mr. Tripp, whose Concerned Parents organization I truly do respect, posted startling statistics concerning the number of juvenile arrests in Pueblo. These got me to wondering about juvenile arrests in general, and so I surfed around to the Department of Justice's Sourcebook web page, where some surprising numbers are listed for the country. (Unfortunately, the feds don't break these down for communties.)

The arrest numbers are divided into categories, such as fraud, arson, burglary, etc. The report compares the rate of juvenile arrests for three time periods: 1994 to 2003, 1999 to 2003, and 2002 to 2003.

What's interesting (and encouraging) is that in almost all the crime types tracked (a total of 31), there are declines in the arrest rates, sometimes dramatic. The types of crime with consistent increases are really disturbing:

Other assaults
1994 to 2003: + 10%
1999 to 2003: + 5%
2002 to 2003: +5%

Disorderly conduct
1994 to 2003: +13%
1999 to 2003: +0%
2002 to 2003: +6%

Prostitution and commercialized vice
1994 to 2003: +31%
1999 to 2003: +23%
2002 to 2003: +11%

Sure looks like there's some scrofulous mofros out there selling children for sex. Now these guys I wouldn't mind seeing on the receiving end of a Kevorkian cocktail.

Does anyone know if there's a law enforcement program aimed at child prostitution? Is this issue getting its due attention, manpower, and funding? If not, why not and how can we citizens change that? If there is a program, how well does it work? How can we make it better?

Take Care - and cherish those young ones in your family -

ZC

details: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/crime/qa05101.asp?qaDate=20050228. February 28, 2005.

[large]

I find the DOJ page of Juvey Crime stats interesting, because if you note, a good share of the high number crimes are most commonly linked to Drug and Alcohol abuse . . not to say with concrete surety that every larceny or burglary can be linked to either, but the odds are far better than 50/50 . . . and I'd bet that 90% of the weapons charges were associated with Dope dealing . . .

As I said on another thread, currently, Marijuana is seen as the most severe problem in middle schools, starting at the seventh grade level, and I've read of problems in larger metro areas of Marijuana infiltration into the upper levels of grade school already . . . And these kids don't see it as a "Crime" . . it's just "Flaunting" the school's rules . . . Kinda like Oral sex not being Sex . . .

And again, the estimates project 50% of these kids currently using drugs, to become hard drug users before the age of 16 . . . . And with drug use goes other crime . . . Breaking and entering, burglary, extortion, even prostitution . . . . And oddly, alcohol use is shown to become an apparent problem with the age group of 14 and up . . The younger kids prefer Grass and crack . . .

And, again referring to a post I made on the other thread . . Parents set the example . . If you do a little "chemical recreation", the chances are a a lot better that your kids will become users, just as children from homes with violent spousal abuse become abusers when they mature . . they think it's normal! If you drink a 12 pack every night when you come home, your kids see that as normal . . YOU ARE THEIR PRIME EXAMPLE!

If you're a single parent, and bring home a "sleep over" every few nights, no matter what you tell your 14 year old daughter, you can bet she'll probably be "Knocked Up" by the time she's 16 . . . It's a "Monkey see, Monkey do World" out there, and kids pick up on the "Easy" stuff first . . Doping, Drinking and Screwing is a lot easier and far more fun than Algebra!

I believe it was Judge Maes that said; "If your kids don't know where YOU are when they're 10, You probably won't know where THEY are when they're 14!"

So while I'm not saying it's the parent's fault . . . It could be the parent's fault . .

And don't go to the "Peer Pressure" excuse . . . If you can exercise control over "What they do" then you can also control "Who they do it with" to a great extent!

I'll go take my meds now . . . . .

[sweet_chin_music]

How about the parents who are punished ??? My son is a manic depressive/ bipolar who is under at a Mental health care facilty, and in the special education program at D60 if he has a bad day (such as yells a bad word) he gets a ticket from the resident cop at the school for disorderly conduct... regardless of what I do I cannot be there 24/7 especially when I entrust him to teachers and other professionals at the school but I pay for the tickets and for everything that goes with it. I am the one punished, my son does not recognize his behavior as bad because it erases from his mind as quickly as it comes into it. Do you really believe that hurting us more will help? So I say go ahead put me in jail all you will accomplish is hurting a wounded person and hurt my other children who have done nothing to deserve it.

Does this deserve putting the parent in jail? No way! You mention that your child is in special education classes and I'm assuming that he attends those classes. Fining a parent or jailing them in a situation doesn't make much sense.

What I'm talking about are the kids who ditch class, sneak out at night, live with friends, topple cell phone towers, steal cars, steal from stores and other unfavorable actions. In most of these cases the parents have no idea where their "little angels" are...nor do they care. Maybe they would care a little more if they had to cough up some $ or spend a week in jail. But like I said, a lot of those parents are used to jail so I doubt it would be effective.

There is no easy answer to solving the current problem, but the key to the future of this issue isn't the community, it's the parent.

[HockeyMonkey]

And don't go to the "Peer Pressure" excuse . . . If you can exercise control over "What they do" then you can also control "Who they do it with" to a great extent!



Large, I agree with so much of what you've said through your entire rant! Your comment though about parents controlling who their kids are doing things with is right on.

I am so tired of parents after the fact, saying "I didn't know my kids were doing that, I didn't know they were associating with those people." Well why not? Did you ask? You didn't notice the drugs, guns, knives in your child's room? I've heard too many times, I can't search through their room, that's an invasion of their privacy. Well I'm here to say, it's YOUR HOME! They can have all the privacy in the world when they own their home and are making the mortgage payment. Until that time I have every right in the world to know what my kids are doing. I may not be able to control what he's doing when he leaves, but I sure as heck can control what happens while he's in my house. Which includes, who is at my home, what they're doing at my home, etc. Parents need to be involved in their kids lives, we owe it to them, to ourselves and to society.

[Fred Tripp]

This is 2004 stats. in the city of Pueblo. I agree that Parents are the key to the problem and we must hold them accountable. because so many times they just do not give a Dam.
But we also have to help the Youth that are trying to do good and we have a lot of Them.
We as a community are spending so much of our resorces on the kids in trouble. the rest are falling through the cracks. We have to come up with a plan so all of us is on the same page. There are over 400 non profits in Pueblo and who is doing what. where is the money going to come from. At Concerned Parents I have 900 youth involved. and I do not give anything for free. I can not teach the parents but I can the Youth. Maybe they can help there parents be more accountable. When a youth dies we dont care. when a old lady get her house shot up from a Drive by shooting and we can not find out who done it
when seniors are afarid to come out side because they are scared. This is a Commmunity concern. This is our community and it is not as safe as some people think.

[large]

Fed, Where and how did your numbers come from? I'm not doubting any of them but I'd like to look at them a little closer . . . see if they're broken down into types of crimes, and if there's linkage . . . Post me a source if you would . .

[sweet_chin_music]

These are from The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding

Understanding Youth Culture

Teen Crime:

-35% of males and 24% of females have committed a violent crime by the age of 17.
-Every year over 2 million teens are arrested.

Media Stats:

-53% of teens spend 1-3 hours per day on the Internet and 22% of teens spend 3-5 hours per day
-61% of all teens own/use a cell phone

Sexuality Stats:

-47% of teens (13-18) have had sex with 8% of those having sex before 13.
-9% of teens have said they have been forced to have sex
-39% of teen girls have given oral sex
-84% of parents believe that their child isn't sexually active.

Drugs/Alcohol Stats:

-11% of teens have tried the drug ecstasy.
-9% have tried cocaine once
-40% have tried marijuana and 22% are current users
-45% of teens have tried alcohol

Things that jump out at me:

#1- Parents have NO IDEA what is going on out there. If 85% don't think their child is sexually active, I bet 95% think that their kid hasn't used drugs or alcohol. These are the same people who GREW UP IN THE 60s AND 70s!!!

#2- Teen crime isn't isolated to any one place. We probably don't have a worse problem here in Pueblo than anywhere else, but Pueblo has to be "special" so we gloss over the fact that teens every where are troublemakers.

#3- Teens have way too much free time on their hands. 3-5 hours per day on the Internet? Maybe if these parents didn't depend on the TV or PC to raise their kids, we wouldn't see so much crime. BTW...has anyone here been on the Internet? :-) Not the best place for a 12-15 year old to be spending 5 hours a day. How about making those kids work a part time job for about 15 hours a week?

#4- I don't care what anyone says....alcohol is a much bigger threat than marijuana to teens. I bet that probably at least 60-70% of homes have unlocked access to alcohol. Alcohol is much easier to access for a normal kid (normal being a kid not in a gang or basically living without rules) than any other drug.

#5-The thing that should be scaring the crap out of everyone is that 10% of teens have tried cocaine. Good lord! A Pueblo HS is what..about 1500 students? We have four of them, so that means we have almost 6,000 HS students. According to this, 600 of them have tried cocaine?!? I wonder what the numbers look like for meth? I wonder if anyone has even thought of studying that?

[large]

I don't usually "Fisk" a post . . but let's . . .

["#3- Teens have way too much free time on their hands. 3-5 hours per day on the Internet? Maybe if these parents didn't depend on the TV or PC to raise their kids, we wouldn't see so much crime. BTW...has anyone here been on the Internet? :-) Not the best place for a 12-15 year old to be spending 5 hours a day. How about making those kids work a part time job for about 15 hours a week?"]

The other day one of the talking heads was interviewing a "Teen Psychologist" who has written a book stating that "Teenagers can't think like adults" so they must not be treated as "Adults" nor expected to "Act" like Adults . . "Their brains can only handle one task at a time!" sez he . . . that's a Crock . . And if it is true, then our present generation has made 'em that way . . As I've said before, until the 50's . . There were no "Adolescents"! there were "Students" and "Young Workers" . . read some of the features about people and families that are written about the pioneering Italians and slavs who came to Pueblo in the 20's, Those people went to work when they were 13 or 14 and never looked back . . . We sent several million "Teenagers", some as young as 14, to save the world in the years between 1941 and 1945, and now they are known as "the Greatest Generation" . . I say, put the little bastards back to work . . Ya wanna car? It's no "Birthright", earn one . . . Ya wanna $400 cell phone? Earn it! Ya want 3000 minutes and unlimited text on that cell phone? Pay for it! . . that's about half the problem with "Teens" today . . the "Little Darlings" do have a lot of time on their hands . . and we give it to them! Pogo said; "We are our own worst enemy" . . . He wasn't wrong!

["#4- I don't care what anyone says....alcohol is a much bigger threat than marijuana to teens. I bet that probably at least 60-70% of homes have unlocked access to alcohol. Alcohol is much easier to access for a normal kid (normal being a kid not in a gang or basically living without rules) than any other drug." ]

Wrong! Even to teens, alcohol is "Socializing" . . Group Substance Abuse, in most cases . . . First of all, containers present problems . . closed campus schools eliminate alcohol abuse . . But a Joint is easy to conceal, and works just like the cigarette we used to smoke between classes in the Boy's room . . . "Fire up a doobie and pass it around" . . . this week School started for me, a new class of 17-25 year olds . . and because of this particular subjects timing . . We (the class) "knocked it around" a little while covering my "Ruleset' of attendance and behavior. College is, of course, "Open Campus" so if someone want's to go on break or whatever and either have a drink or go take a "Couple of Hits" I really can't control it to any extent. But we discussed it, and got into about an Hour long discussion . . . suspicions confirmed, Grass is the "Break of Choice" generally, starting in Jr high for most of them. And it's an individual thing, nothing social here . . I may talk more about this one later on the "Other" Thread.

[#5-The thing that should be scaring the crap out of everyone is that 10% of teens have tried cocaine. Good lord! A Pueblo HS is what..about 1500 students? We have four of them, so that means we have almost 6,000 HS students. According to this, 600 of them have tried cocaine?!? I wonder what the numbers look like for meth? I wonder if anyone has even thought of studying that?]

WOW! A revelation! Again, We get the disbelief, yet, fail to understand, that most of the guys that sell you Pot, will gladly hook you up with someone who does Coke or Crack, usually it's Coke . . then Crack, unless they get into Meth first. Kinda like going into the liquor store when you're 17, finding out you can buy Beer there . . th' guy didn't check yer ID . . . Weellll, what else do they have there? Some Southern Comfort, a little orange flavored vodka? yeah . . . after all, "Beer is not really alcohol" is it? kinda like Pot, just an "almost" Alcohol, like Pot is an "Almost Drug" . . You guys (and gals)who grew up using pot and thinking it was OK then, now see nothing wrong with YOUR actions then . . Just like a lot of women got knocked up, had a kid when they was 15-16, see nothing really wrong with that . . . other than you could've had a far better life with some more education, and some personal time . . . . .

Contrary to current popular belief, legalizing pot is just like beer being legal now . . Only it'll be worse, because as I said before, a teacher can spot a can of Coors in yer backpack, not so with a couple of joints . . . An' that's where it starts . . .

[sweet_chin_music]

Large, I'm more with you than I believe you think.

While I do support the legalization of marijuana, I don't support any teenager using it or any other substance. Much like alcohol, I believe it should be regulated and controlled in what age groups should be able to buy it. Like alcohol, if a teen is found even in possesion of it, a ticket should be issued and a mandatory court date established. Maybe a re-working of the law to allow for stiffer penalties and fines for underage possesion.

Like I said in an earlier post, I don't use the stuff. Never have and never will regardless of the law. I just see where the current laws don't make sense since they clearly aren't working. If the laws were working, we'd be seeing a decrease in use...but we're not! The War on Drugs is not working!! I've already pointed out that within 25 years, the average citizen will be paying nearly $1,500 in taxes each year just to support a war that we cannot win! Something, somewhere has to change.

As far as you rhetorical question, I've always thought beer was alcohol. I know of few who don't. Just because it's 5.0% doesn't change anything.

Again comparing any alcohol (doesn't matter if it's beer, vodka or everclear) to marijuana is a reach at best. Both get you intoxicated, but alcohol is still more dangerous than marijuana no matter how you spin it. You are much more likely to get addicted to alcohol and I still haven't heard of a person OD'ing on plain mary jane.

Have you noticed what the Chieftain spent an entire week discussing in their paper this week? "Teens and Drinking" Why? Because teens + alcohol = dangerous situation, plus alcohol is still the most commonly used drug for teens (although marijuana is quickly closing in) not to mention that during prom season, more teens die than during any other time of the year.

[large]

First . . Laws . . Of course the current "War on Drugs" doesn't work . . And never will until crimilization of use is placed in the same tier of offense as dealing! Without users, dealers aren't going to risk incarceration. Simple as that . . . It's still "Supply and Demand", as it is with other illegal substances . . . . No one sweats being caught with "personal use" amounts . . Just like 70 years ago, it was "Just a Little Illegal" to be caugnt with a pint of whiskey or a bottle of beer, but selling it got you 10 years! Didn't work then, ain't gonna work now!

The "War on Drugs" was an invention of your Politicians, so the Conservatives and the Law Abiding Liberals would have a "Warm, Fuzzy Feeling" that "something was being done" . . It's a Scam . . local law Enforcement Agencies do just enough to qualify for the Federal DEA Grants, so they can have SWAT Teams they don't need, Bomb Robots and other silly toys . . . As far as Interdiction, they don't dent the supply! All of you are right about "The War on Drugs", it's a waste . . . Because the law targets only Half the problem . . . . . .

Kids n' Booze . . been around since booze has . . . . If you didn't when you were a teen . . well, you probably don't even belong in this conversation . . I know in the particular High School I attended, Better than 50% of the class I graduated with had at one time or another, drank Alcohol, and of that 50% probably 75% had "Overdone" it on more than one occasion! So what's changed? Nothing, just different people doing it! And because there are more kids now, there's more kids doing it! Add in the acessability of Marijuana and other illegal substance, I'd bet the numbers you posted are pretty conservative!

and again, my students have pretty well substantuated what I thought and maintain . . Alcohol is the substance of socializing, party, get together and drink, mostly beer . . but daily, grass . . . drug of choice . . "I can go to class stoned, but I can't go to class with booze on my breath" . . . that's just asking for expulsion . .

Get it now?

This points to another problem. Have we raised a portion of a generation that has to be "Stoned" to function? I guess if that's the case, then we've paved the road to Hell with our "Good Intentions" or, our ignorance . . either way, this country's in trouble!

[sweet_chin_music]

This points to another problem. Have we raised a portion of a generation that has to be "Stoned" to function? I guess if that's the case, then we've paved the road to Hell with our "Good Intentions" or, our ignorance . . either way, this country's in trouble!

For the past 70 years, we've raised a good portion of all generations to be intoxicated/stoned to perform.

I remember one of my first jobs...we had twelve of us working in a warehouse. Four of the guys I worked with smelled of booze at least twice a week. These guys ranged in age from early 40s to mid 60s.

I've sat next to people in my college classes that were stoned or smelled of alcohol (remember, CSU-P allows alcohol on campus except in the dorms) and I've conducted job interviews with people who have a hint of alcohol on their breath. I mean, c'mon...I'm interviewing you for a job...how about you wait until I offer you the job to have a drink?

Doesn't matter if it's alcohol or marijuana, way too many are dependent on these drugs to function in society. I don't think anything is wrong with anyone of age having drinks. Hell, if they want to go home at the end of the day and have ten, it's none of my business. It's just sad when they can't start or maintain their day without a drink (or three!)

[MoralCompass]

There are times when I miss not having children, but when I read those stats I can say, this isn't one of those times.

What is missing is the "before they go bad" element of this equation. Punishing lousy parents might help in some cases, but probably won't fix the problem as a whole.

I did a stint years ago in "Big Brothers" and I have an idea what law enforcement is up against. They stuck me with the most foul mouthed little devil, who had sticky fingers. I tried everything I could think of to bond and open up the line of communication, but I finally had to admit I was in way over my head. I stuck with it for a little over a year, but the kid was no better in that time, and I grew to a point where I was looking for ways to avoid our weekly time together.

That kid was a mess, and his family was worse. I also have worked with kids who were never in trouble, whose parents and families were very involved, and those kids were indeed fun to be around and who I felt glad about spending time teaching.

God bless the people who have the guts and patience to work with delinquent kids. All I can say is that we somehow need to get involved in these kids lives when they are much younger, say 8 or 9 at the latest. As for me, I'll stick to the neighbor kids coming over for me to air up a bicycle tire or help with thier homework or to build a bird house out of scrap wood.

[large]

Quote: That kid was a mess, and his family was worse. . . Unquote . . .

That pretty much sums it up . . you don't get Roses from Russian Thistle . . . usually.

[Fred Tripp]

You all have left some great Idaes on the problem of Youth Crime. First we need to make Parents Accountable for there kids. Second They must lead by example. Show them the way do not do the drugs and then ask WHY! Third We must do somethig about the kids free time they must be taught that if they want something they have to work for it nothing is free. We must have programs that teach community. We need to show parents how to be accountable. fourth and the most important is our elected Leaders must put together a BLUE RIBBEN PANEL and come up with a VISION and A PLAN for we are all on the same page. In the last 15 years we have done 30 studies and spent countless money and we throw them on the shelf to colect dust. This is not just a Pueblo problem but Americas problem but I live here and I care not only about my children and Grand children but for all of our Children. I am so tired of talking and no one hears or cares enough. We used to be a we socity now we are an I socity whatdo I get out of it how can I benfit. It is not only our Duty to be involved as Americians we are responceablity. I have 900 great kids working for the community leading the way for change and they need all of the help they can get

[Chuckie]

Someone early on in this thread said, "Hold the parents responsible" As a knee jerk reaction I would go along with that. It's the prefect ideal, actually.

The problem with that ideal is for the past 40 years we have allowed the government, the department of social services to be exact, to slowly erode our ability to hold our own kids responsible for their own actions. Disciplining kids can be a paranoid activity. Many of the ways we were diciplined as kids is now classified as abuse. When is the last time you saw a parent give a kid a swat for throwing a tantrum in a store because it couldn't have that candy bar? It was probably when you were a kid. (maybe you were that kid) I remember reading about a parent who had this situation. She calmly picked up her kid, left the cart, and took her little girl home. Someone followed her out to the car and took down her liscence number because "she might abuse the kid when she got home". That day the police and social services were on her porch. All DSS needs is an allegation to be all over you until the kid is 18. In the Denver Post about 10 years ago there was an article about a family that had their kids taken right out of their home by the police because they were not in school. Turned out they were home schooled and scored higher on aptitude tests than public school kids. Someone had called DSS and said the kids were not allowed to go to school. All they needed was an allegation. I think it took up to 6 months to get their kids back.

Discipline, or punishment if you will, is not abuse if given uniformly and not out of emotion. It is teaching young people that there are consequences for wrong behavior. Sadly, those same kids will still be taught those consequences. The difference being that it will be taught by the department of corrections.

You want to put parents in jail for their kids wrongdoings? Give them back the ability to hold their kids responsible.

[large]

Chuckie . . . WELL SAID . . . . .

[Amberthebrat]

In some case's it is the parent but in other cases it is not the parents fault. I had a few issues when I was a kid but now I am an upstanding adult whom has a very respectable and importaint job. I have never been arrested or anything on that order. Okay I had one detention in high school because I was 2 minutes late for class because my locker honestly did jam.

My parents were almost the brady bunch type except with only one child living at home. My parents demanded a B or higher average, chores, homework to be done immediately after school, from the age of 10 up untill I moved out I had to be home before the sun went down, my parents made me give them names,phone, number's and address of where I would be. Yes they checked up on me, but I always had a plan around it. I had to get a job to pay for my gas in my vehicle when I was old enough. My mom monitored my clothes, listened in on phone conversations, ect. My Dad was a very honorable man whom did military time and was able to retire at the age of 48 from a very retibutable company, My mom was a full time loving mother whom was very strict. They always met my friends and there suposed parents.

However I still found way's around it all. Transfer phone calls to another number, older friend finding someone to pretending to be parents, parents that covered for me. Clothes that I borrowed, hidden clothes my parents would never allow, My much older brother whom they trusted to go with me on occassion and he allowed me to do things my parents would never allow, I snuck out after they were sound asleep. These are normal kid things and there going to happen. Things could have easily gone wrong, but luckily they didn't I could have gotten in a lot of trouble. None of this was my parents fault, this was all mine I knew exactly what I was doing. My parents really were doing a good job, I just happened to know how to play them like a fiddle. I was much to sly for my own good. So please don't always jump to the conclusion of it's the parents. It's not always, it is very easy to set back and judge , and thats okay because it's human nature. Try really hard though to look at the entire picture before setting judgement. Remember only god can truely judge.

[Fred Tripp]

I can see that you had very good parents. They loved you enough to be nosey. Today we have Parents who flat out do not give a dam. They look at there kids as a pay check or some one to help sell there drugs. When we have parents who try to be the best parents
they can be. We as parents can only hope and pray that the morals and values that we belive in can be the strenth that leads our children. With all of the ******** that kids face everyday it is a mircile that they make it home. We have gang members working kids 12 and under to sell the drugs do the crimes because under 12 can not be held accountable
our youngest gang member in pueblo in 3 and the oldest is 80. Please Thank God that you had parents who loved you

[Eleodoro]

The powerlessness of that parents feel today is, I think, the heart of the problem. So what can we do? It seems to me we need first to start with good facts and research -- as apparently Fred tried to do. I'd like Fred to respond to large's request for references -- PLEASE? I would also be interested in seeing a list of those "400 non profits" and their mission statements/goals. LET'S BEGIN TO ACT AS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT "BLUE RIBBON PANEL" DO. I am a concerned parent who also happens to be a professional and one of those "seniors" who has begun to fear going out or speaking up! I REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. Fred, please respond!

[Eleodoro]

Thank you, Amber! You are a credit to your parents' love! My hope is that we can use this forum to build a bridge in our community. A bridge of communication and concern among parents that will empower all of us to raise our children to the level of accountability and responsibility that you have accepted. It is not easy.