THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408120221
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
As difficult as it may be to enforce minor laws, the only way Portsmouth or any other city will stem the crime rate is by starting small with young people to prove you can't get by with breaking the law anywhere at any time.
Police Chief Dennis Mook said recently that city police are operating with zero tolerance for illegal acts across the city.
If that translates into citing young people for misdemeanors, that could be a positive step. All too often, youngsters get by with little infractions. Nobody ever tells them they are doing wrong and nobody ever calls the cops. They keep on getting by with more and more illegal actions until they lose sight of what's right and what's wrong.
A group of kids breaking curfew laws and shooting craps on a public sidewalk may not seem too serious - but it is against the law. Recently, police officers have broken up several juvenile dice games.
Driving 50 miles an hour on a city street in the middle of the night might not seem too bad, but it's against the law and fast drivers ought to be cited.
Walking down the street drinking alcoholic beverages is minor compared to robbery and shooting guns into the air doesn't seem too bad compared to shooting guns into people. All of this behavior is illegal.
The fact is, breaking one law often leads to breaking another and another.
The visibility of police officers is important. Even more important, however, is the interaction of those officers with young people.
It's not very glamorous to be dealing with penny-ante stuff that sometimes takes a lot of time, but if youngsters are breaking a law, even in a small way, they should be stopped. The city shouldn't wait until people commit felony offenses to start enforcing city codes.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT
by CNB