Street lamp damage rampage

Approximately 2 weeks ago a group of youths damaged at least 15 of the mini street lamps on Avonworth Square plus other major street signs and personal property on many homes. This weekend they have moved to the Ridgeway drive area. Parents of teens, please have a conversation with your kids, they clearly live in our neighborhood and are doing major damage to their own environment.

http://patch.com/virginia/ashburn/j...mpaign=recirc&utm_content=normal#.VCFKhrG9LCQ

 

This is going to get worse before it gets better...I think the LCSO is close to making arrests and charging several youths with Felony vandalism. I don't think this is going away quietly....

 

Will the State and HOA be able to go after the parents for the damages? Also, these people are going to have criminal records but Im sure because they are underage, it'll get expunged by the time they are 18. But Im hopeful that HOA and State/County can go after the parents for the financial renumeration for the damages their kids incur. This would have all be unavoidable had the parents supervised the kids more closely. Now, if the cops start arresting and charging the kids, the parents are going to have to pay through the nose for legal representation and for the damages. Serves the parents right for not supervising their kids.

For the record, Frederick, Maryland has a 11PM curfew for kids under 16 and 12 midnight curfew for those over 16. This was according to a friend of mine who has strict curfews with his own kids that are 18....he wants them home at 11PM so he doesn't have to worry about the cops busting his kids for stupid reasons such as "guilt by association" crap. A friend of mine who is a state police officer who lives in South Riding says that the cops WILL charge the kids no matter if ONE kid was doing the damage or if all were doing it. They all were INVOLVED and if one or more didn't support the idea of doing damage/vandalism, all they have to do is walk away and go home. Simple as that. He said he's busted kids in South Riding in the past....he leaves it up the parents/lawyers because he knows that the parents are going to have to pay for legal representation and that is NOT his problem. He said if they want to cavort or hang around kids that vandalize things while being together, that's their choice. He will arrest the entire group if they are all together at the same time no matter who exactly did the damage. Can't say I blame him. Let the courts work it out and determine who is to pay for the damage or do juvenile time.

Frankly, if the HOA has to incur the costs of the replacement of the damaged stuff, then the HOA should engage their attorneys and go after the parents for the repairs. Hit them where it hurts.
I am pretty sure many of the residents here would agree and are probably fed up with the damages and everyone having to foot the bill.

 

If you have children... Karma can be a biotch!

 

No, it doesn't have to be when you raise your kids properly and you supervise them. By the way, do you have to "cuss"? Seems you can't express yourself without cussing. Apparently, you don't have any kids which is why you go around spouting "If you have children...Karma can be blah blah blah." If you do have kids, I as well hope you know how to supervise them and not letting them hang around kids that are up to no good!

One more thing....the problem is that some parents don't teach their kids that damaging property that isn't their own can result in repercussions to them and their family. Some parents don't even have the time or don't even bother to think of teaching their kids. I have never damaged other property intentionally like these kids have because I know better and I know that if I did something like that, my parents would have to pay for the damage which I knew would be a stupid thing to do. My parents were very involved in my upbringing and taught me the value of respecting others' property. Isn't it obvious here that some parents' teaching either was lacking or completely failed?

I always drill into my young kid that the damage that some older kids do to others property will result in serious repercussions. My young kid asks me why some kids do damage other people's property...I explained to her what are some of the reasons they do that for and what MIGHT happen to the kids / parents if that happens. Its a continuous process...its not something one teaches the kid one time in their life and never discuss it again. Some parents have told me years ago that they expect teachers in schools to teach the kids about the responsibility of taking care of others property. I have always been of the opinion that its not the teachers' responsibility to teach kids how to respect others' property but it really still remains the parents' responsibility.

By the way, T8erman, why directed the comment towards me? It is really interesting that you didn't direct your attention towards the perpetrators of the damage? Guess you think less of the damage they did and instead directed your sarcastic comments at parents who obviously know how to supervise their children. Don't you have anything better to do than spite parents who know how to raise their kids properly?

 

I have 2 boys. Hence why I do not go around telling people how to raise their children. YMMV

 

Too bad.....I'll speak my mind towards parents who failed to supervise their kids. Their kids should know better and those parents should know what their kids are up to. Guess Karma bit them instead.

Say what you want to say in their defense but in the end we all know who didn't supervise their kids. I guess you are ok with kids causing damage and if they don't get caught...guess you have to help pay for it in the form of increased HOA fees. Say, do you want to supervise other people's kids if their parents dont want to take the responsibility of supervising them? Guess not. I didn't think so.

 

Megapixel cameras with very good night vision are getting better and cheaper every month. A few of these around and chances are they will get caught.

This one is 3MP and $125 on Amazon and is very small - hard to even notice. Easy to install too, and can connect to some external usb drives like a WD MyCloud (don't even need a NVR, the software is all built into the camera).

 

Whew, you assume a LOT of crap dude!

 

Yea Capricorn, lets stick to the point.... you are going waaaay off track. This is a serious issue all around. The amount of money involved is kind of scary too, even if it is split among 4-6 kids families.

 

Capricorn was right about 1 thing, if they do catch the perps (allegedly teens), make them or their parents pay for the repairs.

 

FWIW, I just heard some allegedly disturbing information tonight about the parents of the kids involved but I am not going to repeat it here because its now "hearsay" here and its besides the point here that I am trying to make here.

I agree with T8erman and Zeratul that they should pay for it.

However, what I am *NOT* doing is telling these parents *HOW* to supervise their kids...but what I am pointing out that it IS the *LACK* of supervision that LED to this vandalism/damage. I firmly believe that had supervision been present, this would have *NOT* happened. I also believe that peer pressure was also a factor in this incident too. I don't doubt that aspect. Right?

Further, it is NOT your or my neighbor's or my job to supervise OTHER kids other than our own.

Zeratul, I agree that it is SCARY to think about the amount of damage that these parents are going to have to pay for. If the dollar amount of the damage involved is VERY significant, it well may be very possible that some of the parents may resist taking responsibility for it by getting lawyers involved to fight it by asking the authorities for "concrete" proof that their kid(s) did it and/or may offer alibis that their kid wasn't there. If there were no videos or pictures of them committing the said crime, we all as a community probably would have to foot the bill unless someone DID catch them in the act. This could turn out to be one messy situation if and when lawyers get involved in the picture.

So as a community, what can we do to PREVENT this from happening again among kids in our neighborhood especially when they are NOT likely to be supervised when they are around and about since it is a given that some parents aren't going to be able supervise their kids as both parents are likely to be at work or are busy doing other things. I do not want the county to set strict curfews for our kids--it is counterproductive and only causes friction among kids and parents. Should we all work on it as a community to ensure that this doesn't happen again or the county could end up being in the business of setting curfews (Like Frederick, MD) or the judge/probation officers telling these parents HOW to supervise their kids. This is not what we want, right?

Not lecturing here....just wondering out loud here since some of us are frustrated at the LACK of supervision as some of us have been the victims of the vandalism personally.

 

If the kids sneaked out of the house around 2:00 am, it is hard to supervise. Not as simple to jump on the supervision bandwagon....sorry we just do not know enough about these families to make it sound like a simple issue of supervision. Peer pressure, sure, but at the end of the day, each one of these kids was old enough to make a choice with regards to their actions, and will likely feel the consequences.

And yes, there is video evidence and forensics as well. If this does go as far as court, there seems to be good evidence but I am sure the kids will admit and point fingers first (some of them are known already from what I heard). My guess is that this will cost $15-25k if all parties get involved and push for claims.

And I do agree with needing prevention - and there is no simple way or answer for that, but this is at a minimum a teachable moment for all families. I would suggest we all speak to our kids about this.

 

The REAL teaching moment is hopefully, when the hooligans get arrested and they or parents have to make restitution. If they are HS kids, the news will spread quickly and that should disuade others thinking they can be "cool" too.

 

how old are you kids capricorn?

 

15-25k? Wow...that's pretty significant. I feel for the parents. I believe it that some will sneak out the house when parents are asleep....as I have seen kids roaming the sidewalks at 3 am at times....and I think its ridiculous but we neighbors can't do anything about it UNLESS we see them damaging things.

Anyway, glad sherriff is investigating.

 

The identity of the teens has not been revealed to me personally, but I do know that the LCSO has been able to determine that the kids were out from approximately 10:00pm to 2:30am doing damage all over the neighborhood. And I'm pretty sure the LCSO has either identified all of them, or very soon will.

 

How can the kids leaving and getting back in the house around that time or later without waking up the parents? Mind boggling that they are out at that time in the early am!

 

I used to sneak out all the time when I was a teen. I would tiptoe down the stairs and to the walkout basement. It was easy. I didn't commit vandalism but none the less, I was up to no good and there was nothing my parents could have done to stop me.....just sayin.