Show Sheriffs Sheriff's Corner r Lets Let's Talk Tall About Q Te rn IllS By ARDEN W W. STEWART Uintah County Sheriff t L Today Today's Subjects VANDALISM BY TEENS J Vandalism by teens Is one of the larger problems across the country It Is found everywhere little villages and big metropolitan areas arens Vandalism Is not notto notto notto to be confused with bombings riots and other radical activities we read about al almost ale al most dally daily However it may be reasonable reasonable reason reason- able to assume that a person who has been a vandal In his teen years and was not caught could very easily be led ledon ledon ledon on to more drastic measures later in life TEEN VANDALS who arc are caught can seldom give the reason for their actions Psychiatrists tell teU us many possible rea rea- sons Common sense tells us the most likely reason the potential vandal is out to have a good time and runs out of things that give him a kick This Is most always a more tempting activity when a teen is with one or more friends Seldom do we find vandalism committed by a lone wolf type To fight vandalism it naturally helps to try to understand it Destroying property pro perty is senseless to most people but butto butto butto to some it offers a sort of revenge against society in general Revenge because because because be be- cause the vandal does not have the things he wants in life or just the opposite he has too much and nothing has value to him THE BEST way to avoid having teens become vandals In my estimation is to see to it that they learn the value of things Possibly one way of accomplishing accomplish ing this is teaching responsibility early in life It is the little things that teach responsibility teaching a child to take care of his toys all the way up to letting him have a part time job at atthe atthe atthe the corner drugstore In short teaching responsibility means making the child follow a sensible set of rules for behavior from froin an early age 1 My regular readers probably think think I dwell a little too much on making children do the things they are supposed to do But when you stop to consider how very easy it is on a child to make him do the right thing at home rather than waiting until he gets into trouble and then someone else usually in the law enforcement field has to make him do what is right then the whole subject of demanding what is right from froma a child is much easier to comprehend MOST EVERY case where a child gets into serious trouble with the law can be traced back to the fact that he was allowed too much freedom of choice by his parents Vandalism is a very disheartening demonstration of this fact If you ever suspect you teen of taking part in acts of vandalism bring the subject sub to a head immediately Dont Don't let it go without getting to the bottom of what you suspect pin him down and get the truth from him Then take the corrective action you know is right THIS DEPARTMENT investigates many cases of vandalism each year and if your teen is ever involved kindly understand understand un un- un that we need your cooperation to prevent further acts of vandalism Isn't it better for a teen to stand up to a punishment now rather than after he has put himself in a position of drastic legal action later in life Sometimes an early punishment by the authorities will prevent a teen from going on to more serious law violations lIep this department to help all aU teens by reporting what you know about local acts of vandalism in the future As I have pointed out many teens start out outon outon outon on a life of criminal activity by com come milting acts of vandalism Surely then it is up to US as adults to stop it as quickly as possible Hiding facts we know to be true can only lead to more and bigger trouble WE SINCERELY solicit parental cooperation cooperation co co- co operation and in return r this department depart depart- department ment promises humane and adult handling handl handle ing of each case Next week our subject will be Hes lies Too Big To Spank Try to join us wont won't you |