Community not immune to juvenile misbehavior

Hola, BC! I hope your summer is going well. Our kids are the future. Here at the police department we frequently encounter juveniles during the work day. Kids can be a handful, as parents and grandparents know.

In addition to the laws that apply to everyone, juveniles may be held accountable to offenses that do not apply to adults. These are called status offenses. Common status offenses are truancy, running away from home, incorrigibility (disobeying parents), curfew violations and alcohol possession by minors.

Our recourses are limited. And we are frequently called upon to deal with each of these juvenile infractions. Our community is not immune from kids misbehaving. We were all kids not long ago, and you know what you did. So, what can we, as a community, do to alleviate or minimize these issues?

Communication and education are a start. We need to talk with our kids, not to them. We must teach our children the value of respect. They should understand and appreciate that being teenagers is the foundation for their identity.

Today’s teenagers have to deal with an extreme world. Technology has simplified things, but it’s also served as an eradicator of core values — values our children are in need of. If you need some help in the value area, contact your grandparents, or I work with few guys and gals who can help you out.

Let’s rock. “Control, 269, I’ll be 10-8 with BC.”

June 14, officers are dispatched to an area near Avenue A and Cottonwood Street regarding a burglary. The resident reports a local jack of all trades, master of none came into the home and stole three handguns. The known suspect will soon be located and the guns recovered. I guess the suspect’s criminal reputation isn’t much better then his handyman skills.

July 15, a victim comes to the police station lobby to report a domestic violence incident. The victim shows the officer a cellphone video of the significant other striking the victim, and then attempting to stab the victim with a kitchen knife. The suspect was arrested and the victim is cut free, literally.

July 16, while leaving work, and after burning the midnight oil, a local businessperson sees what appears to be an intoxicated subject drive away from the downtown area. Officers made contact with the subject who was getting gas at 7-Eleven. The two-step may be a dance step, but you can’t successfully complete standardized field sobriety test while dancing. It does earn you a trip to the big house, though.

July 17, subjects on Fir Street reports their daughter’s bicycle was stolen. The officers canvass the neighborhood for information. The officers’ search doesn’t discover the bicycle, but it does locate a fugitive subject with a $5,000 warrant. What can I say? Drug addiction causes collateral damage.

July 18, one of our local (alleged) copper thieves, domestic batterers and narcotics users is released from Clark County Detention Center. Hold on, don’t go anywhere. As soon as the subject is released for the pending felony charges, he is picked up and arrested on more Boulder City misdemeanor charges. The subject is transported to Henderson Detention Center. I heard of couch hopping, but not jail hopping.

July 19, a subject is at the Boulder City Hospital receiving treatment. Upon being discharged, officers are called to the hospital regarding an issue with the subject. You’re not going to believe it. The subject had active Boulder City bench warrants. I hope they can make room for one more at the jail.

July 20, officers are dispatched to Marina Drive regarding a domestic incident. The intoxicated daughter is calmed down and the family feud is quashed, or is it? Thirty minutes after leaving, the officers are sent back to the domestic incident. This time, the mother reported being punched in the face by the daughter. Henderson Detention, here we come again.

Hope you guys enjoyed the ride. Many years ago, my field training officer told me, “You may beat the rap, but you can never beat the ride.”

Be safe BC.

Officer Jeffrey Grasso is a 10-year veteran of the Boulder City Police Department. He previously served as a police officer in south Florida for four years.