 By Vicky Newlun October 09, 2006
Our community has a zero tolerance for minors drinking. The problem with this is that no matter the situation (any trace of alcohol), the repercussion are the same-the youth ends up with a record. (Knowing that most youth drink for the high and social drinking is uncommon.) For those of you who thought that these charges do not stay on the records for youth under 18, you as well as I have been mislead. In Alaska, all court charges stay on the record for a judge to access. I do not want young people drinking, and I realize that alcohol and drug dependency comes with a heavy cost. But, one the other hand, I do not want to see a young person have a record to contend with as they enter young adulthood either. Another thing that I did not realize is that if a youth is caught, on school grounds , in anyway involved with marijuana, they are convicted of a felony. This charge carries serious consequences such as; the jobs that may be available, the right to carry a firearm, and others. Not to mention the court costs, etc. Many of these youth that are involved in these scenarios are kids that are at risk in some way or another anyway. For our family, I am a single parent and that has put my children in an at risk situation, by that fact alone. We know the more risk factors the greater the needs become. Having a court record is a risk factor for future success. I am proposing that we as a community, try to put our heads together to come up with some other alternatives to deal with our youth and the law. My son turns 21 soon, but he is anxious to leave Ketchikan as he feels targeted by the local police. This has lead to discouragement and confusion at a time in his life when youth this age need our support. This is not to condemn the police, as I am sure they are doing the job that has been set before them. I am just appealing to the community to look at this situation and see if this is how we want our public services to deal with this problem. I have seen the long term effects, not just the fact that yes, we are arresting these kids. I am wondering if Ketchikan has a higher arrest rate per youth than other communities. I have spoken a friend who lives in a small community in Iowa, and it sounds as though the youth there do not have to take breathalyzer. So, they do not have youth getting minor consuming charges like we do here. Only cases where the youth are causing problems because of their drinking. When I was a teenager, it seems as though the youth was taken to the station and parents were called. For chronic abusers, the police worked with the parents and other alternatives were arranged for the youth to be successful (i.e. Job corps, the service, military school, etc.) I think that we have even more resources available now. Personally, I do not think that police records are the most effective way to address this problem, nor the moral thing to do to young people. These youth are just finding their voice, let s not suppress it. Besides that, jail time is an expensive way to deal with this. Another cost is if the youth serves even one day, they do not receive the permanent fund for that year. Do want to train our youth to sit in jail and not be productive? Are we trying to bore them into behaving better? Train them that might makes right and that the police and jailers can phyically assault you legally? -+ I know my son would avoid jail if at all possible. That leads to warrants and more trouble. Then, he is constantly running away from dealing with it and starts a criminal mentality. Is this really a good learning tool? On top of all this, it hurts those with the least the greatest. I know we can find something that will address this in a better way. Recently, my son was arrested on his 21st birthday. He was asleep at his friend's house and the police were called as I understand because of the noise. My son was already asleep in bed. They wanted to know who was all there, and they wanted my son's ID. He had a warrant for missing a court date, and he was taken to jail. He had not been notified of the warrant.He was still under the influence from the night before, and he was treated very roughly at the jail. He did say that the police officer was civil, but at the jail one of the jailer's made a comment, and my son cursed at him. And that was it, several of the men took him down. When he came out over twelve hours later, his ear was swollen and red, he had a huge bruise on his shoulder and his wrists were barely able to move. Not to mention, he had been stripped naked and had to stay in a bare room with a metal floor for over an hour. He was not allowed to make a phone call because I was told he was uncooperative! It sounds like a police state to me. These young people are our future leaders, I feel like we are creating an angry young man. I am sure he is not the only one. I am afraid, those with less power are taken advantage of. When you back a dog in a corner, they fight back. Do we really want a police state, where we are submissive do to physical punishments? If we are saying that alcoholism is a disease, doesn't that figure into the jailer's right or need to beat someone up? I know many people who work especially with youth are trained in non agressive ways to get someone to comply. Maybe the correction system needs more of this training. I am afraid that if we let this get out of hand, the next thing we will be seeing is weapons pulled. (Which is another case.) The police are also gaining control over our lives, by the fact that some employers are requiring notification of anytime you are arrested by 24 hours. This could jeopardize someone's job, even if the facts are not in place and a trial has not taken place. I have tried speaking with our elected representatives at the state and federal level. I don't think that the problem is going to be addressed at that level. Therefore, I feel it is time to look at our community. Please join me in this conversation. Do we here in Ketchikan need a L.A.P.D. police force? Or would a simple form of an "Andy and Barney-5" be more the style for our small town? I am not saying that I know all the answers, nor that I am right, but I do think this situation needs to be examined for what it is. Vicky Newlun Received October 08, 2006 - Published October 09, 2006
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