Do you agree with this fine for a minor?

So, this will read like a part two to my other rant about my son and his friends. But I really want to know what others think about this.

My son was not present for this, but three of his friends vandalized walls at a business. They were caught on security camera.

Terribly stupid thing to do...not sure if my son would have taken part or not had he been there. He would have been there if he didn't have something else going on that day.

Anyway, the three boys each got $800 fines. I know this for a fact because I spoke to one of the parents and my son saw one of the tickets.

Personally, I think that $800 is steep. I think they should be held for all costs for the restoration, but the costs will not come close to $800 X 3.

personally im against the concepts of fines for kids. who winds up paying them?? the parents!! the kids then do not learn anything, and let's face it, SOME parents today at not good disciplinarians and let the kdis get away with anything.

if i was the business owner, i would have worked out deals so that the kids had to clean up the mess themselves. whether that means repainting (which the parents could pay for the paint), or scrubbing the grafitti, or gardening the landscape... SOMETHING physical that the kids do themselves--- taking the time from their friends/play to actually make amends.

just my opinion.

Was the vandalism 'graffitti" or something else? If it was graffitti then, as the judge, I would fine them a lot less ~ but they would also have to remove every trace of the markings. If it was destruction or something else. . . Cost to replace and perhaps some labor.

There has to be some way to involve the parent(s). For them to say "I have tried" seems like responsibility avoidance. $800 might be out of line, the court should have then included a "work" program so the kids could perform labor and their "earnings" go to pay the fine. Let them see what it is like to be financially responsible

zthatzmanz28 wrote:There has to be some way to involve the parent(s). For them to say "I have tried" seems like responsibility avoidance. $800 might be out of line, the court should have then included a "work" program so the kids could perform labor and their "earnings" go to pay the fine. Let them see what it is like to be financially responsible

From what my son told me, when he hears of kids getting fines, they are able to work some of it off. In this instance they are not able to.

The violation was marker on bathroom stalls. The cameras saw them coming out and two of the three drew their names...duh. The third drew a penis..genius.

I fully agree parents should have to fork over some money because that makes them hard on the kids if they would otherwise, "give a shit." That is the case with V and his dad.

I just can't agree on the fine being so steep. It may have to do with the fact it did take man hours to take the names to the local Jr. High and compare the surveillance tape to see which kids it was.

I am so glad we are not in the mix of this.

$800 is steep. They must be desperate for cash or something. I would find out how much a fine would cost in general for an offense like that. Fines, like laws, are on the books. If it's more than what it should be or more than what is normally charged, somebody is not going to be happy. And that somebody wouldn't be me or my kid.

Graffiti

The legal term for graffiti/tagging vandalism is Graffiti. Graffiti is defined by Wisconsin Criminal law as intentionally writing, marking, or etching onto the property of another without their consent. In most circumstances, this offense is charged as a Class A misdemeanor and carries a potential sentence of 9 months in jail and $10,000 in fines.

If the property is a highway, state property, owned by a juror, or if the damage is valued at more than $2,500 you could face Class I felony charges. A class I felony carries a potential 3 ½ years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

Ref: Wisconsin Criminal Code §943.017

http://www.criminalpropertydamage.com/wisconsin/

Dah well. Guess they gotta pay it.

Someone on here did make a point about the parents getting "stuck" paying the fines (Wantstolaugh?), and I agree.

I would give my child a good beating first and then make him/her do restitution before the fine is paid.

I have an idea... cane the little brats!!! in 1994 michael fay got caned.. the most he ever did in the US was get convicted of a pt possession charge and was fined $500... he went into rehab and recovered supposedly

SO BRING THE CANE to the US!!! LOL

wants2laugh wrote:...SO BRING THE CANE to the US!!! LOL

Ratan vines grow in Mississippi, and altho I was never caned, my aunt made me go get a switch so she could wear out my legs. (And you were not to bring a tiny switch or she would have gone and got one to her liking). Belts were the cane of choice for most city folks and my mom used that on me a few times.

While I did see a real leather 'razor strop' hanging on the bathroom door when I was a kid, never had one used on me like my dad or grandad in Mississippi. Those had to hurt as much as a cane.

IDK if such corporal punishment works or not - and I don't think the do-gooders have data to support conclusively that it did not.

i think if anything... the THREAT of the corporal punishment instilled fear AND respect. kids did not mouth off as much, and had more respect for elders/ other's property.

it was your generation in the 60s that created teh free for all.--- take what you want, rage against authority... see shale!! these little brats vandalized property and its YOUR fault... not their parents'!! So maybe we should send you the fine!!! lol

Not me. I'm still worried that my nephew (Who is now much bigger and stronger than me) will hold a grudge about that smack on the butt when he was 8 and wouldn't do as he was told.

as for the bamboo... i have that shit in my yard... and it grows FAST and is strong as hell--- grew thru chemicals, sand, rocks, and my pool liner --- in two days it went from not there to being 6ft tall!