Are vandals really criminals? Or are they otherwise good youngsters who somehow do not see the connection between their actions and the consequences?
What youths may see as a “prank” often has serious consequences, both in the money spent to repair damages and in the inconvenience to many people as the damage is repaired. There is also a psychological impact to the victims, the hurt feelings when one’s property has been wantonly damaged. The injured party inevitably asks: Why would someone want to do this to me?
In 2005, some 55 cases of vandalism were reported in Danville. Assuming that many “minor” incidents, such as teepeeing, go unreported, this is a very high number of crimes to be committed in a community that otherwise is safe and low in crime.
“Crime” is the key word here. Vandalism is a crime, another fact that pranksters do not seem to appreciate. It is a crime against its immediate victims and a crime against society. Some of it is just plain ugly – such as defacing vehicles with swastikas. Other times, it’s totally destructive – such as trashing the home economics room at Charlotte Wood Middle School. Both incidents were hurtful, in terms of feelings and money spent to repair the damages.
It is up to parents to make sure their children see the connection between damaging property and the results. When parents are told their children have committed vandalism, their first reaction often is one of denial. Of course parents would like to believe their children incapable of criminal behavior that is, at best, obnoxious and anti-social.
An important part of parenting is making sure your children see the connection between actions and their consequences. It doesn’t matter if youths are bored, trying to be cool, reacting to peer pressure or are unsupervised because their parents are unavailable. Vandalism and property damage are crimes. Parents must face the reality of their children’s actions and fix the “disconnect.”
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