Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Why are they anonymous?


Washington police have arrested three 15-year-old boys and sent them to an Ohio juvenile facility on charges that they torched the former Salisbury Auto Body on Donnan Avenue? Who are these kids? Damned if I know. The identities of juveniles who are accused of criminal activity are typically shielded from public view by police and the courts. That might be fine for a shoplifter or a kid who smacks another teen in a street fight. But when a teenager is accused of setting a blaze that destroyed one building, threatened other people's homes and put the lives of firefighters and police officers at risk, the community deserves to know their names. What if they are released into the custody of their parents until their proceedings in juvenile court? Wouldn't it be good for people who live near these three to know that they're accused of this serious crime?

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3 Comments:

Blogger PRIguy said...

I'd want to know if they lived near me. Being in the custody of their parents doesn't mean anything to me. Who's to say they won't fire up another house? If there were a sexual predator in my neighborhood, I'd sure want to know where he or she lived. Arson is nothing to sneeze at.

April 29, 2009 at 3:06 PM  
Blogger Cheryl Chamberlain said...

then again, i know here in Altoona, doesn't matter what the papers say, the gossip train has everyone educated on the names of the screw ups around here within hours of the incident! LOL you'd KNOW if they lived near ya!

April 29, 2009 at 4:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't agree with this practice. I think it's more an effort to save the family embarrassment. Better to let them learn a hard lesson and bear the shame -- if they have any. It's not as though they stole candy.

April 30, 2009 at 11:56 AM  

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