Neighborhood Watch

By Chuck Foster, Chair

Periodically, we witness (or witness the evidence of) what could be considered criminal behavior. Graffiti, vandalism, drug use, underage drinking, littering, theft, and destruction of property are examples. Fortunately, there are well understood and widely practiced methods to react to and report these events. This process is described in a paper posted on the Neighborhood Watch page on the Lakeport Cluster website.

However, what do we do when we observe children involved in these activities? We can always summon the police, but some residents will prefer a different option. For context, South Lakes High School and Langston Hughes Middle School have approximately 3,500 students combined and are located less than a mile from the South Lakes Village Center.

By 7th grade, kids are well-aware of the difference between right and wrong. And, as kids advance through high school, they become more and more aware of the criminality associated with certain acts. Teenagers should be held accountable for acts that are wrong and criminal. We should want the children in our community to have the opportunity to grow up to be responsible citizens by being held accountable.

In many cases, simply speaking with pre-teens and teens engaged in unacceptable behavior will make them stop. However, it is entirely up to you if you are comfortable speaking up given the circumstances. Your personal safety is the number one priority. For those of us who have had encounters with teens on the property, in most cases, the kids have been respectful and friendly. However, we all know that there are kids who do not listen to adults, are repeat offenders, and can be quite disrespectful and even threatening to adults.

An alternative approach is to photograph or video kids involved in bad behavior from a safe distance. Then make an appointment with the School Resource Officers (SRO) at South Lakes and Langston Hughes to report the activity and provide photos or video. With clear images, the SRO will most likely be able to identify the kid(s) involved. A troublemaker on our property is very likely to be a troublemaker at school also and, as such, well known to the SRO. The expected outcome is that the SRO will counsel the perpetrators and speak with their parents. The goal of this type of intervention is to encourage the young person to change behavior and thereby eliminate a future need to summon the police via a call to a police dispatcher.