Cities in region cracking down on youths out past curfew

I did not have fear, I hard respect. Big difference!

"The art of parenting isn't all that difficult, but it starts as soon as they can comprehend. Disciplin does not have to equal jail time, but first you have to learn how, and like someone said not waiting until they turn 16 or 17. I feel sorry for anyone that grows up fearing their parents. That's truly sad, and could be part of the problem."

Well, did you disobey your parents rules when you were growing up? Did you talk back to your parents? I did none of that, I had a fear .. it was a respect fear .. that they would be disappointed in me, not trust me or yes- ground me/discipline me. I would LOVE for you to have my daughter for a day, and then come back and tell me about YOUR ART OF PARENTING! My children should respect me, they should fear me, not that I will beat them silly ... but that they will lose my trust and that I will be disappointed and embarrassed by their actions. My daughter WAS taught right from wrong, it is apparent when you look at her younger sister. However, alot of children today do as they please and the courts will not get involved until it reaches a certain limit. Should I be held responsible for her actions? ABSOLUTELY not if she does something be

A 20 yr. old man was shot and killed at Commerce & Ohio the other night around 9pm. The age of the shooter is unknown at this time as they are still looking for a suspect. . .

I’m glad the police are taking steps to enforce the curfew but 24 in South Norfolk over the past 9 months is a bit on the low side from what I’ve seen...less than 3 a month. They could easily make the news again with a 100% increase over this year by next month. Though as the curfew law stands right now it’s quite ridiculous… 12:30am on weeknights for 16 & 17 yr. olds… 11pm for those under…Curfew times should be much lower, especially on school nights. From the above mentioned incident maybe 9pm on school nights would be a good idea to keep kids out of the cross fire. I also think that the punishment should fit the crime…community service for the child for the first offence and for both parent and child for the second offence.

I appreciate your passiveness Gertz but I don't think it is possible in my bloodline. As soon as my dad went out to see we were bouncing off the walls. I truly feel bad for my mother now. Without my dad's threat of violence we were nuts. I see it in my cousins and such too. Nah, my kids have no reason to be scared of me. They should be scared of the chains in the garage. There will be no path worn in the grass outside of our windows. The old man is too good at that game. I won't be though. I will keep them in line though.

"The problem is children have no fear, and think that they can do and say what they want now a days. The parents have lost the ability to really correct them, or face jail themselves for child abuse. I was brought up in fear of my parents, knowing they would knock me silly if I did half the stuff my daughter does"

The art of parenting isn't all that difficult, but it starts as soon as they can comprehend. Disciplin does not have to equal jail time, but first you have to learn how, and like someone said not waiting until they turn 16 or 17. I feel sorry for anyone that grows up fearing their parents. That's truly sad, and could be part of the problem.

As a mother of a 15 yr old that was just sentenced 50 comm service for a curfew violation (bc she SNUCK out of the house at 3am with her friend while I was sleeping) I am appauld at these people saying that the parents should be held responsible and the parents don't care .. etc. I for one, am hard on my daughter, demand respect from her .. however I do not always get it -- she feels that she can do as she pleases, say as she pleases, go where she pleases -- not bc I have allowed her too, bc its her thinking (her younger sister knows her boundaries). She CHOSE to walk out of the house and thank god no more than 20 min later Va Beach's finest stopped her and the other 4 kids. The problem is children have no fear, and think that they can do and say what they want now a days. The parents have lost the ability to really correct them, or face jail themselves for child abuse. I was brought up in fear of my parents, knowing they would knock me silly if I did half the stuff my daughter does. I care tremendously for my child, and felt horrible that another families child was out on the streets that was placed in my care. I am a parent that cares, and disciplines .. ask her she will t

If parents wait until little Johnnie or Suzie are 16 or 17 to try and teach them right from wrong - and try to make them mind, they're probably not going to have much luck. By that time, its too late. If parents would step up to the plate and be parents starting when the child is born, and throughout their teenage years, there's more of a chance that child will grow into a respectful young adult. NOT saying that young adults aren't going to "test the waters" but again, if parents would hold them accountable for their actions, maybe there would be less chance of repeat offenders; whether its sneaking out a window to run the streets, or whatever they may find themselves getting into. All this coming from someone who doesn't have (nor want) a child. It just seems to me that a lot of teenagers these days "rule the roost" and have little respect for their elders and/or the law.

I'm sorry, but that's a cop out! Yes, I am a parent!

Alot of the posters make good, valid points. I especially liked and agree with the person who said that parents need to be parents and not try and be buddies with their kids. Unfortunately the 'old days' in which this boomer was a kid are long gone-changed forever by a couple of generations of 'me' people. I've known people with kids like the poster who had nothing but trouble with their kid until he turned 18 and she could put him out. If she had gone to court and tried to turn him over to the state she would have been labeled a bad mother and trashed because she turned her child out. The 'all knowing' Dr. Phil had a show about a parent like that and he kept badgering her about how could she want to 'abandon' him and give him up - what was wrong with her - that kind of stuff. What was wrong with her was her evil kid who caused all kinds of problems and a miserable life.
I have to say one more thing to jamies75817. Yes sometimes the government (comprised of all of us citizens)has to intervene. We are not all singular people in this great land. It doesn't necessarily mean we're all liberals! Also, please, please read your submission before sending because the spelling, word tense

"When I was growing up, I'd NEVER even consider sneaking out of the house. Regardless of "hormonal impulses"

Yeah, well I did. Alot of us did. we turned out fine. Including the girls w/ unlocked windows. Their parents never woke up either.

"Ira, but in my neighborhood young teens are ripe-for-the-picken' by gang members who are hungry for a bigger "family".

Think about THAT."

I am calling BS. Where do you live? Most gang members in this area are posers. We used to smack them on Lynnhaven. Bunch of cowards. The recruiting was interested in the weaker individuals. If your in a bad area, perhaps you should have made better decisions in life.

Although I was never on drugs, I was a "sneak out the house" teenager. But I also spent a MANY embarrassing evenings riding with my bicycle in the trunk of my parents car going back home, as did my brother and sister. I think the difference between then and now is my parents never let up and never gave up. I think that's what the problem is today. I don't know what the future holds for my sons, but you can best believe their father and I will not have a problem going to find them.

I agree, the parents can only do so much. That is why the rest of us should be protected from them by laws that are actually enforced. I'll bet there are a lot of people who's property would not have been vandalized or stolen if those out of control were spending their youth in detention or work camps. Perhaps then, we would actually be shocked when a youngster is gunned down by another youngster. It's becoming altogether too commonplace.

My son at 16 and 17 was constantly going out at night. The only way I could have kept him in the house was to handcuff him to the bed, lock him in his room, put bars over the windows. He was vandalizing and selling drugs. I would tell the police (in Norfolk) that he was violating curfew and vandalizing. They did nothing to curb the behavior, and he knew they wouldn't do anything. My son did not have a car or a cell phone. He did have a slow computer that had time restrictions. We didn't even have a TV for a while. I wouldn't have been able to pay a $250 fine because there was nothing extra, so he wasn't "spoiled" with material things. He just didn't care and was using drugs. I finally sent him to rehab, but he came back and did the same things all over again. When he turned 18, he was out. I couldn't do that before he was legal because I would have been guilty of neglect. So, to all of you who say hold the parents responsible, I ask you: what can you do with an out of control child and not be considered guilty of child abuse or neglect?

Why not just give instill those boundaries?

Here's the difference: When I was growing up, I'd NEVER even consider sneaking out of the house. Regardless of "hormonal impulses", I was taught the meaning of consequence from an early age. If a child violates curfew, consequences occur. Period.

Otherwise it was Deep Doo Doo.

Parents need consequences, too. Saying, "Oh, they're going to do it regardless of what I say." makes for a real pathetic society. I'm not sure where you live, Ira, but in my neighborhood young teens are ripe-for-the-picken' by gang members who are hungry for a bigger "family".

Think about THAT.

"A second violation should have the parents put in jail and child taken away. Even if the "child" is 17.6 years of age. Consequences begets results!"

My parents did not know I was sneaking out until I told them in my 30's. Sometimes we would push their car two blocks from the house and then start it. The aim was always the same. A young woman who's parents were gone or an unlocked window was waiting. I have to wonder if the thought of my parents going to jail or me being taken away would have help back my hormonal impulses. I seriously doubt it.

Nevermind the damage to society such an action would cause. When did people quit thinking? At that age it is them against the world they do not understand fully. Get real.

reported an uncle being jailed because his 3 year-old niece got out and went down the street while the uncle was in the restroom. Tell me the difference in this situation and others' suggestions that parents be held accountable for not knowing where their children are or, better yet, for not knowing they were even out of the house. Parenting has responsiblities. A nudge from the law just might help parents become more proficient in those responsibilities. Tightening up at home makes for safer streets and less homicides involving children.

I find it interesting that someone would claim that because your child is out past curfew that you should be punished for it. That is assuming that the parent knew they were out. How do you always know where your kids are? Do you have GPS tracking devices? LOJACK for kids? What if a child is sneaking out of their window at 1 a.m. and your fast asleep? Do you lock your kids in their rooms, put bars over their windows as if they are in jail?

This idea of the police enforcing a curfew is, in my opinion, a reflection on the communities. The people are too lazy and want to have the impression of caring for the children, so they applaud the police for doing something, as if it's what they wanted all along and it was their idea from the start. They are such good citizens! But ask one of these good citizens to take in a battered child... Also, it is not the job of the government to raise our children but I understand the cops have to do their job. There is also the issue of the tendency to write this off as preemptive crime stopping, which I am very much against.

I guess the conflict comes from whether or not it is right to enforce my belief system on others. When does it become an issue of stepping on the liberties of the parents involved? I'm more afraid of this than anything one of these kids can do.

Kids these days think that as soon as they hit puberty, they should be treated like adults. So lets go ahead and give them what they want. Adults get arrested for breaking the law! I am so sick and tired of in one breath hearing they want to be treated like an adult and then in the next breath making excuses that they cant be held accountable for their actions because they are a juvenile. Hold them accountable for their actions.

witnessed a large group of teens out past 1 AM. They were walking down the middle of my street yelling obscenities and obviously wanting to cause a ruckus. I called the police. He asked what the kids were doing. I said, "Doesn't Portsmouth have a curfew for children under 18?" His reply: "I don't know, m'am. You'll have to ask the magistrate."

Now, I ask you....who's training these dispatchers and how can we expect the matter to be taken care of if a glib response is all we get upon reporting violations?

The parents of said violators should be heavily fined. A second violation should have the parents put in jail and child taken away. Even if the "child" is 17.6 years of age. Consequences begets results!

I agree that it sure would be better if parents of these kids would do their job, so police can be more effective. But the parents of those youth obviously don't care - until they are shot or involved in shooting someone. Being out at in the early AM on the streets is a tragedy waiting to happen.

when we where kids our parents set the curfew,not the govt.this is just another sign of generations being coddeled by the system,more govt involvement in our lives,the parents today are superfical,noninvolved,and don't want there materialistic lives interupted,,hey kinda like a liberal!and when there kid get in trouble they scream "nOt my child"because if there child is in trouble this may interupt there pathetic lives,and might have to engauge with there child.here is a great idea,if the minor gets a sommons,there should be another sent to the parents reisidents,this may encourage they parents to be alittle more involved in there child where abouts.

If the parents would be parents to these kids and make sure they are not in the streets at night maybe some of the problems we have would go away.

I'm thankful I had parents that when it got dark they made sure I was home. Yes I hated it, but looking at the world today, I would be scared to have my children wandering around the streets at night. With the prediators, and other sick people in the world.

Hey Parents! Be responsible for your children!

I moved to an Old House in the Downtown Suffolk area and am in process of re-modeling. It SEEMS that MOST of the Parents on the street KICK their kids OUT after school and WONT let them back IN til dark or LATER !!!

It winds up that those Adults who are out working on house etc, THEY wind up Babysitting the 15/20 kids running amok on street. Their Parents are NOWHERE to be seen..............

I can only imagine this is NOT a situation unique to JUST this street in JUST this City.

We HAVE Laws in place and its gratifying to hear that our Police are enforcing them.

...that Chris Sallarulo is intentionally being deceptive by covering his school sticker and has no remorse in breaking the law. But more than that, I'm amazed that his parents condone this practice. What is this teaching him? It's ok to do as long as you don't get caught. I deal with kids like this everyday, who are stunned when they get into trouble because "it's ok with my parents." The hardest part of being a parent is doing the right thing. I see too many parents taking the easy way out because they want their kids to like them. Heads up folks, you're their parent. Your job is to raise them, not be their buddy.

Since the goverment don't won't you to discipline your kids, then they should be responsible for keeping them off the streets. If they don't won't to do it then give control back to the parents. Some kids need to be spank to learn their lesson.

The parents should be responsible and fined for child neglect !!!! When my kids where that age I always knew where they were !!

I say that parents should take charge of this situation and keep their children at home - have rules -the kids appreciate this and realize it is for their own good - but for the parents too weak spined to do this that the police will now enforce this - and get these young people off of the street where they may be killed or decide to kill or hurt some hard working innocent person.

If there were not as many Knuckleheads there would not be as many laws. Sad but true.