It’s 10pm, do you know where your kids are? Apparently a lot of parents do not, because Sacramento has a crime problem. No, scratch that. Sacramento has a juvenile delinquency problem, and hence a crime problem.

Elk Grove has the same problem. But unlike the City of Sacramento, where the out-of-touch mayor spends more time traveling the globe in search of the solution to global warming than in Sacramento searching for solutions to public safety ills, Elk Grove is actually doing something about their delinquency problem, and you might be surprised to learn their first solution doesn’t include the word “tax.”

Area youth in Elk Grove were shocked last night when the flashing lights atop patrol cars descended on them and ELk Grove cops and sheriff deputies arrested them for breaking curfew. 28 in all were cited.

CURFEW?! Yep. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Elk Grove is so serious about addressing their delinquency/crime problem, that they recently implemented a new curfew ordinance that reads as follows:

“Anyone younger than 18 is subject to a 10 p.m.-to-daybreak curfew when not accompanied by parents or a guardian.”

Call me old fashioned, but I love this idea. For the most part–recent daytime home invasions in Natomas notwithstanding–a high percentage of crime is committed late at night, by kids, when they should be at home. Someone recently said to me, “What possible good could come out of kids roaming the streets after 10pm or 11pm at night?” Great question. I can’t think of any.

In this resident’s opinion, kids don’t have any reason to be out milling around, loitering, “drifting,” burning rubber all over our roads, throwing illegal parties, burglarizing businesses, and thinking up ways to get in trouble at night! I believe it’s high time Fargo and the Council get in touch with the problems plaguing our communities, and if they need to look to other cities to figure out how to do it, then they need to have the humility to do so for the good of our community.

Do not believe for a MINUTE that RAISING TAXES is the only way to tackle crime.

When are we going to start demanding elected officials like Heather Fargo and Sunshine Ray Tretheway do the job we are paying them to do, and present some more creative ideas to us than “sponsoring” tax increases (as Fargo seems to be so proud of)? Shouldn’t we be getting more for the $110k yearly salary we’re paying Fargo than receipts for trips to Australia and “green challenges”??

Of course there will be violent opposition to this idea at city hall. Why? Because it means people might have to start WORKING for a living. My advice? Don’t listen to them when they say a curfew will cause added police overhead, scheduling issues, jail issues, and so forth and so on. Wah. Our safety is more important than the logistical problems the city might be faced with as they learn how to implement a city wide curfew.

If all else fails, just ask Elk Grove how they did it. They managed to balance their budget this year too.. AND give their entire staff a 10% raise. Maybe they know something the city of Sac does not. Maybe the City of Sac needs to admit they are completely clueless as to how to address public safety issues, and begin turning to other cities for help. Oh but wait, it’s election season. There is apparently an unwritten rule that states to all politicians: No humility during an election season. Oh well, that doesn’t mean we have to stop holding them accountable.

Bear in mind CURFEWS are considered one in a long line of potential preventative measures that can be implemented to address juvenile delinquency. Curfews can even play a role in decreasing thew chances of some at-risk kids becoming habitual offenders. Check this out, from a Yale Univ. Educator’s perspective:

“Prevention works better and is cheaper than treatment. The sobering reality is that improving to the optimum extent how juvenile criminals are treated once they are apprehended will only reduce recidivism by at most 10 percent…..the fact is that prevention and early intervention hold far more promise than good rehabilitation programs for actually reducing crime. Children are much harder to “fix” once they have become criminals than they are when they first show signs of deviant or anti-social behavior..” - Read whole study here: http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/2/00.02.05.x.html

Ok granted, this might come as a shock to someone like Heather Fargo or Sunshine Ray, since they are both CLASSIC *reactive* types, rather than *proactive* types, but this stuff is common knowledge in true public safety and youth development circles. An ounce of prevention is worth a (say it with me) POUND OF CURE. C’mon Heather and Ray, play along.

Here is one yes vote for a Sacramento City limits curfew… and the use of BEST PRACTICES to solve common problems