10 year olds casued $500,000+ in damage.

[Deja Q]

They took construction equipment and ran into buildings and knocked a radio tower down too. Seems a bit much to be a simple "accident".

What should happen? Just paying it back and meekly saying "I'm sowry" isn't going to cut it.

Frigging animals, you don't destroy just to get your jollies out of it.

And I remember when I was 10. Not all kids are sweet and innocent. I wasn't perfect, but some of them were quite vicious...

What would you do? I wouldn't know what to do. I'm not a parent and I'm not the law. I'm glad I'm not involved in this mess...

[7th_Sephiroth]

1. whatcha gotta do is

beat the shit outta the kids, and make them work the money off

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. Since they're into construction equipment...

I'd say a prolonged stint with Habitat for Humanity would be the way to go. That way they learn homebuilding skills and hang out with people who may be able to help them develop a sense of compassion.

As for their parents, a social worker should evaluate the situation and determine what needs to be done. Maybe they simply need therapy...or maybe the kids would be better off with someone else.

[Deja Q]

7. I like that idea, and people should decide!

I was worried I gave the wrong impression when I made this post (the best I could do was go out of the way to say I have no clue, which is the truth.)

People should be in charge of punishments, not courts. All they charge is money. The poor can't pay it back and the wealthy can pay it off with billions to spare. The middle class would get wiped out. The punishment never fits the crime anymore, especially if they're rich.

Sadly, there are more kids than willing or capable parents. And orphanages, et al, are not the ideal habitats...

[Supormom]

9. Habitat for Humanity

That's a fantastic idea! They obviously could use the influence of caring and responsible adults and they would learn a lot from this type of community service.

[amber dog democrat]

3. Not sure what to do

I bet a year in a juvinile detention center may make an impression.... and then make them live in Ardmore Oklahoma for a year after that.... or maybe Elizabeth New Jersey.

[MAlibdem]

4. Mental evaluations for the children

I'm suprised those at DU are so draconian. Clearly what these kids did was wrong and they have a certain disconnect from reality...but they should be receiving treatment for this disconnect, not prison.

Their parents should be responsible in that their children were endangered while they caused this havoc and damaged caused by their children is their financial responsbility.

[7th_Sephiroth]

6. thats whats wrong with the world now

people dont put the blame on the shoulders of who they belong, the kids did it conciously, they need to be punished, not put under psychiatric couseling (trust me, doesent work) to get intouch with thier inner selves

[Deja Q]

11. I was a child hurt by other children and the schools did NOTHING.

What do you expect, me being all sweet and nice like Smurfette?

Punish them when young for their conscious act of maliciousness, they won't do it again.

Don't give them drugs, that'll just screw them up even more physiologically. Drugs don't work (I know... and I'm amazed I'm as coherent as I am...)

[democracyindanger]

5. Linky?

I just wanna read the details.

[Deja Q]

8. TV news tonight. Channel 5, KSTP (Minnesota)

http://www.kstp.com/article/view/146900/

Interesting snippet:


"They did the damage, you got to put the blame on them," said city worker Arnold Kleinschmidt. "You can't hold their hands and say 'well, they didn't know any better' and all of that. I don't buy that."

[democracyindanger]

12. Kids in the slammer, parents whip out the checkbook

At 10, they know better. They're just lucky nobody was hurt or killed.

[FleshCartoon]

10. I hear your pain.

I've been staying at my mother's the last several months and the kids in her neighborhood go around with sticks, bats--whatever--and knock the shit out of anything they feel the urge to--stop signs, a picnic table, lightbulbs, soda bottles, each other. I even saw one little boy pick a puppy up and purposely drop it--I almost had a stroke over that one.

I'm getting a reputation as the neighborhood bitch for always getting onto these little brats, but there are never any other adults around when see this stuff--I go outside to smoke.

When I was growing up, my neighborhood friends and I would pack up together early in the morning and set out for a day's adventure--usually during the summer. We wouldn't check in with our parents until we had to be home for a meal--but we didn't do shit like these kids I see do.

I didn't vote because I honestly don't know what the solution is. I just know that, even without parental supervision, me and my friends didn't do stuff like this growing up. A sign of the times, perhaps?

[Deja Q]

14. No problem not voting, your post more than makes up for it.

Thank you for sharing.

The kids do need to be punished, but at the same time we need to know what causes kids to do this. It's clearly environmental as I never did anything even remotely this malicious and my parents kept close tabs on me (so much that they even trusted me as a teen and I did not betray their loyalty), you and your friends didn't when you were children and were checked up on by your parents, et cetera.

I didn't vote either, and I always do in my own polls.

How the parents react to world events likely does trickle down to the children at some level. But how the parents raise their children is just as important. Probably... with one noteworthy exception (money) I believe I'm a decent adult.

[Donkeyboy75]

17. I don't agree with that. I think there have always been kids that acted

like this. My father and grandfather both did shit that was a LOT worse than the things I did between 13 and 19. And they are both upstanding members of the community now. I think there's always a knee-jerk reaction to this kind of behavior. But the kids need to be disciplined, not get foo-foo counseling. Counseling is not always the answer.

BTW, what are these idiots doing leaving the keys to the construction equipment lying around?

[Lou_C]

13. My friends brothers de-railed a commuter train one time

It was during rush hour and they derailed the commuter train with people coming home from work on it.

The parents lost their million dollar home and all of their savings.

One of the boys is in prison now because he killed someone in a traffic accident when he was driving on drugs.

[Endangered Specie]

15. 50,000 hours of community service to pay it off

[Champ]

16. Whatever happens

Parents shouldn't get blamed. They'll end up paying for the court fees, attorney fees, fines for something their kids did. They are too young for the slammer, if anything they'll come out worse then they came in and we can't have a productive society like that.