buy custom Delinquency essay

buy custom Delinquency essay In the current case study, three teenagers were found outdoors at 1 AM on a Thursday night; one of them was smoking a cigarette, and two others were holding the beer cans. The young people were violating a number of laws; consequently, I, as a police officer, decided to investigate this issue. All the teenagers have violated the city ordinance regarding the curfew. According to the juvenile curfew ordinance, adopted by the Houston City Council, the minors under 17 years old are not allowed to stay in a public place after midnight without their conservator or parent. When I approached the teenagers, I asked them whether they were returning from their employment, were involved in the intrastate transportation, were on the emergence errand, and about other exceptional cases that allowed minors to stay outdoors after midnight (Houston Police Department, n.d.). The teenagers were certainly loitering and violating the city curfew ordinance. Two male teenagers were holding beer cans when I approached the group. They were to be charged with the offenses under the Minor-in-Possession and Minor-in-Consumption laws. The boys were under the legal drinking age; they both were only 17 years old. The teenagers were not drinking from the bottles, when I saw them; therefore, they can be charged only with breaking the Minor-in-Possession law. However, when the minors started talking, I understood that they were in an advanced state of alcohol intoxication. The male teenagers could not speak audibly, demonstrated inadequate reactions, and reeked of alcohol. Because of these issues, they can be also charged with an underage drinking offense. The teenage girl, who was 16 years old, was holding a cigarette in her hands. Despite the laws that prohibit selling cigarettes to the minors, she was not breaking the law because, in fact, the purchase of that igarette by her could not be proven. The possession of cigarettes by a minor, on the other hand, is not a legal offense (Washington State Legislature, n.d.). The girl did not have the symptoms of visible alcoholic intoxication; consequently, de jure, she violated only the city ordinance regarding the curfew. My investigation of this status offense case began with the examination of the teenagers concerning the reasons of their staying outdoors at night and check of their identity. When I understood that the two minors were seriously drunk, I asked them to take a sobriety test to prove my apprehension with evidence. One of the male teenagers agreed to pass a breathanalyzer test, and I recorded the results. He was drunk but was reacting normally to my words. That is why I told him about the inadmissibility of such behavior; we called up his parents to come to that place and take the teenager home. In addition, they had to attend an alcohol awareness classes together with their son. The teenager, in turn, received a verbal warning for the violation of the curfew ordinance. Another male teenager, however, was uncooperative during our conversation. He showed certain signs of unmotivated aggression and was impolite with the police officer. The teenager also refused to pass the alcohol test. That is why he was charged with resisting law enforcement and was arrested. The minor was taken to the detention center for juveniles, and his parents were called up to come to the center. His parents had to pay 300 dollars as a fine while the teenager was put on probation for a year. Nevertheless, the case did not require a trial, and it will be closed after the probation period (Texas Criminal Defense, n.d.). For the violation of the curfew ordination, the teenager had to serve 50 hours of the community service (Theoharis, n.d.). The problem aggravated when his parents refused to come to the detention center, to paay the fine and take their son home. As it became clear later, the teenagers parents were in the state of divorce; any problems with their son, in turn, on ly worsened the family climate. That is why I decided that it would be better to bring the teenager home in the morning and speak with him when he is sober. As it was mentioned earlier, the teenage girl could be charged with neither alcohol possession nor consumption. Moreover, she also agreed to cooperate and passed the alcohol test. There was no alcohol in her blood; that is why I only issued her a verbal warning for violating the curfew ordinance. The girl seemed to be sorry for her behavior; that was why I did neither took her into the juvenile center nor called up her parents, but took her home by myself (Find Law, n.d.). Nevertheless, I spoke to the mother concerning the behavior of her daughter, and the woman agreed to speak with her child seriously and to control her. The behavior of the teenagers defined my decisions on how to handle these status offense cases. I understand that the written records about the offenses related to the alcohol abuse might affect the lives of those teenagers. Their chances to enter institutes or find prestigious jobs in the future might significantly reduce because of the minor mistakes of their youth. However, for their parents and me, it was necessary to make the teenagers understand the importance of abiding the laws and taking responsibility for their actions. That is why I made an attempt to handle the status offenses in a comparatively mild manner. I can hope that the girl and the first male teenager had understood their mistakes from my verbal warnings and the educational lectures of their parents. I also think that the second male teenager, who obviously had problems with his behavior, which perhaps was caused by the complicated relationships in his family, will overcome these problems. 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