Juvenile crime appears to be on the rise in Cleveland, Ohio. This is causing some to call for stricter enforcement of curfews and parents of kids out late. Councilman Michael Polensek is calling for change.
In August 2023, Cleveland police caught an 8-year-old boy driving a stolen car. His grandma claimed an older child picked him up and forced him to drive. He was not charged, but the older child involved in the incident was.
“The boy just pulled up on him and told him to get in the car with him,” the 8-year-old's grandma told Fox8. “He don’t even know how to drive no car. He never drove before.” One can only hope the boy has learned his lesson.
Polensek wants police to crack down on parents of young people out past curfew. He believes more tickets should be written to prevent this. “We have to take back our streets,” he said. “And that’s not happening in this city. My message to Cleveland police: Get it together. Get it together and start enforcing the laws.”
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The I-Team at Fox8 checked out the number of tickets written the last couple of years. There were 30 in 2021, 56 in 2022, and 35 so far in 2023. Most of the time, when a child is out late, they are getting into trouble. One ticket written to a 12-year-old’s parents also reportedly caught the juvenile with drugs and guns. Other tickets were given to parents of kids breaking into cars.
