Status Offense Laws (Case Study Sample)

Status Offense Laws
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Institution Affiliation
Status offense laws violated by the underage teenagers
The first status offense law being violated by the underage teenagers is a town curfew violation. Curfew laws of a town or a country prohibit young individuals under a certain age mostly 18 years from being at a public place during specific hours usually between eleven p.m. and six a.m. (Melli, M. and Franz, J. 1978). These four teenagers are underage and being found in the street of the town at one in the morning qualifies as a violation of the town’s curfew law. Violation of the curfew law applies to all the four teenagers as they are all found out at night beyond the curfew hours of the town.
The second status offense law violated is ungovernability. This is being in a situation or a place where you are beyond the control of your parents or guardians yet you are underage. This offense applies to both the four teenagers. Being outside at one p.m. in the morning means they had gone beyond parents control, and their parents could not have influenced the actions they could take. This is also proven by the fact that the four were found at a store that was not near a residential place where parents would be found at one a.m.
The third status offense law violated is underage possession of alcohol. Two of the boys had violated this law. The law says that underage children should not be in possession of any alcoholic drinks, and the two boys were seen in possession of cans of beer that is alcohol. That makes the two boys violators of the underage alcohol possession law.
Lastly, the status offense law violated is being in possession and use of tobacco. Young people who are under age are strictly restricted from being in possession of tobacco and its usage (Melli, M. and Franz, J. 1978). The female who was with the teenagers is the one who violates this law as she is found holding a cigarette.
Processing the scene of the underage status offense violators.
Police officers have three roles they perform in fulfilling their law enforcement responsibilities. The roles are law enforcement, order maintenance, and service (Wilson, 1968). At such a scene where police have found the underage status law offenders, police need to approach them calmly to avoid situations where the kids may sense total fear and maybe start to run. The police sometimes create a risk factor for crime by using "bad manners." When police are less respectful towards toward suspects and citizen, in general, then citizens also tend to become less respectful to the police officers and for the law (Sherman, 1997). Juveniles are critical of police practices like stopping them and questioning them.
The police should warn the four teenagers and tell them the violation of curfew laws was an offense and being out at night was not safe for them. Considering the fact that these children did not only just violate the curfew law but also were in possession of alcohol and cigarettes, the police should not just leave them to go home. The police should consider taking the kids to a safe place where they could be confined as the police contact their parents to come. In this situation, it is important for the parents to be notified what is going on first. Considering that the teenagers are of both gender, police need to handle the situation with care to avoid cases of sexual harassment.
Taking the move of retaining the teenage offenders and calling in their parents is a good step. This ensures the parents get to know exactly what their kids engage in when they are alone. Parents may know or may be able to help in coming up with ideas of what should be done to the kids. Some parents may feel their children have been engaging in such behaviors continuously and may suggest for the children to be punished or even be taken to court. Some parents may feel their kids just have a bad influence and under good supervision they will be responsible.
Handling uncooperative status offense violator teenager
When police try to talk the youths out of how they should do after they have been found offending the law, it is for the best interest of the status offense violators to cooperate. Police have a role to bring law and order if any of the youths should try being uncooperative, the police have to exercise his powers and use force in apprehending the uncooperative violator of the law. Such actions may tell much about offenders in question. It could probably mean the uncooperative teenage violator is violent and thus even more capable of committing other crimes. Crimes that are major compared to violating status offense laws (Rosenberg, M. 1965).
If such incidence of uncooperativeness is to occur, the police will have to change how he will handle the status offense case. A decision will have to be made of handling the case more seriously than just as a petty crime. The minors might have to be taken to the station to write a status and even await a juvenile court ruling.
Uncooperative parent is also a major factor that would affect how the status offense case is handled. Such a case has two implications, first the parent might be tired with trying to deal with his or her child's cases and just want the law to take its cause. Second the parent may be the kind of parent who is never concerned with the child's welfare and maybe the reason of the child being found in that situation. Dealing with such situation may mean the parent in question is also guilty of not being responsible for his or her child. This situation becomes not just where the teenager has been found violating the law but also becomes a question of the welfare of the child (Shubik, C. and Kendall, J. 2007). This would bring an implication that the teenager in question has no responsible parents and is not taken care of. Such a child becomes a special case, and his or her case should be taken to the children's department which should be able to follow up with the parent and determine the way forward.
Reference
Melli, M. and Franz, J. (1978). Wisconsin juvenile court practice in delinquency and status offense cases. Madison: Youth Policy and Law Ce...