CRIME: Troubled youth degrade community

Our office has recently dealt with a spike in aggravating issues (some criminal) with young adults and teens who appear to have nothing to do throughout the day.

Each morning, we find beer cans, broken glass, food trash, drug paraphernalia and more strewn throughout the parking lot. Some activities take place during the day, and we have called for help from police. A reduction in resources due to a failed levy has resulted in slow response times. By then, the offender has done the deed and moved on.

You would never guess that we are located in the city that hosted the U.S. Open!

In my opinion, all of this screams "troubled youth." When I was a teenager in the mid '80s, we had summer jobs, swam on community center swim teams, went to baseball games, movies, etc.

Although I grew up in a large city in the Midwest, I have seen all of the same offerings here. It is surprising to find what some would consider urban issues in such a serene, suburban community.

The business community and the police department are not responsible for ensuring that teens and young adults are not destroying what others have built up. I firmly believe it is the job of parents to supervise and require their young adults to volunteer, become productively active or work a job until they are able to fully support themselves. Otherwise, troubled youth become a burden and nuisance to others while degrading the status of a community.

Tacoma

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 2:19 PM with the headline "CRIME: Troubled youth degrade community."