Target Peoria A Bust?

I didn't have a chance to see the broadcast of "Target Peoria" the other night, but from the comments of bloggers and others I've talked to, it sounds like it turned out to be what I expected: a lot of talk and nothing new. It almost looks like it was organized to, in some way, show that Mayor Ardis and others are doing something about the crime problem in Peoria. I sincerely hope that this event was to educate people and get momentum going to combat crime in Peoria.

I have to give credit to some for the effort. LaVetta Ricca for standing up for her own, and Peoria's other neighborhoods and Peoria's television stations for sacrificing prime time television for the event (it would be interesting to see if this took place a week or two later when season premieres would air).

And while on the topic of crime, Jennifer Davis has a story in today's Peoria Journal Star regarding a parental responsibility law. This law would make parents of juveniles responsible in some capacity for any crimes they commit. Many of the details would need to be worked out on this type of law, but Ms. Davis reports that many of Peoria's City Council approve of the idea in one form or another.

The one councilman who opposed the idea was Eric Turner, who himself was raised by a struggling single mother in subsidized housing. Turner fears that punishing struggling, working poor parents will only exacerbate the problem. Makes you wonder what trouble Mr. Turner was getting into in his youth. If the kids don't commit crimes and stay out of trouble, these parents shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Common Sense of it All: I hope we are turning the corner against crime in Peoria, though it may be a slow turn. The parental responsibility law I think has a lot of merit, provided it is for real crimes committed by minors and not simple mischief that kids will always get into. A lot of the problems with crimes, and more and more from grade school kids, start in the home. If parents would do their job and instill honest values and teach the difference of right from wrong, a lot of these crimes can be prevented.