Should vandals be banned from Kewanee Park District facilities?
Should anyone who vandalizes park district property be banned from the premises, and if so, for how long? That question was posed by the Parks Executive Director at the park board meeting Thursday.
Parks Executive Director Andrew Dwyer posed that question to the board last week after reporting another recent break-in at the Northeast shelter. He asked the board how far the district should go in the punishment of the perpetrators.
Last year, several youths were apprehended and prosecuted by the park district for vandalizing the Northeast Christmas light display. Attempts to involve the youths in community service to help take down the Christmas lights in January proved difficult. With the latest vandalism episode, Dwyer wanted the board’s input on banning the youths from the park until they were 18 years old.
In his report, Dwyer informed the board that he had been able to obtain the names of vandals for the two latest incidents of vandalism and asked for some guidance on how to proceed.
After consulting with law enforcement, Dwyer told the board that a reasonable approach would be that if a juvenile is arrested on park property, a “no trespass” order should be issued to the juvenile and their family, and that a copy of the “no trespass” report be sent to the Kewanee Police.
Dwyer said that six youths have been charged under the park board guidelines that vandals be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Would you also like to issue no trespass orders?” Dwyer said, adding later that from what he could gather, it would be in the district’s “best interest” since two of the youths were repeat offenders.
Dwyer’s plan would call for the banishment of the youths until they were 18, although one commissioner thought that length of time might be too harsh.
By closing the door and creating a situation where vandals aren't allowed back, that’s a significant punishment, said Commissioner Paula Kapacinskas. But she questioned the burden that it would place on families with siblings who have activities in the parks.
Commissioner Steve Brackett was behind the ban, saying the district needed to show there are consequences when you vandalize park property. When the youths were reprimanded before, Brackett said, it accomplished nothing.
Kapacinskas asked about the age of the youths and how long bans would be if they were taken to the age of 18. Kapacinskas suggested a four-year ban might be more appropriate.
While Dwyer didn’t have the answer for her as to the vandals’ ages, he reminded commissioners that several of the youths have been caught vandalizing the parks before.
“I have no trouble with (banning) the two repeat offenders,” said Commissioner Jim Heberer, before suggesting warnings be sent to the other juveniles about the consequences if they repeat their actions.
Dwyer said the most recent park district ban he could find was a permanent ban and told the board that he would touch base with them again soon to ask for their decision.
This article originally appeared on Star Courier: Should vandals be banned from Kewanee Park District facilities?
