The misguided teens who are holding Crofton hostage with their reckless behaviour need to be stopped before the situation gets completely out of control or they cause serious harm to themselves.
The same three or four individuals have already inflicted plenty of damage on the community. They obviously need help to realize the errors of their ways because it’s clearly not coming from their home lives.
One teen within the group, in particular, definitely has issues that require attention to get him back on the right path. With the direction he’s heading now, it’s not going to bode well for what might happen in his later teen years and into early adulthood.
The total disregard these kids currently have for the community is appalling. Their actions needs to be turned into something productive, not destructive.
Related story: Destructive behaviour by teens wreaking havoc on Crofton
They need to realize the extent of their poor choices to vandalize buildings and set fires and maybe find something good they can do. This is where peer groups of students from Chemainus Secondary School and others in their later teens who’ve graduated can really help. These kids need positive role models and there are plenty of them around, but perhaps not in any kind of organized fashion, and social workers have to be brought into the picture for input if this vandalism spree is ever going to end.
Non-profits like the Crofton Community Centre, Crofton Old School Museum and other organizations like the Warmland Church can ill afford to keep putting out money to repair damages.
The police are on the case, but the teens are unlikely to ever get arrested and fines would never do any good because the kids come from families that probably can’t make restitution anyway. The best way they can start on the path to rehabilitation is by doing some community service work and then maybe they’d appreciate what it takes to right all their wrongs.
But how that’s going to happen and the first steps toward making them pay, so to speak, is a big question. A community that’s been on edge for a while needs to have peace of mind about some kind of resolution being found soon.
