Why is it my son of 16, seems to be constantly?

Question

being stopped by local polce, and asked where he is going, where he has been, asked to empty his pockets,give all his details etc. We have lived in this area for 5 months, and he has been stopped 4 times! Last night was he was walking along a main road with mates, carrying a stick! it seems to me, that if you are 14+ wear the wrong clothes and in a group... you are fair game?The other times were because he was walking home, alone.. and also his lights were dodgy on his bike, so they fined him £30, for being on the pavement!
Im not an over protective mum.. But even Im fed up with this now.
My son just sees it now of part of life!!!! I DONT!

did i forget to mention we live in a sleepy area not an inner city!
oh and yes, Iam aware teens are no angels, but this is overkill.. are the police doing there job or are they just looking for an exscuse to stop a group of kids..

thanks Richard P.. at least you have the right idea... considering the police bloke that stopped him ref the bike, was so intimidating,he got so close to my sons face, and said next time, the bike gets crushed..great policing tac tics eh... now he wont use his bike... period!

We live in a small village on the hampshire coast, in the UK.. not New York!!!

Answer 1

it seems that he is in the wrong place at the wrong time. if he is out very late at night, wearing the wrong type of clothes and in a big group of people, then of course he will be fair game. you say he was carrying a stick. WHY?! this could be used as an 'assault weapon' (i know it sounds stupid... but police are idiots), the police would be bound to pick him up on this.

it is ridiculous that he cant be out late at night and wear whatever he wants but the truth is that its just society and typecasting. think of this. if you saw a gang of youths carrying a stick whilst your walking home alone late at night, would you feel threatened? police think that they arethere to protect people. and they think that your son is the person that people need to be protected from. its unfair but thats just the way it is.

also if he was riding on the pavement than its just the law to be fined. children over 12 arent allowed to ride on the pavement. they have to ride in the car lanes. if they want to walk on the pavement, the y have to completely dismount.

theres nothing you can do for your son. unless you want him to stop wearing certain types of clothes, stop hanging out with his mates and stop being out late at night, which i think is completely unfair. just be thankful that they havent beat him up or anything. just tell him to be calm and respectful when talking to police (ive seen innocent people get beaten up just for defending themselves) and thats about it.

Answer 2

90% of the jobs I attend are the result of youth disorder. A 16 year old lad walking down the street carrying a stick is an intimidating sight, I would stop him in the same circumstances. How would you feel, if the police ignored someone in similar circumstances, who then went on to attack your son with said stick?
You are also overlooking the probability that it's a different officer each time and on the supposed "no reason" occurences an offence has happened near by and your son matches the description.
The police are simply doing their jobs, and stop/account encounters are a vital part of policing, they enable the intelligence personnel and other officers to see the bigger picture of what is happening in an area and who is causing it.

Answer 3

i feel for your son and you. he is just a victim of the kind of middle class twits you read on here giving out about "hoodies, neds and chavs."
people jump onto the band waggon and brand all teens into the same boat. these people usually read the mail and the sun. they then cant form opinions of their own and decide that every teen is a bad un.
we live in a country where our civil liberties are being eroded every day. the government wants to seem tough on crime so instead of cracking down on the big major players in the crime world they go after soft targets to get there beloved crime stats on going the right way (this means more results on paper)
your son was just unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. you should actually contact your police ombudsman to look into your problem. 4 times in 5 months is really a bit too often for my liking and the police do have to give a reasonable response to any complaints you have . good luck

Answer 4

I agree with those who asked why your son was carrying a stick - that's a bit suspicious, and I applaud the police for being vigilant. God knows, we need it in these anti-social times.
However, if you really feel your son is being picked on then go down to your local police station and ask to speak to the officer in charge. Put your feelings to him (politely!) and try to get an explanation.
If you're still not happy, write to the force's chief constable - the police station will have the contact details.

Lesley M - we don't generally have curfews in the UK unless there has been a specific period of unrest in an area. The police have to apply for a curfew order.

Answer 5

If there is a lot of teenage crime in your area, then naturally the police will be keeping an eye on all people who fit into that category.

Just as Muslims are probably more likely to be stopped and searched at airports because the greatest danger from terrorists at the moment is from Muslims.

The police are just doing their job. When your son gets past this stage he will be left alone.

Answer 6

If your son is harmless and doing no wrong then isn't it worth the inconvenience to know that the police are keeping a close eye on the neighborhood? What if they stopped no one and didn't care who was on your streets, in front of your house?? Probably would be more crime in the area don't you think?? If you can go out of your house at night and not worry about being mugged or worse then instead of being mad at the police for checking people, maybe you should thank them.

Answer 7

You do not mention if your son has previous experience with the police thereby giving them reason to doubt his character,if not then it could be considred harassment.Perhaps have a friendly chat at your local station to express your concerns.
At 14/15 my son was a nightmare going through that rebellious stage and was forever getting into mischief.I'm sure I only heard about half of his adventures.Now I'm glad to say that he has calmed down and got over it.I must say the police always treated him fairly despite his behavior.Hope things get better for you and your son.Best Wishes.

Answer 8

riding a bike on the pavement is illegal and if it was dark his lights should have been working, if we were driving our cars with dodgy lights in the dark we would get stopped too.

As for a gang of lads walking around carrying sticks, this could be quite intimidating for anyone else walking home at that time, I for one would think twice about walking down the same street, fair enough he wasn't doing anything but walking but people can't afford to take chances these days and does he have a bad leg, why was he holding a stick?

Answer 9

Hi Lou,

We live in Hampshire as well.

My hubby has been stopped a couple of times by the police and asked where he had been and where he was going.

He politely answered their questions and went on his way. On both occasions someone fitting his general appearance and description had committed offences in Commercial Road, Portsmouth. He was miles away in a pub at the time with friends and was stopped whilst walking home. Both times were during daylight hours.

It didn't bother him one bit because he had done nothing wrong. It just took a couple of minutes of his time.

Answer 10

i agree with some of these views here. They wouldnt stop him for no reason. Your lucky he hasnt been charged with the amount of times hes been stopped. Just tell him to grow up and stop givin the police a reason to stop him. I mean what normal individual who walk down the street with a STICK? I mean COME ON LADY; did u even ask him WHY he had a stick? Its these kinds of things that make hiim stand out from the crowd and get stopped. Teach him the code of conduct.