Law Enforcement Officers-Please help?

Question

I caught my 11 year old daughter smoking pot. My husband and I were thinking about bringing her to the police station and having one of the officers talk to her. What else should I do? Please help. She won't tell me who gave her the pot. Thanks!!

Answer 1

Please do not do this. I know that you have the best of intentions, but police should not be the ones who "parent" your children.

I worked five years in a criminal defense law firm as an investigator/trial assistant. I can't tell you how many cases we represented in which parents did the same exact thing you are considering. However, parents were always shocked at the outcomes. Once you get your child in the system, it's very very hard to get them out. The parents turned their kids in "to teach them a lesson" but they were shocked when the police charged them instead and put them through the court system.

Find other ways to get across to your child that she is making wrong choices. Don't get the criminal system involved because it can label her a "bad kid." Many times, cops get to know juveniles and assume they did something wrong and always haul them in.

The criminal system and law enforcement agencies were not designed to parent your child. I realize this is a difficult time for your family, but if you really want to do what is best for your daughter, find an alternative way to teach her lessons. I got tired of seeing good kids getting dumped on by the system. Don't let this happen to your kid.

Answer 2

I am not an officer but when I was an uneducated kid I tried and my mom caught me. She was my friend and not so much a parent if you know what I mean. Be her friend and her mom, talk about it dont make her scared of you or the police. By taking her to the police you would probably just drive her further away and make her think the police are bad. Glad you caught her while it was pot and not anything else yet.

Answer 3

Please believe me when I say this is an honest attempt at deterrence. One thing you could do is to take Her to the poorest part of town and, (with windows rolled up), let her observe the people on the street, then take Her to the morgue and actually show her (with the permission of the Pathologist) show her where people wind up after messing with drugs. I swear, I did this with my Daughter when she was 12, and today She is an Up-and-coming Criminal Attorney. I understand the worry about traumatizing the Girl But, talk to a Psychologist, and they will tell you the younger the better the impression and after that give Her a reminder talk every 6 months or so. Reality sucks but it also has a way of being a PREVENT ER!!You must also remember that POT has been the "gateway drug" for years now. Get it early. Given in and with the best intentions
GOD BLESS/GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 4

Call the Local Police and ask if an Officer will speak to you about it. Possibly a DARE Officer. Maybe after speaking with him he may possibly"Interview" your child. If the Officer knows he has your support, he may be a little more "Vocal" than usual. NOTHING beats a parents discipline though. Make sure your read her the "Riot act" and then drag her little butt to the PD after speaking with an officer and they will make it CLEAR that this is an illegal act. Possibly, the Officer will get the name who gave it to her also. The most important thing though is prevention, tighten the reins on that daughter of yours! She has betrayed your trust, make her understand that and that it may be a long time earning it back. Keep her under your thumb, put her to work around the house, limit her social actions, keep a close eye on her and an even closer eye on her "Friends". Be strong and you and your husband better be consistent and back each other up when dealing with her. My sister in law works with troubled teens, many are on drugs or alchoholics. When asked, "what's the one thing you wished your parents had done differently when raisng you?" the vast majority of these kids said" I wished my parents had been tougher on me when I messed up and had told me "NO" more often". Good Luck!

Answer 5

put her in 1 of those programs where they take them to a prison and have the inmates talk to the kids. that will do it. and its safer then it sounds because the police make sure the inmate doesnt get too close to the kids. and dont give her alittle slap on the wrist for smoking pot. im tired of seeing parents not punish their kids when they get sent home in a police car. acctually get mad at your kid and acctually punish them and if they do it again then dont let them leave the house except for school for a few weeks. its hard but how else are you gonna let your kid know that they shouldnt have done it. (i know people wont agree with what i just said but i bet their kids are doing lots of things behind their backs that they dont know about)

nynyyankee i didnt know that there still was a D.A.R.E. program anymore around here they stopped running that program sincelike 1997

Answer 6

Start with her school counselor. Does your community have any kind of drug intervention programs? The counselor should know who they are. Involving the police at this point may be premature. Pot smoking is kind of low on the list of priorities. She probably got the pot from a friend and that is why she is reluctant to divulge the name. A drug counselor might be able to convince her to give it up.

Answer 7

Well I would start with beating her butt. Then you could take her to the police station and have an officer talk to her...however, it is not our job to raise your child. Whoever gave her the weed is not the big deal. The big deal is that she got it and smoked it. Maybe taking her to a station will scare her enough so that she won't do it again or maybe she will look at it and see that it's not as bad as she imagined.

Answer 8

I would say no, punish her, take away tv, computer, cell phone, whatever it is she normally has.

But her on a much stricter rules and the such.

You should see if there is a shock program that the police do for youths. You really don't want to get the CJ involved at this point yet,

Answer 9

Johnny money - Folsom penitentiary Blues Bob Marley - I Shot the Sheriff Ini Kamoze - call the Police Bruce Springsteen - highway Patrolman Randy Newman - Jolly Coppers on Parade :)

Answer 10

You should probably yell at her and make up a story about how a long lost member of your family is in Jail because of the same thing. Also try the gateway drug thing and show her a scary movie about drug addicts. Works every time.