The Fence (Youth Misbehaviour After The Election)

The Fence (Youth Misbehaviour After The Election)

 

   The teenager kicked the fence, and turned to his mates to gage their reaction. ‘He doesn’t dare does he?’ was the reaction on one kid’s face. But all the adults were inside and it was after dark. Kev wasn’t concerned that anyone would complain. It was only a piece of property, nothing more, and it was flimsy. The owner, a quiet man who was always in and out in his car, but was not well known to the kids round here, hadn’t looked after it too well. Someone said, “What you doin’ that for?”

 

   “Coz I want to!” he said. He had found other kids thought he was someone to respect if he showed he was willing to hit things. They treated him with respect and regarded him as a kind of leader. He kicked it again, a bit harder this time. It was beginning to give. The temptation to kick it again proved too hard for him. He thought he would give it another one and do some real damage.

 

    One of the new reformed policemen had noticed in the distance. He came up and confronted him. “There’s a penalty for that you know kid.”

 

   “Oh yeah?”

 

   “If you do it again I’ll have to take you in. It’s a serious offence. Its either that or I’ll have to put you in the stocks.”

 

   Kevin did it again, just a little kick, not believing the policeman would do anything about a little kick, looking cool in front of his mates. A little bit of cheek usually made him look clever and confident in front of his friends. It had always been well known that if you were under 16 or even 18 there wasn’t much the police could do about anything, unless it was a really big deal.

 

    “Right! You chose!” said the policeman.

 

    Kevin laughed, “You don’t mean it. You can’t touch me!

 

    “Oh yes we can,” said the policeman, as his colleague came up to support him, because the new reformed Police were never sent out alone to deal with miscreants. When he saw that the policemen were intent on grabbing him Kevin decided to run. Quickly the newly arriving colleague got a hold on his sleeve and on his arm, and the first policeman was there immediately to grab his other arm. Quickly he was restrained. They manhandled him down the road. The other kids who had been watching Kevin followed the policemen and Kevin at a distance to see what happened. Some of them had been close to joining Kevin in destroying the fence, but others had been reluctant although they had been entertained by Kevin’s actions and by the arrival of the police. Now as Kevin was dragged down the street by the police they were even more entertained. All of them now hung back, not wanting to be associated with Kev’s behaviour by the police, but needing to see the outcome to the evening’s entertainment.

 

    “I ‘m sorry,” cried Kevin, alarmed now. “I won’t do it again. I promise. I shouldn’t have done it. Where are you taking me?”

 

   “We have decided, said the first policeman. Your offence isn’t worth too much paperwork so we’re not going to take you down to the Station. We are going to put you in the stocks for 6 hours, and then of course there will be community service, which means in your case complete restitution. So you will have to pay for a new fence, and a fine for your crime to help fund the police time.”

 

    “You can’t do that!” objected Kev.

 

    “Oh, why is that?” replied the policeman.

 

    “You do know I’m under 16 don’t you,” said Kev cleverly.

 

    “I am aware of that, or at least I thought so,” said the policeman.

 

    “Children can’t be physically punished!”

 

    “Children shouldn’t be strong enough to kick down fences, but you just did! Actually you are well over the age of knowing right from wrong, and you were warned as well before that last kick, so under the new rules you haven’t got a leg to stand on. We are now allowed to decide on your sentence in a simple case of this sort. Being under 16 is no excuse, and the stocks is now considered to be very much appropriate in a youth misbehaviour and criminal damage case of this sort. The other thing I did not mention yet is that you will have to fix the fence yourself, under instruction of course. We expect in cases such as this where the criminal is obliged to carry out the restoration themselves that reoffending rates will be very low, once you and people like you have done the work to restore it yourself.”

 

   One of the older kids observing, who had learned a few things at school, or maybe from his parents, said, “That’s a bit right wing isn’t it? The police can’t physically punish anyone these days and certainly not kids. It’s against the Court of Human Rights to put anyone in the stocks, and if you do it to under sixteens its child abuse isn’t it?”

 

    “Well,” smiled the police officer, “we do have a new government! They are not really right wing because they say they intend to make quite a few changes to the economy, like taxing the rich a bit more, capping rents for ordinary properties, providing the unemployed with socially useful work, preventing white collar crime and exploitation of ordinary people, preventing capital flight, some trade barriers and tariffs, and policies to ensure that many of our major companies stay in British hands.”

 

     It was immediately obvious to the policemen that most of this was going completely over the heads of all of the kids, even the one who had introduced the concept of ‘right wing’. They had not been around in this world long enough to have learned yet, what was really meant by such vague terms as ‘right wing’ and ‘left wing’. They obviously had not been following much of the politics surrounding the recent elections and the resounding landslide of the New National Labour Party, which had smashed aside the failed policies of the ineffective and dithering Conservative Party and previous failed versions of Labour and other centre and right wing parties, after many years of failed economic and social mistakes and political indecision. As it happened both of these policemen had both voted for the new government, and so far they had not been disappointed. Their jobs had become quickly easier and more straightforward. They could see crime of all sorts dropping with every example made, like this one. They both doubted that any of these kids would ever seriously misbehave again after tonight.

 

   They went down the road to a local grassy area in the centre of the suburb, opposite the shops. The local bus stop was there, with a few people waiting for a bus there. A new wooden set of stocks had been recently erected here, so recently that some of the kids had not even seen it before. Those who had seen it before, had not realised its purpose, assuming it was the start of building a shed, or perhaps even a fence, somewhat stronger than the one Kev had just finished off. Some local adults, not realising its true purpose had thought it to be some kind of modern art sculpture.

 

    The first policeman opened it up, raising the sturdy wood up, directing the complaining teenager to sit in front of it and place both his hands into the carved sections which would be holes when the top section came back down. The second policeman pushed the reluctant youth’s arms into the right place and the stocks were closed over the wrists and locked. The policemen tested the arms to check the youth would not be able to withdraw his hands. There was actually a low bench for him to sit on next to the stocks, but he would not be able to lie down or move his arms or even scratch himself. It was time to leave him to his punishment.

 

  The teenage child screamed at them at first. “You can’t do this!” He still didn’t believe what the policemen had told him, but they could do this and the law now allowed them to. One of them, or perhaps another policeman would watch over the petty criminal until his six hours was up, some time in the early hours of the morning.

 

    “I want my parents,” pleaded Kevin.

 

    “We have your name and address, so the Police will contact your parents and explain your absence from home, and your Adjudication. I am sure one of them will be here to pick you up at your release time, but they are not allowed to come close to you or talk to you while you serve this part of your punishment. Tomorrow you will be brought to the scene of your crime with a handyman who will oversee your rebuilding of the fence. He will guide you how to do it, and help you a little, but you must be observed to have fixed it yourself.”

 

   “I want the toilet,” said Kev, trying again to be awkward. Adults were always keen to let kids use the toilet. Surely that simple right was not going to be taken away from him.

 

    “No now you’re in the stocks, you’re not going to be released until six hours is finished. When you want the toilet you will have to just do it. I am sure your parents will wash your clothes for you tomorrow. It’s all part of the punishment! You should have understood all this before you went ahead and committed your crime.”

 

    The policemen left him alone now, and they waved the other kids back so they could not talk to Kev. “You can watch from over there for a while if you like, said the first policeman, but really you might as well go home soon. Take this as an example of how not to behave. I hope you will all learn a good lesson from this.”

 

  By the time he was released to the care of his parents in the early hours of the morning, Kevin had come to regret his showing off. He was not looking forward to having to fix the fence because he had never done anything like that before, but at least he would be able to lie down and go to sleep properly, until the allotted time when he would be picked up and brought to mend the fence, and his parents would have to pay the costs.

 

 

PS

Kevin never committed any more behaviour offences as a youth, or as an adult. Nor did any of the youths who had been with him on that night.