What to do…
There was a bomb threat at the West Bend High Schools yesterday. Here’s what the police reported today:
BOMB SCARE
1305 E. Decorah Rd. West Bend High Schools
On Tuesday, May 03, 2016 at 9:15 a.m. investigators from the West Bend Police Department took a 15 year old female student into custody for a bomb threat that was made at the High School on Monday, May 2, 2016. The 15 year old girl is being detained, and charges of Bomb Scare and Disorderly Conduct are being referred to juvenile authorities.We would like to thank administrators and staff from the high schools and school district for their quick response to this incident, and for their help in quickly clearing this crime.
Great! Good work by the police resolving the case quickly. In the comments of that post, the mother of the perpetrator commented saying:
Assuming all of that is true, it’s hard to not feel compassion for the kid and her parents. It looks like the kid is struggling and made a bonehead decision – the kind of bonehead decision that is common in 15-year-olds. At the same time, it looks like the parents are solid folks and undoubtedly instilled a sense of right and wrong in their daughter. The kid was smart enough to know that making a bomb threat was wrong and that it was a big deal.
As sad as it might be, the girl must be treated severely. She might be a bit too young to charge as an adult, but it should be considered. Either way, she should serve some jail time for her actions. The only way we are going to prevent kids from making bomb threats to disrupt school is to treat them severely when they do. The consequences must be designed to not only punish the kid who made the threat, but deter all of the other kids who might think of doing the same thing.
On the bright side, it looks like the kid who made the threat is going to have a very bad year, but with the loving support of her family and friends, she has a good chance of coming out of it a better-adjusted adult. Sometimes a lesson learned the hard way while young helps mold some pretty spectacular adults.
Jail time? For a 15-year-old? On one hand, fifteen-year-olds are commonly making bonehead decisions, but you think they’ll be deterred because – next fall – they’ll hear a story about that kid who left school last spring?