Calling the Police on a Minor for Stealing
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
United States
March 28, 2007 9:38am CST
My daughter in law recently had to call the police on a child who was a friend of her daughter. She often came to their house to play together. My DIL was in the kitchen and looking for her rings. She usually removed them and placed them on the counter when she did her dishes. Two of the three rings she wears were there. One that her aunt had given her was missing.
Thinking back on the previous days events, she recalled the young girl going to the kitchen alone to get a drink. That was when the ring came up missing.
My DIL went to the girls house and told her foster parent what had happened. She questioned the girl and she said that she didn't know what she was talking about. She didn't have her ring. The girls foster parent didn't even bother to look for it.
Later that day Another girl told my DIL that she saw the ring on the girls dresser. It was at this time that my DIL decided to call the authorities. The young girl at that time admitted that she found a ring in her backpack and gave it to the officer. It was my DIL's ring. The girl now lives with another foster family.
11 people like this
33 responses
@makingpots (11915)
• United States
28 Mar 07
It might turn out to be just what the girl needed. A scary realization that her actions do catch up with her eventually. I don't believe that moving her to another foster family was the best idea. I think kids need to be allowed to make mistakes, pay for them and then have family there to 'love them through it', so to speak. By moving her she will probably just view the whole situation as just adding to her list of people she has dissappointed. Unforunately foster care systems are so overrun with cases that they can't afford the staff to deal with each case on an individual, what is best for the child, basis.
4 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
28 Mar 07
That is exactly the reason why she reported this kid. She wanted her to realize what she did was wrong. It was obvious that the foster parent didn't care.
2 people like this
@Lauraleigh99 (4718)
• United States
28 Mar 07
I give her credit for calling them Behavior like this needs to be stopped It is sad that the foster parents didn't look around for the ring at least or even acted like they cared it That is sad
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
28 Mar 07
It is good to call the police and report it. This child is disturbed, and is calling out for attention. But, it is not a constructive way for attention. Hopefully she will not do it anymore now.
3 people like this
@dbeast (1495)
• India
28 Mar 07
it is indeed the influence of the foster parents that the child must have done something like that.i think it was absolutely right to call the police.if not corrected now they can become menances to society later and eventually spoiling their lives.i think it was absolutely right to call the cops.hope the little girl gets to know the difference between right and wrong before it is too late.
@lonewolfnan (4366)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Having to call the police in shows how sentimental thae ring was to DIL.How the ring supposedly got into her backpack will never be known.While all indications are that she took it,there is no actual proof.Maybe it was slipped into her backpack by someone else to get her in trouble?But I found it unusual that the foster parents did nothing to help.Maybe the foster parents just wanted her out and the plans were already in place so they were thinking"who cares"?There are so many possibilities of why no one was willing to help solve the problem.I am glad your DIL got the ring back and hopefully she will not leave them around again.So in some ways there is plenty of "blame" to go around.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
28 Mar 07
I thought before you where able to become a Foster Parent they grill People. Well these People obviously did not care as the first thing I would have done is gone and looked for it. I am glad the Girl got placed somewhere else and I hope that these People are not aloud to have Foster Kids anymore.
@missyd79 (3438)
• United States
30 Mar 07
YOUR DIL tried to handle it in her own hands and the girl's foster parents were not corparating with her, so i think she did the right thing about calling the police about it, espically because it sounds like that ring was irreplaceable. I feel bad for the girl but how is she going to learn that stealing is not right, because it was not going to be from her foster parents.
1 person likes this
@meljessxena (2315)
• Australia
29 Mar 07
hmm well cant believe your DIL called police, i dont think i would if i was in that situation.. but glad she got the ring back
1 person likes this
@bindishah (2062)
• India
29 Mar 07
I think its a really sad story. Maybe the girl's foster parents didnt give her much attention and thats what caused her to steal. Sometimes such acts are just a way to tell people to notice them. I hope that young girl doesent pull something like this again and gets all the love & attention she deserves.
1 person likes this
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
28 Mar 07
That's too bad- I feel bad for the girl because she is in foster care.. Must be a reason for this- and then for the foster mom to not even inquire when she went over. It is sad! I hope that the new foster family straightens her out a bit. She probably needs love, compassion, and rules. I feel bad for your DIL also- What a sad situation.
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Its sad to think that Foster parents or even biological parents don't teach their kids that its wrong to steal.
I had a friend back in the UK who had a problem with her son stealing - yet she never did anything to correct the problem. I remember going to the store with her and her son once and I actually observed him stealing.
He would stand and look at something, then pick it up. He'd look both ways to determine that nobody was watching him, and then place the item in his pocket. He was just 4 years old at the time, and it struck me that if he knew how to steal at that age, then he'd been watching someone.
His mother was a single mom and he had no contact at all with his father. I hated to think that he'd seen his mother do it, but there was nobody else he could have seen.
I applaud your DIL for calling the police. Stealing is stealing no matter the age of the person, and they need to be taught that it's wrong. Good on her!
2 people like this
@faith90260 (52)
•
28 Mar 07
it is really sad but your daughter in law was right to call the police. She tried to solve the problem with the childs foster partents but they did not care. The foster partents my have just want the girl for the monhtly pay check that came with her, and not to teach here right from wrong.
2 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
29 Mar 07
that's really sad... how old is the girl??? it is very dangerous if she already starts to learn how to steal at such a young age... and it will grows into an addiction if nothing is being done to cure it... so your DIL is doing the right thing by ringing up the police and have the girl questioned by the police... it will make her realise not to do it again in the future...
1 person likes this
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
29 Mar 07
I would have done the same. Even though the child is a minor, it was not a small theft. A ring is valuable, or of sentimental value. Seeing as this girl was seen with the ring on her dresser, the DIL hd reasonable suspicion to call the police.It is also better for the foster child, to have this dealt with now, rather than having this bad habit develop into something more serious.
I don't know why the child was moved to another family? Possibly the foster parents requested it, or there were other issues with the foster parents.
Not a pleasant incident.
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
29 Mar 07
If she is stealing like that at that young age, she is in for a life of crime if someone dont get her under control. It is so sad when kids feel the need to do such things.
@dfinster (3528)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I think your DIL did the right thing. I know some people won't agree with this but I would have done the same thing. It was a very important piece of jewelry with sentimental value, so to me that's a huge deal. The stealing isa huge deal and I think she probably needed this to scare her straight as they say. Hopefully it did and she won't be doing anything like this again.
@AngelNicki (412)
• United States
29 Mar 07
Some (NOT ALL) children in foster care do steal impulsively... when they've been through a lot, moved around a lot, been abused, etc, it seems to be sort of their subconscious way of trying to gain control over their lives. Many kids who steal like this will lie about it, even if they are caught red-handed!
I feel sorry for the child who stole. She's going to lose a lot of friends throughout her life... This will happen again and again, and either kids won't want to be her friends, or their parents won't want their children to be friends with her. And its sad that she was already shifted to another foster home. Hopefully, that little girl will get help, somewhere!
1 person likes this
@helloyou10125 (35)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I think that your daughter in law did the right thing by calling the police. I don't agree with some of the other people posting that you should look the other way just because the girl is in foster care. She was let down by her own family and again by her foster parents that refused to hold her accountable. Your daughter did her a favor in helping her to learn that you must learn to rise above your circumstances and do the right thing because there are consequences to your actions and you will be held accountable. Hopefully the new foster parents help reinforce this important message.
1 person likes this
