DISGUSTING! How dare the police do this...UPDATE #70!!!

[kristen821]

If it's a kid's first offense at selling, they're most likely not going to be shipped off to prison for years with a felony on their record forever. I would hope that they would be punished somehow and, if there are kids with previous offenses, then they should be dealt with more harshly.

However, to let them off without any punishment sends a terrible message. "Your Honor, she was hot." should not be a valid defense to selling drugs. "Your Honor, I need money." should not be a valid defense to selling drugs. There have been times in my life I've needed money - someone should have told me it was OK to see drugs. I have some percocet left over from surgery - I can get about $150./pill for them on the street. If I'm somewhere and a hot guy asks me if I have percs and I need the money, it's OK that I sell them?

The kid that said he needed money said that he keeps his drug money seperate. To me that sounds like a "cooler" way of saying I have to give it to the drug dealer. I think these kids were just the middle man. I maybe wrong, but a drug dealer would never complain about not having money and if they were dealers she would have made more than 31 transactions in 4 months. That is a average of 3.4 transaction a kid

 

[kristen821]

So is speeding
So is cheating on your income taxes
So is not coming to a FULL and COMPLETE stop at a stop sign
So is jaywalking
So is spitting on the sidewalk in some places

Everything is relative. Picture a 16 year old boy. A gorgeous blond is being nice to him and tells him how her mother died, her father abandoned her and she needs drugs to kill her pain. Is it wrong for him to get a 40 dollar bag of pot for her? Yes it is. Do I want my tax dollars being spent on the police worrying about that? No way! Do I want that kids life ruined? No.
Now if they had hauled him in, found out who he got it from and worked their way up the chain, it begins to make sense.
It looks like they didn't do that though. Much easier to grab a few grandstanding headlines.

I completely agree. They deserve a slap on the wrist not to be charged with someone elses crime.

 

[AllyandJack]

So how many transactions do we allow before we decide to do something about it? Ten? Twenty?

I said before, if it's a first offense, then maybe they should get some community service and have it removed from their record if they comply and have a clean record. Lesson learned. However, if they are repeat offenders or if they were one of the kids where large amounts of drugs were in their house, there needs to be more severe punishment. Maybe if they're punished at 17, they won't need to be punished at 27.

 

[Viking]

So is speeding
So is cheating on your income taxes
So is not coming to a FULL and COMPLETE stop at a stop sign
So is jaywalking
So is spitting on the sidewalk in some places

Everything is relative. Picture a 16 year old boy. A gorgeous blond is being nice to him and tells him how her mother died, her father abandoned her and she needs drugs to kill her pain. Is it wrong for him to get a 40 dollar bag of pot for her? Yes it is. Do I want my tax dollars being spent on the police worrying about that? No way! Do I want that kids life ruined? No.
Now if they had hauled him in, found out who he got it from and worked their way up the chain, it begins to make sense.
It looks like they didn't do that though. Much easier to grab a few grandstanding headlines.

Exactly my thoughts. BTW over here they would still be juvenile delinquents, because they are under 21. If they were first offenders, they would get a slap on the hand, had to do some weekends washing policecars or ambulances, working in drug counselling office, or in a senior citizen's home.
No reason to ruin their life.

 

[canwegosoon]

And I guess the 16yo with $3,500 just has a large allowance???
D E A L E R

 

[kristen821]

So how many transactions do we allow before we decide to do something about it? Ten? Twenty?

I said before, if it's a first offense, then maybe they should get some community service and have it removed from their record if they comply and have a clean record. Lesson learned. However, if they are repeat offenders or if they were one of the kids where large amounts of drugs were in their house, there needs to be more severe punishment. Maybe if they're punished at 17, they won't need to be punished at 27.

I agree with this a small punishment is fine, but I don't think they should be charged with drug dealing. 31 transactions between 9 kids in 4 months does not lead me to believe they are dealers. I believe all they did was pick the drugs up for her. I am not saying that isn't wrong, but I think the punishment needs to fit the crime. They don't deserve to be charged with a class x felony.

 

[Saffron]

As much as I think this was a mountain made out of a mole hill, I don't believe the cop was to blame either. She can't help being hot. It's one of those things that has to be addressed from the top down, not just with the individual cop or individual "drug dealers".

 

[kristen821]

And I guess the 16yo with $3,500 just has a large allowance???
D E A L E R

This may be the only exception. I don't know. There can be another explanation for that money too. Who knows.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I agree with this a small punishment is fine, but I don't think they should be charged with drug dealing. 31 transactions between 9 kids in 4 months does not lead me to believe they are dealers. I believe all they did was pick the drugs up for her. I am not saying that isn't wrong, but I think the punishment needs to fit the crime. They don't deserve to be charged with a class x felony.

What if it wasn't a cop they sold Ecstasy to, but your child? Would you feel the same way about the punishment?

I think 3 months is long enough to determine where the drug problem in the school was coming from. Remember, the cop was put in there because of the growing complaints about drugs in the school. This school was not randonly chosen out of a hat. It obviously was having a serious problem with drugs.

 

[kristen821]

What if it wasn't a cop they sold Ecstasy to, but your child? Would you feel the same way about the punishment?

I think 3 months is long enough to determine where the drug problem in the school was coming from. Remember, the cop was put in there because of the growing complaints about drugs in the school. This school was not randonly chosen out of a hat. It obviously was having a serious problem with drugs.

Yes I would feel the same way if my child asked someone to get drugs for them. If these people were the actual dealers why didn't they find more then $3500 at one kids house. Don't you think they would have found drugs somewhere. Don't you think she would have made more than 31 transactions. Wouldn't she buy enough to really get them not $40 here a $100 there.

 

[DawnCt1]

That is 100% NOT true they do arrest first time offenders.
I sort of understand where the OP is coming from.
If the police officer went into the school, started actually investigating, digging and working her way up to the dealers that were actually bringing drugs into the school that would be a good thing. That would be a long, hard and dangerous job.

If she went in, tricked a couple of kids that were not previously selling drugs into scoring for her and then mass arresting them so we can have a big media splash, what a waste. The school isn't any safer and it was a big waste of taxpayer money.

Until that information comes out at trial, and it will, it's very hard to judge whether this was an effective police action or a suburban police department pretending to be super cops.

Good assessment Alex. Nothing changes except "appearances". In the meantime, the serious dealers will be up and running again in no time.

 

[AllyandJack]

I don't understand the distinction between the kids who procured the drugs and the dealers. Everyone is a middle man, unless you're the one making it. They all start somewhere. At some point, these elusive dealers were averaging one or two transactions a month. Maybe if a cop had busted them at that stage, they wouldn't have moved up in the chain to be the middle man for a higher up and on a larger scale to average more transactions a month.

IMO, if you're getting drugs and taking money for it, you're a dealer. Whether you move on to pay someone else who will kill you for the money doesn't make a difference. Whether you get the 10% or you get the 90%, you're dealing drugs. Whether you get the drugs from a stash at home or from someone's jacket pockt, you're dealing drugs. If you're bad at it and don't make much money, that doesn't make you innocent.

 

[kristen821]

Good assessment Alex. Nothing changes except "appearances". In the meantime, the serious dealers will be up and running again in no time.

The serious dealers are still up and running they weren't arrested

 

[Free4Life11]

Exactly. The people who supplied these kids will fine new clients. Nothing is really changing. And kids in the school who are drug users will still find a way to get drugs. The "War on Drugs" is so misguided IMO.

 

[kristen821]

I don't understand the distinction between the kids who procured the drugs and the dealers. Everyone is a middle man, unless you're the one making it. They all start somewhere. At some point, these elusive dealers were averaging one or two transactions a month. Maybe if a cop had busted them at that stage, they wouldn't have moved up in the chain to be the middle man for a higher up and on a larger scale to average more transactions a month.

IMO, if you're getting drugs and taking money for it, you're a dealer. Whether you move on to pay someone else who will kill you for the money doesn't make a difference. Whether you get the 10% or you get the 90%, you're dealing drugs. Whether you get the drugs from a stash at home or from someone's jacket pockt, you're dealing drugs. If you're bad at it and don't make much money, that doesn't make you innocent.

They probably didn't make any money for it. My guess is they got the money from her and paid the dealer.

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

There is a good chance these kids will be arrested for class x felonies when it is a police officers fault they had the drugs on them anyway. Not to mention expelled from school. That will really help thier future

you do know that if a child is expelled from school, that the school will then have to pay for them to go to a reform school.(at least thats how it is in Jersey, chances are its not that different from this school)

IMHO education is privlege, if you abuse it..it goes away. They obviously dont care about their education, so why keep trying. Let them fall, they will then, if they learn to care, pick themselves up

 

[AllyandJack]

They probably didn't make any money for it. My guess is they got the money from her and paid the dealer.

Right. So, they were bad at it. If I go into a store and steal something for my friend and don't get any remuneration, am I not still a shoplifter? I did her a favor and got her the five-finger discount out of the goodness of my heart and expected no money in return. Does that excuse my shoplifting? Again, I don't think first time offenders should be ruined forever, but they're not innocent in all this.

 

[cardaway]

Exactly. The people who supplied these kids will fine new clients. Nothing is really changing. And kids in the school who are drug users will still find a way to get drugs. The "War on Drugs" is so misguided IMO.

If they only arrested some small time users I agree. But given the undercover situation I believed they didn't arrest anybody but the top offenders or dealers.

 

[Free4Life11]

They found $3500. If they were top dealers where is the rest of the money?

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I am floored by what I am reading.

Yes speeding is illegal and if I am caught I will get a ticket.

But is speeding the same thing as selling drugs in school to other student who just might be mine or yours. Selling drugs affects so many more people these days. Drugs can ruin so many lives and families. And yes it might just start out as one little joint than they move up to stronger and more deadly drugs. And I don't want my kids to have to deal with DRUG DEALING kids in school. I want her to be able to go to school and focus on her education.

So does it mean it would have been okay if the Undercover cop was ugly and they still sold her drugs. Not sure what it matters if she was hot or not. They sold drugs and they got drugs from somewhere to sell to her.

Maybe this will turn their lives around while they still have a chance to make a change in their lives.