For almost a year, neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River have been under siege by juveniles who steal cars to go joy riding.

In the 6th Police District alone (about half the area east of the Anacostia), 2,724 vehicles were stolen in 2003. That’s roughly seven vehicles a day.  Officers think that more than 75 percent of the thefts can be blamed on juveniles. 

Profit is not usually the motive. Youngsters— average age 13 to 14— take the cars to play high-speed chase games on neighborhood streets. They do doughnuts in intersections, tear through yards and parks and commit other reckless driving offenses. This results in accidents involving parked and moving vehicles and in damage to lawns, street signs and fire hydrants.

A few weeks ago a stolen vehicle hit a parked minivan so hard that it pushed the minivan across my street into another neighbor’s parked car. In the Benning Heights area this summer, youths driving stolen vehicles killed two people.

But more than the damage to personal and communal property, it’s the injustice of the situation that angers residents. Here are young people who ought to have been taught better, stealing and destroying personal property, and no one seems to be willing or able to do anything about it. 

Residents fear these juveniles, who show no respect for the law and property.  I have been threatened and punched in the jaw while trying to address these teenagers about their activities.  Older people at times are afraid to come outside. Neighbors park their cars in each other’s yards just to get them off the street.

Some people talk about moving away. Even more disturbing, some residents are so frustrated that they ponder taking the law into their own hands and going after the kids themselves.

Sometimes even the police feel powerless. By departmental policy, officers cannot chase stolen vehicles. I’ve heard reports of teenagers in stolen cars taunting an officer before peeling away. When officers are able to make arrests, they say, the teenagers are often back on the street before they finish their paperwork.

The D.C. Council is considering a round of juvenile justice proposals, some of which are in response to complaints from my neighborhood about juvenile crime. 

Specifically, what many residents want is more parental accountability. The three most promising parental accountability measures in the legislation are ordering restitution of as much as $10,000; requiring parents to attend court hearings and participate in court-ordered services; and allowing police to notify the D.C. Housing Authority when juveniles living in public assistance properties commit crimes. (Note that the proposed law does not require eviction; it simply allows for notification of the housing authority.)

            Much of the response that I’ve seen to the juvenile justice bills has been misdirected and, in some cases, misinformed. Some detractors have not looked at all of the legislation, condemning the whole while ignoring the good parts. Yes, some ill-conceived proposals may be on the table. However, in my area of the city, many people believe that the proposals, if passed, might tip the balance of power back in favor of law-abiding citizens.