EUCLID, Ohio — Should parents be criminally liable for the crimes their kids commit? That's what's currently being debated in Euclid City Council, with a proposal called the Parental Responsibility Law on the table.
A second reading of the proposal took place Monday night. The measure would allow for criminally charging parents when their children commit crimes.
The proposal has been put forward by Councilman Kristian Jarosz, who's concerned about the uptick in juvenile delinquency. He cites 178 cases against Euclid kids in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court in 2021, and 217 cases the following year.
3News talked to Councilman Richard Tolton about Jarosz's proposal. Tolton says something absolutely needs to be done about juvenile crime, but wants to be fair to parents.
"Because if you have a parent that's doing the best they can, and their 15, 16-year-old is just kind of running the streets, and maybe they're working third shift and they don't know little Johnny's out in the street, how do we determine that they're not being a good parent?" he asked.
If the law passes, the first offense penalty ranges from a written warning to a $150 fine, while a second offense carries the potential of 60 days in jail.
We asked Euclid residents what they think about the proposal, and they fell on both sides of the issue.
"I don't think the parent should be committed for that," Latonia Toland said.
"Put them in jail too," Mary Davis said of parents. "Let them see what time it is. Your mama and your daddy and you in jail, see what you do then, and see how the parents (are) going to feel about sitting in jail, because they ain't got time to take out to see what their kids is (sic) doing."
Council will take a vote on the proposal on Dec. 16.
At Monday's meeting, Euclid Law Director Patrick Cooney said they may be making some amendments before then, particularly concerning the jail penalty.
"There’s some discussion about potentially removing the jail provisions related to the legislation, making this an unclassified misdemeanor, which is not a normal ordinance," he explained before council motioned for a third reading with recommendations. "I'd like sufficient time to do the research to prepare the language."