When a Prank, Isn't a Prank

With Halloween just around the corner kids are gearing up to pull pranks, crack jokes and enjoy the spirit of the season. With these tricks becoming as popular as treats, some kids are taking it too far.

They are egging houses, rolling houses, slashing car tires and throwing water balloons at cars. These are all examples of a prank taken too far.

“Anytime you injure or hurt someone you’ve gone too far,” said Law Enforcement Official Denny Hendricks.

A trick can lead to a contagion of terror. For instance, An egg hits a windshield. A car wrecks. Someone dies. A prankster can become a convict in a flash.

Official said that parents should make sure kids know where their kids are, the difference between a prank and a crime, and the consequences of taking it too far.

While some kids feel immune from the consequences, others are frustrated with the ones who are ruining the fun for everyone.

“I think it’s fun to have the idea of prank wars as long as their harmless and they don’t hurt anything, but you just can’t have that anymore, because people get carried away,” Aviva, 16.

What Parents Should Know

Halloween and graduation time are the most popular times of the year for pranks. Some of these are “fun spirited”, but some can be more serious. Classifying them as pranks may lessen the seriousness in the minds of many kids, but the damage is consistent with the crime. Egging houses and cars, throwing water balloons at cars, and spray painting public property are just a few of the popular crimes kids are calling pranks.

While the cost of a dozen eggs is just over a buck, repainting a car that has been hit by a egg can cost $3000 or more. This is no “wax-on, wax-off” job. A raw egg can strip the paint off of a car causing the owner to have to repaint the entire car.

In addition, if a moving car is struck by an egg, a water balloon or any other object the driver will likely be distracted. Numerous wrecks have resulted from an unidentified flying prank When joke reaches this level of seriousness, lives are stake.

Spray painting public and private property seems to be at the top of the list for graduating seniors. While “The Class of 2000 Rules” may seem like a cool thing to drape across school house, it’s not attractive and it has to be removed.

Other popular, yet serious, pranks are deflating car tires, calling in false bomb threats, coating door locks with glue and opening fire hydrants.

Community Clean Up

Juvenile arrest for vandalism has escalated 25% since 1981. Public graffiti tends to be the favorite of vandals.

The graffiti growth has opened the public eyes. In an attempt to keep America clean people are fighting back.

Some communities are forming anti-graffiti organizations, asking newspaper to raise awareness, prompting local police to visit schools, and even allocating “free zones” for graffiti.

A “free zone” is an area or wall dedicated to graffiti. By creating a place for graffiti artist to display their “art”, communities hope to keep the rest of the area graffiti free.