We live in a world where security is one of the top priorities for most home owners. The house and the stuff inside it may not be expensive, but it does have a lot of sentimental value to you or your loved ones: a small mirror handed down from three generations before, a toy that your mother bought you when you turned six, or a small piece of jewelry that traveled from another land. Most people think that installing security devices would cost too much to protect so little; they’re the type of people that house robbers would love to get into. The question now is how do you make sure you’re house won’t be broken into?

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, as the saying goes. Most robbers would scan the area they’d like to hit before they even start planning and a house that looks unsecured is usually their first choice. Your house needs to put on its defensive face to show that you really mean to protect the people and import items inside your house: make it look like a troublesome time for them to get into. Usually this means putting up some sort of fence, dogs on the premises, and spotlights at night.

An ordinary fence would suffice and a barb wired one would be excellent. However, you need to be careful that innocent civilians or pets get tangled with them or you might be in legal trouble. Dogs serve as one of the better ways to ensure security; just make sure that they get their rabies shots and are healthy and large enough to look menacing for would be robbers. Solar spot lights makes your place bright from dusk to dawn, making people aware that there’s a possibility that someone’s up in your home and ready for action. If you feel that you’re actively targeted for a robbery then a call to the police or local enforcement may be suggested.

A solar spot light would be a good support for both the fences and dog security. You can shine the solar spot light on the fence itself, somewhat saying that if any unauthorized person would go over it would be immediately seen and reported. The lights can help the dogs in seeing in the dark even more, giving them the upper hand in securing your home and apprehending the would be robbers.

Riverside, California has begun a unique approach to dealing with teen legal trouble.  They literally face a jury of their peers–namely, other teens.  In a program run by a family court judge and Riverside police, teens stand in front of other teens accused of their crimes and misdemeanors.  They are defended by a teen defense attorney and prosecuted by a teen prosecuting attorney. 

Anyone can ask questions during the trial, even the jury.  The judge involved has noticed that kids involved in this program don’t end up in the system later; this process seems to nip it in the bud.  The police remark that the program works because teens care what other teens think much more than they care what adults think.  It uses peer pressure in a positive way.

In addition, teen juries tend to be harder on offenders than a family court judge or adult jury would be.  They almost always push for the maximum possible sentence.  The article doesn’t say this, but I expect that’s because when one teenager messes up, they all look bad.

When kids and parents agree to this process, it  keeps their misdemeanors off their record.  It can only be used for minor offenses, but the offenders are still obliged to follow through on their punishments, which usually include things like community service and serving on a peer jury in the future. 

I think this is a pretty creative way to steer kids back onto the straight and narrow.  These offenders are all first-time offenders with small-time offenses, so there’s really no reason to bog them down in the system at this point, especially not since there are so many serious crimes that have to go through juvenile and family courts. 

I like to see this kind of creativity in the justice system, especially if it works.  I’m really glad to see that other communities have similar programs in place, and I hope communities that don’t will look into it.