A mother in Columbus, Ohio, is dissatisfied with how the criminal justice system treats her teenage son, claiming that it is not harsh enough.
Tiffany Hammons claims her 17-year-old son has stolen and crashed several cars, and that when police apprehend him, they simply return him to her.
“I’ve been begging and pleading – please arrest him, lock him up, do something that’s going to make him pay for the things that he’s out here doing,” Hammons told WBNS.
In addition to the theft and property damage, Hammons claims her son lacks a driver’s license.
Columbus, a metropolis of over 900,000 people, has already experienced thousands of car thefts this year, so numerous that officials have requested parents to stand up and keep a closer eye on their children in order to battle the crime.
“We’re trying, but once they’re here and they leave again, then what?” Hammons said in response. “What are we supposed to do?”
The city, according to Hammons, needs to step up and do more, not just for her son’s sake, but also to safeguard the individuals he endangers with his criminal activity.
“Since he’s left, that I know of, he’s crashed five cars,” she told WBNS. “And I reported each and every one that I know of, and he’s still out there.”
“I’ve done almost everything I could and it’s turning him against me, he’s going the opposite way and doing what he wants to do,” she said, “which is turning to the streets.”
“I think him seeing that nothing is being done is giving him more of an adrenaline rush to go back out and do it again,” Hammons added.
According to WBNS, 7,330 cars were reported stolen in Columbus in the first eight months of 2023, with slightly over half of those being Kias and Hyundais.
According to system software provider Cox Automotive, just two brands account for less than 10% of the US car market.
You may view the complete WBNS report here:
According to several studies, Columbus has a higher crime rate than most other cities of comparable size.
According to FBI data examined by Neighborhood Scout, Columbus has a “total crime index” of five, meaning that it is safer than only 5% of neighborhoods nationwide.
Using identical statistics supplemented by other sources, U.S. News & World Report found that violent crime in Columbus was lower than normal, but property crime more than compensated, leaving Columbus with a higher overall crime rate when compared to similarly large metropolitan regions.