Philadelphia Police Commissioner blames parents for out of control teens

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey is lashing out against the parents of teens involved in a rash of violent behavior in the city.

The emerging trend of flash mobs, or large groups of young people organizing on social networking sites and terrorizing citizens, has people on edge. [audio:100323SBMAD.mp3]

Commissioner Ramsey doesn’t pull any punches when dealing with youth violence.

Ramsey:
Parents need to step up to the plate and stop blaming somebody else: oh it’s the schools, oh we don’t have enough to do in the rec center. We don’t have this, that, and the other. No, find something for them to do.

Ramsey spoke at an unrelated press conference on the same day a group of teens involved in flash mob violence stood before Judge Kevin Dougherty in family court. Ramsey had some advice for the parents of those kids.

Ramsey:
Why don’t you try sitting down with them and spending some time with them instead of throwing them in front of a TV or out on the street to find something to do. I mean you had ’em, you raise ’em, you take care of ’em. When they come to me, I’ve got something else for ’em.

Police responded quickly to a Saturday night flash mob incident on South Street because a parent had seen a text message and called police.