The city of Shawano, WI, can now fine parents who raise bullies.
“It creates an avenue for us to work with parents to help find solutions,” explained Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl.
The new ordinace says the city will contact parents if their child is bullying anyone. If they do not correct the behavior in 90 days they will receive a $366 fine. A second offense will cost them $681.
“At this point there’s no initial complaints or concerns out there, we’re just being proactive in working with the community to address this,” continued Kohl.
Kohl said most “parents don’t even know their child is acting as a bully.” He hopes this ordinance will put an end to bullying, which can lead to severe problems.
“It can lead to other things [like] drug use…and unfortunately suicide,” he added.
In November, Plover, WI, passed a similar ordinance to crackdown on bullying.
“What really caught my eye was the association with teen suicide, with violence with kids in schools,” said Plover Police Chief Dan Ault. “That connection was something that was really pretty mind boggling to me.”
Plover citizens have 90 days to address their child’s behavior or face a $124 fine.
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