L.B. Council Wary of ‘Costly’ Proposals to Curb Child Drug Use

Educating youngsters early about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, making parents responsible for their children’s actions and opening a juvenile detoxification facility are among the recommendations made this week by the city’s Public Safety Advisory Commission.

But some City Council members, upon receiving the report Tuesday, said they were hesitant to endorse the recommendations because some of them may be expensive.

Establishing a juvenile detoxification facility, for example, is “very costly,” said Councilman Warren Harwood. Without more information, Harwood said, he could not endorse recommendations with “very debatable conclusions.”

Rather than approve the report, the council forwarded the recommendations to its task force on substance abuse and gangs. That committee also is preparing recommendations.

Allan Tebbetts, chairman of the advisory commission, said Wednesday that the group recommended actions it thought necessary “without consideration of the city’s budget and priorities.”

A juvenile detoxification facility, which the city now lacks, would provide a much-needed service, Tebbetts said.

“Everybody knows the problem by now, and everybody is studying the problem. And at some point in time, someone is going to have to do something about it,” Tebbetts said. “And that means spending money.”

The commission urged the city to lobby the state Legislature to enact laws holding parents liable for the acts of their juvenile children.

It also recommended that the Police Department give officers more training in dealing with drug violations, use more plainclothes officers to apprehend violators, and “focus on notorious drug ‘hot spots.’ ”