When we think about crime, the first thoughts that usually come to mind are robberies, murders or even speeding on the freeway. However, children are being arrested for crimes that lack the same level of unlawfulness.

Children 13 years old or younger are being arrested and taken into custody by authorities for actions such as writing on a school desk or relentless bullying. These are minor infractions that could, and should, be handled within a school. Kids should not be given the same types of punishments that robbers and reckless drivers receive.

A 12-year-old girl was arrested and charged for disorderly conduct in Stanford, Conn., on Oct. 1, 2013 after continuously bullying a 13-year-old classmate to the point where the girl was considering suicide, according to NBC. The private middle school that both girls attended tried to intervene, but it failed, and the police got involved.

In Austin, Texas a 12-year-old girl, Sarah Bustamantes, was charged with a criminal misdemeanor and ordered to go to court in Jan. 2012 after she had sprayed herself with perfume. When the other children then complained about the smell, the teacher called the police because she claimed the girl was disrupting class, according to The Guardian. Bustamantes was charged a $150 fine.

Another arrest of a child occurred in Arvada, Colo. An 11-year-old boy with attention deficit disorder was handcuffed, photographed, fingerprinted, and thrown in a jail cell after he drew an offensive picture about his teacher during class in October 2011, according to the Daily News. The boy was doing what his therapist had suggested he do in class, instead of throwing a tantrum.  He never meant any harm by the drawing. Regardless of the facts, the boy was put on probation and charged with a third degree misdemeanor.

In New York City, in February 2010, yet another 12-year-old girl was arrested. This young lady, Alexis Gonzalez, was taken out of school in handcuffs and brought to a precinct where she was kept for hours because she doodled on her desk with a lime-green marker. She was not charged with any felonies or misdemeanors, but she was suspended from school, given eight hours of community service and assigned an essay on what she learned from the experience, according to the Daily News.

These stories just scratch the surface of the numerous instances where police got involved when they were not needed. Situations like these use to be handled in the schools by sending kids to the principal’s office and sending a note home to the parents. Nowadays, in some states they are being delegated to higher authorities.

Children should be taught a lesson when they do something wrong, but the punishments should not be nearly this harsh. Children should be warned and taught to learn from their mistakes. They should know why they are being punished.

They should not be handcuffed and taken to jail cells like actual criminals. That screams cruel and unusual punishment. 

-Marissa Mararac is a junior communication major from Tacoma. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.