P-D:
PINE LAWN — Police Chief Rickey Collins says the day of reckoning is coming soon for those who violate Pine Lawn’s ban on sagging pants.
So far, no one has been ticketed for violating the ordinance, which was enacted in November. City officials wanted a grace period in which officers could explain the ban to youths. And, Collins noted, many of the violations are hidden by coats in cold weather.
That grace period will be ending as it warms up.
“This summer it will be fully in force by the officers,” Collins said. “We are not going to have a sagging pants task force, but we are going to be vigilant on enforcing it.”
Collins said his 19 full-time officers have explained what was behind the ordinance, including how saggy pants could hurt someone’s chances of getting a job.
Does this mean that Crime Lawn will have a 19-officer unit focused on baggy pants violations, or that Crime Lawn has only 19 officers on the force, and they were advised on the substance of the ordinance? I doubt it’s the former, but if it is, I could just imagine that the sides of their squad cars could be painted with an image of a young man’s pants sagging, boxer shorts showing, with the circle-crossout over it.
And sure, I can just imagine that the sort of Crime Lawnian that wears droopy pants is also worried about being gainfully employed.
The ordinance calls for fines of up to $100 for those 17 and older who wear pants below the waist that expose underwear or skin. That includes girls whose low-rise jeans sit too low. Parents of those 16 and under face up to a $500 fine or 90 days in jail if they knowingly allow their children to wear pants in such a manner.
Now if you think it’s hard for prosecutors to prove Murder 1st, then imagine what it would take for them to prove that a given parent not only knew that their son or daughter was sagging, but also gave them permission to do so. I highly doubt that the City Attorney’s office in Crime Lawn has that kind of resources, human or otherwise. That part of the law is all bark and no bite. Unlike that other part — it won’t take long until we see on the news that someone has been tossed into the city can for unpaid sagging fines. Since the hoosegow is where that style came from, the irony will be so noted.
Pine Lawn drew national attention when it enacted the ban. Officials said then that a big reason for it was that saggy pants gave potential developers a bad impression of the city. Caldwell said he’s also interested in restoring some family values.
Used to be the phrase “family values” drew implications to Republican-leaning Christian Fundagelicals. Now things have become so dumbed down that wearing one’s pants at the waist constitutes a “family value.”
