CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTING TROUBLED TEEN, SAYS MOTHER

Following is part one of a two-part series on youth crime, its impact
on parents and the internet as a tool for criminal activity.

The mother of an Okotoks teen, who claims her daughter is addicted to
drugs and out of control, said a lack of parental rights has left her
powerless to help her child.

The mother of the teen and and another 11-year-old daughter said over
the past year she has caught her oldest daughter with drugs and
attempting to buy drugs over the internet on the social networking
website Nexopia.

In December the girl, a student at a local junior high school, turned
a small amount of marijuana over to her mother before police arrived
at the home to investigate a break-and-enter.

The distraught mother has since been monitoring the girl's Nexopia
profile and found one conversation that included the teen looking for
prices of marijuana, ecstasy and special K, a tranquilizer.

Since then the girl has moved out to live with relatives, but her
mother continues to go online and check what she is doing.

"I do it in the middle of the night so her friends won't see me
online," she said. "After I get the information it is pretty hard to
sleep because she is doing things like buying drugs and meeting guys
she doesn't know."

The mother also alleges the girl has vandalized both her and her
father's homes. Police are looking into the case, but the mother said
she is concerned nothing will be done.

"They told me they are not there to solve family crises."

Sgt. Wade Sparks of the Okotoks RCMP said police are investigating,
but are restricted when it comes to using online conversations in a
criminal investigation.

The Privacy Act protects Internet discussions.

Before an officer could intercept an online conversation they must
have a judge's approval. The ability to get such an approval is also
dependent on what type of crime is being investigated. If parents
bring in incriminating information from web conversations, police
still need to follow the proper channels in order to use it as
evidence in court.

"We can look at the information and take the appropriate steps, but we
have to be very careful what we do with that information because it
might damage our case down the road because we came into it in an
improper manner," explained Sparks.

Sparks said police are one resource for parents with troubled
children, but said they aren't always the ones who will deal with the
situation in the long run.

"We are going to do the best we can to direct them to an agency that
can help them and that is not always us," he said.

"We are involved in criminal investigations so sometimes we can help
and put it to the court who can deal with it."

In this case, the teen's mom said she is beginning to feel the only
way her daughter will get any help is if she is arrested and ordered
by the court to go to drug rehabilitation.

After hours on the phone to different drug programs for youth, she
said it is unlikely her daughter will be receiving help for her
addictions in the near future.

"The gist I am getting right now is that in Canada (drug
rehabilitation) is voluntary," the mother explained. "She has the
right to refuse service whether it is seeing a psychologist or a
medical exam. We have no way of enforcing it."

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Commission has a provision that parents
can use to force their children into rehab for five days, but after
that time lapses, treatment is again voluntary.

"To do a detox with no long-term plan is like a drunk drying out for a
few days, but the underlying problem is still there," she said.

Following the five days a teen still has the right to refuse
treatment, she added.

In addition, her daughter has gone to child services with complaints
that her mother said are fabricated.

Since then social services has been involved, even interviewing their
younger daughter at her school.

Again on Nexopia, the mother said she saw conversations that revealed
her daughter hoped to be placed in a Calgary group home, where she
believed it would be a non-stop party.

The mother said the information will be passed on to the investigator
of their case.

Dawn Delaney, a spokesperson for the Calgary and area Child and Family
Services Authority, said that parents involved in any kind of
investigation are interviewed and would have the opportunity to hand
over any proof that the child is not being honest.

"All calls to the crisis centre are assessed and investigated,"
Delaney said. "You don't just get a free pass to a group home."

Dealing with local family resource authorities has been difficult, the
girl's mother said.

"There certainly is a higher degree of accountability on my head than
someone we have evidence is lying and deceitful," she said. "The bend
is going to the rights of the children. Parents have no resources to
protect their own children."

She has been speaking to the Premier's office and the Alberta
Solicitor's General's office on the issue.

"Our aim is to attempt to change the laws in Alberta for concerned
caring parents," she said. "To give them rights under Section 43 of
the Criminal Code; to enable them, with the necessary force, to
prevent the children from inappropriate behavior."

In the meantime, every day her concern for her daughter grows, she
said.

"I see prostitution, rape, her being beaten in a back alley - all the
things a mother would worry about."

All she wants is her sweet little girl back.

"She was a little angel. A studious student, a mommy's girl a model
child with a big heart. She loved animals and other people. It is
those memories that hurt the most."

The mother said she hopes to encourage other parents to lobby the
provincial government to make legislative changes giving more rights
to parents to ensure the safety of their own children.

Part II of this series will appear in next week's Western Wheel.