Children Arrested, DNA Tested for Playing in a Tree?

skelator2821 wrote in with another account of a police action gone way overboard. From the article: "To the 12-year-old friends planning to build themselves a den, the cherry tree seemed an inviting source of material. But the afternoon adventure turned into a frightening ordeal for Sam Cannon, Amy Higgins and Katy Smith after they climbed into the 20ft tree - then found themselves hauled into a police station and locked into cells for up to two hours." skelator2821's basic question in all of this: "What is this World coming to? Do you think they went to far?" Well? Do you?

Comments

Only if..

[Mr0bvious]

They only went too far, if the tree was less than 20ft..

treehouse of love

[Polybius]

Where else is he gonna make out with 2 chicks when his Mom is home?

Re:treehouse of love

[Frogbert]

Two Chicks at the same time? You'd need a million dollars to hook that up. Chicks dig a dude with money.

Thankfully, I live in the USA

[Anonymous Coward]

We shoot our children down from the trees.

Do I think they went to far?

[AEton]

I'm not sure. I, myself, have never been to far.

Re:Do I think they went to far?

[The-Bus]

Maybe the cops thought the song was,

  "Two young snipers in a tree,
    K-I-L-L-I-N-G..."

I mean, it's a common mistake.

Re:Do I think they went to far?

[dna_(c)(tm)(r)]

I am wondering why askslashdot is being used to push agendas/post news stories, i know this isn't a new thing, but aren't there real questions to be answered? Why couldn't this story just be a normal news submission?

Good question! You might submit it to askslashdot for some fine answers.

Start 'Em Young

[Doc Ruby]

These children have nothing to hide. They should not be afraid of DNA tests, or being interviewed by police.

Besides, what if they got hurt falling out of that tree? The police are here to help.

what's so bad about that?

[macadamia_harold]

I mean, if a police officer can't haul three twelve-year-olds to jail on spurious charges, take mugshots, and record DNA samples, how are we ever going to win the war on terror?

Re:The parents agree

[sunwukong]

You're right -- my first response to my 12 year old after they've been sprung is, "Suck it up mister, or else someone's going to make you their bitch if you're not a hardcase yet!"

Dammit, at their age I was carrying a gun and defending my land from railroad surveyers and rabid dogs.

Law and Order

[theRhinoceros]

In the criminal justice system, arboreal trespassing offenses are considered especially heinous. In the West Midlands, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Halesowen police. These are their stories.

Re:If they'd only chopped down the tree instead...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they popped its cherry?

Gotta protect the underage cherries.

Re:This just in. . .

[AndreiK]

And violin is a gateway crime. Best to stop that sort of thing early before it leads to . . .viola.

Surely you mean, Graphical Violins leads to Explicit Sax?

I have the justification

[Atario]

Nerds everywhere should be deeply concerned about tree traversal being made illegal.

Re:I have the justification

[Lars T.]

But they were pruning the tree, leaving it unballanced! Tree traversal that damages the data is not good.

Re:FP

[Walt Dismal]

FOX News: "This just in. Young terrorists plan tree attack. Country placed on orange alert. CIA notes Osama Bin Laden likes to eat cherries. Coincidence? We think not! We turn now to commentary by Ann Coulter."

Coulter: "I'm sure the mothers of these brats are only trying to cash in on the publicity generated when these terrorists-in-training assassinate god-fearing citizens from their lofty perch using liberal weapons of mass destruction."

FOX: "Such as?"

Coulter: "Lethal b-b guns. Poison darts."

FOX: "And what about Bin Laden?"

Coulter: "Hates American trees. Wants to crash planes into them all."

> FOX: "What would you do to protect us?"

Coulter: "Cut down all the trees. Keep the terrorists out of them. Castrate all liberals."

FOX: "God bless America."

Coulter: "It's all Clinton's fault. Oh, and buy all my books."

FOX: "Did you really have your Adam's Apple surgically removed so you could pass as female?"

Coulter: withering sneer.

It starts with cutting down one cherry tree

[dbIII]

Of course the British police are worried.

It starts off with just cutting down one cherry tree as a kid. Then - I shall not tell a lie - it can lead to organising the overthrow of the British rulers in a revloution lasting years, assisted by the (gasp) French and the establishment of another country where people even drive on the other side of the road out of spite.

I can see the commercial now...

[XJHardware]

Unbeknownst to these children we've secretly switched their country with new freeze-dried Third Reich. Let's watch and see their reaction.