BAY MINETTE, Ala. (WPMI) Recent fights at Baldwin County High School have been getting a lot of attention. Some even on social media.
Several teens have been arrested for fighting in the past few weeks. School leaders and law enforcement say the incidents are isolated but the problem is with the easy acceptance by teenagers that fighting is OK.
Talk to any resource officer in the county and they'll tell you some kids have no respect for authority and some parents believe their children can do no wrong.
"They know the consequences of it of even possibly going to jail and they still do it," said Lt. Jason Lamey, a school Resource Officer with the Bay Minette Police Department.
It's been a busy two weeks for Lt. Lamey. Six students arrested for fighting two weeks ago, three more Thursday all at Baldwin County High School.
"I think that parents should be concerned with social media and what their children are doing," said Lamey.
Law enforcement says nearly every recent case of school fights at nearly every school can be traced back to something someone had written or posted on social media.
"I cant get my brain around some of what we've seen and its obvious that they the kids are not getting the message it is going to require parents and the school and my office and law enforcement to get together and send this message," said Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon.
The fad or trend of posting high school fights is a problem nationwide recent postings of fights in Baldwin County have been taken down but the damage is still there.
The D.A's office recently launched an anti bullying campaign, resource officers have been on high alert but the message that fighting is wrong still needs to resonate at home. The D.A. and the police say the law will take care of the rest.
"We get more strongly involved in those scenarios where you have an obvious aggressor and an obvious victim," said Dixon. "We are here to protect the ones that want an education and its going to happen," said Lamey.
After budget cuts resource officers have been cut too, for example in Bay Minette there is one officer patrolling four schools now. Two years ago they had an officers at every school in Bay Minette.
