Criminal Courts: Will Taking Away Neighborhood Basketball Hoops Reduce Crime?

Criminal Courts: Will Taking Away Neighborhood Basketball Hoops Reduce Crime?

Shajuan put up a jumper from about 12 feet as his two defenders got ready to grab the rebound. There wasn't one. The shot bounced high off the rim and then fell through.

Shajuan and his friends play regularly at the Oz Park basketball hoops, which are across a field from their school, Lincoln Park High. But earlier this summer, after a couple of fights broke out on the courts, the rims were taken down for a few weeks following school officials' determination that they were a "magnet for trouble." Though they're back up now, community leaders are still talking about locking them up so no one can use them during or after school--exactly the hours when young people need something to do. Shajuan sees the move as a major overreaction.

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