Scout forged ER MB requirements

[nldscout]

This is exactly why we have youth's getting in serious trouble, because someone pooh poohed what they did when it appeared to be minor crimes. Then they figure, what the heck, I got away with this forgery, why not forge a check, the banks will make it good. Then whats next?

 

If this is the attitude in your area, no wonder crime is so rampant in Atlanta.

[evmori]

Was what this Scout did wrong? Yes.

 

Was what this Scout did a crime? Yes.

 

If the BOR was stopped & the Scout denied rank that was the correct thing. There is no way this Scout demonstrated that he is living the Oath & Law in his everyday life. Your unit needs to deal with this so if it does happen again, you have a precedent set.

 

Oh, BTW, if the Scout was allowed to advance at the BOR, something is really wrong.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[BrentAllen]

Yep, you are right - the crime down here is terrible. Tell all your friends, so maybe they will stop moving down here. We are crowded enough already, the traffic is awful. We appreciate the extra congressional seats your transplants are giving us, but to be honest, they just aren't worth it.

[Tucker]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. This is a young scout (I call him Bill) who transferred from a troop that folded. There were MANY problems with the other troop (I know because my son was with that troop for about a year). Due to the fact that Bill was in the other troop for approx 2.5 years and there was poor if any record keeping, we allowed the scouts (mostly the parents) to tell us what they had completed with the prior troop. This was not taken lightly and a lecture was given about scouts being trustworthy.

 

Of all the scouts that came from the other troop (they joined in approx Aug of 05) Bill has come every time before a COH with MB completions and said, OH, I did this with my other troop. Bills documentation consisted mostly of MB worksheets with initials. As the Advancement person I have questioned this, but the SM has accepted this on faith. I have known Bill was being dishonest for some time but couldn't prove it until now. On this occasion Bill used a 2006 MB requirements book (the one with the requirements for all the MB's). He forged the old SMs initials (not a full signature). Because my son used to be with the other troop I know the initials didnt look right. There was the proof in B&W. Remember after much discussion we did get him to admit that he lied.

 

I doubt the committee will seek the help of law enforcement. We will probably take care of this internally, however I will make sure that the scout knows the severity of what he did.

 

Forgery is a serious and if left unpunished this could lead to bigger crimes. We will use this as a learning experience not only for Bill but the other scouts in our troop.

 

Again thanks to everyone who have offered suggestions of how to handle out situation.

[Hunt]

Was what he did wrong? Yes.

Was it a crime? No, it was not a crime. His forgery did not have any legal significance. Note that he didn't even forge a blue card, but rather a worksheet. Advancement within the Boy Scouts, which is a private, voluntary organization, does not have legal significance.

Let me put this another way: this forgery was wrong, but is not a crime, in the same way the boy's lies to the BOR were wrong, but were not the crime of perjury.

 

I do think this is a serious matter, because I don't see much in the way of extenuating circumstances here--it seems to be a boy who just wants to lie to get out of doing the requirements. One consequence of this should be that you don't believe anything he says until he has done a great deal to earn your confidence.