Q: I have been wondering about supervision rules at Ikego housing. I have been living in Ikego since January, and have noticed that there are young children (about four to five years old) playing outside without parents’ supervision. They are riding a bicycle or skateboarding on the streets. I know they are neighborhood kids but I have never seen their parents with them while out playing. There is a small park in front of our house and children are playing there by themselves. They eat snacks at the park and leave trash. The trash then gets blown by the wind and eventually ends up in our yards. Nobody says anything about it, so I thought that’s the way it is at Ikego housing. Children play and keep playing even after they have hit someone’s car with their ball. They talk loudly in front of others’ house. I think it’s because they know the base housing is public property where they can play as they wish. I hope you can tighten the security at Ikego housing because I am in great distress. I hope that parents can supervise their children because I want to have a good relationship with my neighbors. Thank you.

A: Security does random patrols of all Ikego housing and playground areas to ensure no children under age are unsupervised. There are children under age who are playing unsupervised but they are normally in their own backyards and therefore are considered to be in a controlled and supervised environment due to the fenced-in yard where the parents or any other responsible adult can come to the door/window to check on their children. Whenever Patrolmen come across a child under age who is unsupervised, appropriate action is taken. Normally, the child is returned to their residence and the parents are educated on the rules and regulations governing supervision of children. Security personnel also ensure there is no evidence of child neglect prior to turning the child back over to their parents. For the most part, parents feel it is safe for their children to play alone outside without supervision because of the controlled access to Ikego housing area. There are also times when Patrolmen are making rounds of the playground area to ensure all children are safe and supervised. If an adult is present, we normally do not intervene to make sure that all the kids out there are actually with the responsible adult in the area. Our focus is on the safety and security of not just our children but all personnel throughout the housing and playground areas.