这方法厉害

[SIZE="3"]A Fredericton father is fighting in court [B][COLOR="Red"]$500 [/COLOR][/B]worth of fines his son received for fighting in school.

Fredericton High School is imposing a city bylaw that fines people [B][COLOR="red"]$250 [/COLOR][/B]for fighting in an attempt to eliminate schoolyard fisticuffs.

Last year, eight fines were levied against students who decided to engage in a fight, but Const. Nancy Rideout, who covers the local high school for the Fredericton police, said the fines are working.

"It's a great deterrent. The principal and vice-principals have noticed a big difference in the decline in fighting at school. Kids don't want a fine for $250," Rideout said.

Not everyone approves of the program designed to cut back on fighting.

Justyn Roberts, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student, was hit with two fighting fines last year and now he and his father are taking the matter to court.

"He thought it was outrageous, really. He didn't approve it at all," Roberts said.

"He's the same as me, like, teenagers getting a $250 fine for getting into a scrap. No broken bones or anything even, it wasn't even that serious."

Ken Roberts, Justin's father, said the punishment is too heavy and he's going to take that message to the judge.

"I don't think the fine was designed for children or students. I think it was designed for other reasons, I don't think a youth or a young offender or whatever you want to call a 13-year-old should have the same fine that an adult has for doing the same crime," he said.

"I think it's totally different circumstances. I think this law was brought up for good reason, but not for this reason."

The city instituted the no-fighting bylaw as a means to deal with fights in the downtown bar district.

A court date has not been set, but Rideout said she will be bringing a very different message to the judge.

"In court, basically I want the judge to know what a difference it's made in deterring kids from fighting," Rideout said.

[B]No school fights this year[/B]

While the system of fines may have been designed for adults originally, it seems to be working in the high school.

After eight fines were handed out last year, so far this school year there have been no fights.

Rideout said the threat of a $250 fine is enough for the combative students to think twice before throwing a punch.

"When you hear of two students that are having issues, you can go to them and you can say, 'Is it worth $250 to you and is it worth being kicked out of school for 10 days," Rideout said.

"And they sit and think about it. Most of them reflect and say, no, not a chance is it worth it."

A 10-day suspension from school accompanies the fine.[/SIZE]