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Nampa police won't respond to child discipline calls

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NAMPA, Idaho (AP) -- A southwest Idaho police agency says it will no longer respond to requests from parents seeking help disciplining children unless an actual crime has occurred.

The Nampa Police Department says the new policy starting Sunday is one of the changes intended to give patrol officers more time to do proactive police work.

Lt. Jason Kimball says the agency gets several calls a week from parents complaining about kids not brushing their teeth or going to bed on time.

Kimball says parents want police to scare children. But Kimball says the agency doesn't want to do that because kids shouldn't be afraid of police in case they need to ask for help.

He also says the calls create a liability for officers arriving at homes where no crime has been committed.