Parents must be held responsible for children’s criminal actions
Published:Thursday | June 20, 2024 | 12:49 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
The crime committed by the child is the full responsibility of the parents.
The latest shooting incident in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, reported in the news yesterday is a wake-up call. That it involved two juveniles, or victims of circumstances, is cause for attention and concern.
Let us move past the speculation of how this could have happened and address why it did. We must first address why children would have found it necessary to bring a deadly weapon to school.
When we send our children to school, a place that should be considered safe, the least of our concerns should be crime and violence. At the risk of sounding naïve, I know that our school grounds and campuses have never really been safe as they are, and have become the prey of criminal elements.
Myself and countless others have experience this first-hand, having been a student at Excelsior High School in 1970. Petty robbery at knife point, physical and sexual battery and abuse were on the rise during this time, and has only gotten worse today.
Let us not forget the access and abuse of drugs in our schools, tertiary institutions and homes, leading to the deterioration of discipline, health and well-being of our society.
This latest gun crime must result in parental responsibility, even if we have to use DNA to establish responsibility. Parents must be held responsible and accountable for the actions of their children at this degree of severity and criminal mischief. The level of criminal mischief warrants controls and discipline that must begin at home under parental guidance and the direction of both parents and caretakers.
When will charges and arrests be made? This must include the parents of children who commit these heinous crimes and are part of these pointless incidents, resulting in the injury and sometimes death of innocent parties. How did they get access to the weapon, and who is responsible for the supervision of the child?
There is no excuse for the behaviour of our children and young adults, and their involvement in criminal and deadly behaviour. As a society, we, by example, owe a level of guidance and accountability to our children. Schools must be returned to a standard of care and safety that is expected of our society, and owed to our parents and children alike.
What is the argument that would be made to justify the need for our children to have access to these deadly weapons?
PATRICK BROWN
Pembroke Pines, Florida