Poor parenting breeds criminals
Dear Editor,
Where there is no vision the people will perish, and Jamaicans here at home have been perishing at the hands of ruthless criminals because our policymakers and leaders have failed to administer any visionary corrective measures.
They continue to fight the symtoms of crime and criminality rather than its causitve agents or the root cause. Why must our leaders continue to administer barbituates for our crime headaches rather than employing clinical and surgical methods to remove the root causes?
The main cause of our endemic crime situation is poor parenting, and no government policy in the fight against crime has been geared towards improving parenting skills in the vulnerable communities that are breeding crime and pushing up our crime statistics.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) and other relevant agencies are replete with data that have linked crime to the parenting factor. The lack of proper parenting is glaring in communities across Jamaica.
It is an established fact that children who are guided, moulded, and shown love by their parents are less likely to become involved in criminality and gang-related activities.
Crime is behavioural and if this behaviour can be attributed to poor parenting why not attack crime from this perspective.
The parents of most of our modern-day criminals, who are parents themselves, are all enveloped in this vicious cycle of improper parenting skills that breed generations of criminals who continue to wreak havoc on our society.
The recent publication of the names of our most wanted criminals points to exactly what I am writing about — the social aspects of crime, its demography, geography, politics , policies, and the Andrew Holness-led Administration’s lack of correct and prudent measures.
Fernandez Smith
fgeesmith@yahoo.com