Whenever Jamaica discusses crimes like lottery scamming, the focus quickly shifts to policing and legislation.

While these are important, the issue of parenting is too often left out of the conversation.

If we are serious about reducing this crime, parenting must become part of every discussion, as Jamaica Constabulary Force’s administrative officer for Manchester, Deputy Superintendent Natalie Hall-Williams highlighted in this newspaper Tuesday.

Hall-Williams reiterated a point that has been raised before, and one which should concern every Jamaican.

During a Manchester police operation, officers found two teens, 14 and 18, with lead sheets. She questioned why parents are accepting obvious signs that their children are involved in scamming — teens with no legitimate jobs are driving expensive vehicles, bringing home large sums of money, and even asking parents to register assets in their names.

The cop emphasised that good parenting starts long before the police become involved. It starts with setting boundaries, teaching values, and questioning what children bring into their homes.

Unfortunately, Hall-Williams’ observation is not new. In 2023, the leadership at the Green Island police in Hanover revealed that children were participating in lottery scamming to finance their education and maintain lavish lifestyles. Inspector Mervin Hodges warned that parents were ignoring the source of their children’s sudden wealth, even as lottery scamming fuelled much of the violence affecting communities.

A year later, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang warned that teenagers with access to millions of dollars were being given a level of power they were not mentally prepared to handle. He said a 15-year-old who can buy luxury cars, firearms, and expensive gifts for relatives is handed influence without the maturity to manage it. The result is often arrogance, violence, and a distorted view of success.

The truth is that lottery scamming has created a culture in Jamaica in which the spoils of crime are too easily accepted. Some parents knowingly benefit from these ill-gotten gains and, in doing so, send a dangerous message to their children that where the money comes from matters less than what it can buy. These adults have normalised criminality.

One bit of reassurance coming out of the National Security Council’s monthly meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness on July 23, is Government’s decision to address with urgency the strengthening of laws, increasing of penalties, and dismantling of the lottery scam ecosystem.

The council concluded that lottery scamming has evolved into a significant threat to Jamaica’s economic security and citizen security, and has resolved to eliminate lottery scamming and dismantle the entire criminal ecosystem that enables and profits from it.

But while strong policing and legislation are essential, they cannot replace the role of parents in shaping values. No police officer can teach integrity better than a parent. No courtroom can undo years of silence when obvious warning signs were ignored.

Jamaicans often say it takes a village to raise a child. That village must once again include parents who ask the difficult questions, reject the spoils of crime, and teach that success earned honestly is worth far more than wealth gained illegally.

If these discussions remain absent from our national conversations, we will continue fighting the symptoms of crime while ignoring one of its most important causes.