Why So Much Juvenile Crime?

Specialists believe that dysfunctional family life is at the root of a rapid rise in the number of child criminals. As pointed out in a report in the South African newspaper Weekend Witness, most of these children are from broken homes or homes where both parents work and are “too busy, tired or rushed” to care for them. According to criminologist Dr. Irma Labuschagne, many teenagers do not even understand the concept of “family” and “are yearning for love and acceptance.” They thus seek these elsewhere and become easy prey for criminal gangs that offer them a sense of belonging. Parents, observed psychologist Dr. Cecelia Jansen, “are so caught up in their own search for status, success and materialism that they don’t know what is happening in the lives of their family members.” Both Labuschagne and Jansen recommend “a return to old-fashioned family values,” says the paper. It concludes: “There is no replacement for a healthy, happy, normal family.”