Should Parents be Responsible for the Crimes Committed by Their Children (Essay Sample)

Parent’s Responsibility in Crimes Committed by Children
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Abstract
Parent’s responsibility is crucial in determining the behavior of a child. Today, there is an increase in the number of crimes committed by children. This research seeks to find the influence of the parents in these offenses. It will enable the society to reform positively to change the social crime committed by children. The research will use questionnaires to gather the information from the target group. The surveys will enable the researcher to obtain the opinion of the society concerning the topic. The target group will be parents and law enforcement. The sample population will be selected at random to obtain the concrete opinion of the society. The research will expect to analyze the past behavior of the parents in juvenile delinquency. In the analysis of the results, the researcher will be in a position to recommend methods that can be employed to counter crimes committed by minors. The research will be conducted in the community around Governor State University. The study will not be limited to residents only, it shall be extended even to non-residents of the neighborhood.

 
Introduction
            With children, parents always have a lot on their plate. In addition to the usual parental responsibilities, children can get their parents into extreme trouble. The older they become, the more trouble they create for their parents. In regard to the research question, should parents be responsible for their children when they break the law? The answer is both yes and no.            Parents bear responsibility towards the crimes committed by their children (Lester & Flake, 2013). This responsibility arises when the crime can be linked to the parent. For instance, whether a parent was in a position to deter the offense or not, parents are supposed to teach or guide their children about what is wrong and right (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). Therefore, engagement in crime is a sign of parental failure to teach and discipline children (Churchill, 2010). As a result, the respective parents must take full responsibility. When a child kills a person using a parent’s gun or breaks traffic rules while driving a parent’s car, the parents assume full responsibility for poor storage of the gun and for allowing the child to drive the car without proper training on traffic regulations. When a child engages in gang activities, the parent should take full responsibility for failing to impart good moral values to the child that could prevent him from joining a gang. Thus, the list is endless.
However, parental responsibility should be limited to the degree to which it can be substantiated that the parent had a hand in the child’s negative behavior. If a parent proves that he/she has had taught his/her children the right morals, but out for unknown reasons the child decided to engage in criminal activities, the child should bear full responsibility for his or her actions (Cipriani, 2013). The nature of the case also determines a parent’s responsibility. In civil matters, parents have to take responsibility, since children do not have the financial ability to pay the settlements.
Problem Statement
Parental responsibility should not be generalized, since not all crimes committed by children are a product of poor parental guidance and discipline. Children, who are old enough to comprehend the nature of the criminal activities, should take full responsibility for their actions. Parents should only assume responsibility in cases where they failed to lead children on the right path (Family & Parenting Institute 2012). Previous studies have tended only to differentiate between the reasons why a parent may take full responsibility for a child’s misdeeds in one situation and not in another. The limit of parental responsibility and the outcomes are not clearly defined. Most studies promote a position based on parental influence or irresponsibility towards the child. As a result, they portray parents as accessories to crimes committed by their kids. The studies fail to acknowledge that by parents taking responsibility the children get leniency that does not deter them from future crimes. Without proper limitation to parental responsibility, some parents assume responsibility for everything children do and shield them from disciplinary measures. As visible in the following literature, there is a gap in the delineation of the limits of parental responsibility. Most studies only state circumstances under which parents take responsibility and those under which the children assume full responsibility. Therefore, there is a need to set the limits clearly to the parental responsibility.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to understand the relation of parental responsibility for the crimes committed by minors. This study will enable the researcher to find out which areas and family structures influence most the lives of the children. It will analyze the environment and the method of upbringing of the child. Therefore, the researcher will look for any similarities in the various lifestyles and their relation to the crimes committed by the children.
Research Questions
Central Questions:
What is the parent’s responsibility for the crimes committed by their children?
Sub-questions:
1.      How do the parents affect the behavior of their children in regards to committing minor crimes?
2.      Does the environment, the family structures, and peers influence the behavior of the child and does it determine the kind of citizen the child will become?
3.      By changing or improving the parenting method, can we eradicate or minimize the crimes committed by children?
Theory
The theory that I used is the social support theory, which was developed by (identify the origin, source, or developer of the theory), Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, but Barnes (1954) was the first to describe patterns of social relationships that were not explained by families. It was used to study (identify the topics where one finds the theory being applied) the way children are raised without the benefit of love and nurturance, guidance, or regular contact usually experience high amounts of distress and social failure as adults (1). Moreover, healthy growth by individuals occurs only in the presence of nurturing relationships (2). The negative consequences of a lack of support are likely to be far-reaching and stable over time, and discontinuities in behavior are possible throughout the life-course, dependent on new domains or sources of support (3). Research has shown that parental warmth binds children to their parents in a positive way and it makes children responsive and more willing to accept guidance. If the parent-child relationship is close and affectionate, parents can exercise what control is needed without having to apply heavy disciplinary pressure. Parents that have no connection with their children and use coercive controls, such as yelling, hitting, or taking away privileges, have been associated with higher rates of delinquencies. So, children commit more crimes when there is no guidance or support. Children delinquent behavior is a problem because of the lack of nurturance and now parents are being accountable for their children’s crimes identify the propositions or hypotheses in the theory. As applied to my study, this theory holds that I would expect my independent variable(s), past research and risk factor on delinquent behavior. The study analyzes how parents are affected by the new laws, influence or explain the dependent variable(s) (state independent variables. It insights how the new laws for children delinquency affects the parent’s future.
Definitions
Custody: The caring responsibility of an adult over a minor (Cinneide, 2006).
Exploratory: Used to investigate and create a trend from standard data (Cinneide, 2006).
Juvenile: Pertaining to or involving young children (Cinneide, 2006).
Delinquency: Minor crimes especially those committed by young people (Cinneide, 2006).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Juvenile crime is referred as breaking of the law by a person who is below the adult age required by the law (Akee, Copeland, Keeler, Angold, & Costello, 2010). The crime occurs when children indulge in activities that violate the law. Legal systems used to apprehend adults cannot be applied to children. Any child who is not of legal adulthood age is under the custody of their parent of guardian (Akee, Copeland, Keeler, Angold, & Costello, 2010).
The involvement of children in crime is growing every day. Research has shown that most of the adults that are involved in criminal activities started this behavior at a young age. When people start illegal activities as children, they will most likely continue this practice even as adults (Akee, Copeland, Keeler, Angold, & Costello, 2010).
Reports and articles on parental responsibilities do not provide a direct answer for the responsibility of parents towards crimes committed by their children. Most indicate that it is desirable for parents to take responsibility for the crimes committed by their children (Akee, Copeland, Keeler, Angold, & Costello, 2010). This research therefore, directs at the existing practices placed on punitive sanctions for parents with children who commit crime. Arhire however, stated that there are chances of increased recidivism on the laws placed on the responsibility of parents towards their children (Arhire, 2014). Some argue that the outcomes of criminal parental responsibility remain undesirable (Arh...