Sins of the Father

Sins of the father
By Jonathan Lane April 7, 2008

WALKING DOWN THE NARROW HALLWAYS gave me a claustrophobic panic and a feeling that life was being sucked from me slowly, departing in the form of innocence and naiveté. The flickering lights above me cast a shadow on the faces of the delinquents as if physically revealing the conflicted half of a social identity riddled with poor decision making faculties and an improper upbringing.

At first, I felt no compassion for these youths while touring the old Fresno juvenile detention center. It was their wrongdoings that had determined their confined and highly restricted circumstances. The cold, unforgiving benches in their pods could be ideal for pondering and attempting to conceptualize the fragile societal web that requires appropriate conduct for optimal functionality.

Soon, an inevitable question entered my mind: Where the heck were their parents?

I understand that, in the equation of crime, there is a great deal of unknown variables. We can only speculate on crime’s enabling factors with the aid of “Uniform Crime Reports” and “Victimization Survey” data. However, for juveniles, the driving forces are seemingly more concise.

With proper parental control and guidance, a child should not even be exposed to an environment that would be conducive to committing crimes and social wrong doings. Beyond the walls of their homes, school should be the only arena in which a youth would run the risk of being poorly influenced however, a proper upbringing would equip the child with the ability to make appropriate decisions to avoid this.

As I walked the halls of the detention center, the juveniles were partaking in a variety of activities to pass the time. Card games were being played, pictures were being drawn and, on occasion, obscenities were being shouted from behind a few pod doors.

Weren’t these activities things that could be done at home? Have the juvenile detention “campuses” become an opportunity for parents to dodge accountability and their parental responsibilities?

While the Fresno area has newly built and opened a detention center, I have recently grown increasingly confused by the city’s priorities and, ticked off by the tax strain that has been placed upon the public to fund this juvenile delinquent system. From my personal observations, these detention facilities serve to accomplish very little in the way of reform while allowing irresponsible parents an opportunity to let the city do what they could not — watch their kids!

Parents and their youths seemingly have no concept of ethical and moral reasoning, a leading factor of recidivism. Without some form of a solid cognitive reasoning system, it is impossible to correct the situation.

Are the juvenile detention facilities worth it?

Well, they absolutely could be with some minor program and criminal process enhancements.

First, decks of cards should be replaced with literature of ethical and moral philosophy. Instead of learning how to gamble, the youths can attempt to understand the role that they play in society and how their actions affect others.

Second, the juveniles’ detention experience should be funded entirely by the family. If the immediate parents can not afford the bill, then it should be dispersed amongst the next nearest relatives. If poor parenting is indeed the cause of these wrong-doings, then the whole family should be penalized. Parenting ideology is not “made out of thin air” rather, is based familiar experience and influence.

Lastly, the parents should be forced to serve a portion of the sentence with their child. This time together could prove to enhance their relationship, be an educational experience, and maintain parental accountability all in tandem.

I do understand that it is much more complicated than that but, based on my tour of the detention center, and being a product of strong parenting, I know that holding parents accountable for their children is definitely a step in the right direction.

Oh yeah, and don’t let your children run around in department stores either.

It’s really annoying.