As a community we must help our youth make the right choices for life

By Maria Millers

There seems to be a growing unease in the community as the media constantly reports car thefts, home invasions and high-speed chases, sometimes involving children as young as 10. The statistics appear unnerving as the most frightening reports are of knife or machete wielding youths invading homes and terrorizing innocent people.

But statistics must be treated with caution and analysed beyond the attention grabbing headlines. In Victoria they reveal a complex relationship between actual crime rates, public perception, and selective media coverage of the most violent crimes.

Many news reports overstate the extent of youth crime because they do not consider or communicate the extent of repeat offending. And they prioritize violent crimes over non violent, even though the latter are overwhelmingly higher.

This selective reporting may lead to a heightened sense of fear and insecurity among the public and calls for tougher laws and longer prison sentences.

However that is not to ignore why many of our predominantly male youths are turning to crime. Youth crime has always spiked during times of rapid technological and social change. Dickens’s Oliver Twist reflected the reality of poor young homeless children in 19th century London:

Lyrics from Oliver (excerpt):

“You’ve got to pick a pocket or two, boys,
You’ve got to pick a pocket or two.
Why should we break our backs
Stupidly paying tax?
Better get some untaxed income –
Better pick a pocket or two!”

This song is sung by Fagin, who teaches his gang of young pickpockets how to survive through theft. While it has an upbeat tone, the lyrics expose the harsh reality of street children being groomed into crime.

Similarly, though not specifically about youth, T S Eliot’s The Hollow Men captures a generation feeling lost and empty, much like disaffected young people today: This poem speaks to the feeling of being marginalized, which is often felt by youth in the criminal justice system:

“We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!”

Today we are living through similar times and seeing the breakdown of traditional family and community structures, as well as housing insecurity, economic pressures and the uncertainties of our times. Additionally, untreated mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and conduct disorders, are major risk factors for criminal behaviour among youth. Often belonging to a gang is a response to abuse, neglect and an absence of parental guidance.

Add to that the power that social media has over young people as it glorifies risky and illegal behaviour.

We live in a society where manners are regarded as quaint relics with no place or purpose in our frenetic lives. There’s an acceptance of coarse behaviour and a disregard for the feelings of others. Today we tend to overlook youth behaving in a way that would not have been tolerated in the past.

Manners were always seen as part of socialization: how we learnt the behaviours, norms, and values of our society and how to show respect for others. Manners easily and rapidly mature into morals. As philosopher Edmund Burke wrote:

“Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe.”

What he’s saying is that manners play a crucial role in shaping and upholding the law. Manners reflect the attitudes and behaviour of individuals in their interactions with others and while laws provide a formal framework, manners contribute to creating a moral and ethical foundation upon which the law relies.

Manners are a sensitive awareness for the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.

When young people do not learn or are not taught manners they may struggle to understand boundaries, respect for others, and the consequences of their actions, which could increase the likelihood of antisocial or criminal behaviour. And values are no longer being passed on to our children but left to their peers and social media.

Family dynamics, including domestic violence, neglect, and poor parenting, contribute significantly to youth crime.

It is hard to not be judgmental and ask why a young child of ten or twelve can be out at night armed with a knife carjacking or similar without parents being aware. This of course assumes a situation where a parent is present and not working a night shift or under the influence of substance abuse.

Teachers cannot be expected to take on any more extra curricular activities so the only viable answer is to introduce teaching manners to the curriculum, beginning in primary schools. Perhaps starting off with the basic concepts of how to say; “Thank You” to someone.

Nor can we let governments off the hook. Over the years we have seen significant reductions in public spending on services such as education, housing, and youth support programs. Yet youth are our greatest asset and should not be allowed to become a statistic of short sighted neglect, especially when money it seems is always available for sports stadiums and propping up major sporting events.

“No boy is born with fists so hardened,
no girl with eyes that burn with fear,
the world has shaped them, carved their story,
a script of anger, sharp and clear.
Who will reach before they falter?
Who will light a different way?
Or will we count them, cold statistics,
numbers lost to yesterday?” (Anonymous).

Without early intervention, these issues often escalate, leading to involvement in the criminal justice system

While a lack of manners alone is unlikely to be a direct cause of rising crime rates, it is often seen as part of a larger pattern of social disengagement, Many psychologists argue that fostering better socialization, emotional regulation, and respect for others can play a role in reducing criminal behaviour and improving social cohesion, particularly among the youth.

And evidence suggests that addressing the root causes of youth crime through rehabilitation, education, and preventative programs offers a more effective long-term solution than punitive measures like longer sentences and incarceration.

Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken speaks to the choices we make and how they shape our paths. For many young people, the choices made – often influenced by poverty, violence, or lack of guidance – can lead to a path of crime.

As a community we must help our youth make the right choices for life.

Excerpt: The Road Not Taken

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.”

 

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