CRIME PREVENTION
In my latest addition of the PSA Red Tape,
the union’s publication for Prison Officers and other New South Wales public
servants, I came across this photo and an article on the weapons found in the
Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre. For
the juvenile prisoners who were engaged in the making of, or involvment in the
use of these weapons or contraband items, it is too late to rehabilitate them.
I do not want the Government wasting the
public purse on ‘feel good’ programs that simply do not work.
Photo
courtesy of Red Tape
Below is the first draft of a segment I
have prepared for my next eBook, due out in coming months, “Officers, Criminals
and Amazing Prison Stories”.
Nothing is guaranteed to prevent your child
from becoming a convicted criminal and committing violent and heinous crimes on
society which may result in long prison terms and entering the revolving door
of the criminal justice system that seems to never stop. I have witnessed many decent, law abiding
families visiting prisons to support their criminal children. Hereditary and genetics do not equal
destiny. Here are my theories on how to
reduce the odds of becoming a convicted criminal for members of your family.
For
married couples
Lead by example. The male must work at a regular fulltime job
and continue with his education for most of his adult working life. He must provide a home and money to fully
support his family in every way possible.
The size of his family should be in keeping with his income and not his
religion. He must provide leadership
within his family and yes, I agree it’s a very old but sound concept.
The female may work to help her husband
achieve his goals, yet she must either be present in the home before school
starts and be at home when the children arrive home from school or have another
trusted mature adult fill in that role. All school age children must never be
left unattended before and after school for the sake of convenience or
economics. Teach your children to
believe in God. A person, who does not
believe in god and has criminal intent, has nothing to lose or fear. I am well aware this may sound sexist to the
modern mum, however let me assure you the traditional roll of parents, seem to
me to be the most stabilising in a child’s sound upbringing.
Education is paramount. There are large numbers of prisoners who
cannot read, write or do simple arithmetic.
All children must attend school every day, you must communicate regularly
with your children’s school teachers and listen and ask for positive criticism.
Remember your child is not the perfect child you may want to believe he or she
is. We can all improve somewhere within
our educational and behavioural abilities.
Keep an eye on their homework and attendance and watch for variances in
grades between subjects, or declines within a subject that may indicate the
presence of other factors outside of learning ability such as bullying, non
attendance, depression or poor teaching.
There have been long term studies carried out over many decades that
have clearly indicated your child has a 70% higher chance of becoming a violent
criminal if their literacy and numeracy ability are below normal levels for
their age and grade. Alarmingly, some
studies show literacy and numeracy deficiencies need to be identified and
rectified before the age of eight or the child’s third year in school.
Team sport! There have been a number of studies
completed that have proven that children who participate in or compete in team
or group sporting events on a regular basis, have a 75% to 85% better chance of
not committing crime and therefore do not enter the criminal justice
system. There are a multitude of group
or team sports from which to choose covering most children’s interests and
abilities, especially when they have a friend whom you approve of playing a
particular sport.
Choosing
friends. It
is very helpful to assist your children to know how to choose a friend. My mother always instilled in me good old
fashion values and would often say, “If you can’t bring a friend home to meet
your mum because you know she would not approve, then that boy should not be
your friend”, and naturally she was correct.
I have found that advice has been helpful throughout my entire life and
I still live by those values today.
Respect. Teach your children to respect others, their property and their
right to own it unhindered, the Police, authority in general, the law, their
teachers, their grandparents, parents, siblings, and relatives. Teach your children to show respect to all
those with whom they come in contact, including property. In general terms that respect will be
returned two fold but not always, and if it’s not reciprocated, teach your
children that if they are shown disrespect in return, it is not their fault and
show neither animosity nor retaliation.
Manners. Once again I am quoting my
mother in her wisdom who always taught me, “Manners maketh the man”. It was a
great adage that seems to be lacking in many of the prisoners I have dealt
with. The simple things like “please”
and “thank you” go a long way in showing respect, for example standing for
those older than themselves or infirmed when on public transport or where it is
appropriate, giving their full attention and showing interest when being spoken
to rather than not lift their eyes up from their mobile phones, using
appropriate language and refraining from swearing in mixed company. This is a good place to start.
Cruelty
and Fires.
Cruelty to animals and a fascination with lighting fires at an early age
seems to be a common factor among violent criminals. It is certainly an
indicator and one that all parents need to watch for and take appropriate
action. I would also advise seeking
professional help. Any form of cruelty
to animals is a textbook gauge that the child has an inadequate personality and
seeks pleasure in exerting power over the defenseless.
Environmental
Factors. These are the main key to crime
prevention. I am not politically
correct, nor do I have to be, so intentionally I will say it like it is. Stand
on your own two feet. Living in
Government housing with three generations on Government welfare support in
large families with low education, is a recipe designed to lay the foundations
for your child or children to spend a considerable amount of time in
prison. Life can be hard and finding
honest dollars to house, feed, clothe and educate your children can be
extremely difficult, but you must find a way, it is your responsibility. In the 1970s it was called the “GOYA”
effect ,“Get Off Your Arse” and make sure the environment in which you raise
your children, is the best possible within your budget for your children’s
sake.
Ross Homel AO, in his chapter 20, p324 of
the text book, “An Introduction to Crime and Criminology”, by multiple authors
17 in all, indicates risk factors for juvenile crime which include,
· Childhood antisocial behaviour
·
Low self-control (impulsiveness,
hyperactivity, a poor ability to plan ahead)
·
Low levels of parental supervision
·
Harsh and inconsistent discipline
·
Child maltreatment (abuse and neglect)
·
Offending by parents and siblings
·
Parental conflict
·
Large family size
·
Weak parental and school attachment.
What I am saying in this chapter is nothing new. These
theories have been known for more than fifty years. Governments have never wanted to spend money
on the prison system nor do I want them wasting the copious amounts that they
do presently spend.
I would like to see Governments divert
money from the prison system into identifying children under the age of eight,
who are at risk with low literacy and numeracy ability, who have poor behaviour
and put every effort and resource into correcting that child’s learning
ability. In a paper released by the American “Economic Opportunity Institute”
EOI titled “The Link between Early Childhood Education and Crime and Violence
Reduction”, they state high quality early learning and care is one of the most
powerful weapons against crime, while poor early childhood education multiplies
the risk that children will grow up to be a threat to every American
family.
They further state under the heading
“Prevention Results in Cost Savings”, Investments in early childhood education
lead to large economic savings. The
Child-Parent Centre program has served 100,000 Chicago children and predict
they will prevent an estimated 13,000 violent juvenile crimes. It is saving taxpayers, victims, and
participants over $7 for every $1 invested, without counting pain and suffering
caused from crimes. A study released by
Vanderbilt University estimates that the potential benefits in saving a
high-risk youth from becoming a typical career criminal are between $1 million
and $1.3 million.
It is my view that the EOI study applies
equally in Australia. It is preposterous that Governments continue to “sit on
their hands at the point of destruction of the very society for which they are
charged to govern and protect”. The
governments need to reintroduce the “GOYA” effect by applying it to themselves
and put the tax payer’s money to good use by ensuring all at risk children are
identified and educated appropriately.
I am not the first to say that if you, the
public, are relying on the Police, the legal system (the courts), and the
Department of Corrective Services to rehabilitate and correct violent behaviour
within those who commit such behaviour, you will be extremely
disappointed. I am absolutely convinced
beyond all doubt that to stop the ever increasing violent criminals from
continually entering through the revolving doors of the criminal system, it is
imperative to identify ‘at risk’ children and take all measures possible to
correct the identified problems before the child turns eight years of age. I have given you my thoughts on what I
believe you need to do or to look for.
I, like many others, am at a loss in coaxing our Governments into
diverting money from feel good rehabilitation programs that simply put, do not
work, and redirecting that money into identifying ‘at risk’ children and
correcting literacy and numeracy deficiencies, along with whatever help that
child may require.
If you heed my
advice, when your children reach the age of 30 and they have not veered to the
wrong side of the law, at that point you can breathe a sigh of relief and
experience what I call an undeniable moment of success as a parent, after that your children are on their own.
You have helped and achieved all that you can.
Have you read my
latest eBook ‘Australia’s Best Prison
Stories’, available on this web site or through Amazon?
This I believe.
Peter T. Egge
