Make parents liable for sins of their child

Parents who are criminally negligent or abusive should be held responsible for the crimes of their children. Kids who kill, steal or assault others have often been treated badly by their own parents, so it’s only fair that the parents, too, are punished.

Sure, there are some bad kids raised by good parents, but the link between youth violent crime and poor parenting is well established.

With youth crime on the rise in

Australia, more needs to be done to hold parents to account.

A recent US court judgement represents a welcome move in this direction.

The mother of an American teen who killed four of his classmates has just been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

A Michigan court found Jennifer Crumbley, 45, was negligent in buying her son Ethan, 15, a gun and ignoring the warning signs.

These included being aware he had the gun, had recently bought ammunition, and failing to get him treatment for mental health issues.

It’s a growing issue of concern in this country, too. On Tuesday night, dozens of teens went on a rampage in the Melbourne CBD, robbing and assaulting passers-by. With youth crime involving kids as young as 10 at a nine-year high in Victoria, more needs to be done.

Like other parents, I’m left wondering what kids that young are regularly doing out at night.

What were their parents doing about it? Did they know? Do they care?

While youth gun crime is a largely US phenomenon – given the ready availability of firearms and a tragic gun culture – in Australian jurisdictions, including the alleged murder of a Queensland grandmother this week – wayward youths are too often arming themselves with knives or other bladed weapons, and using them.

While some parents are doing all they can to restrain and punish their out-of-control kids, others simply don’t know and don’t care.

These are the ones who, through their own reckless or negligent actions or inaction, should face consequences.

Vicarious liability exists in the civil jurisdiction but should be applied in a criminal sense where parents, through their own acts have demonstrably helped create an environment where their child commits a violent crime.

Laws allowing parents to be charged for their child’s crime if they have directly contributed to the offence are one thing, but charging parents for their failure to supervise or protect others from their crimes would be a welcome move.