For years I have opposed the idea of parents being held criminally responsible for the actions of their offspring. It is patently unfair that a parent should be taken to court for what their child has been up to out of their sight. Furthermore, some parents can literally be afraid of their children.Nonetheless, the time has arrived. Fair or totally unjust, it is absolutely essential that this be brought to pass.
If the law is not going to be applied rigorously to hundreds of thousands of feral youths - and we have some 'do-gooders' wanting the age of criminal responsibility raised to 18 !!!! - then we have to target the parents both criminally and civilly.
Parents MUST be made to ensure that they know precisely what their children are doing, where they are doing it and with whom - at all times. If they do not there must be a price to pay. If you have children, you must take the responsibility. You must realise that if you bring them up to disrespect others or you casually hope that "everything will turn out okay" then both children and parents should be punished when this goes wrong.
The trouble is, it might work with the currently decent but weak and vaguely well-meaning parents who simply need a kick up the rear but the hardcore underclass will simply ignore it safe in the knowledge that serious fines will not be imposed; if they are, they will be remitted by subsequent courts and they will not be jailed for non-payment as "They had not committed the original crime."
All this really does my 'ed in!
