Legislation making parents culpable for their children’s crimes may come soon

The government is contemplating several suggestions to effectively combat the
issue of youth-on-youth violence in the society.
And according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, one of the suggestions gaining
traction is one where the parents of children who are found to have broken the law
to be penalized as well.
The decision is influenced by a recent court case in the United States where
Jennifer Crumbley was held accountable for her son Ethan Crumbley’s action.
Ethan has been sentenced to life in prison for the killing four of his classmates in
2021.
It also came against the backdrop where teenage boys allegedly fired off shots into
the air at an event where students of the Ottos Comprehensive School were in
attendance. The shots caused the students to stampede away from the gunfire
during which one female student wounded her ankle.
“We are of the view that parents have to take greater responsibility for their
children, and we even contemplated whether or not we should place legislation on
the books to hold parents responsible for the actions of their children. I am told, for
example, that there are parents who encourage their children to take knives and
other implements to school and telling them ‘if anybody hit you, stab them’,” he
remarked.
PM Browne said this is not something that parents should be encouraging their
children to do. “If this is true, this is not appropriate behaviour for parents,” he
declared.
The prime minister also updated the nation on the issue of the ongoing repairs to
the Boys Training School. He said substantial repairs have been completed but that
there was a request to undertake additional work on the facility. He announced that
the government will approve additional funds to undertake the repairs. He added
that completion is now set for approximately 60 days.