Sins of the fatherless: how broken homes contribute to juvenile crime

Last month’s shooting at the Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl rally, in which one person was killed and 22 were wounded, involved two juveniles. They have since been charged with gun offences and resisting arrest.

The two youths have not been identified. However, I can make an educated guess about their family dynamics – they probably came from a dysfunctional home.

A recent report from the Institute for Family Studies, Stronger Families, Safer Streets, examines the connection between family structure and crime in American cities.

It says that: “strong families are associated with less crime in cities across the United States” and “public safety is greater in communities where the two-parent family is the dominant norm”.

Fathers in the home protect boys against delinquency, crime and jail. And fathers also determine the course of their daughters’ lives, as Meg Meeker shows in her classic book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters.

Most of us will agree that this is just common sense. But I sense that law enforcement and juvenile justice officials, as well as some in academic circles, don’t always see it this way.

This year’s national conference of  The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges fails to feature a discussion of fatherlessness and family structure, or why encouraging marriage is in the public’s best interest. Similarly, the Juvenile Justice Association of Texas 2023 Spring Conference did not include a discussion of why marriage leads to positive outcomes for juveniles and the surrounding community.

Firsthand Experience

I have more than two decades of experience as a juvenile probation officer. I have worked in field services, the juvenile district courts, and residential services, as well as training, accreditation and quality assurance.

I’m retired now, but two themes throughout my career were absent fathers and an unstable family structure. To come across juvenile delinquents raised by their own biological mother and father who were married and lived in an intact home was a rarity. More often, the youth was being raised by a single mother, a stepparent, a grandparent, a relative, or a family friend. Many had been wards of the state.

One of the current trends in juvenile probation is expressed in specialised caseloads and units, as well as specialty court and diversionary programs. This vision of juvenile probation does help meet some of the needs of youth. Staff in the juvenile system often go above and beyond in helping families access various services and programs.

I remember one program called “Ties for Life”, for boys who had been convicted of some offence. Staff members donated dress shirts and ties. The boys were shown how to dress for job interviews and showed how to button a dress shirt and how to tie a Windsor knot.

However, no government program can replace the experience of growing up in a happy family. I remember speaking with one young man before he appeared in court. When I asked about family dynamics, the youth expressed in tears that what was most desired was a relationship with his biological father.

A father’s love

The presence of fathers in intact families contributes to the healthy development of their sons and daughters in a variety of ways.

My mother and my late father were married for more than 60 years. During that time, my father served his country in Korea in the US Air Force, and later as a chaplain in his VFW Post. Along with other fathers, he helped form a dads’ club for the boys in the neighbourhood which promoted football and baseball activities.

When I was 13 years old, to keep me from wasting time at home during the summer, my father took me to work. As a truck driver hauling freight, he taught me the skills of organisation, customer service, and punctuality. I learned to appreciate hard work and how to hand-roll 55-gallon drums onto the back of a truck.

My father’s witness to marriage, faith, family, and the importance of quality work has served me well during my career, marriage and family life.

One policy recommendation from the Institute for Family Studies is to “advertise and advocate the ‘success sequence’, the idea that a high school education, a full-time job, and marriage should precede parenthood, in schools and social media across American cities.”

That advice is gold.

I recall a man who wrote us a note of thanks for the guidance he had received during his time in the juvenile justice system years earlier. He said that his father had never given him advice and structure, and that his mother had been too busy working.

He did well. He finished high school, got married, had a family, and started a business. It was wonderful to hear that our work in the juvenile justice system had paid off.

But family structure does matter, and the gold standard for children remains an intact marriage between a biological mother and father. Take it from a former juvenile justice professional who has witnessed firsthand the devastation that results from family breakdown and absent fathers.

Craig Ortega retired from a career in juvenile probation after more than twenty years. He worked in field, court and residential services as well as training, accreditation and quality assurance. His interests include juvenile delinquency, culture, disability, and history. His article is printed with permission.