Cumberland County 30-somethings can lead in fighting violent crime: Williams

There isn’t an easy way to tiptoe around the obvious. Plenty of empirical evidence supports a connection between the breakdown of families and various societal problems, particularly violent crime. Over the past three decades, the rise in violent crime parallels the rise in families void of a father head-of-household.

A 1995 report by the conservative Heritage Foundation is a little dated. Still, the facts remain unchanged: “States with a lower percentage of single-parent families, on average, will have lower rates of juvenile crime. State-by-state analysis indicates that, in general, a 10 percent increase in the number of children living in single-parent homes (including divorces) accompanies a 17 percent increase in juvenile crime.”

More: Williams: Fayetteville police alone will not solve Fayetteville’s violence problem

Contrarily, even in high-crime neighborhoods, most youngsters avoid delinquency from safe, stable homes. Even criminals capable of a successful marriage generally find a way to escape a life of crime after making that commitment.

The best buffer against becoming a career criminal for a child is a solid affectionate attachment and the authority and involvement of two caring parents. If communities, including ours, will deal with the root causes of crime, we must embrace the scholarly evidence highlighting the social chaos and violence destroying our neighborhoods.

More: Williams: Finding the will to stop the cycle of violence in Fayetteville

The world parents face these days is radically different

Parenting has always been a tough day job; nowadays, it’s become even more difficult. I was raised in a two-parent home, with my father as the primary breadwinner and my mom as a homemaker. My mom was always there when I got home from school every day.

Most of my friends lived similar lives. None of us were latchkey kids. Today’s parenting world is radically different.

Two-parent homes generally have spouses balancing work and family life, and work boundaries. Job-related stress, family stress, and parents often feel overwhelmed with everyday responsibilities and struggle to manage their emotions.

Single parenting presents an even more significant challenge, given the responsibilities of juggling caring for the children, daily work, paying the bills and household chores. These single-parent situations also expose families to drastically reduced finances and other resources.

Both scenarios present complex outcomes for children, but children of low-income families are the biggest losers.

Thirty-somethings: Get involved

One study shows that children of low-income families are likelier to become violent criminals than abused and neglected children.

The median age for Cumberland County is 31.4 years, according to 2020 figures by the United States Census Bureau. The national median age is 38.9 years. America is getting older, but our community is remaining relatively young.

Gun-related assault death rates peak in the 15 to 34 groups for both males and females. Cumberland County’s median age falls within the range for assault death rates peak.

Some of the more mature in our community may have the wisdom, but the 30-something-year-olds have the most to gain and are our most excellent resource. We need them to become more involved in helping us find solutions.

Troy Williams is a member of The Fayetteville Observer Community Advisory Board. He is a legal analyst and criminal defense investigator. He can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County's young population: Challenge, chance to stop violence