12 Year Old Boy Stabs a Man at Night

A twelve year old is still a child, or should be. What is happening to our society, that a 12 year old is not only out unattended at night, but finds himself in a situation where he stabs a man innocently walking through an open, well-lit park like area in the centre of our city? The man is currently in hospital, so it is not murder. But  a crime has definitely been committed.

Palmerston North, New Zealand, is a small city, with a population of just over 79,000. It is a university city, the centre of a surrounding rural area, and a relatively safe city to live in. Below is a section of The Square.

Image via Wikipedia

From time to time, crimes happen that make the residents question just what is happening to their community. This stabbing has invited a lot of questions about the activities of local youth and also about parental accountability.

Earlier this week a man was stabbed walking through the park like area in the central city, called The Square. It is a well lit area, well populated at night. My husband and I have often walked through there, rather than walk around The Square, to where we are going. People, especially young adults, can often be found frequenting The Square late at night and into the early hours of the morning. For this child to have been able to stab another man, he must have been out really late, at a time when not many others were around. What would motivate a 12 year old to commit such a crime? What mental state must he have been in?

There is divided feeling in the local community. Some are disgusted that this child will probably be let off without excessive punishment for his crime. Because of his age he cannot be convicted. Some people say that he should be locked up, shut away from community, made to pay for his actions. He is deemed evil in their eyes.

Others say, this is a child we are talking about. As the policeman who arrested him said, at that age most children are out playing sport, fishing, doing what 12 year olds should be doing with their friends. One can’t help wonder where the child’s parents were, what they were doing that they didn’t know where there son was. Where is the accountability in all this?

This raises the question of whether the child is the one who should be punished, or is it the parents that should be facing charges. Parents of twelve year olds should know where their children are. Is this young boy really evil, or is he the victim of his family upbringing? It is suggested he is living in an unsafe environment, lacking the care that a 12 year old deserves. It is help he needs, not punishment. He is currently living in custodial care, having been removed from his family.

The whole incident makes me think of what comes first, the chicken or the egg? It is an unanswerable question. Should the boy be punished or removed from his family and given the help he needs to function as a responsible member of the community?

And, who makes the decision?