Teacher Wang, Po-Chi was interviewed by China Times: Preventing criminal behavior needs to start from a young age – The thin man steals the petunia, the big man steals the morning glory

04:10 2024/10/14
China Times WANG,YANG-CHIEH, New Taipei

There is a Taiwanese proverb, “A thin man steals a pet, and a big man steals a morning glory.” It means that if children are indulged in wrong behaviors over and over again, they will become worse when they grow up. There is also the “crisis tree theory” in the West, which believes that teenagers becoming criminals are like the growth of a tree, from soil, roots, trunks, branches to blossoming and bearing fruits. This corresponds to the social environment in which teenagers grow, resources are limited, families and schools lose their Crisis behaviors such as functional and personality defect defects and bad habits appear, and finally criminal behavior appears.

Dr. Wang, Po-Chi, associate professor of the Department of Criminal Justice of Ming Chuan University, said that the “crisis tree theory” can also be explained by the four major aspects of the youth crisis model, including “crisis prerequisites, crisis labels, problem behaviors, and consequences.”

The prerequisites for crisis are poverty, disadvantage, poor environment, and dysfunctional families, just like poor soil that cannot nourish good tree roots. Crisis labels include poor academic performance, lack of self-confidence, emotional instability, etc. Problem behaviors such as smoking, running away from home, skipping school, premature sexual intercourse, etc. are affected by bad companions and form bad habits. The end result is drug abuse, violence, prostitution and other criminal behaviors.

Professor Chang Chun-Hsing, an educational psychologist, said, “Students’ inappropriate problems originate from their families, appear in schools, and worsen in society.” Wang, Po-Chi said that domestic scholars currently subdivide the process of adolescent deviant behavior into “initiating in parents and families, brewing in youth groups, manifesting in campus gangs, manifesting in digital intermediaries, and erupting in the large society full of incentives.”

Wang, Po-Chi said that at present, in China, protection is given priority and love is given to juveniles with behavioral deviations or those who are in conflict with the law. However, this will create an atmosphere of “teaching without punishment” in society. School teachers are often offended when disciplining, and face complaints from students or parents. , When public opinion attacks, teachers have no chips or weapons to protect themselves. Taking Japan as an example, after experiencing several major juvenile crimes, it has planned to amend the law in the direction of “equal emphasis on education and punishment.” Protecting young people should give priority to good intentions, but the scale should not be tilted. It deserves a comprehensive review.

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