Recriminalization of Crime One concept that I saw pop up throughout the reading was the idea of ​​best interests and parens patriae. The reading explained how, when making decisions regarding the punishment of juveniles, it was often believed that biological parents were not fit to make a decision or educate their child in seeking reform. Mennel said: "Cannot the natural parents, when they are not equal to the task of education, or unworthy of it, be replaced by the parens patriae, or common guardian of the community ? (Singer 32). As defined by the dictionary, parens patriae is "the government, or other authority, regarded as the legal protector of citizens incapable of protecting themselves." When parents are unable to reform their children and prevent them from committing crimes, the government believes it should decide what is in the child's best interest. In the case of Mary Ann Crouse, her father was denied the right to release her from being placed in the House of Refuge. This shows how the government was often seen as deciding what was in a minor's best interest. There were also numerous complaints against juvenile courts and their “denial of fundamental constitutional rights to minors [which] subjected them to treatment that was not necessarily in their best interests” (39). There was a common theme that the government did not have the minors' best interests in mind or pretended that it knew better than the minors' parents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe concepts of best interests and parens patriae were two interesting ideas that seemed to go hand in hand. The government, often seen as the common guardian of the community, was seen as best suited to serve and reprimand delinquent youth when the delinquents' parents were unable to reform their children. The government has also often failed to recognize a minor's best interests, instead recognizing their best interests in being able to concisely and without ulterior motives detain offenders. Reformatories such as the House of Refuge were reproduced "not because of any proven ability to correct offenders, but because they became practical organizational institutions for dealing with offenders" (Singer 32) . This shows how much the government has thought of its own interests by creating more and more reformatories. There was no evidence that these reformatories did anything to help juveniles, but they were beneficial and practical in getting offenders off the streets and into places of punishment. This is not surprising considering the government's tendency to focus on apprehending offenders rather than treating them. When it comes to recriminalizing crime, the notions of best interests and parens patriae are very relevant. Who decides what is in the best interests of a minor? Is it the parents or guardians? Or is it the government? In the case of juvenile offenders, it is most often considered that it is the parens patriae who is responsible for finding what is best for each minor. Parents often have no say in what happens to their children once they become juvenile delinquents. This is left to the law in most cases. The question also arises as to whether the recriminalization of delinquency is in the best interests of each minor...