Psychopath In Training

How do you handle a budding psychopath? Carefully, with due regard for the fact that society has more than enough sociopaths and psychopaths whose incapability of feeling empathy for other human beings leads them to prey on people and to abuse others with no compunction of conscience. Simply because they are absent of a conscience.

That awareness of the harm done to others that most of us have in abundance, and a wish to avoid those harms.

It's often been said that the warning signs of a psychopath can be seen at an early age, by the manner in which young children - usually boys - interact with animals. Their curiosity about causing pain to animals a kind of introductory stage to later violent encounters with people.

Parents have an obligation to be responsible for the actions of their children. It is a lawful one; they can be held to be liable in a civil court for minor offences their children may commit. Unfortunately the Youth Criminal Justice Act does not hold errant parents criminally responsible for the violent acts their children commit. Though perhaps it should.

A government spokesperson advises, "Our government is always looking at ways to strengthen our laws, but there is nothing in the works in this regard at this time", even while the Conservative government has demonstrated its intent to drive legislation to crack down on violent youth.

Is eight years of age too young to start? Is it ever too young when a child who displays viciously violent inclinations and whom neighbours fear may harm their own children is not monitored by his own parents who appear unconcerned over their child's reputation as a psychopath?

There should be some measures in law that an anxious society should be able to rely upon that constitute a brake on a violent child's tendencies.

If that brake is not supplied by parents who will teach their child that brutality is not a social nicety, and that there are disciplinary consequences to bludgeoning a helpless animal to death, then surely some manner of parental-responsibility legislation should be enacted for the greater good of society?

The eight-year-old boy living in Stoneville, Newfoundland whose prior violent behaviour alarmed and concerned the town's 500 residents appears to be increasing his severely pathological behaviour. He has now moved on to beating to death backyard pets as diverse as ducks, hens and chicks. Again, beating them with gardening tools, just as he had a small lawn-tethered dog.

The boy hasn't mind admitting that he killed those animals. Perhaps he is aware that he cannot be charged with a criminal offence, since he's simply too young. "I'll soon be 70 years old, and I don't remember anything like this happening in Stoneville before", one resident of the town has said.

"The only fear you might have is, would he do the same thing with another child? Would the next thing be something bigger than an animal? Probably a kid smaller than himself."

Yes, probably; quite likely, given sufficient time.