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       The July 22 editorial welcoming new acting D.C. police chief Pamela A. Smith, “The new D.C. police chief has her work cut out for her,” quoted her as saying something that is rarely if ever voiced publicly and that has a potentially significant impact on juvenile violent crime in D.C. and the region.

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       Addressing the issue of young offenders, Ms. Smith said, “There has to be some accountability for the parents. … That’s the part that we’re missing.” Bravo! It sure is.

       Expanding on that, we need to know much more about how the kids who commit crimes are being raised and to hold their parents accountable, at least in part, for their children’s behavior. Ms. Smith, as a Black woman living in Southeast D.C., has the knowledge, street cred and courage to raise this idea. I hope she follows up on it.

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       We need to know what is different, if anything, about the kids raised in the same physical and economic environment as others but who are not shooting at their peers. Should neighborhood outrage be directed at the families, and not just police, mental health, gun control and intervention programs that have had little impact to date on juvenile violent crime? What might be done to help parents raise law-abiding children? Can early-education programs assist in moral development?

       I hope Ms. Smith will be the catalyst to get some answers that address the root of the problem.

       Philip Schaenman, Potomac

       The writer is a public safety researcher and consultant.

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