The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community. Former William H.G. Fitzgerald fellow in family and cultural issues at The Heritage Foundation. Policymakers at last are coming to recognize the connection between the breakdown of American families and various social problems.

Crime is a complex issue that may stem from many sources, but a lack of education, generational poverty, and the rupture of family structure each seem to play a prominent role in criminal activity. Education is much more important today than it ever was.