Kids from broken homes '9 times more likely to commit crimes'

London, Nov 04 (ANI): Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said that kids who come from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit crimes than those from stable families.

Duncan Smith said the breakdown of marriage had led to the fracturing of society, as well as addiction, crime and lost productivity and tax revenues that, in all, cost Britain around 100 pounds billion a year.

He accused Labour of undermining family life during their time in government and said the country had paid a "heavy price". All the evidence shows that family influences educational outcomes, job prospects, and even life expectancy," the Telegraph quoted Duncan Smith as saying in a speech to Relate, a counseling charity.

"That means that positive, family-friendly policies can bring wide-ranging benefits to society.

"But when government abandons policies that support families, society can pay a heavy price.

"Sadly, the last Government seemed determined to undermine marriage - for example, by removing references to it from official forms," Duncan Smith added.

Seven out of 10 offenders come from broken homes, he said, adding that single parent families were more than twice as likely to live in poverty than those living with both parents. (ANI)