Juvenile Delinquency and the War
A Critical Survey of Current Comments
Compiled by the Staff of the Child Guidance Council Much space is being devoted in the daily press to the question of the increased incidence of juvenile delinquency since the outbreak of war. In surveying the present problem it has to be borne in mind that juvenile delin- quency was increasing year by year for about ten years up to 1937 and that, after the passing of the Children and Young Persons Act in 1933, the increase became much more marked for the following reasons (adduced in a recent survey?Bagot, 1940) :
Changes in police procedure.
2. Increasing reluctance on the part of constables to deal on the spot with minor delinquencies. 3. Increased interest in the subject as a result of the 1933 Act, and a greater readiness to bring children before the Court. 4. Changes in methods of salesmanship.
Statistics
Then followed a decrease, to be succeeded on the outbreak of war by a sudden leap upwards, as the following Home Office figures show*: January-April January-April Increase per cent. 1939 1940 Children under 14 .. 5,328 8,644 62-24 Age group 14-17 .. 4,387 6,198 41-29 Age group 17-21 .. 3,238 3,761 16-51 May-August May-August 1939 1940 Children under 14 .. 5,809 1,139. 33-84 Age group 14-17 .. 4,353 5,471 25-68 Age group 17-21 .. 3,126 3,430 9-72
It will be seen from these tables that the increase in the second four months of 1940 is less than that in the first four months.
The reason most generally assigned to the decrease in the second four months is the increased possibility of outdoor activities in the summer months, but other factors doubtless play a more important part, such, for instance, as the gradual decrease of opportunities for stealing when the black-out period is shorter, cessation of the worst ebb and flow of evacuation, and last but not least the general settling down of the nation to war conditions.
Inadequacy of Available Records
The significance of the Home Office figures quoted cannot be gauged accurately until information is available as to several factors including the intelligence of the children charged. Was a greater proportion of these children dull and backward, feeble-minded or defective as compared with pre-war figures ? A report, referred to at greater length elsewhere in this Journal, is available from a child guidance clinic, to which approximately one-third of the children charged at a juvenile court were referred. Although this figure represents only a small proportion of the socially unsatisfactory and incompetent group in the population, it is large enough to be significant. The report indicates that there was a noteworthy increase in the number of delinquent children with I.Q. 70-85 in the year 1940-1 as compared with the year 1939-40, and there was a 74 per cent, increase of delinquent schoolchildren with I.Q. ranging from under 55 up to 85, i.e. from certifiable M.D. up to dull. It is pointed out that ” the seriously dull and backward children (i.e. I.Q. 70-85) have more drive than those in the more defective group, but their drive is often uncontrolled and undirected. It is not surprising, therefore, that the main increase in juvenile delinquency comes from this group of cases “.
A memorandum just published by the Home Office and Board of Education gives the following
figures for the first year of war as compared with the previous year: Children under 14.. .. .. .. .. 41 per cent, increase Age group 14-17 22 per cent, increase Age group 17-21 .. 5 per cent, increase
In a recent paper, a psychiatric social worker stated that in a badly bombed area the incidence of psychosomatic symptoms was highest in the 11-14 age group. This indicates that war conditions affect this, the group at the age of puberty, most strongly, hence there must be an increased risk of behaviour disorders.* The following figures for various areas have been quoted in the press:
Reception Areas Chester. (Annual Report of the Chief Constable.) Juveniles before the Court in 1940 .. .. 167 Juveniles before the Court in 1939 .. .. 45 Of this number 101 had not previously been before the Court, 33 once and 26 more than once. Lancashire. Juveniles before the Court in 1940 .. .. 2,518 Juveniles before the Court in 1939 .. .. 2,093 The age group mainly affected was the 11-13 group. Caernarvonshire . Juveniles before the Court in 1940 .. .. 147 Juveniles before the Court in 1939 .. .. 49
In Lancashire it is stated definitely that the increase in delinquency is not due to the influx of evacuees. Were the resident adolescents upset by the changed conditions caused by the advent of strange children ? Chester and Caernarvonshire both received evacuees from Merseyside. Were these the culprits or how far was lack of provision for the dull and backward and defective children already resident in the areas responsible for the outbreak ? If it were true that the dull and backward group among ” natives ” are the chief recruits to the Courts, it might well be that the advent of brighter and tougher evacuees from the towns evoked a compensatory aggressiveness which, owing to their deficiencies in foresight and control, led them into the clutches of the law. This question would well repay investigation.
Cities Leeds. Juveniles before the Court in 1939 .. .. 365 Juveniles before the Court in 1940 .. .. 460 In 1939, 81 of the cases were ” breaking and entering “, in 1940 these cases increased to 163. Petty thefts increased from 243 in 1939 to 352 in 1940. Sheffield. Juveniles before the Court, year ended 31.3.39 437 Juveniles before the Court, year ended 31.3.40 460 Breaking and entering increased from 3 to 42 cases. * The Home Office and Board of Education memorandum referred to in a previous footnote states that the increase in juvenile delinquency reaches its peak at age 13. This surely is most significant.
The Director of Education claims that there has been no substantial increase? only 6 per cent, on the year, confined entirely to young persons over school age, while there is a decrease of 5 per cent, compared with the year ended March 31st, 1938. Cardiff.
Juveniles before the Court in 1939 .. .. 207 Juveniles before the Court in 1940 .. .. 271
Abertillery, Ebbw and Blaina.
It will be seen from the figures given that the increase in reception areas and in the cities is approximately equal. In the reception areas, normal conditions of social life for juveniles has been disturbed by the invasion of evacuees into both homes and schools; in the cities, normal conditions have been disturbed by lack of school facilities for considerable periods.
Causes to which the Increase in Juvenile Delinquency is Popularly Ascribed The causes to which the increase in juvenile delinquency is ascribed are numerous, but some of them existed prior to the war, in addition to those enumerated by Bagot and referred to above. They can be classified as follows:
(a) Poverty, Bad Housing and Malnutrition Poverty would appear to be a less potent factor in wartime when so many mothers are wage-earners and unemployment is less rife. The bad housing conditions of normal times have their counterpart in the badly bombed areas where children suffer from broken sleep and from life in shelters. They are able to truant from home. One worker in charge of a shelter for children states that they are entirely out of control, and cannot be persuaded to give any help in running the shelter. The rationing of foodstuffs so promptly and various schemes for the feeding of school- children should have lessened the danger of stealing for the sake of obtaining food, though the shortage of sweets and confectionery may lead to petty larceny.
(b) Lack of Parental Control, Broken Homes and Absence of the Father It is a platitude that the young need the framework of an ordered and disciplined environment in which to develop, and for this the home surroundings are of the utmost importance. Many homes are ” broken ” during wartime by the absence of the father in the Services and few women can combine within themselves the roles of loving mother and authoritative father which are necessary for the welfare of the child. However, it is reported that in 30 per cent, of the cases, the absence of the father is not the cause of the trouble. Some homes are without either father or mother for the greater part of the day, as both are on war service of some kind. Juveniles before the Court in 1939 Juveniles before the Court in 1940 75 117 Glasgow. Juveniles before the Court in 1939 Juveniles before the Court in 1940 3,141 3,261 70
Evacuation and Constant Change of Environment
It was to be expected that the removal from their homes of thousands of children of all ages and types would lead to misdemeanours in some instances. There do not appear to be any figures available to show, for example, what proportion of children charged in a given reception area were evacuees and how many belonged to the normal population. It would be interesting to learn whether the influx of evacuees upset the latter and to compare the type of delinquencies committed by the two groups. Reports from at least two reception areas indicate that the evacuees are not the culprits.
From the figures given in the preceding table it will be seen that the increase in delinquency is highest amongst the children under fourteen, i.e. among the children who were eligible for evacuation. Those who were evacuated suffered both from the emotional disturbance of removal from home and from decreased opportunities for attendance at school, while those who remained at home were ” running wild ” owing to the closing of the schools and clubs. Were misdemeanours more numerous amongst those who went away or among those who stayed at home ? In reception areas, if evacuees were the culprits, were they ” old lags ” or ” new criminals ” ? If ” new can misdemeanours be ascribed to destruction of tone of school by splitting up on evacuation ? How many of the culprits had been ” warned ” and how frequently, though not charged ?
Lack of Religious and Moral Teaching
This may result in a decreased resistance to temptations such as to thieve from open counters, to steal parcels from unattended cars, to make off” with bicycles. On the other hand, temptations have probably increased. Dark nights and the black-out have increased the possibility of avoiding detection of all sorts of nefarious activities. It may be noted that while thefts of cars are said to have decreased in one city at least since the ” immobilizing ” order was enforced, the increase in thefts of bicycles may be due to the fact that many more are in use at the present time owing to transport difficulties, petrol restrictions and so on. It has been stated in a juvenile court in London that numbers of children, delighted with the opportunities provided for games amongst ruins, have been prosecuted for looting perfectly useless articles which might have been lying there for months. Such a temptation does not occur in normal times, but it is doubtful in these cases whether the child realized fully that he was doing wrong.
(e) Increased Leisure and Lack of Ability to make use of it Presumably this cause relates more particularly to the older child and young persons up to the age of 21. Lack of ability to use leisure is primarily due (i) to defects in home training, (ii) to defects in the educational system, (iii) to the modern craze for passive and mechanical forms of recreation as opposed to creative and cultural recreation. But in wartime recreational facilities for children have been diminished by (1) the commandeering of halls, etc., which formerly housed clubs,
(2) the digging up of playing fields for allotments, (3) the transfer of children from schools commandeered for various purposes to makeshift quarters. (/) Ever-increasing Desire for ” Pleasure ” on part of Older Boys and Girls This has probably been increasing for some time throughout the community but may be intensified by the desire for romanticized adventure which is always present in children in wartime, a desire which should have outlets provided for it. For boys, the A.T.C. answers the purpose to some extent, as witness the immediate response to the call for volunteers. In girls, the sense of adventure is less marked. This spirit of aggressive adventure is doubtless partly responsible for the increase in ” breaking and entering At the same time there may be thefts to pay for amuse- ments where there is boredom. Hence the need again for providing healthy recreational facilities. %
(g) Increasing Employment of Children resulting in Non-attendance at School These children are suddenly thrust from an ordered routine at school, where every moment is planned out, into the atmosphere of the wage-earner. They may be led astray by adult workers, or yield to a desire to demonstrate their newly-won independence in illegal ways. A revival of the apprenticeship system in a form suitable for modern conditions for these young people would bridge the gap between school and adult life.
Methods of Treatment Proposed Various methods of dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency are the subject of discussion at the present time:
1. The Raising of the School Leaving Age to 15 and Compulsory Part-time Education for Older Children These plans do not appear to be feasible during the war, when there is a shortage of building materials, of labour for building, and a dearth of teachers. An extension of training schemes for industry might solve the problem meantime. 2. Increased Interest by Local Education Authorities in the out-of-school hours of the Children
This is being effected by the formation of Youth Service Squads and so on. It is of the essence of such schemes that they should bring the child into contact with the world in which he must live when he leaves school, and provide a means whereby he feels himself to be accepted not only among his colleagues but in adult society. Social and other activities connected with the school are not sufficient. They cannot widen the child’s background and too often are conducted by teachers whose training does not fit them for the work. Neither is it fair that teachers should be expected to give their out-of-school hours to children?they need to refresh themselves by mixing with adults in other occupations, by the pursuit of various activities away from children, otherwise their lives are cramped and they do not adjust easily to normal adult society. A 3. Reformatories for Parents, the Children being cared for in Welfare Centres Meantime
It is doubtful whether such a proceeding, which has been suggested but which is in fact not practicable, would result in a happy home atmosphere. It might succeed if the parents were very young and the home not too bad. But if the home is really bad, the children would be better off in a specially selected foster home or at an < approved school.
The Establishment of Child Guidance Clinics
It is noted that in some cases Education Authorities are conferring with Juvenile Court Justices to discuss ways and means of dealing with the juvenile delinquents and are urging the establishment of child guidance clinics. These, alone, cannot solve the problem of juvenile delinquency. The question is a much wider one, beginning with education for parenthood, ‘followed by the optimum training of children in day nurseries, nursery schools and throughout school life, the promotion of suitable recreational activities for each individual child and ending with his estab- lishment in a job for which he is fitted and which gives him a prospect of advancement in the future.
The child guidance clinic can, however, be of assistance in re-adjusting children who are beginning to show signs of anti-social tendencies, thus decreasing the number of children who become actually delinquent. The clinic staff can help by advising parents, teachers and probation officers ‘and others who have to deal with the child on methods of upbringing. The child’s intelligence can be ascertained so that it is possible to determine whether he is easily led into mischief by the bad influence of others. Assistance can be given to the child himself in facing up to his difficulties? the value of this process has been realized in at least one district where it has been remarked that ” forcible detention has proved to be a very inadequate alternative to the corrective influence available within the environment Psychiatric advice is essential in such cases, otherwise incalculable harm may be done to a sensitive child. 5. Formation of Panels of Teachers with Special Experience in Child Guidance Clinics It is doubtful whether such experience could be obtained except in child guidance clinics and very few teachers would be able to devote time to the special study of delinquent children. Attendance at courses is useful in arousing their interest in the subject but cannot be held to train them to deal with such children by themselves. It is true that certain centres, notably Glasgow and Sunderland, are already attempting this plan, and the experiment will be watched with critical attention.
Residential Child Guidance Clinics
The results obtained by the first residential child guidance clinic for delinquent children which has been set up at Nerston will be awaited with special interest. Such a clinic may have the same disadvantages as an approved school, namely the removal of the child from home and his upbringing in a rather artificial atmosphere. Will the fully trained staff of such a clinic be successful in preparing the child to return more quickly to normal life, and will the child be easily adapted to normal life if supervised by the staff of the clinic in the district where he lives ?
7. Suggestions put forward by a Conference called in Ayrshire by a Woman J.P., and Parallel Criticisms These are to be found in full in The Times Educational Supplement of May 3rd, 1941, and May 24th, 1941.
The suggestions represent on the whole enlightened opinion, but certain of the criticisms made by another J.P. are justified. The suggestions betray the fact that the procedure of Juvenile Courts is not always carried out with due regard to the letter of the law and vary very much in different parts of the country. That there are deviations from the Home Office regulations has been indicated by Bagot, and a recent survey of some Juvenile Courts in Yorkshire has confirmed this finding.
Increase in Approved School Accommodation
The Home Office has advised Local Authorities that an increase of at least 50 per cent, on pre-war accommodation should be provided. There can be no question nowadays of the value of the training given in these schools, though the standard varies from place to place.
What is open to criticism, however, is the assumption that committal to an approved school is the best method of dealing with many juvenile delinquents, especially with those whose delinquency is an outcome of the war. As Miss Fry points out, “it is individual affection and control, even the feeling of individual importance in the tiny community of the household, which is what they need “.
Foster Home Placement
Several of the Education Authorities who take their duties under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 seriously, have shown a welcome tendency to try to find foster homes for certain types of delinquent children. The difficulties of finding foster parents able and willing to take these children during wartime are of course enormously increased by evacuation. Billeting Officers are obliged to seize on each and every vacancy they find, whereas foster parents suitable for the task should have been reserved for the care of these special children. A wide field lies open to the Joint Register of Foster Homes and Schools for Nervous, Difficult and Retarded Children and, were funds available now, it could usefully employ workers acting in co-operation with the Regional Representatives of the Mental Health Emergency Committee to carry out this specialized billeting. To quote Miss Fry again, ” From such a home (the child) takes a natural place in a world already familiar, as an adolescent, and later as a grown-up person, without the. dislocation which too often follows the end of education in an approved school. Many boys and girls come to grief again after excellent careers in such schools, probably because the change of surroundings and discipline is too sudden. The gradually loosened control of good foster parents gives a more natural transition period.”
Corporal Punishment
Already in one area an Education Committee has recommended to the Juvenile Court Magistrates that they should introduce the use of the birch in order to ascertain whether it has a deterrent effect. There are signs in two or three other areas of a desire to take a similar step. Such action is to be deprecated on the ground that the procedure of birching by a policeman in a police court is undesirable and likely to cause more harm than good. In those few cases, if such exist, where corporal punishment is really necessary, it should be possible to ensure that it is carried out in the home or, if the parents prefer, at school, though the latter course would doubtless have to be carefully considered, since the school does not normally punish for misdemeanours committed outside school.
In Glasgow, 94 boys were birched in 1940 as compared with 10 in the previous, year. It remains to be seen whether there will be a considerable decrease in juvenile delinquency in 1941 as a result. Moreover, if there is a decrease, it may not follow that it is in any way directly connected with the re-introduction of corporal punishment.
Conclusions
This survey shows that: 1. There has been a definite increase of juvenile delinquency since the war began. 2. Many influences pertaining to the war may be responsible. 3. There is no certainty how far one or more of these influences are causally effective. 4. It is not certain whether delinquency is more rife among ” natives ” or evacuees. 5. There is no exact knowledge as to whether the increase is caused by an increase of past offenders or recidivists.
6. There is increasing faith in some quarters in the efficacy of child guidance as a contribution towards the solution of the problem of juvenile delinquency. 7. There is a regressive tendency in other quarters to the apparently easy way out of the difficulty by using the repressive deterrent type of punishment which has proved ineffective in the past.
8. Public interest in juvenile delinquency is increasing, but there is still much loose thinking and sentimentalism rife in relation to this subject. 9. There is great need and ample opportunity for research which will crystallize ideas and build a firm foundation of facts on which future policy may be based. Note.?The official Home Office and Board of Education document referred to in two footnotes has just been received, and deals with the subject under the following headings:
Statistics; Causes; Preventive Measures; Treatment of Offenders: juvenile courts, probation, remand homes, approved schools.
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