NCJ Number
59394
Journal
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY Volume: 6 Issue: 5 Dated: (1916) Pages: 724-728
Date Published
1916
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A 1916 STUDY OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND DEPENDENCY IN A SMALL CITY (POPULATION 12,000) IN A RURAL STATE IS DOCUMENTED.
Abstract
CASES OF DELINQUENCY, DEPENDENCY AND NEGLECT DURING THE 2-YEAR PERIOD FROM MAY 1912 THROUGH APRIL 1914 ARE INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS. DURING THIS PERIOD, 52 CHILDREN CAME BEFORE THE CITY'S JUVENILE COURT. THE MAJORITY OF THE CHILDREN WERE AGED 11-16. THIRTY-TWO WERE MALES. BLACKS WERE DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED. HOWEVER, MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN THE VARIABLES OF RACE OR SEX WAS THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF DELINQUENCY AND NEGLECT CASES. ONE WARD HAD A MUCH HIGHER DELINQUENCY RATE THAN THE REST OF THE CITY. RACE WAS NOT A FACTOR, BECAUSE THE HIGH-DELINQUENCY WARD'S BLACK POPULATION WAS SMALL. FURTHERMORE, OTHER WARDS WITH LARGE BLACK POPULATIONS HAD VERY LOW DELINQUENCY RATES. BAD HOUSING CONDITIONS AND POVERTY IN THE HIGH-DELINQUENCY WARD WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. HOWEVER, OTHER WARDS WITH SIMILAR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS EXPERIENCED LITTLE DELINQUENCY. THE DECIDING FACTORS WERE THE HIGH-DELINQUENCY WARD'S PROXIMITY TO THE CITY'S MAIN BUSINESS STREET AND THE URBAN CHARACTER OF THE WARD'S HOUSING. THE LOW-DELINQUENCY, LOW ECONOMIC CLASS WARDS WERE FAR FROM THE BUSINESS DISTRICT, IN A SEMIRURAL AREA. MALES WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED IN LAWLESSNESS, WHILE FEMALES WERE MORE LIKELY TO FALL WITHIN THE DEPENDENT AND NEGLECTED OR INCORRIGIBLE AND INMORAL CATEGORIES. THE FINDINGS SUGGEST A NEED TO PROVIDE STRUCTURED RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG MALES. CASE DISPOSITIONS REFLECT THE JUVENILE COURT JUDGE'S RELUCTANCE TO SEND CHILDREN TO THE STATE TRAINING SCHOOL. THAT SMALL-CITY JUVENILE COURT JUDGES FACE PROBLEMS COMPARABLE TO THOSE OF URBAN JUDGES BUT WITHOUT COMPARABLE RESOURCES IS POINTED OUT. TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED.