YOUTH DELINQUENCY

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27564, 22 January 1955, Page 9

YOUTH DELINQUENCY

Grave Problem In Sydney

GANGS, FACTIONS, FIGHTS, AND DESTRUCTIVENESS

[By a Staff Correspondent of the “Sydney Morning Herald”}

Just before Christmas, social workers at a church-sponsored community centre in a Sydney slum area arranged a party for adolescent youths and girls who had taken part in the activities of the centre during the year.

The showpiece of the decorations was a brightly decked Christmas tree, on which the social workers had spent much time and care. The precocious, slum-hardened boys and girls enjoyed the party, but they found their enjoyment in a bizarre Way—by wreckihg the tree and its decorations.

Why did they do this, as well as breaking the tops off bottles of soft drink and pouring the contents on the floor? Because, social workers say, these young people do not know how to deal with their own emotions. They do not know how to show pleasure or gratitude. All their reactions are carried to excess. They are actual 'or potential delinquents. It is true that in the past decade, enormous advances have been made in the diagnosis and treament of juvenile delinquency. The work done by the Child Welfare Department in New South Wales has been called “an example for the whole of Australia and the rest of the world.”

terest of most of these young people is jive. They will listen to records or dance together for hours.

“They have a language all of their own. An invitation to shake hands, for example, is ‘Thumb me, daddy, give me flesh.’ ”

These adolescents, even the most loutish of them, are not stupid. They are alert and intelligent, quick to judge character, extremely sensitive to mood. Miss Evans insists that the work she and others are doing is not a waste of time. Many of the young people have a surprising respect for sanity and truthfulness, and it is possible to salvage some of them. The Rev. Arthur Oliver, of Waverley, a clergyman who has taken a particular interest in juvenile delinquency, is more pessimistic. “Social workers today feel like Canute trying to hold the ocean back,” he said. “I believe that delinquency is spreading beyond the slums. The forces that debauched American youth —crime comics, films, and radio shows accenting violence—are operating here. It will be worse when television arrives, and there is blood in every livingroom.” Even “good” propaganda can misfire. “The Wild One,” an excellent American film indicting both the open violence of loutishness and the secret violence of respectability, was seen six times by some of Mr Oliver’s proteges —not for the reasons intended by the producer. A youth who doubted, that a similar outbreak of violence could occur in. an Australian small town was scornfully dismissed as a “square.” Hard, Destructive “Australian youths are tougher than those I have seen anywhere overseas,” Mr Oliver said. “They are hard and destructive, and they don’t fight Marquis of Queensberry.”

But it is also true that the battle against delinquency is never won. Voluntary workers in welfare centres, summing up the activities of the past year, underline that point. A Difficult Year One of these is Miss Gwen Evans, a “leader” in a Methodist Church community centre, opened 10 years ago because of the high delinquency figures in the area. The centre offers club activities to adults, but its main work is done with youth—chiefly boys and girls between 14 and 20. Miss Evans, a cool, sensible young woman, believes that 1954 was one of the hardest years in her experience of social work.

“Usually we keep a balance between boys and girls from the ‘good’ sections of the district, and those from the slum homes,” she said. “But this year, we were inundated by crowds of very difficult young people. Quite a number of them are on bonds. Most of them are anti-society, anti-police, antieverything.” The centre has a lounge-room, a milk bar, a library, an auditorium, and a dance floor. There is a gymnasium for boxing, wrestling, or weightlifting. Pottery, carpentry, photography and other arts and crafts are taught. But the young people are not very interested in these activities— Club Prowlers “We have had up to 200 at the centre at one time,” Miss Evans said. “They will not make use of any of the facilities provided. They simply prowl restlessly round the club all night. Most of them are divided up into local gangs or factions. We leaders spend a great deal of time keeping them from open warfare. The situation is like dynamite. It could blow up at any moment, but so far we have had only minor brawls, and a few windows broken. “However, there are gang fights outside, and beatings up of individuals whom the others do riot like. Most of them only work when they feel like it, and drift from one unskilled job to another. They have no money sense. “Do they drink? Yes, children of 13 and 14 drink. They can buy liquor any time they like, Sundays included. “We were pleased recently when a dozen of the boys formed themselves into a dance band. At least it is some form of group activity. The only in-

Mr Oliver suggests a scheme being tried in New Jersey, ILS., as a possible counter to juvenile delinquency. Under this scheme, a panel of civicminded citizens is chosen from each section of the community. These men and women sit as an informal “court” to judge young offenders and prescribe a cure. Decisions can be vetoed by a Judge, but so sound have the judgments been that he seldom interferes. Friendly help, not an official kick, has been found to be the answer, in minor cases at least. The Rev. J. W. Spencer, of Newtown, does not feel that delinquency is increasing at a marked rate, thought it continues to exist “If we can keep the young people in touch with our community centre, we keep them out of trouble,” he said. “Drunkenness and family disputes are the main causes of delinquency. The home is the root of the trouble. Child delinquency is parental delinquency.” The Rev. R. Dayidapn, of Glebe, said the problem of behaviour in slum areas was so deeply ingrained it would take more than one generation to extirpate

“We have quite a high delinquency rate in this area,’* he said. “Some of the homes here breed it. They are filthy, and the children are offered rio inhibiting factors, no positive virtues. The parents don’t want help, because it reflects on themselves.”—Associated Newspapers Feature Services.