Police Sergeant Claims That Modem Children Are Vicious

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27593, 25 February 1955, Page 13

Police Sergeant Claims That Modem Children Are Vicious

(New Zealand Press Association)

INVERCARGILL, February 24.

Children today were vicious, and many did not seem able to act normally without adding wreckage to their pranks, said Sergeant A. G. Beal in an address on child delinquency to the Bluff Home and School Association.

This disturbing fact had to be acknowledged whether it was liked, or not, said Sergeant Beal. “From a police point of view, there are too many delinquent parents,” he said. “If the parents are delinquent, then we get delinquent children.’’ Sergeant Beal said it was to be expected that children would go through the normal stages with stone throwing, riding bicycles on footpaths, fighting, and playing with shanghais “But,” he said, “they are not content with that today. They are really vicious.”

He cited the following recent examples of “viciousness” at Bluff: pieces of wood were put into points on the wharf; a first-aid kit carried in a railway guard’s van was pulled off the wall and its valuable contents scattered over the' wharf; and ignition keys were taken from cars and thrown away. A line of trucks at the east end of Bluff contained gauges valued at £lO each, said Sergeant Beal. Not content with damaging one gauge, someone had smashed 600 of them. “That is what the police are finding today,” he said.

A different type of pleasure than that enjoyed formerly seemed to be indulged in nowadays, said Sergeant Beal. When he was young there were bird nesting, cycle trips, or even expeditions with an air gun. All .this was so much hard work today, and if children had an air gun, they <. damage with it. Children's pleasure was manufactured today, and they dearly loved their “pitchers.” “Too Much Money” “Today, parents bribe their children to get rid of them, so that they will not be annoyed by them,” said Sergeat Beat “The children have too much liberty, and too much money to spend. Children are allowed away froia home, with no definite place to go. They meet friends down the street and get into gangs, and that is the quickest way to get into trouble.” If parents insisted on knowing

where the children were* going, and whom they were going with, it would make a big difference, he said; but too many parents left their child at home while they went away tp enjoy themselves. The big problem at Bluff, he had found, was that the children had too much money to spend. The children were overloaded with eatables. “Do parents ever stop to think what could happen in another recession?” said Sergeant Beal. “We are living in good times now, but though you have easy money now, there may come a time when there is not so much money about, and your children will get it some way or another.” This spending and having too much money was not confined to children, said Sergeant Beal. * Adolescents and young adults were also in that category. Some of the freezing workers at Ocean Beach, near Bluff, were always “broke,” but the caretaker of the huts in the six months from January to June had collected 2700 dozen bottles, representing £4050 worth of beer, said Sergeant Beal. Dozens and dozens of men from the North Island had worked all the and had not their fare back home. Most of them were single and under 25, and many were earning up to £2O a week. Parental Responsibilities “We get no fun out of prosecuting a child,” said Sergeatn Beal. “We think it is the parents* job to look after their children. If we take a child home and tell the parents what has happened, in too many cases the parents reprimand and even thrash the child, not because it has done wrong, but because of what the neighbours will say through the police being brought to the house. That is a disgrace to them.” Sergeant Beal said he thought the standard of honesty generally today was low, among both adults and children. “So long as we have dishonest adults, then so long will the children steal,” he said. “If children bring anything home and say that so-an-so gave it to them, be sus{ricious, Parents are too ready to beieve the tale, and make no inquiries. Thus the children know they may take stolen things home, and no questions are asked. Ask them where they get the things from, and De suspicious.”