Police Conference On Youth Aid

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31729, 12 July 1968, Page 5

Police Conference On Youth Aid

The juvenile crime prevention section of the police will probably soon be named the youth aid section.

A conference of the officers of the section will be held at police headquarters, Wellington, this month. It is generally thought that youth aid section is a more positive

name and less alarming to parents. Sections have been established in all the 30 localities where there is a district child welfare officer. Two or more policemen are in the sections in the main centres. The officers handling the work in Christchurch are Constables G. Dynes and Roma Boyle.

Last year the juvenile crime prevention officers handled 11,205 cases, 1927 more than in the previous year. Main increases in the types of offences were theft, burglary and the unlawful taking of motor vehicles. Last year, there was a 1.4 per cent increase in the number of girls dealt with, and girls were 25.6 per cent of all those dealt with. A total of 5267 were dealt with by the Children’s Court. The police warned 2752 children in lieu of prosecution. The aim of the police aid youth work is to get in touch with boys and girls who are misbehaving, rebellious or anti-social before they commit offences. In this respect, a lot depends on parents seeking advice from the police before it is too late.

The work of the youth aid section may be expanded as a result of the conference this month, but the work that can be done is limited by the number of police who can be put on specialist work.