YOUTHFUL CRIME

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 121, 24 May 1928, Page 12

YOUTHFUL CRIME

AND WHY? STATISTICS OF CONDUCT, SECULAR OPINION Tho co-existence of "an admirable education system" and an increase of juvenile crimo was recently a subject of comment by a Victorian Judge, Judge Vornarski. The Director of Education, Mr. , Frank Tate, who has on occasions been consulted, educationally by New Zealand, sounded tho Judge with a view to ascertaining what implications attach to the judicial comment. Mr. Tate afterwards told the Victorian Public Council of Education that Judge Wornarski at the time ho mads : his remark, had in inind'the Jack of religious training in schools—so the j Judge had informed kini. ' Some, newspapers interpreted the • Judge's1 remarks as a criticism of the Victorian Department of Education, the education system being guilty of a failure to prevent if not of being an actual cause. One'viev^ is .that tho absence of religious instruction, even if such absence is held to bo the cause of the increase of crime, does not excuse the education system. On the1 other hand, Mr. Tate, in dealing with the matter beforo the Council of Education, put the main responsibility on home training, or the lack of it. He thought that ''the main causes were defective home lifo and inadequate moral training. Ho did not think that the matter was one that involved the schools or the lack of provision of religious teaching. He thought that it was a much broader question." It may be difficult to prove much by a counting of heads, but Mr. Tate brought a statistical argument to bear on tho issue. He stated that of 104 boys in tho Castlemain reformatory the school records of 99 were knOwn. Oftteso boys 7_ had attended State schools and 25 registered schools. The number of pupils attending schools in the metropolitan area was 325,000, of which 65,000 attended .' registered schools. It might, therefore, be expected that in ordinary circumstances the proportion of former pupils of registered schools in the reformatory would be one-fifth. Yet, despite the alleged steadying influence of religions in;, struction, it was nearer one-quarter. If the lack of religious instruction had an injurious effect the proportion of former State school pupils in the reformatory should be more ' than fourfifths. But it was only three-quarters. He did not know, however, whether the figures he had quoted proved anything concerning the merits or demerits of religious instruction. There was . no doubt that thero had been an increase in juvenile crime. An official, had exr pressed to him the opinion that among the causes of this increase were- thrift■les'sness, dead-end occupations, unemployment, mental retardation, questionable moving'pictures, and bad associations. ■■-.'' Dr. A. Leepcr said that, although he had a hearty admiration for the State education system, it had one'obvious defect. That was the absence of. the religious element. Everybody recognised the difficulties in the way of introducing religious * teaching, but they should be faced and overcome. In 1500 schools in the State, attended by 9C,000 children, no religious instruction was given. • Mr. L. A. .Adamson expressed the view that -"religious instruction should be given in the home. Unless a child obtained some idea of religion and somo Biblical knowledge before it was aged six years it was difficult to do much with it afterwards. Mr. M. B. Duffy'thought that the education authorities could find ;their best opening not in considering tho religious, aspect but in eonsidering'what was to become of boys when they left school. Often they drifted into dead-end occupations, and after losing their employment drifted into crime. If' somei of the children living in crowded areas were given improved surroundings they would develop abetter outlook. The council decided to convene * conference to consider tho causes of juvenile crime.