PSYCOLOGY OF CRIME

Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1929, Page 7

PSYCOLOGY OF CRIME

[DELINQUENT JUVENILES. CRAVING FOR THE UNUSUAL. [“From the legal point of . view • ivimcs are broaches of the existing j laws,” said Professor T. A. Hunter, when addressing a- Workers’- Educational Association audience on “The Problem of the Delinquent.” “They are acts which, in the opinion of a particular society . a,t a particular time, are considered to deserve punlishment; but the law has dealt only with overt action and has taken little if any, account of the conditions and circumstances of the offender. It is realised, however, to-day that much of the inhuman and ineffective treatment of delinquents has been due to wrong conceptions of the nature of man. “Everyone who reflects,” continued' Professor Hunter, “must be struck with the way in which man’s knowledge reacts on his conduct. This is shown in regard to transport and • communication, and in no field, perhaps, is this reaction clearer than in breaches of the law, when the overt action of individuals fails to accord with the laws of the community. Man has passed from the ‘feeling’ attitude towards phenomena to that of ‘understanding’—from magic to science. A revolution has taken place in regard to medicine, and in the field of law we find similar changes. The first reaction to the law-breaker was that of suppression and punishment ! governed by the idea of revenge—‘an 1 eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’-—but individuals in the oom- " inunity began to realise their own in--1 security in the face of lawless acts, 1 and punishment began to take on the ■ ipreventivc aspect. 1 VIEWS OF PUNISHMENT. ' “Following rather slowly on the i heels of those two conceptions of 3 punishment was that based on the r idea that the breaker of the law must - he reformed. Tims we have the i vengeful, preventive, and reformative : views of punishment that have de- ! velopcd with our increasing know- . ledge of men and of social life. The ; first was the call of the pack indicating the superlative importance of - primitive law; the second was the ■ call Gf the individual citizen for pro- ■ tection by the community; and the i last represented. the cry of the of- ; fender that he shall not be outlawed . but rather be so treated that his cit- . izensliip may re-established.” ‘‘lt has so happened, and most probably it is no mere coincidence,” said Professor Hunter, “that the rankl march of psychology has coincided with this plea of the offender, or of certain sections of society on his be,half. The time-is -coming when the lawyer and the judge, without adequate training in psychology and sociolog}’, will be a thing of the past. No longer can society safely treat offenders as nreye breakers of the law. Dr Healy, an American investigator who has done a great deal of work among delinquents . and criminals, says: ‘lf we are to understand the prohlcim of crime we must go deeper and study the individual criminal with a view to understanding his psychologv, the structure and dynamics of his mind, his motivations, and trace the last to their deeper sources. It is a problem of dynamic psychology.’ ” INCREASE IN CRIME. The lqcturer pointed out that increase in crime ran parallel with the’ development of the social and industrial system,, and was particularly asj sociated with the acceleration of life and the consequent sudden, and radical changes. In industry these were accompanied by dislocation and unomploymeint that tended to develop an attitude of mind inimical to law and order. In all respects of modern life there was constant need for adaptation to new conditions, and in. views of life, in ethical standards, in methods of work and in emotional reactions there were endless conflicts. The problem of the criminal, therefore. had come to be a social and phveholngical one, and they were beginning to centre their interest not on the crime, but on the criminal—his make-up and history. Progress in this direction was, however, very slow. Three hundred years iego Bacon told his generation that it wns the business of the judge to consider not only the offence, but the offender. Tim importance of this nrgument c r '”kl bo thoroughly appreejated if they realised the, complexity of modern social life, especially as it affected the young, -their instability, and that of their environment, and the problem justified the fullest and most thorough investigation. SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. I Professor Hunter referred to the ' figure/s supplied by the Justice and Prisons Departments in New Zealand and the enormous cost incurred in their administration annually. He pointed out that in addition to the economic waste the community suffered a much greater loss through the deterioration of character of the individuals dealt with and the wide influence of evil behaviour. “Exports have proved,” stated the lecturer, “that in the fields of tlolinquono” and crime youth and adolescence hold sway, and experience shows that at some period in the crisis which, precede the delinquent act there has been an especial craving for unusual experiences, a need of some deep organic satisfaction that has not been mqb or understood.

“Very frequently delinquency in adolescence can be traced back to some unfortunate experience in the early life of the child and may be found associated with inferior intellectual ability, instability of emotional life, due either to temperament or experience, and the capacity of the individual to carry out a plan decided upon. Three leading factors in delinquency are physical defects, the spoilt child and ail unwanted child.” SOCIAL RELATIONS. The speaker pointed out the undoubted influence that evil suggestioi had on the minds of children and stated that his own experience in dealing with the children who attended his clinic at Victoria. College and -the evidence he had obtained strongly supported these views. He believed that psychology and sociol ogy were the sciences that could olfer most help in providing a thorough investigation of each case with a view to the form, of treatment that would re-establish the delinquent as a normal citizen. Wider scientific knowledge among parents,' 1 teachers and social workers would mean, a decrease of these who fell into the class of delinquent juveniles, for the diagnosis given would be much more accurate and also the treatment suggested, while taken in. the earlier stages both diagnosis and treatment would be easier and more fruitful. “We must realise,” stated Professor Hunter in conclusion, “that the problem of adaptation to social life depends on the kind of society to which adaptation must be made, and wo may greatly aid the coming generation by improving the system of social relations within which they must develop and to which, they must endeavour to ada.pt their life.”