SLIPSHOD METHODS OF JUVENILE COURTS

NZ Truth, Issue 1228, 13 June 1929, Page 3

SLIPSHOD METHODS OF JUVENILE COURTS

Amid all the sweeping bias of comment upon the conditions surrounding the statistics of child criminality, of wild assertions concerning the growing aptitude of youth for crime, it is ! well that someone should have the fortitude to demand a relation of the true circumstances. Statistics are dangerous evidence, m that a superficial scrutiny discloses alarming situations which really do not exist. There are too many ; people with a : penchant for reading between the lines .. .and finding something which is not there.

m — — . / /;' :: — , ;'.;';• ■-/ — -t ADMITTEDLY, the system 'of child welfare administration m New Zealand IS . not altogether satisfactory, but the word "altogether" U used advisedly, and not with the loose significance oftentimes employed by •hurry-scurry commentators. Again, it will not, be gainsaid that the incidence of youthful; crime shows an unfortunate development, but not to the overwhelming extent ascribed by some observers,' nor to the ciuses most favored by them. } - A. . ' When half-a-dozen hot-headed boys come before the court, people nod their heads m simulated wisdom, remarking: "See what the movies have done for these boys," supplying the popular motive, because it is an easy excuse and ac- ' ceptable to the lazy-minded. It must not be forgotten that if crime, among children really has increased, so has the population of the various centres throughout the country, yet it appears customary to make the assertion that there is more juvenile crime m Auckland than m any , other city m the Dominion, forParents To Bldme getting; of course, that Auckland has conslderaby more people within' its envir6ns than its sister cities. If people were honest with themselves — and they rarely are that — if they plumbed the depths '-instead of skating pver the surface of this critical condition, they would admit that the main contributory delinquents are the parents of these young hobbledehoys, and not the producers of kinema films. Let us see ■> what America, Canada, and many of the Australian . States have done towards resolving the problem. ',•'.'... ■ : ; In 1927, the New Zealand Minister of Education gave authority for Mr. J. Beck, Superintendent of the Child Welfare branch, to write a report on his visit to the United States and Qanada, wherein he showed quite clearly that "In many instances! parents, through their neglect or indifference, are really responsible for the appearance m I court of their children. "This fact is recognised m the laws of both the United States and Canada, and there is legal provision for the punishment of neglectful parents. "The judge of the children's court m Toronto makes full use of this provision, ]and. regards it as a most useful measure, not only for the prevention of neglect and crime among children, but. also m, the keeping of ents up to the mark, m the matter of obligations to their children." Why, then,, is 'New Zealand, with all its vaunted and modernity m matters educational and social,' lagging so far "behind? ■ , < Not m methods alone is she a . Qdicate Worfc retardates among "th^e nations who have given this question a good . deal of serious thought. '; ; •*.. . ; ',' v - : This/-: country is notorious for,;, overlapping state departments, involving treble expenditures where cohesion and:; adjustment among the' divisions offgpyefnmeht would winnow, considerably the cost of control;; ' -''-V '■' ,;. V ■ ■ ( -. ' . On the 1 subject of the Welfare Department aha its processes it will be as well !to note the disabilities of its officers— or, rather, the disabilities that are thrult upon them by ,a parsimonious system of financial ; allocation— and the <way m which they; are reimbursed for the work they do. 1 An extract from the fifty-first annual report of the- Minister of Education shows that at the close of the 1927-8 financial year nearly six thousand children were under the supervision of the ChIJ<T Welfare branch, yet m face of this tremendous -responsibility, the subordinate officers who assist m con-v trolling its processes -are m receipt of disgracefully low salaries; -','■■'■'. Theirs* ifc a work which knows no award m: point of time. They have, a most difficult, most delicate wbrjc to carry through, and a Single tactless remark may mean the turning-point for the -worse itt the career of - some race-about young scamp who has- fractured one of the

->_ _ _ ■■- _. —^-Q- ->— ■ ; : — -C minor laws, and has been brougfht oe- pleased to term "a crime wave" among fore the children's court.: , children. r They often are hampered by m- From the commencement of the efficient social workers with the children's court system. up tW a year best intentions m the world to do or so ago , Chr J ß4 **^,,^^,,*?. 6 . good, but without the -ability or best reputation ropolithe personality and understanding tan centres concerning juvemle delinto effect an adjustment, quency; They are forced to realize that when .." * h « 1 -« t » t 'fi!2 B IV^u d? thS recalcitrant youngsters do come toe- •" *•>• tak c c " ? 8 ® S&o % *Vho- sfore the children's court, there often reputation must bejecedmg, as the is so little "atmosphere" about the criminal record an proceedings, that when the. woman unenviable ' lls t f n ™™' much ° f . associate on the pencil wags an ad- w».ch ie of a ser.ous nature, monishing finger at the boy or girl, During the past twelve months, there the result is absolutely negative. have been nearly two hundred charges , It is one thing to deal kindly with of theft laid against juveniles, over boyish ragamuffins who kick over the, sixty of breaking and entering, about traces. It is quite l another ; matter forty of receiving stolen goods, and when they are told merely to be better twenty involving sejc offences, boys m the future, and allowed ,to go it is only a few months ago that laughing away. "' - considerable ' uneasiness was felt m , A . , . x ••■■■■••■■■. suburban areas, at the frequency of In Auckland, two years ago, a burglaries, and the apprehension of a boy was fined for violent speeding. ga rig of young hoodlums was expected His father paid the _ fine, and the to term j n at e ' this growings menace, boy simply laughed m the face of But the Child Welfare Court conthe law, when a form of physical tinues . to have its lists well filled for punishment would have been each sitting. " salutary. '■ •.. More recently, the nature of most of. That there are delinquent children m the offences has .been more or less every city m New Zealand, and tnat trivial, but prior to this, the regular there is a need for children's courts, is attendant at the children s court could unfortunately true, but it is not cor- not help but be impressed with one

rect to say that all children who appear before the courts are criminally inclined. Certainly not m Wellington. It is essential to remember that a child cannot be judged from the same standpoint as an adult. .-. ' : The boy or girl, who, may transgress the laws of the 'country, does not do so either knowingly "or with that-cun-ning exhibited by most adult offenders. What men are there ranging from Ministers of the Crown and judges of the Supreme Court) to the 'man :iri the street, who have not robbed an orchard m those schoolboy days so long: a&o? There are few, if any, who could truthfully deny it, but to-day, if a child raids an, orchard he. ,, is . brought before a magistrate,- "some-. > times m, the presenoe of 'policemen ' m uniform, and he is forced to, suffer the indignity iof haying the charge read to him m legal phraseology tKat he cannot ;Uliderstand.i That is, what: the Gov^prnnientcalls ; a'children's, court. • C/; :.c^,•The people i are told that-tlie cour.t is a place of correction;; th^t it was established with the sole ;i(!ea of getting away from the atmosphere; of the police courts; but tnat this is so is not altogether true. : - , ■ While there are some children who commit rather startling . and really serious crimes, there are "just as many who have done nothing worse than ride a bicycle on the footpath. ' Taken as a whole, there is very little juvenile crime m Wellington. •'], Since the Child Welfare League has been exercising its, restraining influence upon, the children, there has been a decided reduction m offences, but,, never* at any time, has 'there\iieeh what, some people have been

f .. feature which was apparent m probably seventy-five per cent, of the cases. This was that most of the offenders were children from quite respectable homes lacking only ' sufficient parental controrand influence to keep them on the right track, and that very, very few of the' offenders were described as v sub-normal. There was" a period early this year, when the majority ot • the detective, staff had their time taken up investigating juvenile crime. Some of these offences comprised qrimo' m- its -worst forms and invariably' was the work of gangs, the juvenile mind apparently, being impressed that there was safety m hum- > bers.. : : - •• - : ' .;. , •v Some of these young crooks astounded the court with the coolness with which they planned and- carried into feffect iheir crimes. . : ■ ; ■$■;■;.";'■ Stern measures have bieen taHen '.'■'■■; vtp '.■'. suppress 'the gang element . ;;-;Which originally gave these boys "'.'.'•• scope to exercise their dishonest , and the position has • ';• been improved' in repent months by drastic measures of control introduced by; the police, probation and chil.d welfare, authorities. The opinion is expressed m official circles that more severe methods will have to be adopted by those presiding 1 .' over children's courts if juvenile crime i is to be thoroughly stamped out. When interviewed by "Truth's" i Christchurch. representative, Mr. H. Y. Widdowson, an ex -magistrate, expressed the opinion' that there was still a good deal of common sense m. the ; axiom: "Spare the rod and spoil the i child.";' ',-,.-- : : ,".-.."■ •■.■..',■■■

}:. '-;■ • : —- — . "I wa? never very keen on recommending the Stick," heeaid, "but there are cases where It is essential," He Illustrated his point with an incident which occurred while he was on the bench m Dunedin. A youthful offender appeared before him and was admonished, but the warning did him no good and he was soon back again. A further admonition failed and the third time the la<l was charged Mr. Widdowson ordered a thrashing. .V ' This,, hovyever, was performed m a most perfunctory, fashion, and when the offender came upon subsequent charges, a birching was ordered. The magistrate directed that the probation officer should . attend and see that the order of the court was carried out thoroughiyi , ; • ' ' That thrashing had its sequel. Some years later, Mr, Widdowson received a letter- from the youth, now the manager of a department m a big commercial business, thanking him for the thrashing which had meant the turning point m the youth's life. , Many more similar instances were Use The Cane! quoted by Mr. Widdowson, who urged that magistrates presiding over Children's courts should have, wider. powers and wider discretion. "There are \ times," he remarked, "when the stick is. the only means of turning a wayward boy back on to the right track, and "I must confess that a little less moralising, and a little more stick judiciously applied would have a greater effect m checking juvenile crime." So far as the public of Duriedln is concerned juvenile crime is a thing "unheard of" — so closely guarded by the curtains of suppression is the business of the children's court. From, the very first .sitting of the court, following the enforcement of the new Act m April, 1926, Mr. J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., ruled that under the new regime the press had no reason to be present. With the newspapers so precluded, the public is kept m total darkness as to what seeds of crime may be germin^ ating among the growing generation. Not only that, but' by the same token, the Dunedin public has no opportunity of knowing by what manner justice is being applied to the delicate filaments of the child mind. The wisdom of. placing this impenetrable screen around the children's coui't is a matter on which there is a sharp division of opinion, and it is a question of whether, m some instances, the authorities are not over-zealous m their efforts to keep the public m complete ignorance of all matters pertaining to juvenile crime. : , Such an impression was conveyed when Mr. J. Lock, Child Welfare Officer for Dunedin, refused even to express to a representative of this newsWell In Line paper his opinion on the general state of affairs under his jurisdiction. Moreover, only with the express permission of Mr t Bartholomew would the court officials give access to any records over and above the ordinary quarterly aggregate returns. s,.A close perusal of these records discloses -that the position m Dunedin is well m line with the rest of the Dominion. Over a fixed period of eight consecutive months, m the last three years the following comparisons appear: In 1926,"* charges were laid against 20 females and 63 males; m 1927, 18 females and 112 males; m 1928, 32 females and 79 males; while during the first quarter -of the present year, two females' and 45 males. In the full year of 1928 there were 33 prosecutions against r females and 97 .against males, which figures, compared against those of th© latest quarterly, return, indicate a gratifying decrease m the girl offenders, but a 50 per cent, increase among the boys. Of the. number of children brought before the Dunedin court during a period of 12 months, the unqualified -dismissals (meaning, "not guilty") are negligible. The "admonished and 'discharged" verdicts work out at about one m five, while "committals" (meaning that the child is placed m the charge of some institution) and "supervisions" (meaning tVjat the child remains -with, its parents but under the watchful eye of the, Welfare Officer) take a more or less^ equal share; of .the balance. - On an average there are about 11 childi-en brought before the court each month. • Juvenile crime is a question of major import. It. should not continue to be treated m the slipshod method so evident at the present time, and "Truth looks to the Minister of Education to shear the situation of its platitudes, to quell the disquieting reports' which are being circulated concerning the.yoUnger criminals and the way they have of treating the law with impunity.