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(6) Trend, over Recent Years. —The only reliable guide we have at present to show the trend over recent years is the number of Court appearances for offences which are quoted each year in this report. On the basis of these figures the position over the last eight years is as follows : 1938, 2,447 ; 1939, ; 2,248 ; 1940, 2,464 ; 1941,2,424; 1942,2,421; 1943,2,446; 1944,2,493; 1945,2,012. Expressed in rates per 10,000 of the juvenile population (aged seven to seventeen years), the position is : 1938 : 85 ; 1939, 79; 1940, 87 ; 1941, 87 ; 1942, 88 ; 1943, 90 ; 1944, 93 ; 1945, 75. It would not be possible with the present information available to state the position in respect to what might be called the more serious offences. However, our statistical methods are undergoing revision and it is anticipated that later it will be, possible to make pertinent observations in this regard. For instance, some children appearing before the Court on a complaint as " Not under proper control" have committed a minor offence, but no specific - charge has been made. Also, a number appearing under the heading " Miscellaneous " offences have committed what could be regarded as minor breaches of the law. To attempt to select the serious cases from among the total of offences would involve subjective interpretation, and the results obtained would consequently be unreliable. On the other hand, the selection of particular groups from the table as representative of the more serious cases is purely arbitrary and different investigators might well favour different groupings. If, however, for purposes of comparison we omit offences under miscellaneous, breaches of special Acts, regulations, and by-laws, and take the offences in Table 2 under the first six headings (offences against morality, the person, theft, conversions, and delinquent) we find the position over the last eight years as follows : 1938, 1,313 ; 1939, 1,245 ; 1940, 1,507 ; 1941, 1,437 ; 1942, 1,469 ; 1943, 1,593 ; 1944, 1,614 ; 1945, 1,402. Expressed in rates per 10,000 of the juvenile population (ages seven to seventeen years), the position is : 1938, 46 ; 1939, 44 ; 1940, 53 ; 1941, 51 ; 1942, 53 ; 1943, 59 ; 1944, 60 ; 1945, 52. The above and preceding tables indicate the trend over the past eight years, but to draw any precise conclusions from these figures would be unwise in view of all the possibilities of variation both in methods in use in the various districts and in the interpreting and recording of the actual reasons for a child's appearance at Court. Preventive Work This is without doubt regarded as the most important aspect of the Child Welfare programme. For the sake of convenience it may be divided into (a) the psychological approach, and (b) the social approach. (a) Psychological. —Here the approach is concerned mainly with the individual child or the family unit, and the co-operation of numerous outside agencies is utilized in an endeavour to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. It is very often possible to keep the child from committing offences, and in this way the need for Court appearances is avoided. The number of children being dealt with under preventive supervision in the current year was 1,905. With the Department's policy for the development of preventive work, including the gradual expansion of the service of clinics throughout the country, the number of children appearing before the Courts should steadily decrease. At present the services of qualified persons attached to University colleges and of psychiatrists attached to the Mental Hospitals Departments are available and freely utilized in both our preventive and our Court work. There is, perhaps, a tendency to regard the psychological method as symptomatic of a " sentimental " approach to the problem of the " bad " boy. Far from this being the case, such methods have proved their worth in New Zealand and elsewhere and have led to better co-operation on the part of parents, and subsequently to their better understanding of the real needs of their children. (b) Social. —Experience and experiment have provided ample evidence that there is a close relationship between delinquency and social conditions. It is important, therefore, that in attacking the problem attention should be concentrated on improving unsatisfactory social conditions where they exist. The provision of funds by the Government in recent years to enable the Branch to carry out more effectively the " preventive " section of its activities has been of vital importance in this social constructive work. Practical assistance given at the time when it is most needed is of first importance in dealing with families who through misfortune or sickness or other sufficient cause are in need of material help. The effects of this policy are far-reaching, as improved conditions tend not only to preserve the family unit, but to eliminate those factors in the home which may easily lead to disruption and eventually to child delinquency. In its preventive programme the Department works in co-operation with other Government Departments and with numerous private organizations. With the development of greater co-operation among those immediately concerned with the welfare of children — e.g., the home, the school, the Church, and ourselves —much valuable preventive work will be done in the important early formative years of the child's life, and the growth of parent-teacher associations is a healthy sign. Too much stress cannot be placed on the needs for parents and teachers to recognize the symptoms of incipient maladjustment in any child under their care. British Children in New Zealand On 31st March, 1945, there were 191 British children still in New Zealand, 12 of the older boys and girls having returned to the United Kingdom. One youth who left with the R.N.Z.A.F. for service in the United Kingdom has since transferred to the Fleet Air Arm and his brother also returned Home in order to sit for the special entry to the Royal Navy. Another boy worked his passage Home and is serving in the Merchant Navy. Early this year five others returned, four of whom were to join the Forces. Three of the older girls returned for special reasons. The health of the children has been excellent on the whole, but it is with regret that I have to report the death of one girl aged sixteen years.

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