WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILLREN I'JHO COMM INTO COIKETACT WITH JINENILE BUREAU OF L1 NSIN": POLICE by Fay Williams 312931 OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per day per item RETURNING LIBRARY MATERIALS: Place in book return to remove charge from circulation records ww-5fi__ A _ A .- 0“.‘~ .',.- _ ~t : ,1 U." 3'?! r .' 'rflm’? ?.?m?w“7*”’ * ' -‘ .He . '. n .Y.‘ }'?I‘--‘a'... ”J. ‘. I c ’L - cc 3‘ ' .3 r ,‘ i 5’59: '1.- ‘ c o l A 5” x"; -.-. v L534 Vii. git/gs" p 4 ‘ v 3.33.. '42.‘ 1"" h. fl {j a" ‘ I». J. -‘1: «a J‘ ‘7‘ . ts. . t.- Z‘.‘ .-1‘ “ . 1o ". +1} in ... \ ‘4‘: c J- ‘ Mg:- "5' . {- ."1 (Ir 1'; 5‘ ' 21-31 5592;. \‘J \ ‘- p ' 5 ‘10-". 434‘ ' . . ‘ . . p .. 9 . .‘ A;_ . f '0<'.k'lf‘ '. ‘ ¥“ ‘Vt‘. I.“ ‘.' l- : “‘- I h. u") ' " z . agar-ram “vii w: macaw-115 A *'w “"' Fr ”In; .. 1. fit! WHAT HAPPEKS T3 CHILDREN WHO COME INTO COITAST WITH JUVENILE BUREAU OF LAKE HG POLISE by Fay Williams , A PROJECT REPORT submitted to the School of Social Work Iichigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of: the requirements for the degree of I J I .. , , ‘ 1-.ASTER or soc IAL mom: ‘ j June , / . ‘ 1959 .3 r _ '/ ~ [1/ ~ . ‘ 4 , f r - K 4' ‘v‘VLo‘L 1r / , )7.-:} v f. L“, ( 7“ ’ Approved bY=IJRQSIiaguiZ/ZZ;£./a;sé;c p/fl:.: [ a} r I. THES TABLE OF SCI ELIE List of Tables Chapter I Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Shapter VI Apvendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D I’E-l Appendix Bibliography IKTRODUCTION " STORICAL EACKCROULD AND CURREI OPINION ‘rmy 7T,“ [Aqv- 1-K! «TRYTD‘fifi “fir-fl 9T t'- HL-;V 3 AL D FABOUUHUASHD —“'-¢L iA-LAD I&\ TRIS STUDY IRESZZT AT OI? AID .‘QJALYSIS OF DATA. SUHIA.Y AID CQLCLUSIOHS Pfiql \v-qt—w---fil\fln mI/‘T'fl 3..—h) ViJL—J.‘ 4.1.1; VLVD .- "VVT‘QBT T "Q Owl—“LU 2a LALSI"G FELISE ETZCTIVE BUREAU «~‘-~5~ vvx.-i_u.1.l.l:T SIIEIZT--LLU3 533‘ LA; SIX" n «D Vii-LL ?OLISE DEPARTEELT JUVELILE “.1 F“ C”? ii 14 18 \sl [0 k4 U] k. \0 41 The writer wishes to express her heartfelt gratitude to Lt. Clarissa Young of the Lansing Police who gave so freely of her valuable time. She was ever ready to aid with her time and knowledge of the Juvenile Bureau. Her help coupled with the help of Mrs. Rita Prochnow, stenog- rapher at the Bureau, were invaluable. My thanks also go to Mr. Morris Gluckin and Mr. Arnold Gurin without whose assistance this paper could not have been written, and to Mr. Loren G. Eelknap whose aid was indispensable. Many criticisms and suggestions were made by numerous friends who had a layman's interest in the writer's efforts to shed some little light on the trail of juvenile offenders. I wish esnecially to eXpress my gratitude to my fellow student, Kr. Roger Forth, who first instilled the idea of studying in the Juvenile Bureau and to Miss Helen Brown who encouraged me to look into the possibilities of this study and who reassured me in the process of writing. Finally, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my typists, Hrs. Ann Brown and Miss Kay Elwers, for their fine job; I could not have done without them. To any others who had a part in this work, or who have helped me in any way, I give my grateful thanks. Table T ab is able Table Table Table Table 2a 10 ii LIST OF T3133 LES I-TOITTHLY TC !-LT"1 S AID 1958 n m "1"“.- UF Lu]: .iJ J.) ICL’I'IZR CF CASES HAN: ED EURl-LU IN 1-1;: ”1'.” A23? OOTCE AGE or OFFENDZRS REFILRED EURIIU IN KAY AND OCTCEER, FAN ILY SITUATION OF CFFBTDER ..ITH JL‘ fElC-ILE EURL‘IU IN 1058 LRITAL STATUS OF FARE IT HUI-BER OF YOUTHS LIVING ARRAS ILT HAY LIED COTS-133R A (i) N"‘“‘fl"fi -o1a-LL.1'LI; TICS L DISPOSITION OF OFFEITDER" SONTAJT WITH THE JUVEIII AID OCTOBER,1958 'n«~s A $4.. u. E! JUVENILE 33:. 1958 EXILE EL SR’I‘ER OCTOBER, .e'x 111 S NOT LIVII TAU ED TO 1958 IN V ”ESUS TRACT 1 195 POTULATIOI‘T NH O C A}: 3 II-IT O LE 13 UREAU IN I'vIAY 22 23 24 25 27 28 Chapter I INTRODUCTION There has been great concern in our present day com- munities over the problems of juvenile delinquency. When one reads the neWSpapers today, or listens to the news, one is frequently struck with the seemingly growing numbers of juvenile delinquents. The relationship of social work and delinquency control began in the 19th century and.became formalized with the founding of the juvenile courts. There were few social resources in the community, so that the courts established their own services within the structure of the court. With the increase of social agencies outside of the courts, there was a need now, not only to have the new means of referral in existence, but the realization that efforts must be made to use the agencies. The concern with juvenile delinquency is undoubtedly present in small as well as large communities. The exist- ence in Lansing of a Juvenile bureau is one way in which the community has attempted to handle the problem here. This study is concerned with what the Juvenile Bureau of the Lansing Police Department does in the way of working with the problem. In view of the deep concern with juvenile delinquency, this study is concerned with: 1. Learning something about the characteristics of the children coming into contact with the Bureau. 2. Examining how the Bureau handles these youths from first contact through to final disposition by the Police Department. 3. Determining the use made by the Juvenile Bureau of community resources in dealing with delinquency. The Police force shall have and exercise all the immunities, privileges, and powers of police officers and sheriffs granted by law, for the preservation of quiet, good order, and for the safety of persons and prOperty. They shall possess and exercise the powers of arrest granted to police officers by law and shall promptly take any person who is arrested before the prOper magistrate or court to be dealt with according to-law. Violations of city ordinances shall be deemed to be misdemeanors for the purpose of establishing the power of police officers in making arrests therefor.l The Juvenile Bureau was set up and put into Operation on July 1, 1946, to meet the Special needs concerning5vafile viihlionh . The present staff numbers four persons. The Juvenile Bureau was set up as a division of the detective, or investigative, department of the Lansing Police. The Bureau is concerned with: 1. All violations of boys and girls of any age up to 18 years. All violations by adults where children are victims. All violations regarding family matters, such as child neglect, abandonment, cruelty to children, etc. Keeping records of all juvenile violations. Acting as a liaison between other departgents for referrals concerning all family matters. UT-P' W0.) lLansing City Charter, Section 7.16, page 23.4 2Personal interview with Lt. Clarissa Young, Head of Juvenile Bureau. The Bureau has found itself involved in a fast growing problem of juvenile crime. There has been an unchecked rise in offenses, nationally, by juveniles over the last seven or eight years. All crimes have been on the increase, but more shockingly, major crimes have been on the increase, and in turn, more juvenile major crimes have been on the increase. The increase in crimes has far surpassed the increase in pOpulation growth.3 The picture is somewhat the same in Lansing. The growing volume of work of the Juvenile Bureau, Lansing Police, is verified in official statistics. In 1957, for instance, the Bureau accepted, investigated, and acted upon a total of 1069 juvenile cases. In 1958, this number grew to 1328 cases.4 This compares to 843 cases in 1955 and 926 cases in 1956.5 A month by month picture of 1957 and 1958 might help to show a clearer picture of the juvenile investiga- tion problem.6 3Helen I. Clarke, Social Legislation, New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., Second Edition, 1957 (First Edition, 1940), p. 368-369. 4Lansing Juvenile Bureau police records. 5nmd. 5nnd. TABLE I MONTHLY TOTALS OF OFFEKDERS FOR 1957 AND 1958 1957 1958 Month Number of Cases Month Number of Cases January 66 January 105 February 62 February 90 Karch 100 Karch 137 April 103 April 146 May 115 May 145 June 101 June 138 July 66 July 103 August 94 August 84 September 107 September 89 October 111 October 115 November 74 November 91 December 70 December 85 Total 1069 Total 1328 These figures cannot reflect adequately the actual time hours and efforts being put into working on each of these cases. In a single case of theft, it might be learned that the delinquent apprehended in this case was responsible for other previous thefts reported. This might in turn call for contacting as many as two hundred persons in an attempt to recover stolen prOperty, locate the owners, and see that all recovered prOperty is returned to its owners. The figures for 1958 (Table I) show an increase of two hundred and fifty-nine cases over 1957. Each month shows an increase over the same month of 1957, except August and September where a marked decrease from 1957 is shown. The alarm manifested over such yearly increases has prompted the writer to make this study. The writer had the basic assumption that social work services would be beneficial to children having difficulties with the law. This would only be true where the inter- mediary channels (steps before the child had its first contact with an agency) were Open and referrals were made. The relation between this assumption and the hypothesis to be stated later would be, then, that if referrals were made to social agencies, the children benefited from the service and would therefore probably not be recidivist. But, if there is a high recidivist rate, it is because children are not being referred from the Bureau to com- munity social work services. While the study is exploratory in character, there was a guiding hypothesis which the writer sought to test, wh ch will be stated as follows: That there is not a high prOportion of recidivism is cases referred to the Juvenile Bureau. Chapter II HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CURRENT OPINION A review of literature revealed a lack of studies in dealing with the particular area of the writer‘s concern, namely, studies of inquiry into the fate of juveniles seen by the police. It was possible, however, to locate some information on particular aSpects of the study. The following information is in this vein. In any study of juvenile delinquency, notice must be given to the problem in many different lights. It is not the writer's purpose here to give a history of thought on juvenile delinquency. However, it seems advisable to go into some of the past knowledge related to the content of this study. It is easy to advocate the theory that more extensive use of social services will make for a better community. However, though the author views this theory with some agreement, it is not the purpose of this study to concen- trate on this point. The study is basically of a fact finding nature. The following is a summary of some histori- cal and current thinking concerned with juvenile delinquency. In times past, society was just as sure as we are today that juvenile delinquency was at its worst and that society was in great danger unless and until something could be done to stem the growth of juvenile delinquency. There was real concern about the young age at which chil- dren got into trouble. Society was sure that "it is clear that the most com- mon offense committed by boys, is stealing.”l Automobile stealing was on the increase in 1928. Girls were most frequent offenders of committing sex immoralities, while among boys sex crimes were infrequent. The 1928 study also found a steady increase in numbers for every year from ages six to fourteen, and a drOp for boys at ages fifteen and sixteen.2 There were always ”new" main causes of juvenile delin- quency being advocated. In 1943, Elizabeth Guillot felt that social factors played a most important part in causing juvenile delinquency. She stated in a book of hers, "Bad housing was one in a closely connected chain of (social) factors which was believed to induce crime."3 Miss Guillot goes on to point out that poverty, too, had a big role to play in causing crime.4 "When one reviews the history of criminology, one finds that very little material has been published on the connection between race and crime, and in general, this material is very superficial."5 lullliam Healy and Augusta F. Brenner, Judge Baker Foun- dation Publication So. 3 (New York: Macmillan Co., 1928)fl1166. 2Ibid.,1L 91. 3Ellen Elizabeth Guillot, Social Factors in Crime (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania,.l943}, p. 4Ibid.,p. 47. 45. 5William A. Banter, Race and Crime (New York: Columbia University Press, 19 3), p. 18. Some studies, when looking for causes, find the explanation of delinquency in social circumstances, and do not have recourse to the race hypothesis. Banger necessarily concludes that, fihateven one might expect to find, it is clear so far that there is nothing to indicate some Special variety of crime which characterizes (such things as) social stocks, nor is there any ground upon which to erect a theory of inborn rgcial tendency towards types of criminal behavior. Just this bit of a glance at earlier theories on juvenile delinquency and crime as related to factors such as age, sex, race, and social class leads us to the present. What is perceived as the problem of juvenile delinquency today? As regards age of delinquency, in states where the juvenile courts have jurisdiction of youngsters until the age eighteen, approximately one-third of the delin- quent boys and two-fifths of the delinquent girls are sixteen or seventeen.7 At these adolescent ages, the young girl is particularly susceptible to sexual exploita- tion and demoralization; it is primarily for these charges, as compared to stealing and malicious mischief, the primary offenses for boys, that girls are apprehended.8 61bid., p. 31 7Herbert A. Block and Frank T. Flynn, Delinquency (New York: Random House, 1956), p. 34. ' 81bid., p. 35. For those, or any type of offenses, official records have shown for some years that the vast majority (about three-fourths) of all children involved in delinquency cases are fourteen years old or more.9 Records also show that boys outnumber girls about five to one in delinquency cases.10 (1952 data) Types of crimes have not changed drastically from the early days, either. In one 1956 study of delinquents referred to the courts, 42 per cent of the boys and 12 per cent of the girls were referred for stealing. Only 3 per cent of the boys and 2 per cent of the girls were referred for injury to persons.11 It has been realized in the past few years that one need hardly be an expert to recognize the close relation- ship between detrimental physical living conditions and the wide range of problems associated with them. There is a theory of a statistical gradient, that is, a declining rate of delinquency from the center of the urban area to its periphery.12 "Considerable recent evidence indicates \0 E? H 9‘ E’ \N 9‘ H O 5’ H’ 9‘ 9 \rl 2" l H H Ii— 1...:- p. *8 4:- l--' 193. H R) '61 H 51' :U 10 that such a gradient does not necessarily exist in American cities.”13 The highest rates of delinquency are nevertheless invariably found in these zones of transition. In themselves, however, the physical aspects of delinquency areas do not produce delinquency no matter how much they augment such conditions}!T Recent looks at theories and facts on delinquency point out the need for a still clearer understanding of this area. The over-emphasis upon a given factor or set of factors as the cause of delinquency has also been recognized. One can be sure that any physical, social, or economic factor which threatens security is prone to create mental conflict in an individua1,and too often such an individual seeks solutions to this conflict through delinquent acts.15 It was our policy in the past to attempt to protect society from juvenile delinquents. But we also must attempt to "protect the juvenile delinquent from society."16 It would seem indicated here to discuss briefly the role of the police in the study of juvenile delinquency. The police play a big role in the curbing of delinquency 15 id., pp. 190-196. H O\ Lt. Young, on. cit. 11 in their function as a screening agency. In effect, the police decide which children will go to court and which will be dealt with in some other fashion. Prior to 1900 with a few exceptions, there was generally little formal distinction made between handling of an adult and a juvenile law breaker. This was under- standable since there was comparatively low incidence of crime committed by minors. The policeman on the beat had a technique later on of escorting the youth home for parental punishment, and in extreme cases, to the police station.17 Long before any formal police programs were established, police were slow in exercising their power of arrest in dealing with children.18 Police must prevent crime, preserve the peace, protect prOperty and life, and enforce laws. These are the formal declarations of police responsibility. Their interpreta- tion, however, by the community and the police themselves have brought within the police sphere duties which were not always a policeman's duties. Within recent years, nevertheless, the functions of the police have been greatly eXpanded. l7Leroy E. Wike, ”A Changing PhiloSOphy in the Police Approach to Juvenile Delinquency,” The Police Journal, XLII, No. 2 (Summer, 1958), p. 4. lBI'rLOI'an, OT). Cit. , p. 240 There are five basic responsibilities of a police agency:19 1. Crime repression 2. Crime prevention 3. Recovery of property 4. Control of conduct 5. Apprehension of offenders More Specifically, the functions of a juvenile bureau might be listed as follows:20 Discovery of delinquents . Investigation Disposition or referral of cases . Protection of the child #umI—J Eleposition or referral of cases is perhaps one of the most important functions performed by the juvenile bureau. There is no exact frame of reference that decides which youngsters are referred to courts or to other agencies. The police base their diSposition partly on the act of the offender and partly on the individual police officer's interpretation of the act and the degree of pressure applied by the community on the police. There are three diSpositions most frequently employed:21 1. Referral to juvenile court. -2. Release to parents or guardian without referral. 3. Release to parents with referral to non-authoritative treatment resources. 19John P. Kenney and Dan G. Pursuit, Police Work with Juveniles (Chicago: Charles C. Thomas, 19547, p. 13. 20Ibid.,;n 19. 2lgplice Services forAJuveniles. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Social Security Administra- tion, Childrens Bureau. 1954. pp. 1-34. 12 There are five basic responsibilities of a police agency:19 1. Crime repression 2. Crime prevention 3. Recovery of prOperty 4. Control of conduct 5. Apprehension of offenders More 89901fically, the functions of a juvenile bureau might be listed as followszeo Discovery of delinquents . Investigation Disposition or referral of cases . Protection of the child -kw4m+4 DiSposition or referral of cases is perhaps one of the most important functions performed by the Juvenile bureau. There is no exact frame of reference that decides which youngsters are referred to courts or to other agencies. The police base their diSposition partly on the act of the offender and partly on the individual police officer's interpretation of the act and the degree of pressure applied by the community on the police. There are three diSpositions most frequently employed:21 1. Referral to juvenile court. .2. Release to parents or guardian without referral. 3. Release to parents with referral to non—authoritative treatment resources. 19John P. Kenney and Dan G. Pursuit, Police Work with Juveniles (Chicago: Charles C. Thomas, 1954), p. 13. 20Ibid., p. 19. 2lgciice Services for Juveniles. U.S. Department of Health,'§ducation, and Welfare. Social Security Administra- tion, Childrens Bureau. 1954. pp. 1-34. 13 The most frequently used diaposition by juvenile officers is release to parents or guardians without referral, as found by John Kenney.22 This brief review of accepted juvenile information the writer hOpes has provided a background against which to set the work of the Lansing Juvenile Eureau. 22Kenney and Pursuit, Op. cit., pp. 232-233. 14 Chapter III KETHOES AID PROCEDURES EHPLOYLD IN THIS STUDY This study deals with all juveniles who came into contact with the Juvenile Bureau in Kay or October of 1953. These two months were chosen somewhat arbitrarily. The writer wanted to work within the year of 1958 in order to get a recent picture of the Bureau. In con— sultation with Lt. Clarissa Young, it was felt that an month would be ”typical”. It was then decided that two months would be selected for tie study. Kay and October , were both months in which there was some high degree of activity, and were sufficiently apart in time to indi- cate any difference at times of the year. ‘ In examining eacn contact during the two months under study, the writer was guided by a schedule covering the following questions: . The sources of referral to the bureau The reasons for referral The sex and age of those referred The status of the home; that is, whether both parents were in the home, one parent, divorce, etc. The case status-~new or recidivist Race Area of the city from which youth came . The disposition of the case 41‘me 03-4 mm The schedule was employed to record data from juvenile case records and cards. Lt. Young was interviewed without the use of a questionnaire. The data was obtained from records of 169 youths who came into contact with the Bureau during May and October of 1958. The study has, of course, some limitations. One which the writer found most important was that many acts were committed by unidentified youths, thus making it impossible for the Bureau to make up a complete case record or a card on the youths involved. Because of this limitation, youths were counted as having come into con- tact with the Bureau, but no actual information of charac- teristics was available. A case record is made for each offense involving youths, whether or not the particular youth is known, but no juvenile card can be made. The religion of the youths was a part of the schedule, but this information proved to be unavailable. Also, there were no non-white girls referred as offenders. There were a good many non-white females in the original one hundred sixty-nine cases, but they turned out to be victims, their cases unusable for purposes of this study. The case material was substantiated by an interview with Lt. Clarissa Young to obtain her views on some of the important aSpects of juvenile delinquency. The writer felt that the interview would be helpful in coordinating the information otherwise obtained and in getting some idea of the policy of the Bureau. (I) D finition of Terms _..: 4 3 Tie case.-—T- e case referred to in this study shall ’— mean any record on a partic lar youth. It may be a case record containing a blue sheet (se Appendix), or it may also contain a juvenile card (see Appendix). In order to have a complete record, for purposes of this study, both blue sheet and card must be present. Blue sneet.-—A blue sheet is the Lansing Police Detective Bureau complaint sheet. (See Appendix) Juven H. H e card.--A juvenile card is the Lansing Police Department card containing the characteristics of the youth for whom it is designated. (See Appendix) Youth, child, and juvenile.--The terms youth, child, and juvenile shall be used interchangeably to mean those persons under seventeen years of age who have come into contact with the Bureau. Larceny, theft, and robbery.--The terms larceny, theft, and robbery, though distinct in police usage and language, shall, for our purposes, be here referred to as theft. IncorrigibleL,disobedient, and disorderly.--Incorrigib1e, disobedient, and disorderly, for the purposes of this study, shall be classified under the same term of incorrigible. Other individuals.--The term ”Other individua ls”,as O I... used 'n the questionnaire in the study, refers to persons not otherwise designated by a specific title. 1? Recidivist.--Recidivist shall be a youth who has two or more offenses, committed at different times, recorded on his juvenile card. yigti§§.--Victims are youths offended against by other youths or adults and/or adults offended against by youths. The writer had found the necessity of changing the original title of the study as it was somewhat misleading. The writer is here concerned only with the youth who come into contact with the Bureau, and only up to the point at which the Bureau disposition is set. At the outset of this study it had been intended to follow up those youths who were referred to other agencies. The writer found, however, that due to lack of time and to the wealth of information obtained at the Bureau, this follow-up would be very difficult. Therefore, for the purposes of this study, no notice shall be taken of this group after the Bureau Disposition has been made. Several interviews were had with Lt. Young to further clarify an understanding of the information obtained. 18 Chapter IV A PRESENTATION AKD ANALYSIS OF DATA During the study months Kay and October of 1958, the Juvenile Bureau recorded a total of two hundred and sixty-nine cases. Ninety-one of these were unofficial cases; that is, they were investigations of not-too- serious offenses such as playing with matches, insults to someone in the neighborhood, etc. Kany such investi- gations are in connection with hearsay evidence in a neighborhood. The writer studied one hundred and sixty-nine cases. (See Table 2). Fifty-one of these were victims of statutory rape, assault, prOperty theft, etc., or were brought to the attention of the police because of some failure on the part of their parents. This left one hundred and eighteen offenders who were studied for purposes of this project. Of the one hundred eighteen, 84% were boys. Most of these were white boys. All of the girls referred were white. (See Table 2a) This percentage compares closely to the one presented by Block and Flynn's report.53 9"“.- l9 TABLE 2 I CEL; OF CASES HANDLED EX JUVENILE BUREAU Id 1r 1' AID ocrosm'i, 1958 Total Number of cases ....... . ..... . 169 Victims ...................... 51 Offenders .................... 118 TABLE 2a SEX AND COLOR OF OFFENDERS Sex Total Color White Non-White Total 118 99 19 Boys 100 81 19 Girls 18 18 -- 2O Characteristics of Children Who Came Into Contact With the Bureau During Kay and Octoberijl958 Table 3 points out the source of referral to the Juvenile Bureau. Most referrals, one hundred and one, or 86%, were made by ”other individuals”. The term "other individuals" was used to include a great variety of per- sons. There were parents of victims, adults in the delinquents' neighborhood. hany of them were owners of large and small business concerns. TABLE 3 SOURCES OF REFERRALS TO JUVENILE BUREAU IN KAY AND OCTOBER, 1958 Source of Referral Dumber of Cases Total 118 Parents 5 Relatives 1 Other Individuals 101 School 2 Court 1 Police 8 In Table 4, the reasons for referrals are preSented. The three major reasons for referrals were: theft other than auto; damage to property; and other. Other included 21 such offenses as breaking and entering, entering without rmi-sion, loitering, the possession of beer, and 'd w (0 attempted theft. These three categories accounted for about 79% of the reasons for referral. There was rela- tively little in the way of offenses against peOple. TABLE 4 Qt- -1-1 OFFL'S‘D - I ~.-J CONIITTED BY CASES EFER.ED TO JUVEHILE BUREAU IN 1511’ AI'TD OCTOEER, 1958 Reason for Referral Number of Cases Total 118 Auto Theft 1 Other Theft 46 Injury to persons 9 Damage to prOperty 22 Running away 5 Incorrigible, disobedient 9 Truancy - Sex Offenses 1 Other 25 It is interesting to note that these results tally somewhat with those presented in Chapter II. In other studies, stealing was the most common offense. It is also interesting to note tlat there was only one auto theft in his study, while in other studies auto thefts were on the increase. P.) f0 The ages of offenders who came into contact with the Bureau can be found in Table 5. Ages of delinquents ranged from five to seventeen years. The age at which most chil- dren were referred was either fifteen or sixteen years. They accounted for almost 36% of he offenders. The age groups from nine through fourteen years accounted for 46% of "he cases. Eighteen per cent of the cases were scattered among the other age groups. There was a steady increase in offenders for each successive age group until age seventeen. T!“ 7 5 AGE OF OPFEKDERS REFERRED TO JUVEHILE BUREAU IN MAT AID OCTOBER, 1958 Ages KUmber of Cases Total 118 5-6 4 7-8 6 9-10 14 11-12 18 13-14 22 15-16 42 Over 12 A large prOportion of the youth referred for delin- quency, as indicated in Table 6, lived with both parents in the home. Contrary to what might be expected, 69$ of the delinquents came from homes where both parents were in residence. Only 25% were from homes where only the female parent was present. Four youths lived with only the father in the home, one lived with a relative, and two were in an institution. The writer is not concerned with step parents in this table. TABLE 6 FALILY SITUATION OF OFFEKDERS IN COKTACT WITH J EXILE EUREAU IX KAI AID OCTOBER, 1958 Family Situation Dumber of Cases Total ' 118 Both parents in home 82 Kale parent in home 4 Female parent in home 29 Do parent in home -- Living with relative l Institutions 2 Table 7 shows the status of the thirty-six broken families. They account for 31% of the total cases. No eal conclusion can.be drawn concerning the status of the home since sixteen cases were not reported. Half of the thirty-six youths were in homes with step parents, seven- teen men and one woman. TABLE 7 KARITAL STATUS OF PAREETS NOT LIVIEG TOGETHER Status Number of Cases Total 35 Parents separated 4 Parents divorced 11 Parents deceased 5 Parent status unknown 16 Even though most of the youths studied were from homes with both parents in residence, the figures of Table 7 would tend to indicate that divorce and otherwise broken homes are prominent among delinquents. The writer attempted to look into the theory that delinquents come from certain specific areas of the city, and the theory of a statistical gradient, that is, a declining rate of delinquency from the center of the urban area to its periphery. The areas used were the census tract areas (see Appendix D). There are thirty such census tracts. There was at least one youth from every area except areas nine, fourteen, seventeen, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and thirty (see Table 8). .UITZR CF YOUTHS LIVIIG IE CEKSTS TRACT AREAS fiAY A D CCTOEER, 958 Area Hon-White humber Total White Boys White Girls Boys Total 118 81 18 19 1 2 1 -- 1 2 4 4 -- ~- 3 2 2 —- —- 4 2 2 -- -- 5 2 2 -- -- 6 2 l l -- 7 2 1 l -— 8 7 6 1 -- 9 -- -- _- -- lO 1 l —- _- 11 5 5 -- -- l2 5 4 1 -- 13 9 5 2 2 l4 -- —— -- -- 15 6 3 -- 3 16 1 -- -- 1 17 -- -- -- -- 18 13 l l 11 19 l -- -- 1 2O 11 10 l -- 21 l l -- -- 22 4 3 1 -_ 23 3 3 -- -- 24 ll 4 7 -- 25 2 2 -- -- 26 5 5 -- -- 27 l l -— -- 28 -- —- -- -- 29 -- -- -- -_ 30 -- -- -- -- Unknown 17 14 2 -- It would seem advisable at this point to give some description of the census tract areas from which a greater number of youths came. As can be seen on Table 9, eight areas are analyzed in reapect to characteristics of their tract pOpulation. These eight areas accounted for sixty-seven offenders or 57% of all youths referred. Fifty—seven per cent of the youths came from areas comprising 41% of the total Lansing pOpulation. Referring to the area map (Appendix D) we can see that each of the eight areas are connected to one another. We can consider area fourteen on the map, within which the State Capitol is found, the center of the map and the center of the urban area. The eight areas move in some- what of a semi-circle around and then away from the center of the urban area. These results would not tend to follow the statistical gradient theory. Though this cannot be taken as conclusive, the Opposite of the gradient theory seems to be true. The rate from the center of the urban area to its periphery grows. The area with the highest number of referrals was area eighteen. Most of the youths from this area were non-white. Forty-six per cent of the pOpulation in this area is non-white, and 70% of the total non-white pOpu- lation of Lansing resides in this area. 27 TABLE 9 CHARASTER STICS OF TRACT POPULATION Percent of Tercent of Percent of Total Labor Force Labor Force Yumber of Total Lansing in Mfg. in White Tract Offenders Population Population Occupation ColhnrOoamx 8 7 4807 5.2 63.3 25.2 11 5 6537 7.1 42.5 45.3 12 5 3567 3.9 61.6 28.6 13 9 3337 3.6 60.2 39.3 15 6 4599 5.0 51.1 19.2 18 13 4616 5.0 63.4 29.4 20 11 6135 6.7 61.6 41.7 24 11 4501 4.9 50-3 Table 10 shows the case status and the disposition of cases. There were forty-one new cases, and seventy-seven recidivist. The recidivist accounted for 65% of the referrals. In diSposition of cases, many more persons were released to parents than were referred to Juvenile Court. Fifty-two of the recidivist and thirty-seven of the new cases were released. Those released to parents' custody and those released, no action on the schedule (see Appendix A), are both recorded as being reprimand and released to parents. Those youths who stole or damaged property were required to make restitution to the injured party. Some were asked to report to the police periodically, and some few were later visited again by the police. To some extent, then, 90% of the new cases and 68% of the recidivist were released. About 293 of the cases were referred to Juvenile Sourt, and most of these were recidivist. Only about 7% of the offenders were referred to social service agencies as listed under ”other referrals". TKIEIO DISPOSITION OF OEFETDERS WHO CAKE ISTO OOITACT WITH TTE JUVEXILE EUREAU, KAY AID OOTOEER, 1958 —_..— —.——__'—— Haw Cases Recidivist Diaposition Total Total Lay OctoLer Total Lay Ocuxer Total 118 41 23 18 77 33 44 Reorimand and Released to Parents 89 37 23 14 E2 27 25 Referral.to Juvenile Court 29 4 -— 4 25 5 19 Other Referrals Total 9 l l -- 8 3 5 Family Service 1 l 1 —— -_ __ _- Friday Nite Club 4 -- -- -- 4 3 1 mystic Lake Camp 2 -- -- -- 2 -- 2 Eiscellnmmus 2 -— -— -- 2 -- 2 re \0 After the collection of data from case records, the wri er felt it necessary to have further interviews with Lt. Young. The res ultait infor;11ation was as follows. Some of the most important aSpects and situations needed to understand the results of this study simply do not logically fit into the content of the in for nation found in case records. The writer found, however, that of these thin to U [-3 (D s were so very important as to necessi- c+ 93 c+ (D including them here. Tits ans lys is of the data shows that very few referrals were made to agencies in the commanity. Some of the writer's interviews with Lt. Young and the content of numerous statements made by Lt. Young have led the writer to believe that the Lieutenant has a real reg ard for com- munity social welfare agencies and for the job that social work is attemptin: to do. Why, heri, were not many, many more referrals made to these service agencies? Some impor- tant answers are: l. The kr owledg that many of the cases would have to he motivated to accept referrals. Lt. Young has he practical knowledge from exoerience that most of the youths and families of youths who come into contact with the Bureau .would need to be directly motivated to seek professional aid to help with their problems. Lt. Young has spent valuable time in attempts 3. 30 to help these persons see that a real problem exists and that professional help should be sought to work through the problem. The Lieutenant knows that many of these families do not thereafter seek aid and do not necessarily believe that a problem really ex sts. This situation leads directly to another point. The Lieutenant does not wish to compel, nor does she feel that she has the right to compel, Juveniles or their families to seek social work help with their problems. Lt. Young does not wish to burden the agencies with clients who either do not wish their help or are unable to use their help. She feels that clients must be softened to some extent before they can even attempt to use the help offered to them. The lack of time on the part of Juvenile Bureau officers to attempt to motivate the youths to seek help. The members of the Eureau are greatly pressed with work and therefore lack the time which might be epent in motivation. The hours needed for this type of work are simply not available to the officers. 4. At some agencies a known waiting list exists. The bureau officers feel that some of the youths who come into contact with the Bureau need help at the time of that contact. If help cannot be offered at that time, what would be the need of a referral? The ques- tion then arises as to what is best-~to seek help at a later date, or not to seek help at all. These are the most important reasons for lack of referrals from the Juvenile Bureau of the Lansing Police Department to community social agencies. The study was not equipped to bring these points out in any way other than an interview. No real understanding of the Bureau or its shortcomings can be had without the presentation of the reasons "why" behind the lack of Juvenile Bureau referrals. One thing more should be added. here referrals among the ”Special cases” are made than among the cases which this writer studied. Special cases are those cases where no actual Michigan statute law has been broken or violated, but the behavior of the youths is indicative of potential delinquent behavior. 32 Chapter V SUEquY AND CONCLUSION By way of summary on the basis of the descriptive information given earlier in the presentation of material relating to the study at Juvenile Bureau of the Lansing Police Department, the following hypothesis was studied: There is not a high proportion of recidivism in cases referred to the Juvenile Bureau. This hypothesis was not born out. he hypothesis does need to be modified. A very high preportion of the cases referred to the Bureau were recidivist. Sixty—five per cent of all referred were recidivist. It has not been the writer's Specific purpose to say why this is the case. An examination of the characteristics of the youths referred to the Bureau was also considered in this study. The main source of referrals to the police was persons other than parents, school, police or relatives. In most cases the victims of the juvenile offenders referred the youths to the police. These victims were generally business establishments where damage was done to preperty or preperty was stolen. In many cases the victims were other youths who had been assaulted or molested. Some youths had prOperty, such as bicycles, stolen from them. In these cases, the 33 victims' parents usually referred the offenders to the police. The most recurrent reason for referrals was that of theft other than auto. The writer was quite surprised to find that there was only one case of auto theft. The findings of this study hold in theory with other studies which show that most offenses committed by youths are stealing. host persons referred were males. The boys comprised '5% of all children referred to the Bureau, outnumbering the girls almost 6:1. These figures hold somewhat with national tabulations. Most youths referred were between the ages of fifteen and sixteen years. This is in keeping with other studies which show that the majority of boys and girls who have become delinquents are between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. host of the youths lived with both parents in the home. The common theory today has been that those children who get into trouble come primarily from broken homes. This does not prove to be the case in this study. But the study has also shown that a large number of these youths are from broken homes and living with the mother. Many of the latter group, however, have a step father in the home. Most of the broken homes were caused by divorce. A great majority of the delinquents were recidivist, but the majority of the dispositions made were reprimand and release. Very few refe rals were made to community social work agencies. The lack of referrals may be due to the fact that many of the families must first be motivated to go to an agency to receive aid and the officers simply do not have the time to motivate. host of the offenders were white males,a nd the were no non-white girls referred. Since most of the Lansing population is white, it might well hold that most of those referred would be white; and since boys outnumber girls, the most referred would be boys. Lost youths were from three major areas. host of the white girls came from the same area. host white boys came from the same area, and most of the non-white boys came from the same area. There was no significant number of white boys or girls referred from the area in which the greater number of non-white boys were found. Nor was there any large number of non- -white boys found in t1 1e areas from which a large number of white boys or a large number of white girls were referred. While not being held to strict statistical proofs, the writer feels that the ypotlw sis has not een proven by the data presented. This gives evidence for further studies between social work treatment and delinquency. Chapter VI REC OI I-IEITDAT 10378 The purpose of this study has been essentially fact- finding. The writer has tried to place before those con- cerned with the problem of juvenile delinquency a somewhat accurate, but limited, picture of the Juvenile Bureau of the Lansing Police. The writer has noticed some aspects of the problem during the course of the study which might well see some improvement in the near future. Some recommendations will be made, but not only to those involved, as personnel with the Juvenile Eureau, but to social service community agen- cies, and the community as a whole. In recent years the functions of the police have bee vastly expanded. Unfortunately, the eXpansion of police res,onsibility has not resulted in a corresponding increase in police personnel. Social service agencies have some- what the same problems-~more job than personnel, coupled with a lack of funds. In any event, the police should not be blamed for their shortcomings any more than should be social work agencies. :ut the Lurden of proof is upon he community which is responsible for planning and Operat— ing services for the youth. k»! 0\ i recommendations is carried out, real results will be seen in some areas of the juven le delinqu ue ncy problems It is quite obvious the most children who have gotten into some difficulty which has brought them into contact with the Bureau for the first time have returned to the Eureau for a later offense. Some attempt must be made to work with and to rehabilitate these youths at the first sign of the need for aid. 2. There showfl d be many more referrals of delinquents b-d :( made to community services alre ly existing. $0 Even though the'assumptionr m ight be r19 ads that the facilities are overloaded or inadequate, some attempt mus t nevertheless be made to channel these delinquents to the agencies. 3. A social worker or an officer tr? ine d in the tech— niques of social work should be attached to the Bureau to aid in motivation for purposes of referral. Referrals can be made, but a youth cannot bene— fit from the referral unless he is motivated to seek and use aid. A particular person on he force of the Eareau to devote time to such motivating would aid in getting delin- quents to the facilities available in the community. 4. A follow-up study_should be made to screen informa— tion on the type and the quality of service given to referral from he uvenile Bureau to community J social (0 ervice agencies. As previously stated, the writer wished to include this as a phase of this study. It was felt, however, that this would involve more than would be feasible in order to complete at least the first part of this study. Du 7). CDI' “DD-7‘ .1.-ch A .1 fl 1 L3 ‘9 A: 1" $'- F APTEIDIX A SCHEDULE Source of Referral arents Relatives Other Individuals School Court Police Reason for Referral Auto theft Other theft Injury to persons Damage to prOperty Running away Incorrigible or disobedient Truancy Sex offense Other 1 m is (D $0 530 (D Ages——Last Birthday 5-6 7-8 9-10 11—12 13-14 15~16 17-18 Living With Both parents in home One in home Kale Female None in home-parent Relative Friend Foster parent Private Agency (name) [UH \OODKIQU'I-I-‘kflml—J KIONUT-P'UNH OOCD-Qmm-bkflmi-J I...) 10. ll. 40 A v—-o-‘-q~-—Tw‘r , A H ' A i .14-. Lia. n--oent1n 11 vs ‘- ed Fa ent Status Unwed Ceparated Widowed Deserted Livorced Deceased whereabouts unknown as Status new cas Rec idivist (D F’ 08an ’. ( Catholic Social Service Family Service Child Guidance Clinic Other Wish for referral, but no action—~why no action eCa holic J9Wi$h Protestan Other Area of City (1 o p. (D K] Chm #‘bl m H NH \0 00'4 O\U1 km [0 H -P‘\J~lf\)l-' #‘UUUH “Pk;+m—rr .x—ur, Van: ._ k , ., 5—5., , ‘ —-, , Josie - _ ,7, , ,7 v _ - Complaint No. ......... LANSING POLICE Detective Bureau Complaint Date ............................................ 19 ........ Time ................ Complainant Teileigiinosne {Residence Busmess Address City Alleged Offense Victim Address Complaint received by l Investigated by Date closed Date of Crime / Value of Property Stolen 8 Location Suspects Value of Property Recovered $ NATURE OF COMPLAINT IT JUVENILE \ 4 ‘ f L'. 42 DIX C 'PART CARD fi‘n’ ._JJ.'0 7“ Dal-I H APP G POLICL ‘. ’\ 5. LANSI 'r IIIIIIIIII I I I II I I I IIIII ZO_F_OOLO_O DZ< 20:.(004 ..-...--.-1- -. ... . - -1 II ... f I I ..I .02 UIl PI°.U3 FIB—HI L z - - - . .. I . xul . I II . I H048 . 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N H a. who“ NH .UN fl Awn.01*mv.—hq a .. fixé an < m. EIPLI CEAT‘HY Eanger, Jilliam A. Race Crime. Few York: Columbia 9 d University Press 1943. U Eloch, Herbert A. nd Flynn, Fran}: T. Delinquency. New york: Random House, 1956. Clarke, Helen I. Social Legislation. Few York: Appleton- Century-Crofts, Inc., 195 . Guillot, E_len Elizabeth. Social Factors in Crime. Fhiladelnhia: University of Iennsylvania, 1943. D Hcaly, William and Brenner, Augusta F. Judre Bal