CHILD DELINQUENCY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 229, 24 June 1944, Page 8

CHILD DELINQUENCY

Relatively Small But Definite Problem COMMITTEE’S CONCLUSIONS Dominion Special Service. WANGANUI, June 23. Seriously concerned for some years with the effect's of changing conditions of modern life on the welfare of youth, the Wanganui Education Board has issued a 76-page report on character training and citizenship. This states that the growing volume of opinions on youth behaviour by many organzizations and representative citizens was evidence that the board's concern was shared. The magnificent achievements of so many young New Zealanders in wartime could be taken ns a remarkable vindi cation of the quality of the youth of the country and the soundness of their training, but the community could not on this account afford to adopt an attitude of satisfied complacency. Modern life continued to change rapidly, and those most affected, for good or ill, were growing boys and girls. Determined to seek some solution of the problem, at least within its own district, the board resolved p year ago to set up committee.to report on character training, education for citizenship, and child delinquency, to collect and collate evidence, review current school practices, social and other conditions affecting education, and other matters. This committee decided to concentrate its initial efforts on ascertaining the types and degree of delinquency in its own district, and discover likely remedies. It sent all public, private, secondary, and native schools in its district a questionnaire on child delinquency. It also invited representative organizations and citizens to give evidence on this subject, its possible causes and suggested remedies. Replies To Questionnaire.

The questionnaire to schools asking for returns defined child delinquency as such continued breaches of civil, social and moral codes as to make the perpretator a real behaviour problem. Replies were received from 183 schools, covering 16,661 children. The majority opinion from these wns that behaviour was no better or worse than by children in previous years. Forty-four per cent, of teachers considered it better. This improvement, it was considered, was not maintained outside the school. There were 314 offences recorded for 281 children involved, in this order: — Theft. 71; continually defiant, disobedient, insolent. 51/obscene language, 40; continued truancy. 22; breaking and entering, 21; indecent writing, drawing.etc., 61; indecent exposure, suggestive behaviour. etc.. 13; wilful damage, including vandalism. 11; continued running away from home, breaking windows, breaking insulators, general viciousness (bullying), attempted or actual sexual intercourse, throwing stones, etc. to harm, arson, betting and gambling, receiving, cycle conversion, cruelty to animals, unnatural intercourse, ■ personal assault. traffic breaches, car conversion, all under 10 each: running unauthorized credit accounts. nil.

There were no significant differences as between boys and girls, or Maori and pakeha. But in district comparisons, theft headed the city and town groups; in the country group, continual defiance, disobedience and insolence headed the list, ■with obscene language next. Probable Causes.

Probable causes were listed, according to frequency, in this order • Low moral standards at home, 71; indulgent home, 51; self-willed, spoiled, 50; bad companions. 49; low intelligence, 42; general neglect, and lack of healthy interests, each 36; late nights, 33; lack of home affection. 27; father away much. 25; unbalance. 23; anti-social tendencies, 22; broken-up homes, 17. Then in order come many changes of schools, harsh homes, poor homes, quarrelsome homes, too much pocket money, super-active physically, both 'parents working,, father in forces with mother at home, pictures, overwork, drunken home, physical infirmity. low stamina due to sickness, undernourishment. cold, calculating and cruel, gang membership, failure at school, superactive mentally, defective, radio, school failure to meet special need. The committee’s general conclusions were: (1) Child delinquency among school children in the Wanganui board s district was relatively small; (2) yet sufficent to constitute a definite problem; (3) a great deal that came before the Children’s Court was associated with young people who had left school; (4) the presence of child delinquents among other children was having a harmful effect; (5) given full support by governmental, social, religious anti cducational agencies, it was possible to implement practical measures to reduce child delinquency and its effects greatly: (6) child delinquency could not be dissociated from character training and citizenship training and a carried-out policy to improve these would reduce the delinquency; (7) the importance of religion in the community, homes and schools must be fully and freely recognized; (8) remedial actions by schools would be insufficient if not actively supplemented by effective work by adult agencies directly bearing . on young people’s interest and activities; (9) the most important adult agency was the home, and anything that could be done to assist parents to effectively discharge their responsibilities of right training must be done. Official figures from Government reSorts made only 3 per cent, of children elinquents. and the committee’s search gave percentages below that. Where, however, delinquency did exist, no cause was more frequently pressed than the failure of parents to provide right home conditions, to discharge fully their responsibilities, to give adequate training or to exercise proper control. To such home failures must be added those where divorce, desertion or separation had broken up homes, child victims of such parental disagreement numbering 8000 in the last census period.