Police Courts for Children.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 300, 27 December 1902, Page 4

Police Courts for Children.

“ They do these things better in America,” is the modern rendering of an old saying, which would speedily become tiresome if it were not so often true. Even in Christ* church indignant protests have been made from time to time against the public examination, in certain cases, of child witnesses in our Courts. American sympathy extends still further, and in New York and many of the- other large cities, even child offenders are protected from the baneful influence of the ordinary Court, with its associations of vice and degradation. What this influence may amount jto can be understood from the ‘statement that “ in one year an I average of nearly 12,000 juveniles | under sixteen years of age stand in ithe docks of London’s Police iCourts, and are convicted. Of |these close upon 1100 are sent to i prison.” Once he has served a ! sentence, the chances (hat a boy | will lead a moral life are greatly | lessened. The police authorities of the United States have established ; children’s courts, where the im- ! pressiveness of the law is retained, without its terrors. In these |Gourts Magistrates sit to try juven!iie offences solely. To quote a :writer in the Daily Mail, “ the -child is told of his offence, tie [penalty of a continued career of j wrong-doing is hinted ar, he is adjured to mend his ways, and is [forthwith handed over to a kindly 1 representative of an institute, 'maintained for the purpose of rescuing these little storm-tossed human derelicts.” There is no [need, therefore, for the child who ihas raided a sweels shop, or been [tempted by a passion for cigarettes, |to purloin his employers’ sixpences, to come in contact with ithe hardened offenders of older jyears, who have committed very [different offences. “The underj lying principle of the whole system lis to keep the child as far away as | possible from the taint of prison [and the influence of the police Court,” and the method of the Magistrate is described as fatherly, rather than magisterial. Another novel idea for the benefit of [children, which has just been put [into practice in New York, would 1 not be required except in fairly ' large cities. This is the children’s |playground, in connection with Ithe large emporiums and stores, where the mother leaves her little [ones in the care of pleasant nurses, ,to'build sand castles, sail boats, m [dress their dolls in company with a score of others, while she does I her shopping.