Juvenile Delinquency
| Date | 01 January 1943 |
| Published date | 01 January 1943 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4301600106 |
| Author | R. P. Wilson |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JUVENILE
DELINQUENCY
25
other factors concerned it is a matter which might engage the attention
of the authorities.
Afurther point of interest emerges inasmuch as the Mark
VII
bullet has a tip of aluminium whereas the American bullet consists of
lead, both of course being jacketed.
In
none of these experiments have
I been able to find any particular advantage of the aluminium tip, either
in penetrative power or anything else, and it might be questioned whether
the expense of using a tip of aluminium is justified. However, these are
1J.0t
matters
that
we wish to discuss in these articles, and in the mean-
time I wish merely to bring before your readers for their interest the
various effects of high velocity bullets in different media.
Juvenile Delinquency
By R. P.
WILSON
Chief
Constable,
West
Sussex Constabulary
WAR-T I ME conditions have again brought this problem into
prominence, probably due to the large number of children
evacuated from their homes and so cut adrift from their parents and
the environment to which they are accustomed; new opportunities
present themselves for adventure and devilment, and are taken full
advantage of. A fair amount of war-time juvenile crime is certainly due
to a slackening of parental control as well as to shorter school hours,
but
it would be a mistake to examine the problem purely in its present-
day aspect; it existed before the war and will certainly be with us
afterwards.
One of the essential principles in the detection of crime is to find
the motive, and even a brief examination of one or two types of juvenile
crime may assist us in finding out why they are committed.
Pilfering from shops, to take one example, is quite common and
would seem to be due to a simple desire for personal gain.
There
is
usually no element of adventure and
it
should be noted that this sneak-
thief type of crime would be impossible to a child endowed with the
basic principles of morality, or, to
put
it more simply, of playing the
game. These principles are not, however, a natural growth; they must
be impressed upon the child from its earliest years.
The
more technical crime of breaking into shops or houses may
not be quite so mean as mere pilfering, as the element of adventure is
present and may be a stronger motive than hope of personal gain. This
craving in the young for excitement and deeds of daring is worthy of
the closest attention, as it can,
if
diverted into proper channels, be
turned to good account and made the foundation of a fine character.
To continue reading
Request your trial