Looking Wider
| Date | 01 October 1953 |
| Published date | 01 October 1953 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455055300602304 |
| Author | Frank Dawtry |
| Subject Matter | Article |
IN OTHER LANDS
LOOKING
WIDER
There
is an old saying
that
runs:
"The
common enemy
maketh
for
strong
brotherhood."
That
this
is
true
was
revealed during
the
war when social, political
and
even
national
frontiers were removed in a
giant
effort towards
acommon goal.
In
times of
peace-or
so called
peace-
however, we
tend
to isolationism, each of us
intent
on
solving our own immediate problems
and
leading our
own little lives in our own small community.
There
are,
it is true,
the
greater
men-the
poets,
the
prophets
and
the
pioneers, who know no boundaries,
but
for most of
us
our
horizons
tend
to become limited by
the
narrow
groove we so quickly carve for ourselves in
our
anxiety to
obtain
our
daily bread.
From time to time, however, we do
hear
fragments
of
news from
farther
afield which bring home to us,
perhaps
with something of a jolt,
the
fact
that
our
own
fun-
damental
problems
are
common to
many
other
folk in
--------------------
countries
far
distant
and
that
common enemies exist
in
our
midst which some of us
are
apt
to pass by because
their
faces
are
famll1ar.
From
Adelaide for example, in a
report
of
the
work
of
the
Juvenile Court
during
1952,
we
find-in
spite of
conditions which differ considerably from those in
this
country-a
summary
of
facts
which
have
contributed
to
the
increase of juvenile crime which
might
well have
been compiled in
any
of
the
large towns in
our
country.
We
read
that
the
number
of broken homes resulting
from divorce
has
increased substantially of
recent
years
and
that
45
per
cent. of
the
young offenders
appearing
before
the
Adelaide Court in
the
twelve
months
ending
in June,
1952,
came from homes where
there
is only one
parent
living with
the
family. We
read
also
that
parental
discipline is lax
and
that
the
higher
wages, coupled with
the
cost of living, is encouraging more
mothers
to seek
full time employment outside
the
home-to
the
detri-
ment
of family life.
In
Adelaide, as over here,
there
is
much
consternation
at
the
type of
literature
being
read
by children
and
the
films
they
see,
and
"strong
efforts
are
being
made
in influential
quarters
to
combat
their
pernicious effects." An
interesting
point
is made
con-
cerning
the
fact
that
while
the
cost of living
and
the
weekly wage
have
both increased,
the
maximum fine
that
can
be imposed for
an
indictable offence
has
not
increased since
1921.
Asuggestion is
made
that
punish-
ment
for
persistent
offenders should be
made
more severe
in
an
effort to
stem
the
increase in recidivism which is
giving cause for considerable anxiety.
AMERICA AND INDIA
We in
the
Probation Service are'
constantly
faced
with
the
problem of
high
case loads which inevitably
hamper
the
efficiency of supervision.
From
America we
hear
the
same
cry,
and
an
extract
from"
The
Child," aWashing-
ton
publication, gives us considerable food for
thought.
We
are
told
that
in
1952
"
at
least
one-half
the
countries
in
the
U.S.A.
are
without
Probation
Services for juvenile
offenders.
In
December,
1952,
there
were
3,716
local
pro-
bation officers for
juveniles-many
of
these
serving adults
as well as children.
The
average works
out
at
one
probation officer for every 135 children coming before
the
court." Cold comfort, perhaps, to us over here,
but
is it
not
a
further
reminder
that
it is
high
time for
the
Whole question of case loads to be reviewed dispas-
sionately in
the
interest
of
greater
efficiency. Might
this
be a challenge to
us?
Can we, in
this
country, produce
areally forceful survey on
the
subject
which
might
be
of value
not
only to ourselves
but
also to
our
American
cousins who
are
obviously struggling to do a good job
against
great
odds?
Avisitor to
this
country
last
year, Mr. M. M. Joshie,
Chief Probation Officer in Poona, India,
has
sent
news
of developments in
the
area
he serves, which show
that
his country is becoming increasingly alive to its social
problems. Although
the
actual
offences
and
circumstances
bringing juveniles before
the
court differ in some respects
from those found in
this
country
(nearly
half
the
young
offenders
appearing
before
the
Poona Juvenile Court in
the
year
1950-51
were
there
through
destitution,
wander-
ing, or improper
guardianship)
the
methods being
(Continued overleaf)
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