Recent Book: As the Twig is Bent: The Young Offender
| Author | Douglas Gibson |
| Published date | 01 October 1967 |
| Date | 01 October 1967 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X6704001005 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
There may remain questions
III
your mind. I will offer a few
random answers.
Yes, Cross
had
previous convictions - in Toronto, Calgary,
Nassau and at Bow Street. (He was born at Frome!)
The liquidator has been busy at Whittlebury and the one time
residence of Lord Southampton remains empty - yours for the
asking,
and
the price.
The £49 was returned to the caretaker and his wife, but not be-
fore Cross had fought a last losing battle under the Police Property
Act.
The oaks at Whittlebury are green again. We've had a couple
of small larcenies there recently. Out of the forest
...
who knows?
RECENT
AS THE TWIG IS BENT
D. J. WEST:
The
Young
Offender. Duckworth. 35s.
Dr. West is perhaps the most
eminent psychiatrist specializing in
the field of abnormalities relating to
criminal behaviour.
He is certainly by
far
the best
writer in this field
and
this latest
book
is a classic
and
can be com-
pared
favourably with his others,
particularly Homosexuality pub-
lished in 1955, which still remains a
standard
work.
The
Young
Offender
is likely to
be in the same class
and
be re-
ferred to constantly
over
the years.
The
first service the
book
renders
is to explode the
myth
that
the
young today are beyond hope. He
counsels caution in drawing quick
conclusions.
Most
young offenders,
he says,
obtain
astability
that
is en-
couraging to those of us who are
given to despair of the young.
The
real problems, of course, are
the young recidivists. These
form
what
Dr. West calls the
"criminal
sub-culture".
It
is a
rare
and small
October 1967
group
but
one
that
calls
for
special
skills and help when dealing with
it. .
The
whole range of criminal
activity in the young is dealt with
and
the treatment
and
training in
our
penal institutions is closely
studied.
It
is a
book
full
of
wisdom
and
ideas and even the
most
ex-
perienced police officers will be
foolish to ignore it.
Perhaps
the best way to recom-
mend any
book
is to say
that
Ishall
have it by me
for
reference and will
constantly be looking
at
it and learn-
ing something fresh each time.
Dr. West is
one
of those
rare
birds, ascholar and an expert, and
yet he always writes lucidly and
simply and with great humility.
Do
not
miss it. Everyone who
reads it will gain in
their
under-
standing and their sympathy with
the young offender and his
prob-
lems.
DoUGLAS
GIBSON
459
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