Review: The Incidence of Delinquency in Berkeley, 1928–1932
| Date | 01 April 1935 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3500800217 |
| Published date | 01 April 1935 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
THE
POLICE JOURNAL
reliance
that
the police place on it, the third degree undoubtedly hinders
their efficiency, caters to laziness, and discourages adequate investigation
of cases."
Mr. Morris has a very happy way of illuminating apoint by means of
an illustration from ordinary daily life, which must appeal to
everyone
of us, such as this, when he is discussing the definition of a criminal (p. I) :
"Included, however, are a host of criminals like ourselves who have been
fined for watching tail-lights instead of traffic lights,"
and"
The
common
law was made in the same way that apath is formed across a field. Someone
passes through, others by accident or design follow the dim outline of the
newly made trail, and finally it has become a beaten
track".
The
book concludes with some excellent suggestions for research in
criminology and an extensive bibliography of all branches of the subject.
THE
INCIDENCE
OF
DELINQUENCY
IN
BERKELEY, 1928-1932.
By
HERMAN
ADLER,
FRANCES
CAHN,
and
JOHANNES
STUART.
(United
States of America: University of California Press. Great Britain and
Ireland:
Cambridge University Press.) 9s. net.
THIS book gives the results of an intensive study of the incidence of juvenile
delinquency in the Californian city of Berkeley. Although no definite
explanation of the incidence of such delinquency has been reached, there
are indications that whereas in some places it occurs most in districts which
are undergoing atransition in economic or social conditions, in Berkeley
it is most prevalent as the result of the meeting of two somewhat different
social levels, such as is to be found in the area round the University centre.
The
book provides the data for further study of the subject.
CORNISH
OF
THE"
YARD ". His Reminiscences and Cases. By
EX-SUPERINTENDENT
G. W.
CORNISH.
(John Lane.) 18s. net.
IF we may judge by publishers' lists and
the
literature on the railway and
other bookstalls, there is no cessation in the demands of the general public
for
"crime"
and
"detective"
fiction: whether this is an index of an
increased respect for the law, or whether it is the result merely of a craving
for excitement need not be discussed here. But if it is either of these, this
book by ex-Superintendent Cornish, of Scotland Yard, should be very
acceptable, as meeting the demand with true tales, without any of those
startling coincidences which must for some readers marr the enjoyment
of reading many of
the"
detective" yarns of the present day.
It
is a plain
straightforward account of the life-work of one who has succeeded well in
the career he chose, and as such must be stimulating to those who hope
to follow in his footsteps.
In the first chapter Mr. Cornish gives us a brief sketch of the beginning
of his working life as a recruit and of some of his earlier difficulties.
The
description of Whitechapel as it was some forty years ago is very interesting:
apparently it provided harbourage for many of the criminals who worked
" up
West".
After aboutseven years in the Metropolitan Force,
Mr.
Cornish
252
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