The Growth of Criminal Sophistication Among Adolescent Delinquents
| Published date | 01 September 1978 |
| Author | Geoffrey Wicks |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455057802500306 |
| Date | 01 September 1978 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
In addition to our achievement with the borstal boys themselves, we
have created effective and satisfying liaisons with all three borstals. Know-
ing members of staff by name has proved to be enormously advantageous
and in many instances, helps us work together to the advantage of
trainees. Recently at the suggestion of Hollesley Bay, we have arranged
for officers presently involved with our trainees to spend a couple of days
in Waltham Forest with us renewing their contacts with ex-inmates. It
would perhaps shock one or two cynical probation officers to see the
warmth of the welcome these officers were given by the boys. Even we
were quite surprised.
The project has been a realistic exercise in the professional use of
the personal relationship. It required of us a much greater degree of
involvement and in the giving not only of extra time and energy but
also the sharing of personal problems and areas of anxiety and insecurity.
The results suggest a degree of benefit all round which has far exceeded
our expectations.
Tfre authors are probation officers in North East London Probation and
A f tcr Care Service.
The Growth of Criminal
Sophistication Among
Adolescent Delinquents
GEOFFREY WICKS
A
PREVIOUS article published·in Probation JOllrna[1 described a study the
author had made of adolescent delinquent groups in the Manor Park
area of the London Borough of Newham. Records of court appearances
and official police cautions were used to determine group membership
and relationships over a five year period (1970-1974) and it was con-
cluded that during this period there were a number of different groups
in the area involving large numbers of youths; that there was little evi-
dence of structured gangs, but rather of delinquency being committed
in natural friendship groups. In spite of the groups attracting consider-
able local notoriety, most of the members were only minimally involved
and the majority came to official notice on no more than two occasions.
However the groups did seem to provide a learning opportunity for a
handful of boys who went on to become more sophisticated offenders
and it is this group which is the concern of this article.
Informal observation by the author over a period of several years led
him to believe that the adolescent groups within the area developed in a
cycle of approximately two years duration. Initially groups of boys aged
about 13 to 14 years would congregate in the area, usually beside a row
of shops which formed the centrepiece of a newly developed estate. At
this stage they were rarely involved in crime, but were noisy and
91
boisterous, and occasionally property was damaged. Tensions arose be-
tween them and the nearby residents who frequently called the police
and thus a process of alienation would begin. The boys would become
more anti-adult and anti-authority, some became involved in crime
(usually car thefts, damage to the shops or breaking into the shops) and
eventually criminal offences became the norm for the area in the way
that, say, skateboarding or other hobby could have become the norm.
Most of the boys grew out of the criminal stage through natural matur-
ing as they grew older and others, especially those who persisted in crime,
were processed through the courts and some were given custodial sen-
tences. Thus after a period of a year to eighteen months the group died
a...
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