CHAPTER I CAUSES AND NATURE OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 1. Evolution of the "Juvenile Delinquent." The attitude of society toward the juvenile delinquent has undergone a fundamental change within a few decades. Part of this change is due to revulsion against the treatment formerly accorded to children, who were not fully responsible for the offenses which they committed. The court trial in Philadelphia of a little child of eight years was the beginning of the juvenile court movement in that city. A few years ago a boy of eleven in the state of Iowa was sentenced to imprisonment for life on the charge of murder! Hundreds of little children have been thrown into jail in company with vile adult criminals, and in England little children were formerly sentenced to death for offenses too petty even to justify the mildest forms of probationary treatment at the present time. In 1833 a boy of nine was sentenced to death for stealing a little paint. The penalty was not inflicted but the principle remains the same. In Chicago boys were confined with the men, and as late as 1899 boys were sent to the John Worthy School to work out fines at fifty cents per day. The delinquent child suffered from the older or classical theory of crime. A particular offense, quite apart from the motives that prompted it, was punishable with a definite penalty, and individuals were punished for the crime they committed, not because they were criminals. At first no discrimination was made between persons guilty of similar offenses, but later extenuating circumstances were recognized. Furthermore, it was held that every person, regardless of age, was fully responsible morally for the offense committed. The little child had, it was thought, as keen a sense of right and wrong as had the adult — an equal knowledge of what constitutes an infraction of the law. This atrocious doctrine has been entirely overthrown, for recent child psychology clearly demonstrates that the morals of children are a development. Parents, home, and community are each partly responsible for their children's morals. Children are plastic in mind and body and their moral standards are changeable. It is difficult to determine the exact age when full moral responsibility should be demanded. In fact, this should depend upon mental rather than physiological age. The boy of twenty with the mind of a boy of twelve should not be treated as an adult, yet in the face of this psychological principle, juvenile delinquency refers legally to individuals under a certain age. Until recently no adequate psychological test has been available. The age limit now established differs among the various states, but in the majority of cases it is sixteen years, although a number of states have raised it to 17, and in several the limit for girls has been fixed at 18. The term "delinquent" has been slowly expanding in meaning so as to include not only deliberate acts which would be punished if committed by adults, but also wayward tendencies of a serious character. Delinquency should refer to an attitude of mind and of morals rather than to the commission of some particular offense. It is necessary to reach the embryo delinquent the prospective criminal- and in many cases it is already too late when the boy is brought into the juvenile court. Accordingly, we find laws such as the Colorado law which includes under "delinquents" persons of certain age who are guilty of such offenses as the following: violation of any law of the state or any city or village ordinance; incorrigibility; association with immoral persons; knowingly visiting houses of ill repute, or gambling houses of any description; visiting saloons; wandering aimlessly about the streets at night or about railway yards; the use of vile and obscene language; immoral conduct; jumping on moving trains, etc. This law covers almost every species of conduct which is likely to result in law-breaking and criminality, and it can be used to exercise preventive control over the child. In this way it is possible to reach him before he actually becomes so wayward that reform is impossible. Although in some cases the legal meaning of delinquency is still confined to direct violation of law, the more progressive states in the revision of their juvenile court laws or in the enactment of new laws are quite universally following the pattern of law described above. Effective work depends upon the legal right to direct and control the prospective offender. 2. Moral Classification of Children. The juvenile court idea depends upon the recently developed consciousness that the child is less in need of reformation than he is of the formation and fixation of character. A little habit forming is much better than much character reforming. The teachings of recent psychology and ethics have forced the acceptance of the theory that conscience is developmental; therefore, the problem of the child becomes one of constructive effort, not of repression after vicious tendencies have developed. Youthful misdeeds are recognized to be largely the result of the environmental influences which continually impress themselves upon the child. The development of the child divides itself into three quite distinct periods. The first eight years of life form one period, and many children of this age, if not immoral, are at least unsocial, but their delinquency is almost wholly due to the neglect of their moral education by their parents, and they should be treated as neglected persons. The delinquent child at this age is no worse in his fundamental proclivities than the child who is merely neglected, and therefore different treatment is not necessary. A full knowledge of the underlying causes of the difficulty will shift the burden of the blame to the parents. There is but little difference between the delinquent and the neglected child of this age. During the age period - nine to thirteen years — several characteristic traits of childhood appear. Many of the instinctive actions of earlier life have vanished. The child, however, has not yet learned to correlate cause and effect. He is still deficient in prudence and foresight, and to a large degree uncon scious of the effects of his acts on others. He is self-centered, his morals are still in process of development, and he is very susceptible to external impressions. The formation of habit proceeds at a very rapid pace during this period, and the moral habits are of special importance because they later develop into the morals peculiar to adolescence. The religious bias is also imparted during this period and the child becomes more truthful. The period of life including the years from 12 or 13 to 17 is marked by the practical completion of habit formation, and trains the child for success or failure. This period witnesses the culmination of fundamental physiological and psychological changes while the child arrives at puberty and endures many physical and emotional disturbances. It is significant that the religious impulse is strongest in this period, and that conversions are most numerous. Starbuck has well shown the incidence of emotionalism both for boys and girls, and his observations suggest the importance of properly harnessing this psychical energy. The religious impulse also has its counterpart in the wayward and criminal instincts of the boy. Many boys manifest an incorrigibility which, unless properly directed, will lead to absolute criminality. Rapid growth and the failure of the child to understand himself lead to moral aberrations which require the most careful treatment, affect the mental equilibrium of the youth, and influence the attitude of the two sexes toward each other. 3. Conditions underlying Juvenile Delinquency. a. Changing Social Conditions. A fruitful cause of juvenile delinquency consists of the changing social conditions which make individual acts, harmless in themselves, a menace to society. The exuberant spirits of the boy must find expression in activity and excitement, and suppression is not possible. The numerous contacts of the city require a limitation of individual activity, since thoughtless acts which are entirely justifiable and even desirable in the country districts may be a constant danger to property in the city. Accordingly, a series of city ordinances have been enacted which condemn and prohibit such acts. Playing ball is not inherently a punishable offense, but to obstruct the streets or to endanger other persons who are using the street is distinctly anti-social, and is therefore prohibited by city ordinances. Persons may be injured, windows broken, and runaways caused by such sports conducted on the streets. Many boys are brought into some juvenile courts for offenses not more serious than playing ball. The highly valued bonfire belongs to the same category. Few boys can restrain themselves at the sight of a fire, and an even greater thrill follows their participation in a bonfire scene. The social needs of to-day therefore interdict acts which boys have for centuries been allowed to do, and as boy nature has not changed, many offenses are committed which the self-centered and thoughtless boy does without malice or deliberation. The Philadelphia girl of eight who set fire to a house did so to see the fire and the fire engines, not to commit arson. If children, instead of being cooped up in treeless and flowerless slums, had opportunities of touching nature and of using up their pent-up energies in parks and playgrounds and in other wholesome ways, they would not insist on committing acts that jeopardize the public. The boy who uses the streets for play is not more criminal than the community which declines to furnish him with proper play facilities. Change of law does not change child nature, but changed conditions require new adjustments. b. Home Conditions. The incompetency of parents is a prolific source of juvenile delinquency, for the home environment is the most potent factor contributing to the formation of character and habit. The force of social heredity, comprising the ideals, morals, religious impulses, teaching, discipline, order, personal habits, and superstition of the parents, overpowers the child by its almost irresistible momentum. Profane parents have profane children. If the father lies, the son will not be truthful. If the mother is not moral, how can we expect the daughter to be! Parents who are irreligious will find that their children scoff at religion. Slovenly parents raise careless children. A large proportion of the child's habits are formed before he is ten, and during this |