Arizona republican., 1921-09-06
JUVENILE CASES
 FEWEST IN CITY
 PAST SIX MONTHS

Juvenile cases have been fewer this summer than last, according to R. A McFall, probation officer. The num- Der of girls in the incorrigible class has been the smallest during the past six months than any time he took office, he stated. A few juveniles have been sent to the state industrial school at Fort Grant, and the num- Der of runaway cases has been con siderably less than during the same period last year.
 Juvenile cases, said MT. McFaIl come in spurts and following the closing of schools for the summer va ca.,on, the rush decreasing after two weeks. After that and during the re- malnder of the summer juvenile work was very light. There have been a few serious cases, he declared but not in comparison with last summer Phoenix, says MT. McFan, will com pare favorably with any other city of it's size in the country in the num- Der of juvenile cases that come up for attention. Home environment exerts the greatest influence on children, de- clared the probation officer, as a rule most of the cases coming under his observation Icing caused by either neglect or oyer-indulgence on the part of the parents. MT. McFan stated he is strongly opposed to send ing children to the Industrial school and takes that course only when all other efforts have failed.
 We have one boy now. witness in criminal case, who is a problem to us," declared. Mir McFal1 This boy is crippled, and if we keen him in the detention home for few days he is scarcely able to walk. but if we allow him to go out he invariably gets into trouble. I suppose we will be compelled to send him to fhe in dustrial school. This boy, who is large for his age, recently imperson- ated an officer. and after arresting a man on North Central avenue he took a fine from him.
 Another peculiar case that came up recently" said Mir McFall. 'is l that of a 15-year- old girl who was 1 brought in for soliciting money os- l tensibly for hospital. She tried to sell garden seeds, but made a failure l of it. Then she conceived the scheme l of going from house to house and asking for money for a childrens de- partment of a hospital. A store keeper. becoming suspicious after she had approached him. notified the of l ficers and she was arrested"
 Girls prove more difficult prob 1 lem and are harder to put on the right track than are boys, declared the probation officer. That the state 1 industrial school is doing splendid I work in training these boys and girls l and fin making good citizens out of l them is frequently evident, Mir Nc Fall stated. Recently, he said, he talked with a girl who had been re- l leased from that school just short time before. and she told him of the great benefit she had received there
 This girl, he said, had got into mis- chief because of an active mind and
 with nothing to do to occupy it. The industrial school supplied this neces- sary occupation
 Mexican boys and girls recently from Old Mexico cause the probation officer much trouble, he stated. They
 apparently have no distinction be-
 tween right and wrong and will wan
 der through a department store and
 appropriate any article that fasci- mates them although they have not the slightest use for it.
 Each case, said Mir. McFall, pre- lsents a different problem and must be studied separately. Tn handling
 these cases that are brought to my attention I always try to learn the