The Key West citizen., 1953-10-07
Safety
Notes
BY BILL cIBB
Key West Police Dept.

Gene Hernandez sent orders for
me to report to a Juvenile Council
meeting Immediately. Lieut.. W. L.
James was already present at the
meeting when ! arrived.
AS you know, the Juvenile Coun-
ell is composed Of conscientious
citizens who realize that some
thing must be done to aid modern
youngsters in adjusting themselves
to a 'topsy-turvy' world. The Coun.
'cil's program is not aimed solely
at the So-called delinquent" child
but includes the welfare of all ju.
veniles within the community. II
is worthwhile organization that
is entitled to your utmost support.
To be perfectly honest, your aver
age policeman is baffled by the
problem of Juvenile delinquency"
Key West has no place to confine
youngsters until proper investiga-
tion can be made into their cases.
No place, that is, except the Coun-
ty Jail. For this reason. children
are usually returned to their homes
when apprehended in delinquent
acts a situation that isn't desH-
bic since these same homes are
quite often the breeding place for
the juveniles subsequent acts when
they go out in public.
Here is my personal opinion of
the why and wherefore of today's
problems involving juvenile de-
linquency and their ultimate solu-
ton. Since it is controversial, |
want it understood that the opin-
ion is personal and not representa-
tive of either the police depart
ment or information gathered at
the Juvenile Council meeting.
To begin with, It can hardly be
denied that we adults have made
a horrible mess of world conditions.
We've done so because our pro-
gress in the realm of the so-called
collective" sciences has been so
concentrated as to cause us to
lose sight of the Importance of a
well-rounded, well-developed per.
sonal individuality. The physicists
who helped give us the atom bomb,
the mathematicians who enable us
to predict the future, the biologists
who are striving so hard TO i'm
prove the human race by artificial
means they are all brilliant peo-
pie but In a wholly lop-sided way.
These scientists are giving gifts
to a world totally unprepared to
receive them. Unprepared because
Of an almost complete ignoring of
that important subject philosophy.
The scientists themselves admit
that they have no solution as to
what should be done with their
own discoveries. Witness the fact
that many of them realized the
world was not yet ready for the
atomic age and secretly hoped
that their experiments would prove
a failure.
In late years, psychology has ap.
peared on the scientific field. While
It's investigations are neglected by
the layman and abused by many
practitioners, it would seem that
The hope for a better world lies in
a practical adoption of psychology
and philosophy which will keep pace
with the other sciences. The time
for that adoption in NOWl
ALI of which brings us back to
the subject of delinquent children.
Most popular discussion attributes
bad environment as being the
principle causative factor of juven-
lie delinquency. While the writer
would agree with this opinion i'll
The words ''bad environment"
meant the entire attitude of today's
civilization, he cannot admit that
! mere localized environment is
wholly responsible for anti-soeial
children. Too many cases of de-
inquency stem directly from the
lomes of our best families. That
.hese cases never receive publicity
$ due to the parents ability to
cover-up' rather than to their lack
If seriousness or predominance.
The writer has found In his dis
,ussions with delinquent children
hat almost all of them suffer from
/ lack of guilt concerning their
lad actions or habits. There is no
'emorse for the past, little or no
ambition for the future, and the
,resent is accepted as q necessary
vii. In other words, the majority
If these hahituaIly 'sbad' youngs-
ers are living examples of what |