Evening star., 1953-11-03
Police Request
Help in Getting
Juvenile Data
Shea Also to Seek
Aid in Obtaining
Court Records
BY Miriom Ottenberq

ShASubCt4
Police Chief Robert V. Muir.
ray today formally asked Com
missioner Samuel Spencer to
help police obtain Juvenile
Court records and Welfare Di-
rector Gerard M. Shea said. he
would follow suit.
Chief Murray wants to find
out what happens to a boy after
police send him to court. Spe-
officially whether the boy goes
to an institution or remains in
the community. At present. po-
lice are not told the disposition
in any case sent to Juvenile
Court.
Mr.. Shea said he has a double
barrelled request. He is Cyying
to learn whether a man ordered
by Juvenile Court to contribute
to the support of his wife and
children actually obeyS the
order. At present. the Public
Assistance Division can find out
only if the man has been ord
cred to pay, and how mucn.
Welfare regulations require that
the amount of the order be de-
Quoted from any relief grant
regardless of whether the family
actually gets the money.
Injustice Conceded.
This is an injustice and we
know it," Mr.. Shea said, but rs
long as we can't find out
whether the father pays, we
must deduct the amount of the
order. If we could get the in
formation, we would change the
regulation so that the only de-
duction would be what the fam
lily actually receives"
Mr.. Shea also wants the court
to notify the Child Welfare Divi-
sion a reasonable time in ad-
vance of a child's commitment
to the Welfare Department. At
the Child Welfare Divi-
sion gets the child and the in
formation about it the same day.
1--WE can't plan in advance
what is the best placement for
the child" Mr.. Shea said. ALSO,
private institutions require a
complete social history of a child
before accepting him or her.
Since we aren't notified in adj
vance, we've got to put the child
back in the Receiving Home or
in the Industrial Home School
until we can send the childs
history to these private institu-
tlons and they can decide
whether they will accept them.
These children are upset to start
with and moving them from
place to place just adds to the
disturbance"
Both Chief Murray and Mr..
Shea said the change in the
Juvenile Court law last year Civ
Ing Juvenile Court Judge Edith
II. Cockrill discretion to release
information to interested parties,
had not helped them at all.
Works Through Council.
Police have not asked Judge
Cockrill for the dispositions.
Chief Murray said previously
that he wanted them but pre-
ferred to work through the Coun-
Gil on Law Enforcement of which
both the police chief and the
Juvenile Court judge are mem
bers Commissioner Spencer is
of the council,
In his letter to Commissioner
Spencer, Chief Murray wrote:
Past experience has indicated
that it would be advantageous
to the Metropolitan Police De-
partment to know of dispositions
in Juvenile cases forwarded to
the Juvenile Court for adiudica-
ton.
1T is respectfully recon-
mended that the Juvenile Com
mittee of the Council on Law
Enforcement be requested to
explore the possibility of the
Metropolitan Police Department
receiving such dispositions from
Juvenile Court"
Mr.. Shea said his letter would
ask Commissioner Spencer to
with Judge Cockrill in
behalf of the Welfare Depart
ment. He said his officials had
had numerous discussions with
court officials in futile attempts
to get the information he seeks.