Evening star., 1953-04-26
Delinquent Parents
School Urged in War
On Juvenile Crime
Continued From First Page.)

nile crime increase of COS per
cent reported by the Washing
ton Criminal Justice Association
for 1852, police officials agreed
the increase was due generally
to these conditions:
Cd Lack of parental restraint.
CD lack of religious guidance.
(3) insufficient emphasis by
schools on civic responsibility
and a. greater temptations for
the youth Of today.
1t. John F. Ryan, head Of the
Juvenile Squad since 1948, has
studied the problem from the
practical viewpoint Of the police
man who deals with hundreds of
"delinquents." Nothing out Of
textbooks or sociology courses
all hard-knockS education.
Rise Began After War.
1.-THE rise in juvenile crime be-
gan after World War H." 1t.
Ryan observed. 1T seemed the
kids between 10 and Is years
were going through a new streak
of independence. didn't want
women bossing them around. you
know.
Nov most kids are honest,
but there's more to. tempt them
than a generation ago. Take the
big super markets and depart
ment stores. The merchandise is
all laid out on shelves and coun-
ters now, with lot Of them SELF
service.
THAT makes it tempting for
some youngsters with weak char
acters. I remember a boy we had
who checked out $4.90 worth OF
groceries at a store, but in his
jacket he had slipped two nickel
candy bars"
Adults Make Crime Easy.
Adults are responsible for max
ing other crimes too easy.
Take the recent rash Of boys
who climbed aboard bulldozerS,
graders and other road equip
ment to play. In some cases the
ignitions were not locked; in
more cases there were no ignition
locks at all. AS a consequence.
much damage has resulted from
haphazardly driven equipment,
1t. Ryan said.
Washington is an insured
community" Fewer guards and
watchman are employed today
on construction jobs and in busi-
ness places. offering easier entire
to the thief.
A generation ago. 1t. Ryan re-
called, houses with expensive
furnishings were protected by
ornamental iron bars on ground
floor openings. In this day OF
insurance. such protection. no
longer is the rule.
Then there are the motorists
who leave expensive cars on the
streets, many times with the
keys conveniently placed. Even
the fanciest cars still have igni-
ton systems whose wires can be
crossed easily for a quick get
away. OF the cars stolen last
fiscal year. 47.2 per cent were
by juveniles.
Draft Changes Attitude.
Some boys have taken devil
may-care attitude because Of the
war draft. They have admitted,
on arrest for crimes such as
houSebreaking, that they faced
a bleak future, whether it was
Jail or the service, and took a
long chance on getting away
with it.
Police Chief Murray scored
this as an "unpatriotic attitude.
Some boys were suspected of
trying to compile a Jail record
to escape the draft.
These are some of the head
aches 1t. Ryan shares with %
policemen, one policewoman and
a clerk who make up the Juve-
nile Squad.
In the last fiscal year they
handled 3,740 charges against
1,798 boys, many of them
charged in five or more cases.
That was an increase of 258
youths and 722 cases over the
year before.
But a more alarming fact is
that these statistics do not tell
the whole story. Juveniles do
not become statistics until they