Juvenile Delinquency
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Abstract
The latest addition to the International Library of Sociology and Social Reconstruction is a sociological study of juvenile delinquency on regional lines. The author believes that oecological studies of delinquency afford a promising line of approach, supplementing statistical mass inquiries and prolonged studies of a few individual cases. He describes the nature, causes, and treatment of delinquency in the Borough of Cambridge, and in his task has received valuable information from authorities and officials. Dr. Mannheim found that during the five years 1941 to 1945 the average figure for indictable offences committed by juveniles in Cambridge was exactly twice the figure given by Dr. E. C. Rhodes for the borough in 1934 to 1936. But in comparison with other localities the increase was not considered to be particularly high. Among many interesting data the fact that some of the new housing estates showed a considerably higher incidence of juvenile delinquency than the town as a whole has some general interest. The author considers that rehousing in itself is no panacea for social evils unless accompanied by social services such as youth centres and other measures which deal with some of the needs of a youthful community. In the absence of statistical data Dr. Mannheim was unable to accept the suggestion that the cause of the delinquency was attributable to a greater number of children in the families than in other wards. While stressing the need for further research into juvenile delinquency by persons not engaged in the treatment of offenders, Dr. Mannheim believes that such studies should be supplemented by those of probation officers, institutions for juvenile delinquents, and child-guidance clinics. The data collected are instructive, and the recommendations on the administration of juvenile courts are provocative. The book is written with the author's usual lucidity and is a welcome addition to the increasing literature on the subject. W. NORwooD EAST.