'CI b I; e ~1x^ /^^asaC^ o s^ - t /N. P 1 Z ~ ~ lizeE f: ^.g" A i~. V~ ^^'^*^ ' r'-^1-^-'''^ YSi~ -;1-~U r~. j *e~ *^' a^^c;5^A;^;,~;c~" / t THE CRIME COMMISSION -OF NEW YORK STATE FROM TRUANCY TO CRIME A STUDY OF 251 ADOLESCENTS BY THE SUB-COMMISSION ON CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF CRIME 1928 ALBANY J. B. LYON COMPANY, PRINTERS 1928 LO 3201 CRIME COMMISSION CALEB H. BAUMES, Chairman BURTON D. ESIMOND, Vice-chairman B. ROGER WALES, WALTER S. GEDNEY, DAVID S. TAYLOI,.THOMAS S. RICE, GEOR)GE WM. LEWIS BUTCHER. JANE M. HOEY, JOHN KNIGHT, JOSEPH A. McGINNIES. F. CHANDLER HERBERT L. SMIITH, Secretary Senate Chamber, Albany SUB-COMMISSION WV11. LEWIS BUTCHER, Chairman JANE M. HOEY, JOSEPH A. McGINNIES. ASSISTANTS RAYMOND MOLEY, Research Advisor. [2] HARRY M. SHULMAN, Research Worker. - A REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMISSION ON CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF CRIME LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL To the Crime Commission of New York State: From truancy to crime-a study of 251 adolescents, answers for at least the group of cases studied, two questions of paramount interest to all who are interested in crime prevention. Firstwhat happens in afteryears to children who are dealt with as juvenile delinquents; second-what facts in their histories or background were significant in differentiating those who grew up to be criminals, from the others. This study, based on cases taken from the files of the Bureau of Attendance of the New York City Schools, was made and the report written by Harry M.. Shulman, research worker for the Sub-Commission on Causes, under the direction of the members of the Sub-Commission. Professor Raymond Moley acted in an advisory capacity. Dated, February 28, 1928. WM. LEWIS BUTCHER, Chairman, JANE M. HOEY, JOSEPH A. MCGINNIES, Sub-Commission. [5] l-R 3 o'iS,N53 I9dg OZ. c ^\, N E I1W; FROM TRUANCY TO CRIME-A STUDY OF 251 ADOLESCENTS INTRODUCTION The newspapers print daily stories dealing with "crime waves" and with "juvenile crime waves" which give the impression that there are tremendous fluctuations in the degree of lawlessness of our citizens. As a matter of fact, this is not true. Estimates made by criminologists of the portion of the population habitually engaged in crime vary only slightly, some placing the figure at one per cent, and others at between one and two per cent.(l' Crime statistics, however, indicate that this group, most of whom are repeated offenders, begin their careers at comparatively early ages, and commit new offenses of increased severity and with greater frequency, with advancing years. It is this development of criminal careers that constitutes a real crime wave, one which begins in childhood, increases during adolescence, continues mounting during the years of vigorous manhood, and ebbs only as old age approaches. Whether this curve, which follows the life curve, rising as life expands and gains power over its surroundings, and declining as life ebbs in the human boty, takes its shape because of hereditary and physical factors or because of influences of social origin, in the home, in school, in industry, or in idle and spare time is still an open question. Of practical importance is the question of how this curve may be modified. Common sei se dictates that the solution lies in preventing or curing criminal tendencies among the young. But here the problem still remains of discovering which influences are aids and which are hindrances to sound and healthy growth. The present study is ani attempt within limited time and space to give consideration to the subsequent careers of a group of children known to be juvenil3 delinquents six years ago. This study concerns itself with the growth of the crime curve among this group, the apparent inflience upon the curve of certain objectively measurable envirormental factors, and the relation among this group of early childhood habits of delinquency to the growth of the curve in adolescer ce. Because of the difficulties involved, the study has been lim'ted sharply in character and concerns itself only with the histories of two hundred and fifty-one truant boys, in the Borough of Manhattan, all of whom had experienced commitments to the T-*uant School because of chronic- illegal absence from school. The survey covers their histories from the time of release from Ti cant School to the present date, a period of six to eight years, ard reviews their more remote childhood. (1) Parsons, Philip A.-Crime and the Criminal 1926, pp. 143, 147. [7-] 8 I The obstacles to this study have been legion. Mobility in population, inaccuracy of records, conflicts in testimony taken from records, difficulties due to various spellings of proper names, all have hindered progress. Devising means of tracing families that had moved from old neighborhoods, sifting data for errors and checking against the inclusion of data on families with identical names, have taken a great deal of time and attention. The burden of analyzing thousands of pages of information, summarizing them and tabulating the results has been lightened through the splendid assistance given by official and unofficial agencies and by volunteers, including students in social science courses. More than a hundred individuals have contributed their share to this study. Without them it would not have been completed. THE FINDINGS The report herewith presented gives conclusive evidence that among the cases studied, chronic truancy was in a disquieting number of cases, the first step in a criminal career. Fifty-one per cent of the boys required the attention of police and courts during the six to eight year period subsequent to their release from the Truant School, in the following division: juvenile delinquency, 21 per cent; adult offenders, 30 per cent. Among the adult offenders, 16 per cent committed offenses of minor character and 14 per cent were arraigned for felony offenses of the type usually committed by professional criminals. Based on estimates of criminologists, that 1 per cent of the population of the United States engage i:r some form of crime, the group of 251 truants were responsibleduring this limited period of from six to eight years, for 14 times as many felons as arise from the population at large. Statistical study of 34 environmental and behavior factors in these cases indicates that only a limited number of these factors served to differentiate the' truants who became adult offenders from those who, as a group, did not. } Felonies were committed more, in proportion, by sons of natives and of remote immigrants -that is, by persons acquainted with the ways of the land, whereas minor infractions were committed in greater proportion by sons of recently arrived immigrant'. The proportion of families, one-or more of whose members had police records, ranged from.43 for those boys who had no records subsequent to truancy, to.83 for those who became felons. Thus the boys who became serious offenders had the worst criminal family backgrounds. On the other hand, the survey showed that almost the entire group of cases lived under conditions of extreme poverty and unusually congested housing, in homes that were broken by death. or desertion of one or both parents in over one-half of the cases, and in which parental care was rendered ineffective in a large per 9 centage of the cases by the employment of mothers at jobs in addition to household tasks. The study shows therefore that most of the factors were influential only as general factors. It is true that the sordid conditions depicted were the soil from which an unusual amount of criminal behavior has sprung. It is likewise true that the conditions are similar to those to which the under-privileged group in any community are subjected, and that poverty and crime are associated in a general way. But in the group forming this study, as well as among the under-privileged group in general, the majority of the factors here studied throw no light on the reasons why certain families fostered criminal behavior and others did not, nor why one child reared in the same family under the self-same general conditions became a criminal and his brothers did not. THE CONCLUSIONS Three chief methods are being used in combating crime. They are the processes of legal procedure, of social reform, and of individual study and treatment. The method of legal procedure, while necessary, is as shown in this study, apparently not effective in preventing further crime among young offenders. The method of social reform is concerned with broad measures of social welfare, aimed at general factors influencing crime and not at specific experiences influencing criminals. The method of individual study and treatment gives the greatest promise of success in preventing crime. This method, represented in the procedure of physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, has in recent years.gained great strength in the United States, as attested to by the increasing number of philanthropic organizations, privately and publicly and endowed clinics, and federal, state and municipal bureaus concerned with the study and guidance of juvenile delinquents and adult criminals. The individual method is concerned with the measure of individual limitations in capacity for social adjustment, with the discovery of the motives leading to anti-social behavior, and with methods of treatment that will utilize in a social way the normal drives of unadjusted persons. This method has practical limitations because of the expense involved and the lack of persons trained in its technique. However, the expense and time consumed have been justified by the aid which the individual findings have given to the understanding and control of larger groups. To mention only two outstanding examples, the psychological classification by ability of soldiers in the United States draft army of 1917 and 1918 and the classification of students under the modern educational methods used in many schools, have been products of years of arduous laboratory and clinic work in individual study and measurement. The expense of the individual method is probably less than the costs of crime to society, per criminal. The annual cost of crime 10 in the United States is estimated at billions of dollars. The individual method is probably less expensive than the method of legal procedure. In the 251 cases studied, no less than 679 arraignments before educational and- judicial authorities took place, and 460 commitments were made to various reformatory and penal institutions. The process of arraigning and maintaining these boys must have cost incalculable thousands. The community has been re-imbursed through fines to the extent of $368. Surely New York City, with its willingness to tear down old structures to make place for new, must concede the like importance of tearing down old methods when they stand in the way of progress. There is no doubt that present methods of dealing with crime among the youth of that city are wasteful of money and of careers. There is no doubt that the time to institute modern methods of child guidance is during childhood. There is no doubt that the school system is the place to begin the method. A decent consideration for our wayward children, if not for our own security and peace of mind, requires that we inaugurate such methods without further delay. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS I-A Statistical Analysis of Offenses 1. Present Age of Offenders The non-delinquents, misdemeanants and felons were, on the average, of the same age. The juvenile delinquents were a year younger. These had not been arraigned for any offenses for four years. The conclusion is that the groups are sufficiently similar in age to make the differences in conduct between them, true differences, and the groups themselves distinct in their responses to social situations. 2. Parentage Fifteen per cent of the group were of native parentage and eighty-five per cent were of foreign parentage. The nationality distribution of foreign-born parents in this group is an accurate sampling of nationality statistics for 4,476 children committed as truants during 1918-1922 inclusive, throughout New York City. 3. Total number of Arraignments This group of 251 cases have been arraigned a total of 679 times, divided as follows: Truancy................................... 377 Juvenile Delinquency........................ 130 Misdemeanors.............................. 117 Felonies.................................. 55 124 cases or.49 had no court records subsequent to truancy. 127 cases or.51 had court records subsequent to truancy, as follows: 54-or.21 were juvenile delinquents 38-or.16 were arraigned as misdemeanants 35-or.14 were arraigned as felons 11 Thus,.30 of the cases weIP adult offenders. Criminologists estimate that one per cent of the population of the United States are offenders. On this basis, the group of 251 truants contributed, in proportion, 30 times as many adult offenders as does the population at large. 4. Proportion of Arraignments The felons were arraigned an average of five times, the misdemeanants an average of 4.3 times, the juvenile delinquents an average of three times and the truants an average of 1.4 during this 6 to 8 year period. Seriousness of offenses was accompanied by increased number of arraignments. 5. Proportion of Arraignments by Type of Offense The delinquents appeared in the Children's Court three times as often as the misdemeanants and one and one-half times as often as the felons. The truant who is arraigned before the Children's Court is thus less apt to be an adult offender than the truant who is not. The felons tended to commit felonies in greater number than misdemeanors, being arraigned twice as often for felonies as for misdemeanors. 6. Natwre of Delinquencies. The type of juvenile delinquencies committed by the juvenile delinquents, misdemeanants and felons would not have been any clue to their subsequent careers as more or less the same types of offenses were committed by all 3 groups. 7. Misdemeanors Of 117 misdemeanors, 33 were committed by felons, and 84 by misdemeanants, despite the almost equal size of the two groups of young men. 8. Nature of Felonies Eighty-one per cent of all felonies consisted of burglary, grand larceny and robbery, crimes involving violence or stealth. 9. Convictions Convictions for previous offenses among the felons were as great as among the other groups. The felons became serious offenders in spite of contact with courts and institutions. 10. Disposition of Cases The boys who became felons were in fewer number placed on probation, and were subjected to a greater number of institutional commitments than were the lesser offenders. II-Social Factors 1. Nativity of Parents and Offenders An average of.85 of the parents were foreign born and.82 of the offenders were native born. 12 The foreign born parents were approximately 25 per cent more numerous in the group studied than were foreign born adults in the total population of Manhattan Borough in 1920. Therefore, foreign parentage has significance as a factor influencing truant behavior. There were six per cent more foreign born boys in the 251 cases studied than in the foreign born juvenile population of Manhattan in 1920. The factor of foreign-born parentage was four times as frequent as that of foreign birth among the offenders. The group of offenders committing misdemeanors have a greater proportion of foreign parents and a greater proportion of native children than the truancy and juvenile delinquency groups. A comparison of nativity data on the 251 cases and on 4,476 cases committed to the Truant Schools during the period of 1918-1922 shows the present group to be an accurate sampling, for nativity. 2. Recency of immigration among parents of offenders One-third of the parents arrived before 1900 and two-thirds after 1900, for the truancy, juvenile delinquent, and misdemeanor groups. Half arrived before 1900 and half after 1900 for the felony group. The felonies were committed more, in proportion, by sons of persons acquainted with the ways of the land, whereas minor infractions of the law were committed in greater proportion by sons of newly arrived immigrants. 3. Number of Children in Family Parents whose sons were only truants and not more serious offenders had slightly smaller families than those whose sons were delinquent or criminal, the former average being 4.2 children and the latter 5.1 children. 4. Position in Order of Birth in relation to Offenses The second child had the worst record for juvenile delinquencies, misdemeanors and felonies. The child least likely to be delinquent was the next youngest. The youngest child is less likely to be truant than the oldest and intermediate children. Since most of the parents were of foreign birth and the earlier children were born when the families were least adjusted to the new country, the disproportionate amount of anti-social behavior of the earlier born might be attributed to the lack of social and economic adjustment of the recently arrived foreign born. The data on the felony group, however, does not fit this conclusion. The youngest child tended to commit more offenses than the next youngest. This is contrary to the other data, and indicates that the psychology and sociology of the youngest child may be different than that of the other brothers and sisters. 5. Income in Relation to Offenses Whether a boy will be a felon or only a truant did not seem to be affected by the size of the family income. In general, the whole 13 group of 251 cases were from families of very low income. Poverty alone therefore is not a cause of crime, as non-offenders and offenders both came from the same economic group. 6. Occupations of Mothers Forty-seven per cent of all mothers in this group of cases worked at jobs in addition to household tasks. Among the more serious offenders, the mothers did more home industry work than outside work. This seems contrary to common sense, but the explanation may be that the mothers working away from home made better provisions for the supervision of their children than those who merely added work to domestic duties. 7. Status of Home In.52 of the families, the home status was impaired by the death or absence of one parent. In.35 of the families, the home was broken, due to the death or absence of the father. In.17 of the families the mother was dead or absent. The felony group, contrary to expectation, has a greater proportion of unbroken homes than other groups. This would indicate that the study of felony must go deeper than is possible in studies of this type. The number of homes where the mother was missing was disproportionately high in the truancy group, and homes where the father was missing were above average in the misdemeanor group. 8. Degree of Housing Congestion There is no significant relation between the number of persons per room and severity of offenses. But in general, the group of 251 cases lived under conditions of housing congestion twice as great as the average poor in congested areas. Unspeakable congestion therefore must have had some relation to the truancy of this group, if not to severer offenses. 9. Philanthropic Aid Seventy-five per cent or 188 of the families were known to social service agencies. Sixty-three were not known. An average of 2.8 registrations were made, on the families given attention, and a total of 435 registrations were made. Financial and medical aid were most frequently given. Specialized recreation and employment guidance registrations were very few in number. Families whose sons were juvenile and adult offenders received more aid than families whose sons were only truant. 10. Mobility The families of juvenile delinquents tended to move less often than those of the other offense groups. This may account in part, fot the disproportionate number of gangs among juvenile delinquency cases. 14 11. Extent of Criminal Record Among Families of Offenders As severity of offenses among the cases increased, the number of families one or more of whose members had criminal records, increased. Thus,.43 of families of truants,.50 of families of juvenile delinquents,.66 of families of misdemeanants, and.83 of families of felons had criminal records. III-Behavior Factors 12. Onset of Truancy Truancy in all groups became a serious problem early in school life. Truants who became juvenile delinquents were serious truancy problems in grade 2-A, the misdemeanor and felony groups in 3-B, and the non-delinquent group in 3-A. The entire group became maladjusted to their school surroundings at an age so early that preventive work could undoubtedly have been carried out at that time with a great degree of success. 13. Degree of Truancy The children who became serious offenders were on the average not more frequently truant than the others and no prognosis on this basis could have been possible. 14. Conduct marks given by teachers The average conduct rating received by the group was "B" The misdemeanor group had somewhat less than its proper proportion of A's and the felons had slightly more than their proper proportion of C's. The differences were too small to be of much significance. These statistics show that the school ratings given by teachers were neither a real appraisal of the character nor a guide to the future conduct of the children. 15. Grade reached There was no differentiation between offense groups on the basis of school grade reached. 16. Gang Affiliation Fifty-four of the 25i cases are designated as having been gang members. The actual number who were gang members cannot be determined, as the other cases had no information as to whether gang affiliation existed or not. Of the cases reported on, the juvenile delinquency group was highest,,.40 being gang members. 17. Degree of Skill in Position Held Over half of the cases reported upon engaged in unskilled work and a negligible number in skilled work, with the exception of the juvenile delinquency group, who tended to enter better occupations than any of the others, the truants included. The benefits of Children's Court treatment are presumably the explanation for the vocational adjustment of some of the juvenile delinquents. While the degree of intelligence of the members of the group is not 15 known, and its capacity for training is therefore also unknown, there is evidence of economic waste and vocational maladjustment in the job careers of this group because of the frequency in change of position and the periods of unemployment. RECOMMENDATIONS Following its study of 201 Truants, the Sub-Commission ol Causes summarized its findings and recommendations as follows: "In the light of our study it would seem that the truant requires consideration from several angles. His intelligence, educational activities and aptitudes require the study of clinical psychologists. His emotional attitudes toward home, toward school, toward his playmates and toward his life plan, require the study of psychiatrists. A practical solution for his individual difficulties require, the co-operation of a staff of trained social workers. His physical condition * * * certainly needs the close scrutiny of physicians. Finally, the school administrator must be called into conference with other experts for an adaptation of the school program to meet the needs of these children. "These various techniques resolve themselves into the component elements of mental hygiene clinics. Such clinics are needed and should be established in the school systems of this state. These clinics, in our opinion, should preferably be established in the schools rather than be organized as separate agencies, inasmuch as their purpose is to meet only the needs of school children. Again, by being established within public schools, these clinics will serve as educational centers for the teaching staff, as well as therapeutic centers for the pupils. "The trend of thought in the Board of Education of New York City at the present time is toward providing probationary schools where problem children may be segregated, and be given various clinical examinations and treatment. The Sub-Commission on Causes, however, feels that more effective work can be done by providing clinical treatment under normal, every-day school conditions rather than under institutional conditions developing from a process of segregation of children presenting problems. "The recommendations of the Sub-Commission on Causes, therefore are: 1. The establishment within the school system of clinics for the medical, psychological and psychiatric study of children presenting behavior problems. 2. A revision of the school curriculum to mnset the needs or the large group of children who have not the capacity for ordinary academic training, due to defective mentality or emotional instability. 3. The two foregoing recommendations should be subjected to a careful analysis and evaluation by some competent agency either within or without the school system. Such a study should be undertaken soon after the initiation of the project itself. 4. The Bureau of Attendance, of the Board of Education of New York City should be provided with trained case workers 16 assigned limited case-loads, for the supervision of children who are persistently truant, or who present other behavior problems. 5. The funds necessary for the establishment of the facilities described in the four previous recommendations should come preferably from public sources, but should there be hindrances to the prompt availability of public funds, then it is strongly urged that generous private funds be made available for the initiation of these projects." \-The findings on the present study of 251 adolescents serve to convince the Sub-Commission on Causes of the accuracy of its earlier findings and lead it to repeat its earlier recommendations with still greater emphasis. The greater depth and breadth of the present study lead to the following additional recommendations: 1. Because of the defective home life, extent of criminality among parents and brothers, the number of broken homes, and the great proportion of working mothers among these 251 cases, any program for their supervision must include a subsidiary program of education and rehabilitation for their families. It is recommended that the work of visiting teachers be extended to include the families, or the service of family welfare societies be enlarged to do more intensive work with delinquent families. 2. Philanthropic agencies should become more aware of the needs of problem children in the families under their care and amplify their own program, either directly or through co-operation with the schools, for the prompt and early treatment of behavior disorders. 3. Since truancy begins early in school life, the school clinic procedure should be undertaken with younger as well as with older children and since conduct marks have been useless as an index of future behavior, there should be substituted a more significant description of behavior, based upon the principles of mental hygiene and psychology. This will require giving psychological and mental hygiene training to teachers. 4. Since the group of cases as a whole was seriously maladjusted vocationally, both with regard to type and regularity of employment, a practical program of vocational analysis, training and placement should supplant the present course of instruction in the higher school grades, for boys whose academic careers show no aptitude for abstract studies or for skilled trades and professions. MANNER OF SELECTION OF CASES The study is limited to 251 consecutive cases of boys committed to the Truant schools of New York City and released in October 1922, or prior thereto. Thus, from the time of their release until thle date of this investigation, at least five years had elapsed. The eases are all of boys who were residet in New York County (Manhattan Borough), at the time of commitment for truancy. Their records were drawn in consecutive order from the files of 17 the Bureau of Attendance of the New York City Board of Education. In order to complete the required number of cases, releases dating back to June, 1920, were drawn upon. The study represents, therefore, a cross section of truancy over a period of nearly two and a half years, in a single Borough of Greater New York. The limitation of cases to a single borough was partly for purposes of convenience, and helped materially in expediting the completion of the study through reduction of time needed for travel to homes and to agencies where case records were available. It should be borne in mind, in addition, that in selecting cases from Manhattan Borough, an urban area was chosen that for multiplicity of social agencies rendering medical, financial, child guidance, foster-care, employment, recreational, and many other forms of aid, is probably unrivaled anywhere in the United States, and perhaps in the world. It is not possible to evaluate the work done by these agencies, individually, but it ought to be remembered that most of the families were known to social agencies, and that their careers were presumably subject to whatever influence these agencies could exert upon them. METHODS USED IN THE STUDY Both the cross-section and the historical methods have been used in analyzing the materials here presented. In a measure, the study utilizes the sociological approach, this method being represented by 16 items of information on which tabulations have been made. The remaining items represent a behavior approach, and consist of 18 tabulations of the behavior record on the group of cases. The sociological items are concerned with the influence upon the boys of the behavior of the other members of the family, particularly with regard to criminal acts, and of the social and economic status of the family. The behavior items are concerned with the significance of boyhood behavior in relation to adolescent acts. The study was planned in three divisions: 1. A statistical analysis of the delinquencies, misdemeanors, and felonies committed by the group. 2. A statistical study of the social factors, and of the behavior factors accompanying: a. Cases in which truancy had no subsequent record of juvenile delinquency or criminality. b. Cases in which truancy was succeeded by juvenile delinquency. c. Cases in which truancy was succeeded by misdemeanors, or by juvenile delinquency and misdemeanors. d. Cases in which truancy was succeeded by felonies or juvenile delinquencies and felonies or by juvenile delinquencies, misdemeanors and felonies. 18 3. A narrative report on fifty cases, consisting of every fifth case in the group. SOURCES USED IN GATHERING DATA For the first division of the study, that of criminal career, a thorough search was made into all possible sources of authentic information. The conduct rating of each boy was obtained from a verbatim copy of the child's school record, on file at the Bureau of Attendance. Here also were obtained items on the child's behavior at the time of truancy, his bad habits, and other traits showing personality maladjustment. From the Criminal Identification Bureau of the New York Police Department were obtained the list of juvenile delinquency, misdemeanor and felony charges against each individual.* Where finger-prints were available, as a result of conviction, the finger-print records of the New York City Police Department were searched for additional criminal offenses committed under true names or under aliases. The records of the Police Department were then compared with those at the Bureaus of Criminal Identification of the City Department of Correction, the Magistrate's Court and the State Department of Correction. In this manner, all convictions and all other charges not listed under assumed names committed in the State of New York were obtained. For the second, or social division of the study, every possible source was checked for information. A detailed record was first compiled from the case files of the Bureau of Attendance. On a separate card for each boy were recorded the following items: First name, last name, father's first name, mother's first and maiden names, marital status of parents, present address, all previous addresses since the boy entered public school, the names and dates of birth of all brothers and sisters, the birth-date of the boy himself, the occupations of father and mother, race, religion, nativity, land of birth, of parents and boy, and special identifying details. These data cards were in duplicate. One copy was sent to the Police Department, and was used in gathering from the police files the data for division one. The other copy was sent to the Social Service Exchange, the confidential registration bureau for all social service agencies doing work in Manhattan Borough. From this Exchange was obtained the list of all social service agencies who had ever registered as being interested in any of the families in the group. This process was helpful in adding to the data in division one. Thus, sixteen cases not recorded by the Police Department were found to have been registered by the Probation Department of the Children's Court, as having had juvenile delinquency arraignments. * The police lists were subject to certain errors. In some instances, persons with similar names living in the same neighborhood were erroneously included, and in other instances, persons with other first names were added. These were eliminated. 19 Every social service agency was sent a form letter and a summary blank, and was requested to give a summary of the cases known to it. On certain agencies; who had done work with many of the families, this request placed a burden greater than could be met by their available staffs. In these instances, the cases were summarized by graduate students in sociology whose services were secured by cooperation with the Department of Education of New York University. These students summarized over a hundred cases. Vital information on the school history of the child, and on certain items in the family background were obtained from the Bureau of Attendance. A schedule containing more than twenty items was prepared on each child by the clerks of that Bureau. Data on the third division, the cases reported in narrative form were obtained through home visits by staff workers for the SubCommission on Causes. In every case an attempt was made to learn the present status of the boy. Not always could the boy himself be interviewed, although many return visits were made. The problem of tracing the families on the basis of old addresses was most difficult. The first attempt, made through obtaining the latest addresses known to the School Census Board of the Board of Education, failed because the majority of the homes had not been registered in recent years. The second plan, that of writing to the school attended in 1921 by the youngest child in the family, was more successful. In a number of cases, however, the children had transferred to other schools, and subsequent inquiries brought few returns. Certain addresses were obtained from the records of social service agencies. Still others were taken from current Police Department records of arraignments. Despite the use of all these methods, only half of the group of 251 cases were traced to present addresses. When all the data were compiled, they were arranged in case folders and analyzed by means of a schedule. This schedule contained thirty-four items selected as being most frequent in occurrence, and most likely to be available on all the cases. In many instances, however, information on every item was not to be had, and the tabulations, for the most part, had to be made on the basis of fewer than 251 cases. SECTION I - THE OFFENSES COMMITTED The statistics concerning the various offenses committed by this group of adolescents have been divided into four major groups depending upon the type of offense. Those who were merely committed to Truant School were classified as truants those who in addition to Truant School commitment had appeared in the Children's Court on delinquency charges were classified as delinquents, those who in addition to truancy and delinquency, or who merely in addition to truancy, had appeared in the Magistrates Courts were classed as misdemeanants, and those who, regardless of other 20 offenses, had appeared in the Court of General Sessions or had been charged with felonies were classed as felons. One exception to this classification must be noted. In several cases, boys who had been truant were later arraigned in the Magistrates Court for a single minor traffic violation. These few cases, because of the trivial nature of the misdemeanors, were allowed to remain in the truancy classification. Table I Present Age of All Offenders, by Groups Delin- AlisdeA(;- ' Total Truants I; | nisd Felons ]u.ei't 1,meanants 14................................. 1....................... l1.............................................. 1 1................................ 2 1 1........................................................ 1I.............................. 3 14.......3 6 200............................ 35 23 82 2 21)................................. 48 20 11 10 73 21 48 20 11 10 7 22.................................. 85 43 16 11 15 3................................. 36 16 3 12 5 Total cases.................... 251 124 54 38 35 Melia;t, v:r ~...................... 20.9 20.9 20.3 21.3 21.2 - - - - - - - - - -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRESENT AGE OF ALL OFFENDERS The ages of the offenders were obtained from the school record cards on file at the Bureau of Attendance. Since the school usually requires proof of age through birth certificate, the ages given here can be regarded as generally authentic. The comparison by age of the different groups is necessary in order that we should know whether we are dealing with groups of the same age or of different ages. If we are dealing with groups of different ages and if the groups committing the more serious offenses are considerably older than the other groups, then we cannot say whether the other groups will in time also commit serious offenses or not. If all of the groups, on the other hand, are of equal age then whatever differences in type of offense exist among them may be considered as true differences and the groups themselves as distinct in their normal responses to social situations. Table I shows that the median * age for truants was 20.9 yeails, for delinquents 20.3 years, for misdemeanants 21.3 years, and for felons 21.2 years. The group who have committed only juvenile delinquencies, therefore, is on the average a full year younger than the group who committed misdemeanors and felonies. The group who have not been in difficulties at all, that is the truancy group, are on the average three months younger than the misdemeanants and felons. These figures would indicate that the boys who had * The nedian has been used in most instances instead of the arithmetic mean, as being more representative of central tendencies of groups. 21 been charged with serious offenses were somewhat older than those in the delinquency group and approximately of an age with those in the truancy group. Thus, out of 251 cases, 197 or.78 were of the same approximate age. Of these, 124 were presumably adjusted and 73 were poorly adjusted. The remainder, 54 delinquency cases, were a year younger. The adjusted group, therefore, may be regarded as being truly different from the poorly adjusted group, in that both are of the same age but of altogether different type of career. The delinquency group, consisting of.27 of the cases, being a year younger, may during the coming year commit a number of more serious offenses, although this is somewhat problematical as over four yearst have elapsed since they were in the Children's Court, during which time they have not been arraigned on any charges. Table II Birthplace of Parents ProporCountry Number tion Native born: United States............................. 37.15 Foreign born: Italy.......................................... 141.58 R ussia........................................... 20.08 Austria........................................ 18.07 Ireland.......................................... 15.06 H ungary........................................ 3.01 Germany........................................ 3.01 Sw itzerland...................................... 3.01 S p ain........................................... 2*...... B erm uda........................................ 1...... British West Indies............................... 1*...... Czecho-Slovakia.................................. 1*...... C hin a........................................... 1 *...... Greece.......................................... 1*...... P olan d.......................................... *...... Sw eden......................................... 1 *...... U nknow n........................................ 2*...... Total cases................................ 251 1.00 SEX, RACE AND NATIONALITY The group of 251 cases consists of 248 boys and 3 girls. The. race division is, White, 243; Negro, 7; Chinese, 1. The birthplace of parents, shown in Table II, is given in.15 of the cases as native and in.85 as foreign-born. Italy leads with.58 of the foreign-born. In order to test the accuracy of this sampling of cases an analysis was made of the land of birth-of the parents of all truants committed in New York City, 1918 to 1922 inclusive. This group t The age limit of the Children's Court in New York city is 16 years. * Less than.01. 22 consisted of 4,476 cases. The nativity of parents in that group was as follows: Country Number Proportion United States.................................. 863.19 No record................................. 338.08 Other countries................................ 126.03 Italy......................................... 2,270.51 Ireland..........................286.06 R ussia...................................... 259.06 Austria................................. 138.03 Germany.................................. 74.01 Poland....................................... 62.01 England..................................... 32*........ Hungary...................................... 18*........ Scotland.................................... 10*....... 4,476 1.00 The comparison of our sample of 251 cases with the total of five years' intake of the truant schools shows Italy holding the lead in both instances. The other countries vary slightly in their proportions, Russia.02, and Austria.04. This table, therefore shows that the group now being studied is racially a quite accurate sample of the total admissions to the Truant Schools over a period of five years. TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRAIGNMENTS This group of 251 adolescents have been arraigned before the Bureau of Attendance, the Children's Court, Magistrates and Criminal Courts, a total of 679 times, divided as follows: Truancy 377, delinquency 130, misdemeanors 117, and felonies 55. Table III Total of Arraignments, by Groups Total Truants Delin- Misde- Felons quents meanants Cases.............................. 251 124 54 38 35 Arraignments....................... 679 179 161 165 174 Average number of arraignments.............. 1.4 3 4.3 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~1.4 3 _ Table III shows that not only do the four groups differ in severity of their offenses but also in the number of their arraignments. The truants were arraigned for truancy on the average of 1.4 times, the delinquents were arraigned for combined truancy and delinquency on the average of three times per individual, the misdemeanants were arraigned for all offenses on the average of 4.3 per person and the felons an average of five times per person. In other words, increased seriousness of offense was accompanied by increased number of court arraignments. * Less than.01. 23 Table IV Proportion of Arraignments by Type of Offense TRUANTS DELINQUENTS MISDE- FELONS MEANANTS OFFENSE Truancy............ 124 179 1.4 54 85 1.6 38 60 1.6 35 53 1.5 Misdemeanor.......................... 38 84 2.2 35 33.94 Felony.............. 35 55 1.6 1 124[ 1791~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PROPORTION OF ARRAIGNMENTS BY TYPE OF OFFENSE In Table III was indicated the total number of arraignments for each group. In table IV is shown the nature of the arraignments and their proportion among the different groups. It will be seen that there is no practical difference in the number of truancy commitments among the different groups, the average per individual ranging from 1.4 for the truancy group to 1.6 for the delinquent and misdemeanant groups. The number of delinquency arraignments is much more significant. The children whose delinquency career ended in the Children's Court appeared on the average of 1.4 times. The children who became misdemeanants, appeared on the average of.55 times, and those who became felons appeared.94 times. These figures indicate that the child who appears in the Children's Court more frequently is less likely to become a serious offender later, than if he appears less often. This would seem to be an indication of the efficacy of the Children's Court in stemming the tide of criminality. As for misdemeanors, the misdemeanant group committed on the average of 2.2 apiece whereas the felons committed only.94 apiece. The felons were arraigned on the average for felonies 1.6 times per person. The felons therefore tended to be arraigned for felonies almost twice as often as they were arraigned for misdemeanors. DESCRIPTION OF OFFENSES The legal description of charges in terms of Grand Larceny, Petit Larceny, etc., gives only a very formal picture of the difficulties that these young people have encountered in their process of growth. In order to give a more real picture of the type of things they have done, the various offenses committed by each individual have been classified according to not only the charge but the offense, which in many instances was given on the police record in concrete terms, such as "crap game" or "turning on fire hydrant in street." These tabulations have been given by 24 groups in the following order: truants, delinquents, nmisdemeanants and felons. The offenses are given chronologically for each individual in the three latter groups. In this manner the delinquency history of each of the 251 cases has been made available. TRUANTS The 124 truants were committed a total of 179 times; 70 or.56 were committed once; 53 or.43 were committed twice, and one boy was committed three times. The three girls in the sampling of 251 cases were each committed once. 25 RECORD OF ARRAIGNMENTS FOR JUVENILE DELINQUENCY GROUP Each offense represents a different child, except where offenses are bracketed, indicating successive arraignments Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment,. I... 1908 1906 1906 1909 1909 { 1911 1911 1910 1911 1906 1906 1906 1906 1906 1909 1907 1906 1906 1908 1908 1906 1909 1908 1908 1906 1906 1906 1906 1906 1910 1907 1907 1909 1906 1910 1907 1910 1908 { 1907 1907 1910 1906 I 6- 9-16 Juvenile delinquency.. 6-27-21 Juvenile delinquency.. I 10-21-16 4- 7-23 8-27-20 1-14-25 10-27-25 5- 9-19 1- 3-19 6-16-20 6-16-20 6-25-20 11-24-21 1-28-20 3- 3-25 7-19-21 6- 7-16 3-17-17 4- 9-20 4- 7-23 5-26-20 12- 1-22 10-25-19 3-29-19 10- 2-18 9- 7-18 7-22-22 6- 2-17 6- 8-17 11-23-23 1-19-22 12-22-20 11- 7-19 7-25-18 12-11-17 12-22-19 10- 6-25 4-22-20 5- 6-16 11-12-19 5-16-26 11- 6-20 Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency..] Juvenile delinquency.. ] Juvenile delinquency.. Attempt to steal lamp and blankets from wagon...... Probation........... Disorderly conduct......... Suspended sentence.............. Entered place and broke number of articles............ Probation........... Stole tools................. Probation........... Broke show-case of drug store and stole safety razors.... Catholic Protectory.............. Stole pocketbook........... Probation........... Stole machinery from apartment house.............. Probation........... Abusive language to mother. Juvenile asylum.. Ungovernable child......... Probation........... Violation of parole. Juvenile asylum.. Staying away from o-m' e, Jewish Protectory Forced entrance to store and stole groceries............ Probation........... Burglary, butcher shop..... New York CathoStole a horse and wagon, lic Protectory - - I.... value, $300.............. Probation....... Stealing copper wire........ Probation........... Stealing oranges............ Catholic ProtecIncorrigible, ran away from tory.............. home.... Probation. Burglary, br'o'k'e-'o'p'e'n'... ga's, m eter................... Probation........... Ran away from home, slept in hallway............... Catholic Protectory.............. Running. away from home... Discharged. Burglary.................. Dischargc.......... Stealing from store......... Probation.......... Burglary.................. Probation........... Attempted burglary. Probation....... Selling papers and annoying passengers............... Discharged...... Entered flat and stole $27 and jewelry.............. Probation....... Stole pigeons.............. House of Refuge.. Stole cheese, value $55...... Sentence suspended............ Burglary.................. Sentence susStole letter from letter-box pended............ containing money order... No disposition....... Stole horse and wagon...... Sentence susLarceny of canvas bag con- pended............ taining auto repairs....... Discharged.......... Setting fire to papers in pub1i e school................ Probation............ Stealing pocketbook, value $48..................... D ischarged.......... Simple assault........Probation........... Stole two boxes of crackers.. Probation........... Stealing flowers from park... Not held............ Breaking globe on lamp-post. Probation........... Burglary, lof t.............. Probation........... 461e purse from coat pocket. Probation........... Stealing in company with other boys............... Forced entrance to building and stole merchandise, value, $500.............. Attempt to steal lamp and blankets from wagon...... Disorderly conduct......... Entered place and broke number of articles............ Stole tools................. Broke show-case of drug store and stole safety razors.... Stole pocketbook.......... Stole machinery from apartment house.............. Abusive language to mother. Ungovernable child......... Violation of parole.......... Staying away from home.... Forced entrance to store and stole groceries............ Burglary, butcher shop..... Stole a horse and wagon, value, $300............ Stealing copper wire........ Stealing oranges............ Incorrigible, ran away from home.................... Burglary, broke open gas meter................... Ran away from home, slept in hallway............... Running away from home... Burglary.................. Stealing from store......... Burglary.................. Attempted burglary..... Selling papers and annoying passengers............... Entered flat and stole $27 and jewelry.............. Stole pigeons............. Stole cheese, value $55...... Burglary................. Stole letter from letter-box containing money order... Stole horse and wagon...... Larceny of canvas bag containing auto repairs....... Setting fire to papers in public school.............. Stealing pocketbook, value $48..................... Simple assault............. Stole two boxes of crackers.. Stealing flowers from park... Breaking globe on lamp-post. Burglary, loft.............. Stole purse from coat pocket. Probation........... Probation........... Probation....... Suspended sentence.......... Probation....... Probation....... Catholic Protectory......... Probation....... Probation....... Juvenile asylum.. Probation....... Juvenile asylum.. Jewish Protectory Probation....... New York Catholic Protectory.. Probation....... Probation...... Catholic Protectory.......... Probation....... Probation....... Catholic Protectory.......... Discharged...... Discharged..... Probation....... Probation....... Probation....... Discharged...... Probation....... House of Refuge.. Sentence suspended........ Sentence suspended........ No disposition... Sentence suspended........ Discharged...... Probation....... Discharged...... Probation....... Probation....... Not held....... Probation....... Probation....... Probation....... I 26 Record of Arraignments for Juvenile Delinquency Group -concluded Each offense represents a different child, except where offenses are bracketed, indicating successive arraignments Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment I. 1907 1906 1910 1906 ( 1906 1 1906 1909 1912 1907 1907 1907 f 1905 1905 1905 1006 1907 I 11)07 1909 1906 1908 1 907 1907 1909 1909 1906 1906 11906 1907 1907 1905 1908 1908 1908 4-12-22 Juvenile delinquency.. 12- 3-17 9-23-21 5-19-21 1-26-20 2-26-20 3-18-25 1-29-24 12-13-19 6-30-19 7-10-19 5-26-18 11-10-19 3-10-20 9-24-19 5-18-22 5-24-23 4-13-22 5-30-23 9-15-24 10-13-18 2-18-21 10- 2-23 19-23-25 3-16-20 8- 9-22 9-18-25 3-30-22 11- 2-22 8-16-19 12-18-24 10-15-24 2-26-24 5-21-24 Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Sentence suspended... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Attempt to pass forged check for $20.................. Trespassing on railroad tracks ] Grand larceny............. Cut complainant with pen knife.......... Stole clothing and jewelry, value $55................ ] Stole hat and coat from public school................ Burglary.................. ] Burglary, forcing window and stealing chairs............ I Violation of parole.......... Trespassing on railroad tracks I Flying pigeons on roof...... Burglary................. ] Entered through skylight and stole three pigeons........ S Stealing box of apples, value $10.................. Ran away from home....... 1 Stole lamp from subway.... Loud and boisterous........ I Taking package from wagon. ( Attempt to pick pocket.... ( Forcing entrance to grocery store and stealing $30..... J Stealing................... I Violation of parole.......... I Breaking windows in school. I Threatened boy if he did not allow act of sodomy on him Violation of parole.......... Incorrigible, staying away at night................... ( Violation of parole.......... ( Violation of parole.......... Incorrigible................ Robbery, stealing food-stuffs from grocery store........ S Violation of parole.......... Violation of parole.......... Incorrigible................ Violation of parole.......... Sentence suspended........ Discharged...... Catholic Protectory........ Discharged.......... Probation...... Probation....... Discharged...... No disposition... Discharged...... $1 fine.......... Dismissed....... Probation...... Sentence suspended........ rewish Protectory. Probation....... Sentence suspended........ Discharged...... Catholic Protectory.......... Catholic Protectory.......... rewish Protectory Probation....... Discharged..... Probation.......? Catholic Protectory.......... Catholic Protectory.......... Catholic Protectory......... Probation....... Children's Village. Sentence suspended........ New York Catholic Protectory.. Probation....... Supervision, probation officer.. 'robation....... 27 RECORD OF ARRAIGNMENTS FOR MISDEMEANANT GROUP BY INDIVIDUAL CASES Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment ment. 1906 1 12-13-18 Juvenile delinquency.. 1907 1905 1905 1905 1906 1906 1907 1907 1909 1907 1906 1905 1909 1906 1905 1909 1907 1907 1-20-25 Unlawful entry....... 6- 1-22 Disorderly conduct... I I I Entered apartment house.... Throwing missile from truck on passersby............ I Burglary.................. 9- 7-27 4-15-26 4- 2-15 3-14-17 3- 9-22 6-22-22 7-12-22 4 -3-23 9-27-23 12-31-23 12-14-24 12 -2-24 11-13-25 3- 2-22 9-22-22 7- 7-23 5-17-26 2- 2-26 4-19-24 7-28-26 4-30-20 3- 3-24 11-26-24 5-15-25 9-25-24 12-16-22 12- 1-25 7-29-26 7-12-26 8 -1-22 11-10-22 12-14-22 6- 3-24 10-27-24 1- 9-25 3-31-25 5-14-25 7- 9-25 10- 1-25 12- 2-25 3-22-25 5- 4-20 4-12-22 Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Violation Education Law.............. Violation Education Law.............. Disorderly conduct.. Assault, reduced to disorderly conduct.... Grand larceny, reduced to disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Violation traffic law.. Juvenile delinquency.. Violation Corporation ordinance.......... Violation Corporation ordinance......... Volstead Act......... Disorderly conduct... Violation traffic law... Juvenile delinquency.. Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Petit larceny......... Assault..............? Catholic Protectory.......... Penitentiary..... Sentence suspended........ Sentence suspended Fined $1........ Discharged...... Probation....... Crap game................ Trespassing............... Larceny of watch, value $4.50 I Failed to attend school...... Sentence suspended........ Failed to attend school...... Turning on fire hydrant in street................... Truant school........ Discharged.................................... 3 months, work house......... Trespassing on Navy ground. Fighting in street........... Abusive language......... Speeding.................. Disorderly conduct......... Obstructing sidewalk with push-cart................ Peddler, no license.......... Possession of wine.......... Bookmaking............... Shooting crap.............. Speed 40................. Associating with immoral persons.................... Obstructing traffic.......... Speed 27.................. Stealing and breaking open slot machine............. Striking complainant on head $10 fine......... Discharged...... $5 fine.......... 30 days, work house......... $25 fine......... Probation....... Sentence suspended........ $10 fine or 10 days Discharged...... Discharged..... $1 fine.......... $25 fine......... Discharged, sent to truant school $3 fine.......... $25 fine......... Discharged...... 10 days, workhouse........ Sentence suspended........ Discharged...... $50 fine......... $25 fine......... $1 fine.......... Sentence suspended........ $2 fine.......... $5 fine.......... $50 fine......... $5 fine.......... $4 fine.......... $5 fine.......... Sentence suspended........ Probation....... Sentence suspended....... Discharged...... Acquitted....... Sentence suspended to complete truancy commitment... Disorderly conduct... Stealing ride on street car... Disorderly conduct... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Juvenile delinquency.. Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct.. Petit larceny......... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Cards..................... Speed.................... Speed.................... Passing street car on left.... No name on wagon.................................. Obstructing sidewalk........ Speed 30................. Obstructing view........... Restricted street........... Obstructing traffic.......... Stole package 7 cartons cigarettes................ Improper suggestion........ Forcing through turnstile.... 2 bottles of milk........... Throwing bricks from roof... Robbing Chinese laundryman.................... 28 Record of Arraignments for Misdemeanant Group By Individual Casescontinued Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment 1907 1905 1907 1906 1905 1906 1905 1905 1906 1906 1905 1905 1907 1907 1908 1908 1906 1905 1906 9-21-24 6- 5-27 11- 9-27 4-28-25 5-11-18 11-12-24 9-10-25 11-12-18 4-20-22 5-25-22 7-22-22 2-12-18 Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Volstead Act......... Petit larceny......... Juvenile delinquency.. Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Juvenile delinquency.. Violation Education Law.............. Violation Education Law.............. Disorderly conduct... Juvenile delinquency.. Shooting crap.............. Vagrancy........................................... Stole sweater value $50...... Felonious assault...........?......................... Crap game................. Violated probation......... Discharged...... 30 days, workhouse......... Pending......... Sentence suspended........ Sentence suspended........ $2 fine.......... Sentence suspended........ Discharged...... Sentence suspended........ 2-11-26 Disorderly conduct... 9-14-19 3-30-20 11-14-22 7-28-23 Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Violation traffic law... Disorderly conduct... 10-26-23 Volstead law......... 1- 7-24 4-30-24 2-19-25 2- 5-24 1-29-27 3- 2-22 1-21-25 6-19-25 8- 5-25 8-17-25 9-21-25 12-23-23 6-17-22 5- 6-24 5-19-25 5-20-16 10-18-22 8-27-24 9-15-24 12-11-25 7-15-24 11- 4-24 5- 9-26 9-20-26 11- 3-21 1-21-22 11- 5-24 8- 4-25 2-14-19 4-16-16 Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Volstead law......... Disorderly conduct... Violation Corporation ordinance......... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Petit larceny......... Violation traffic law... Violation traffic law... Juvenile delinquency.. Violation Corporation ordinance.......... Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Petit larceny......... Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Petit larceny......... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Crap game............... Broke window and stole $50 worth of crackers......... Malicious mischief, broke window................. Stole from store............ Burglary.................. Failed to stop on signal..... Crap game................ Possession of 10 cases of whiskey................. No mirror................. Wrong side of street........ Restricted street.......... Improper turn...................................... Entering theatre thru exit... No chauffeur's license....... No public cart license....... Restricted street........... Failed to keep to right...... Speed 25................. No operator's license........ Stealing electric bulbs....... Restricted street........... Dense smoke............... Breaking window........... Driving advertising wagon, no permit.................. Sleeping on roof............ Annoying complainant...... Loitering in toilet.......... Stealing chestnuts value $15. Malicious mischief.................................... Stealing auto as a " lark "... Larceny of coat from auto... Burglary; attempt to force door of grocery store...... Annoyance................ Violation of parole.......... Soliciting baggage.......... Begging on street........... Minor offense.............. Sentence suspended........ Probation....... Probation....... $4 fine.......... Sentence suspended........ No disposition... $2 fine.......... $2 fine.......... $2 fine.......... $2 fine.......... Discharged...... $2 fine.......... $25 fine......... $5 fine......... $3 fine.......... $2 fine.......... $25 fine......... $10 fine......... Sentence suspended........ $3 fine.......... $5 fine.......... Probation....... Sentence suspended........ $5 fine or 5 days.. $10 fine or 10 days Sentence suspended....... Discharged...... No disposition... 10 days, workhouse......... Reformatory..... Probation....... Probation....... $5 fine.......... House of Refuge. Discharged...... Catholic Protectory.......... Committed to jail for several weeks Discharged...... Paroled............. Truant school....... Discharged.......... 7-?-25 I?................... 9-27-20 Juvenile delinquency.. Remains away from home... 5-13-26 Violated Corporation ordinance.......... No name and address on I_ A wagon...................3 fine.......... 29 Record of Arraignment for Misdemeanant Group By Individual Casesconcluded Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment 1906 10-19-26 Disorderly conduct... Interfering with wagon... *...?............ 11- 1-26 Assault, 3rd degree............................ Discharged..........? Disorderly conduct............................. Sentence suspended............ 1906 3-28-18 Juvenile delinquency.. Stole quantity of labels and fountain pens............ Catholic Protectory.............. 1-25-22 Juvenile delinquency.. Attempt to force entrance to apartments.............. Catholic Protectory............. 11- 2-22 Burglary (pleaded petit larceny)........ Tried to force rear door of tailor shop............... New York City Reformatory....... 1907 2- 7-25 Disorderly conduct.. Loitering with chisel (burglar's tools).............. House of Refuge...... 1925 None............... Unprovoked assault upon an officer in an effort to escape House of Refuge......... Transferred to Elmira Reformatory.............. 30 RECORD OF ARRESTS FOR FELONY GROUP BY INDIVIDUAL CASES Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment..l I 1906 1905 1905 1906 1909 1907 1907 4- 1-21 Burglary............ Burglary of store........... Penitentiary......... 7-23-21 Grand larceny....... Stole auto................ Discharged.......... 2-25-23 Burglary............?........................Probation, two I...years............. 8-12-20.................... Maintaining live pigeons, no permit................. 5-23-22 12-22-21 Disorderly conduct... Sodomy on 11 year old boy.. Sentence suspended........ New York City reformatory.... Violation Education law............... Failed to attend school...... I 11- 7-24 Attempt grand larceny Riding in stolen auto, also violation of parole.......... 1 - 8-21 Juvenile delinquency.. Violation parole (probably theft)................... 12-10-20 Grand larceny....... Stole horse and wagon, value $430.................... 3-22-19 8-?-26 6-13-27 8-20-20 11-23-26 3-29-23 4- 3-23 3-10-24 12- 5-24 3-26-24 Juvenile delinquency.. Forced entrance to flat...... Grand larceny....... Rape.............. Juvenile delinquency.. Robbery............ Disorderly conduct... Burglary............ Unlawful entry....... Burglary............ Carrying concealed weapon........... Burglary........ Juvenile delinquency.. 9-29-25 1908 10-21-19 Stealing auto.............. Attempt rape on an 8-year old girl..................... Hitching on cars............................................................. Entered flat............... Attempted larceny..........?......................... Carried revolver............ Entered apartment......... Stole keys and rubber stamps value $2................. Stole $315................. Larceny................. Burglary.................. Attempt to steal money..... Burglary of store.......... At point of revolver stole $85 Stole candy................ Forced door and stole cigars, value $140............... Burglary, bank book and $1.35.................. Sentence suspended...... Sentence supended and returned to Reformatory..... Truant school, transferred to Catholic Protectory........ Sentence suspended........ Catholic Protectory.......... Probation....... Reformatory..... No disposition... Discharged...... Probation....... New York City Reformatory Discharged...... Sentence suspended........ Sentence suspended........ Penitentiary..... Probation....... Reformatory..... Probation....... Catholic Protectory.......... Discharged...... Discharged...... Discharged...... Probation....... 1906 1906 1906 10-27-26 Grand larceny....... 3-26-15 Juvenile delinquency.. 5-16-20 Juvenile delinquency.. 7-24-23 2-27-23 3-28-24 3-27-16 6- 9-23 Disorderly conduct... Burglary............ Robbery............ Juvenile delinquency.. Burglary........... Discharged.......... 12-26-21 Juvenile delinquency.. 8-18-25 Attempted felonious assault............ Threw brick at officer....... Sentence suspended........ 30 days, workhouse......... Discharged...... New York City Reformatory... 30 days, City Jail, Patterson, N. J, 10- 9-26 8- 6-24 3- 8-26 1905 4- 5-22? 11- 7-22 1906 5-28-19 1-22-25 6-27-25 Grand larceny.....?......................... Burglary........... Store................ Disorderly conduct... Disorderly person......... Violation Education law.............. Violation Education law....................................... Truant school.... Felonious assault............................... Juvenile delinquency.. Throwing stones................................ No chauffeur's license....... Sentence suspended............ Discharged.......... Probation.......... 2 days, workhouse............ $1 fine.............. Disorderly conduct... Crap ganme............. 31 Record of Arrests for Felony Group by Individual Cases-continued Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment 1906 1909 1906 1909 1907 1906 1906 1906 1906 1907 1905 1906 4-12-25 1-12-24 11- 4-20 11- 9-25 2-23-26 9-29-26 9-29-26 I I I I I JI Felonious assault.... Volstead Act......... Juvenile delinquency.. Wayward minor...... Burglary, forcedwindow... Incorrigible, refuses to atten< continuation school...... d Probation........... Violation Education law............... Failed to attend school..... Disorderly conduct... Grand larceny....... Impairing morals of minor... Stole money from complainant's pocket, $17......... Discharged.......... Discharged......... Probation.......... Sentence suspended........ House of Refuge.. New York City Reformatory... Suspended sentence......... Discharged...... 10-16-22 3-16-25 8-11-16 11-16-23 6-17-24 10-11-26 6-20-19 3-30-23 Rape....................................... Attempted burglary... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. 3rand larceny....... Forced window............. Destroying tent on playground.................. Violation of parole.......... Fugitive from justice........ Stealing $2,512............. Forcing skylight and stealing tools............................................ Juvenile delinquency.. Burglary, 3rd degree.. 2-16-23 Burglary, 3rd degree........................... 5-7 -27 Homicide............ (auto)..................... 2-24-15 11-11-16 10- 4-20 10-18-22 4-10-23 2-18-26 2-23-26 3-22-26 6-21-26 8-22-26 11- 1-19 8-27-23 4-24-25 4-20-25 7-31-21 8-14-24 11-11-25 5-3 -23 5-31-18 12-17-18 7-12-22 2-14-23 5- 2-26 7-20-26 3-28-27 8- 8-20 6-25-21 5-14-22 I Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Petit larceny......... Robbery............ Robbery............ Robbery............ Robbery............ Robbery............ Robbery............ Attempted robbery... Juvenile delinquency.....Robbery............... Robbery............ Juvenile delinquency.. Disorderly conduct... Burglary............ Robbery............ Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Robbery............ Disorderly conduct... Attempted grand larceny, 2nd......... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Disorderly conduct... Attended moving pictures alone................... Incorrigible................ Stole pin and money........ Escaped from training school. Possession of narcotics...... Violation of parole.......... Cash and jewelry, value $650 Burglary................ Crap game................ Stole quantity of leather.... Robbed checks, $1,317 and $9,467..... Stole lead pipe from buildings Petit larceny............... Larceny of commercial auto. Attempted robbery................................... Lush work................. Attacked man and attempted robbery................. Possessing revolver......... Violation parole............ Creating disturbance near hom e................... I Discharged...... House of Refuge.. House of Refuge.. Napanoch Institute.......... Probation....... Sentence suspended....... Probation........ Dismissed grand jury.......... Discharged...... Probation....... Discharged...... Sentence suspended........ Reformatory.... Discharged...... Discharged...... Discharged..... Discharged..... Discharged...... Returned....... Reformatory.... Returned to Reformatory..... Dismissed...... Discharged...... $2 fine.......... Discharged...... Discharged...... Probation....... Catholic Protectory.......... Probation....... House of Refuge.. Discharged...... 4 months workhouse......... Penitentiary......... Probation........... Probation........... I 8-15-26 Disorderly conduct.... Loud language............. 6- 4-22 8-24-26 5- 5-25 10-?-27 I I I [ Violation Education law.............. Attempted robbery... Violation traffic law.. Grand larceny....... Sentence suspended........ Sentence suspended........ Truant School.... Elmira Reformatory.......... $3 fine.......... Penitentiary..... Improper turn............. Stealing tires from auto..... 32 Record of Arrests for Felony Group by Individual Cases-concluded Year Date of of arraign- Charge Offense Disposition birth ment mI - enI t 1906 1909 1909 1906 1905 1907 1909 1907 1906 8- 9-24 8-31-26 5-28-19 12-19-21?? 22?? 26 12- 7-22 1-18-25 4- 9-25 12-28-25 1927 5- 3-18 6- 4-18 11-24-22 1-26-23 9- 4-24 11-16-25 2-24-26 Disorderly conduct... Grand larceny....... Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency.. Robbery 1st, grand larceny 2nd........ Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Grand larceny....... Grand larceny.......................Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Juvenile delinquency.. Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Disorderly conduct... Robbery............ Robbery, 3rd degree.. Shooting crap....................................... Stole bottle of chili sauce from auto.............. Broke window and stole $50 Stole shoes and jewelry....?......................... Struck girl................. Breaking plate glass window........................... Stole pocket-book.......... Escaped New York City Reformatory............... Stealing goods, value $3.60... Stealing auto.............. Bad companions........... Violation of probation...... Violation of probation....... Discharged...... Sentence suspended........ Discharged...... Sentence suspended....... Catholic Protectory Napanoch Institute.......... Catholic Protectory......... Discharged.... New York State Reformatory... New York City Reformatory... Sent to Elmira... Discharged..... Catholic Protectory.......... Probation...... New York City Reformatory... Returned to penitentiary....... Dismissed by grand jury..... State prison, 5-10 years; transferred to Elmira Probation....... Delivered to police, White Plains......... Discharged...... $3 fine.......... 2 years probation Elmira Reformatory.......... Discharged...... Discharged...... Acquitted....... Sentence suspended....... Penitentiary.... New York City Reformatory... Dismissed, grand jury................................ 3-17-19 Juvenile delinquency.. Burglary................ 6- 9-26 Grand larceny.......?............... 3- 4-24