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W O ./O ò 1 ________________ _______________________________ U. s. departm ent of labor JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary CHILDREN’S BUREAU GRACE ABBOTT. Chief THE FEDERAL COURTS AND THE DELINQUENT CHILD A STUDY OF THE METHODS' OF DEALING WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE VIOLATED FEDERAL LAWS By RUTH BLOODGOOD Bureau Publication N o. 103 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1922 S f c a . '] https://fraser.stlouisfed.org ¡>3 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 3 k * ,7 li S i c %\ D3 CO N TEN TS. S Page. Letter o f transmittal__________________________________________________________ C hapter I. Juvenile offenders against Federal laws__________ ___ ___ __________________ Purpose and method o f study_________________________________________ Legal provisions and present practice__________________________________ . Jurisdiction of Federal and State courts in juvenile cases_____ Organization and procedure of Federal courts in juvenile cases Expedients used in juvenile cases_________________________________ Institutions receiving juveniles on Federal commitments_______ C hapter 1-10 1 3-10 3 3 6 9 II. Children violating postal law s__________________ Sources o f information______________________ Number o f cases reported___________________ Types o f postal offenses______________________ Ages of offenders_____________________________ Types of courts_______________________________ Place of residence_________________ __ ____ ____ Dispositions of cases__________________________ Types of dispositions________________ _ Dispositions and types of offenses______ Ages and types of dispositions__________ Length o f commitment__________________ Indictment________________________________ Time between apprehension and disposition. D etention______________________________________ Number detained__________________________ Type o f detention._______________________ Length o f detention______________________ Social history_________________________________ Previous delinquency records___________ School attendance________________________ Em ploym ent_________________ ____ _________ Home conditions and mode of living___ C hapter v *------------ 11-33 11 11 12 -----*:____ 13 ---- ------13 -----------17 _______ ü 18-22 -----------18 --------20 20 -----------21 -----------22 22 -------------- 24r-27 ________ 24 24 ------____ 26 ------------ 27-33 28 -----------29 -----------29 —--------31 ---------------------------- III. Children committed to institutions___ ____________________ _______________ ___ 34-44 National Training School for Boys__________ L __.____________________ _I_ 35-42 Number of boys committed and types of offenses________________ 35 Ages of boys committed___________________________________________ ' 37 Term of commitment, and parole____________________________________ Detention prior to commitment________________ ___________ __________ Previous delinquency records____ ,____________ _____ ____ ___ ________ School and employment records________________ Social history_____________________________ in https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 37 39 40 44 42 CONTENTS. IV Children committed to institutions— Continued. Page. Two State reformatories------------------------------------------------------------------- -j------ 42-44 Number of boys committed and types of offenses-------- ---------------42 Ages of boys committed--------------------- )-------------------------------------- -— Term o f commitment, and parole---------------------------------- 1-------------Detention prior to commitment— .----------- — — ---------------------------- -Previous delinquency records--------------------------------------- - - ---------- -— School and employment records------------------- — -------— — - — ---------- 43 43 43 44 44 C h a p t e r IV. Children violating Federal laws in eight localities------ — - - 45-63 Number of cases in each locality---------------------------------- — - — -,------ — | 45 District o f Columbia------------------------------------------------- ------------------ — 46- 47 Number and types o f cases------------------- ,------ ♦----------------------- - - ------ 46 46 Types o f court, and ages of children--------------------------------------------- — Dispositions__________________________;------------------------------------- — T -47 Time between apprehension and disposition; detention-------------47 M arylan d_________________________________ __________ _______________ _____ : 48-49 Number and types of cases---------------------------------------------------------------48 — — 48 Types o f courts and ages of children— _------------------------ -— Dispositions_____________________________________;--------— -— — — 48 Time between apprehension and disposition ; detention---------------49 Eastern district o f Pennsylvania------------------------ 1---------- - ------------------:— 49-51 Number and types of cases------------------------------------- — — — --------- — 49 50 Types of courts and ages of children----------------------------------------------Dispositions-------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------- ‘-------50 Time between apprehension and disposition ; detention---------------51 Eastern and southern districts of New York---------------- 1------------- -— 51-55 51 Number and types of cases--------------------------------------------------- -------— Types of courts and ages of children---------------------------------------------52 Dispositions___________________________________________________________ 52 Time between apprehension and disposition ; detention— — ,-------54 Massachusetts------------------------------------------------------------------------ T------------------ 55-57 Number and types of cases------------------- ------------------- ,----------------------55 Types o f courts and ages of children-----------------------------*------'L ------55 Dispositions___________________________________________________ 56 Time between apprehension anddisposition-------- — — — -------------57 Indiana_______________ ,---------------------------------------------------------- ---------—t - - — 57-58 Number and types o f cases, types o f courts, and ages of children57 Dispositions____________________ ___________________— .---------- ----------57 Time between apprehension and disposition; detention------ 1—— 58 Northern district of Illinois--------------------------------------------------------------—— 58-61 Number and types of cases----------------------------------------- è--------------- i — 58 Types o f courts and ages of children----------------fffei-------— -— 59 Dispositions------------------------- --------------------------------- --------------Sgjj-----------59 Time between apprehensionand disposition; detention-------------60 Previous delinquency records— ----------------------- -------- -— -------- - — 61 Illustrative cases_________ __________ _________1---------- ------------------------------ 61 C hapter V . General conclusions______________________________ __________________ __________ 64-71 Number of children violating Federal laws— _— ---------- -------------— J— 64 Methods used in children’s cases by Federal authorities------ -1---------65 Possibilities for more adequate treatment---------- — ------------------------------- 68-71 Reference to State courts----------------------------------------- 1---------- ------ —— 68 Modification o f Federal procedure in children’s cases-----------------69 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis L E T TE R OF T R A N S M IT T A L . U n it e d S tates D e p a r t m e n t of L abor, C h i l d r e n ’s B ureau, Washington, November 19, 1921. S i r : I transmit herewith a report entitled “ The Federal Courts and the Delinquent Child: A Study o f the Methods of Dealing with Children Who Have Violated Federal Laws.” The report was pre pared by Ruth Bloodgood, o f the Social Service Division o f the Childen’s Bureau, with the assistance and under the direction o f Katharine F. Lenroot, who has written the last chapter. The Post Office Department and the Department o f Justice have assisted the bureau by making their records available for the purpose o f the study, and in many other ways in securing and interpreting the facts on which the report is based. It will doubtless surprise many who have been interested in the development o f the juvenile-court system to find that our Federal laws, like the old common criminal law, makes no distinction be tween adults and children. In consequence little children are still proceeded against in the United States courts by the ordinary method o f arrest, detention in jail with adults pending arraignment for bail, indictment by the grand jury, and final discharge or sen tence o f fine or imprisonment. AH students o f this subject will appreciate, as do most o f the judges and officers o f the Department o f Justice and the Post Office Department, the injustice to the individual child, and more im portant still, the community loss in this unscientific method of handling juvenile offenders. Respectfully submitted. G race A Hon. J am es J. D a v is , Secretary of Labor. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis bbott, C h ief. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis THE FEDERAL COURTS AND THE DELINQUENT CHILD. C H A P T E R I. JU V E N IL E O FF E N D E R S A G A IN S T F E D E R A L LAW S. PURPOSE AND METHOD OF STUDY. A phase o f the problem o f juvenile delinquency not heretofore given special consideration is that o f the children who violate Fed eral laws and are taken before United States district courts. Atten tion has centered on the number o f children coming before State courts and on the progress these courts have made in affording special treatment o f children’s cases. That there are considerable numbers o f juveniles arrested and tried on Federal charges is shown in the reports o f the Attorney General for the last two years,1 which give a total o f 1,038 persons under 20 years o f age committed to institu tions for violations o f Federal laws by United States district courts; figures are not available for the total number under 20 years of age before these courts. The attention o f the United States Children’s Bureau had been called to the problem o f children violating Federal laws by several persons in different parts of the country. In one instance a member o f a grand jury to which several children’s cases had been presented felt very keenly that young children should not be subjected to the formal procedure and limited facilities for treatment in the Fed eral courts. It seemed particularly appropriate that the Children’s Bureau, a Federal agency concerned in raising the standards o f child protection and child care, should interest itself in the methods em ployed by the Federal Government in dealing with children violat ing the laws o f the United States. For these reasons an inquiry was undertaken covering, so far as the information was available, the numbers o f children violating Federal laws in 1918 and 1919, their ages, the types o f offenses committed, the methods of procedure, the dispositions made, and to a limited extent the home conditions and social histories o f the children. The Department o f Justice and the Post Office Department were most helpful in making available the data upon which the inquiry is based. 1 Annual Reports o f the A ttorney General o f the United S ta te s : 1919, Exhibit No 23 opp. p. 534 ; 1920, Exhibit No. 19, opp. p. 606. 1 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis % ÏH E FÉDÉRAL COTJKÏS AND THE DELINQUENT CHILD. Records o f the chief inspector o f the Post Office Department re lating to offenders against postal laws were the first sources of information. Data were obtained on all such offenders under 18 years o f age arrested throughout the United States during the calen dar years 1918 and 1919. As the National Training School for Boys in the District of Co lumbia is the institution to which the largest number o f boys under 18 years o f age are committed for all types o f Federal offenses, the records o f this institution were consulted, information being obtained in regard to all children sent to this institution for offenses against Federal laws committed during the years selected. Besides this Federal institution, two State institutions were included in the study—the New York State Reformatory at Elmira and the Iowa State Reformatory at Anamosa. These institutions, located in d if ferent parts o f the country, are among those with which the Gov ernment contracts to receive Federal commitments. The information from the National Training School for Boys and the Post Office Department furnished the basis for selection o f the eight United States courts chosen for special study, namely, the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia2 and seven United States district courts (Illinois, northern district ; Indiana ; Maryland ; Mas sachusetts; New York, eastern and southern districts; and Penn sylvania, eastern district). Juvenile and other State courts in these districts were visited for the purpose o f obtaining information with regard to any Federal cases which were referred to them. In each district the seat of the court, which happened in each case to be the largest city o f the district, was visited, as were also some o f the smaller localities near by. A ll cases o f juvenile postal offend ers for which information had already been obtained at the Post Office Department and cases o f children committed to the institutions studied were followed through the records o f courts, jails, and social agencies knowing the offenders, in order to secure as complete his tories as possible. From the different sources schedules were taken for each case, the following information being obtained : Type of court hearing case, method o f handling case in court, age, offense, detention, disposition, length o f time between apprehension and disposition, and any social facts available. In the districts studied, because o f the absence o f age reports on the court records, it was impossible to obtain an accurate count o f all cases o f children committing Federal offenses other than postal. Accurate knowledge o f the number o f Federal offenders referred to juvenile courts could not be obtained as the records of the juvenile 3 The Supreme Court o f the D istrict o f Columbia is clothed w ith the powers and author ity o f a United States district court. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis JUVENILE OFFENDERS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW S. 3 courts seldom noted the case as involving a Federal charge, giving merely the charge preferred in the juvenile court. The United States judges, attorneys, postal authorities, and repre sentatives o f social agencies familiar with the local situations were most cooperative in assisting the Children’s Bureau in this study. In addition to the studies o f selected localities, interviews were had with the United States attorneys and other officials in Buffalo, Cleve land, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Orleans, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Seattle. Although schedules were not taken in these places, information as to the extent o f the problem and the practice in handling juvenile cases was obtained. LEGAL PROVISIONS AND PRESENT PRACTICE. Jurisdiction of Federal and State courts in juvenile cases. The United States district courts have exclusive j urisdiction “ o f all crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority o f the United States.” 3 Such offenses are cognizable in these courts only when made so by acts o f Congress.4 No separate provisions exist under Federal law for jurisdiction over juvenile cases; and so the children who violate such acts as the postal, interstate-commerce, internalrevenue, and drug laws, or those who are arrested for larceny o f United States property, trespassing on United States property, forgery, and embezzlement o f Government property, are under the jurisdiction o f the United States district courts. Although there is no law for the removal to the State courts o f cases cognizable in the district or circuit courts o f the United States,5 among many Federal authorities a practice has developed o f referring to the State courts juvenile cases which may be brought under the jurisdiction o f the State authorities by lessening the charge. For instance, in many cases o f larceny o f mail the charge preferred is simply that o f larceny or “ taking the property of another.” In some cases the offense may involve both a State and a Federal charge, as in larceny from a post office located in a gen eral store, merchandise also being stolen. In such cases the State charge is often preferred and the Federal charge dropped, the Fed eral authorities considering the State prosecution sufficient. Organization and procedure of Federal courts in juvenile cases. The types o f offenses committed against the United States are in many instances not more serious than those bringing children to the juvenile courts, yet in the Federal courts the method o f procedure and the attitude o f the court toward the offender differ materially 3 The Judicial Code o f the United States, Ch. X I, sec. 2 5 6 ; 36 Stat. 1161. 4 U. S. v. Shepherd, 1 Hughes 5 2 0 ; 27 Fed. Cas., No. 16274 ; U. S. v . Lewis, 36 Fed 449 5 M cCollom v. Pefe, 7 Kans. 189, 1871. 80749°—22-----2 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 4 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . from juvenile-court practice, which considers the delinquent a child to be protected and saved. Procedure in Federal courts, when un modified by the expedients adopted in some instances, is based on the theory that the child has committed a crime for which he must be punished. The organization and procedure o f the Federal courts do not readily lend themselves to the handling o f juvenile cases accord ing to generally recognized standards o f dealing with delinquent children. In the first place, prompt action is difficult to obtain be cause the jurisdiction o f each United States district court includes considerable territory, in many instances an entire State. Sessions o f the court are held at various places within each district at stated intervals; a child committing an offense against the United States may have to wait for trial until the term o f court which meets in his place o f residence, or if he does not live in a meeting place of the court he must be taken to the one nearest his home. The first step in bringing a case before a Federal court is a pre sentation o f the facts to the United States attorney; following this a preliminary hearing is held before the United States commis sioner, who fixes the amount o f bond. The case is next presented to the court on information filed, or to the grand jury, the former procedure being permissible in cases o f misdemeanors. I f the case is presented to the grand jury and an indictment returned, or if it is presented direct to court on information, the case is then tried, often by jury. These trials are open to the public and are formally con ducted. Because o f the organization o f the Federal courts, the length o f time between apprehension and final court action is some times considerable, and cases are often carried from one term of court until the next because o f a crowded calendar. Moreover, in the Federal courts there is no provision for social investigation, special detention o f juveniles, or probation. In contrast to the methods of the Federal courts are the following features o f juvenile-court organization and procedure: Prompt ac tion, because o f easy access to the court and frequency o f sessions; informal court procedure, with separate hearings as nearly private as possible; proper facilities for juvenile detention; means for obtaining adequate information concerning the child’s physical and mental condition, personality and habits, family history, and home conditions; and probation service, by which children on probation may be kept under close and helpful supervision. The preliminary hearings by attorneys and commissioners and the presentment to the grand jury are eliminated in the juvenile-court procedure. Un der this procedure no bond is required, and children are released upon their own recognizance if they can safely remain at home pending the hearing. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis JUVENILE OFFENDERS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW S. 5 Prior to December, 1916, the Federal judges had always used their own discretion in placing offenders on probation, and their right to do so had never been questioned. A t that time the Supreme Court o f the United States handed down a decision6 by which it was held that Federal judges had no legal power to place offend ers on probation from United States district courts, but could do so from the Supreme Court o f the District o f Columbia, where a system o f probation is legally provided. This decision made the rule against probation' absolute. Immediately following this decision a bill providing for proba tion was passed in February, 1917, by both the House and the Senate, but did not receive the President’s signature. Another b ill7 was introduced in the House o f Representatives on January 24,1920, and was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, which held hearings on the subjects o f probation in the Federal courts and parole.8 This bill was not enacted into law, and in April, 1921, a third bill was introduced in the House o f Representatives and re ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary.9 In contrast to the lack o f probation in the Federal courts is the fact that probation has been provided for by law in every State o f the Union. The instances already cited10 o f reference o f juvenile Federal offenders to State courts on preferred charges show that many United States attorneys and judges realize their handicap in this matter. Several United States attorneys reported that in cases which they did not consider sufficiently grave to warrant prosecution they often placed boys on probation to themselves, informally, requiring the boys to report from time to time, and later dismissing the cases. This informal probation consisted only o f reporting in person or by mail to the office o f the attorney. No further supervision was afforded, such as would be exercised by a probation officer through home visits, cooperation with school authorities, employers and recrea tional agencies, and by other means. The problem o f the detention o f juveniles coming before the Fed eral courts is the more serious because o f the long periods that fre quently elapse between apprehension and disposition, and because bond is required for release after preliminary hearing. Doubtless detention could often be avoided if the juvenile-court practice were « K ilits case, 242 U. S. 27. 7 A bill fo r the establishment o f a probation system in the United States courts, except in the D istrict o f Columbia. H. R. 12036, 66th Cong., 2d sess. 8 H earings before the Committee on the Judiciary, House o f Representatives, 66th Cong., 2d sess., Serial No. 20, p. 5. W ashington, 1920. 9 An act to amend an act entitled “ A n act to parole United States prisoners, and for other purposes,” approved June 25, 1910, as amended by an act approved January 23, 1913, and fo r the establishment o f a probation system in the United States courts, except in the D istrict o f Columbia. H. R. 4126, 67th Cong., 1st sess. 10 See p. 3. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 6 the federal courts a n d the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . followed o f releasing children to the custody o f their parents with out bond. But, for children as. well as for adults, jail detention is the common practice, there being no prohibition under Federal law against detaining juveniles in jail and no provision for other forms o f detention. Through informal arrangements local detention homes are used in a few instances, but this is by no means a general practice. In New York City, where local ordinances prohibit jail detention of juveniles under 15 years o f age, the shelter o f the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is used for all Federal offenders under that age. In Knoxville, Terni., the law creating the juvenile detention home specifies that Federal offenders may be detained therein. This provision in the law was requested by the Federal judge o f that district, who had had several cases o f children detained in jail for months. In Federal cases referred to juvenile courts, when detention is required, the children are detained in special detention] homes or other places provided for the detention o f juvenile delinquents under the jurisdiction o f those courts. In few o f these cases were chil dren reported as being detained in jails. The juvenile-court laws in many States prohibit the detention o f juveniles under specified ages in jails and frequently require the establishment o f special places o f detention for them. Expedients used in juvenile cases. Certain expedients have been adopted by some o f the United States attorneys and judges in the handling of children’s cases, by which they are enabled to deal with them more nearly from the standpoint o f the children’s welfare and potentialities. The first o f these expedients is that mentioned above—the refer ring o f cases of children violating Federal laws to the State courts, charges being preferred which will bring them under the jurisdic tion o f those courts. The extent to which this policy is followed depends upon the attitude of both attorneys and judges. The cases which are referred are usually reviewed first by the United States district attorneys, though in a few districts the post-office inspectors, knowing the policy o f the judges and attorneys, take the children directly to the juvenile courts. * In T o f the IT districts in which the United States attorneys were interviewed, a large number o f the children reported as violating Federal laws were referred to the State courts—usually to the juve nile courts where they were available, or to the courts having juris diction to hear juvenile cases in places not having specially organ ized juvenile courts. In two of these seven districts special arrange ments had been made informally with the juvenile courts to handle all cases o f children under IT years o f age who violated Federal laws. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis JUVENILE OFFENDERS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW S. 7 Extracts from letters o f the post-office inspectors in five localities other than the seven districts referred to in the preceding paragraph are here cited for the purpose of showing the attitude o f attorneys and judges in those places toward referring juvenile cases: (1) A t an interview a few weeks ago the United States attorney informed me that when the State would assume the prosecution and charge o f delinquent boys accused of violations of the postal laws he much preferred such action to prosecutions in Federal court, as the State courts can sentence them to reform schools and place them under charge o f probation officers, with better results than can be secured by confining them in county jails or sending them to Fed eral prisons. (2 ) One of the United States attorneys advised that in view o f the fact that there was a good case against the boy in the State court, and as he was too young for prosecution in the United States court on account o f lack o f suit able place for his confinement, and also for the reason that, because o f the war, the expenses o f the United States courts had been increased, and he did not like to burden these courts with a case o f this nature when the defendant could be punished in the juvenile court; therefore he advised that the matter be taken up with the probate judge of the county, looking to the confinement of the boy in the reform school o f the State. (3 ) The facts in this case were reported to the United States attorney. In his reply he stated that a number of cases of similar nature have been sub mitted to him, and that he has found that the better course is for a charge to be made against the youthful offender (who is 16 years o f age) in the juvenile courts (State) ; that the judge of the court or the probation officer constantly has the boy under surveillance, and that the best results can be eventually worked out. H e stated, further, that a charge of forgery under the State law may be made and the boy apprehended and released on such conditions as the court may require. (4) The matter was submitted to the United States attorney, who, under date of January 18, 1919, replied in part as fo llow s: “ I know the attitude toward prosecutions of boys of his age for crimes o f this nature, and I am sure that more good could be accomplished by having the boy brought before some local or municipal judge and reprimanded than by his indictment and prosecution.” (5 ) I have submitted several reports o f cases involving violations o f the postal laws by persons under 18 years of age to the United States attorney, and in each of these cases he has recommended that the matter be submitted to the county authorities of the county in which the offense was committed, stating that the judge in this district does not care to handle cases o f persons who are subject to commitment to the State industrial school. Great variance was found in the method o f prosecuting interstate commerce violations. In the case o f juveniles, these usually consist o f breaking into and larceny from freight cars in interstate ship ment. In some communities all these cases are taken before juvenile or other State courts on larceny charges. In other localities all go before the Federal courts, and in still others some are taken to each type o f court. The policy o f one eastern railroad is to prosecute all cases in State courts whenever possible. In two districts the United States attorney ruled that the Federal authorities would not prosecute cases o f theft from interstate ship https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 8 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. ment where the value o f the goods stolen was small (in Maryland less than $100). Children seldom commit larceny to a large amount from interstate shipments, and in these two localities few children were taken before Federal courts on this charge. O f the 74 boys committed for such offenses by United States district courts to the National Training School for Boys, 2 were sent from one o f these two districts and none from the other. Informal treatment by United States attorneys is frequent, con sisting o f an informal conference in the attorney’s office and dis missal o f the case or arrangement for informal probation either to the attorney himself or to some probation officer of a local court. An example of this method is found in the eastern district of Pennsylvania.11 In one district the post-office inspector handled informally postal cases involving children, reporting each case, with his decision, to the district attorney, who usually concurred in the recommendation o f the inspector and did not see the child. Cases which were brought formally to this district attorney’s office usually went to the grand jury. In some cases reaching the grand jury, because o f the youth of the offender, a finding o f “ no b ill” was returned. This amounts to a dismissal o f the case, since no further court action is taken. In many cases the attorney did not wish to prosecute, even though a bill o f indictment was returned, and he entered a petition to nolle prosequi— also a form o f dismissal without trial. In disposing o f children’s cases which are brought for trial and in which the offense does not warrant commitment to an institution, the judges in three o f the districts studied frequently imposed a sentence o f one day in the custody o f the United States marshal, thus satis fying the legal requirement that a sentence shall be passed upon a defendant who is found guilty. The child thus sentenced was re quired to sit in the marshal’s office from the time o f pronouncement of sentence by the judge until the office closed for the day. In three other districts short sentences o f from one week to sixty days in local jails were reported. In one large city, in preference to commit ting the boys to the county jail located in the city, they were com mitted to small county jails outside the city. Fines are sometimes imposed. As a substitute for probation, judges often continue a case or defer sentence from one term o f court until the next, pending the child’s good behavior. No close super vision, such as a probation system would provide, is available in these continued cases, the only effort to keep in touch with the child’s conduct being the requirement that'he shall report to the court on the dates set in the continuance order. Such procedure was 11 See p. 50. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ^ ^ ^ JUVENILE OFFENDERS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW S. 9 reported in four o f the districts studied. After such cases have been continued for from six months to a year, many are nol-prossed, while in other cases fines are imposed or the children receive sen tences o f one day in the marshal’s custody or short terms in jail. Two war-time measures12 included sections on the unlawful wear ing o f the United States uniform, the procuring o f liquor for sol diers and sailors, and vice regulations. Before the courts or in the institutions studied were 50 boys arrested for wearing uniforms illegally or procuring liquor for men in uniform—cases typical only o f the war period. Girls arrested during the war in violation o f the vice section o f this act were usually taken to the juvenile courts through the efforts o f the protective agencies and were not recorded separately by these courts as Federal cases. No reports o f the num ber o f such cases were available in the courts studied. It was found that 21 girls had been committed on such charges by United States district courts— 6 to thè Iowa State Reformatory and 15 to the Na tional Training School for Girls, District o f Columbia—but they were not included in this study. Few juveniles are held on charges o f the violation o f the Mann Act.13 Several courts reported that in rare instances girls under 18 years o f age are held as witnesses in Mann Act cases. I f detention is necessary, it is usually in private institutions, though occasionally in jails. In this study no records o f such cases were discovered. Institutions receiving juveniles on Federal commitments. The National Training School for Boys and the National Training School for Girls, both in the District o f Columbia, are the two Federal institutions to which only juvenile delinquents are com mitted. Under the law these institutions receive boys and girls from the juvenile court and the Supreme Court o f the District o f Columbia and from United States district courts. A large number o f boys are committed to the National Training School for Boys by the district courts throughout the United States; the National Train ing School for Girls, however, seldom receives girls from such courts. Legal provision is made for commitment of juvenile offenders against Federal laws to certain State and other local institutions. By statute14 the Attorney General may contract with local houses o f refuge for the confinement o f juvenile offenders against the laws o f the United States. He must notify the district courts o f the places o f confinement thus provided, and offenders are sentenced 12 39 Stat. 166 (national defense act, June 3, 1916) ; 40 Stat. 76 (an act to authorize the President to increase tem porarily the M ilitary Establishment o f the United States, May 18, 1917). 18 36 Stat. 825 (a ct o f June 25, 1910). 14 U. S. Comp. Stat. 1916, secs. 10550 (R . S. 55 49), 10551 (R. S. 55 50), 10560 (act 3 Mar., 1891, ch. 529, sec. 9 ). https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 10 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . to the designated house o f refuge nearest the place of conviction. The Federal Government pays for the maintenance o f its prisoners committed to such local institutions. The reports of the Attorney General for the years 1910 and 192015 show that persons under 20 years o f age were confined in the following local institutions, ex clusive o f jails: State industrial schools o f Colorado and Idaho, girls’ industrial schools o f South Carolina and West Virginia; Tennessee 'State Training and Agricultural School for Boys, St. Mary’s Industrial School16 and the House o f Reformation (for colored boys),17 Maryland, and the Missouri State Industrial Home; State reformatories in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Mis souri, and New Y ork; State reformatories for women in Iowa and Massachusetts, and the Woman’s Reformatory o f Kansas City, Mo.; State penitentiaries of Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia; the penitentiaries o f Essex County and Hud son County, N. J., and Oahu Prison, Honolulu; the houses of cor rection o f Chicago and Peoria, 111., of Detroit, Mich., and o f M il waukee County, Wis. State laws in both Pennsylvania and Min nesota18 provided for the confinement in State institutions of juvenile delinquents convicted in the Federal courts o f the State, the State to be reimbursed for their maintenance by the United States. The majority o f the local institutions with which arrangements are made to receive juveniles receive also adult offenders, the ages o f prisoners at the State reformatories ranging from 16 to 30 years. Federal prisoners have the same treatment at these institutions as do other prisoners, and no provision is made for separation into groups according to age. During the two-year period from July 1, 1918, to June 30, 1920, in addition to those committed to the institutions already mentioned, 389 persons under 20 years o f age were committed to Federal peni tentiaries—204 to Atlanta, G a.; 158 to Leavenworth, Kans.; and 27 to McNeil Island, Wash. That the majority o f these 389 were probably 18 years o f age and over is indicated by the fact that only 12 cases o f commitment to such institutions were reported in this study o f juvenile offenders. All were sent to Atlanta penitentiary, and all but one had violated postal laws. is Annual R eports o f the Attorney General o f the United S ta te s: 1919, E xhibit No. 23, opp. p. 5 3 4 ; 1920, E xhibit No. 19, opp. p. 606. 16 A private institution in Maryland. 17 A private institution, subsidized by both city and State. 18 Pa. 1899 P. L. 15, sec. 1 (a ct o f Mar. 22) ; Minn. G. S. 1913, sec. 14064. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis C H APT ER n . CH ILD R EN V IO L A T IN G PO STA L L A W S . SOURCES OF INFORMATION. Postal laws and regulations were found to be the Federal laws most frequently violated by juveniles. The information with refer ence to the postal cases was obtained from the records of the chief inspector o f the Post Office Department. The United States is divided into 15 divisions, with an inspector in charge o f each, and a varying number o f inspectors in each division to handle the cases o f postal violations arising therein. The inspectors are vested with the power o f arrest but not of search, and they make investigations o f all postal cases before referring them to the United States at torneys. I f local police officials make the arrest they are required to notify the post-office inspectors at once. The inspectors present the cases, with a report o f their investigations, to the United States attorneys. Each case is reported to the office o f the chief inspector in Washington, information being given as to the offense, age o f de fendant, type o f court handling the case, preliminary hearing, in dictment, and final disposition made. In some cases supplementary information is given with regard to detention, employment, school attendance, and social history. These records were available for the entire United States, Alaska, and Porto Rico, and are fairly inclusive o f the number of juveniles violating Federal postal laws during the period, though a few cases may have been handled informally o f which no record was sent in. In a small number o f instances the age was not given. The informa tion from the Post Office Department was checked and supplemented by court, jail, and institutional records in those cases reported also from the districts or by the institutions included in other parts of this study. NUMBER OF CASES REPORTED. Records from the Post Office Department were obtained for 1,108 cases o f juveniles under 18'years o f age arrested in 1918 and 1919. The number reported for 1919 was considerably larger than that for 1918, 617 as compared with 491. There were 37 cases o f postallaw violation reported in the localities and by the institutions studied for which no record could be found in the Post Office Department. The 1,108 for which records were found in the Post Office Depart ment form the basis for this chapter. During the two-year period 1,054 boys were arrested for postal offenses, and only 54 girls. O f the boys, 869 were white, 163 were 80749°— 22----- 3 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 11 12 THE FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. Negroes, 11 belonged to other races, and in 11 cases race was not reported. Thirty o f the girls were white, 23 were Negroes, and in 1 case race was not reported. Cases o f violations o f postal laws by juveniles were reported from each State1 for the two-year period, 1918-1919, as follow s: Total-------------- -------------------l , 108 A lab am a__ ;__________________ A rizon a_________ ;_ ____ ___ __ :____ Arkansas_______ .________________ C alifornia___________ Colorado_________________________ Connecticut_______________ Delaware_____________________ District of Columbia___________ Florida__________ _______ ._________ G eorgia--------------------- [______ _ ___ Illin o is__________________________ ,_ In dian a____ ________________ Iowa_________________L, ij -___ Kansas___________ ;___________ Kentucky_______________ Louisiana_______________ Maine____________ .__ __________ »__ Maryland____________ '____________ M assachusetts___________________ Michigan__________________ ;_____ M innesota______ _________________ M ississippi________ M issouri______ ____________ M ontana___ _______!______________ 21 7 24 53 18 11 2 27 22 38 119 19 8 17 21 19 8 24 56 is 34 34 39 6 Nebraska______ :_________ ____ ,___ New Hampshire— _______^ 4—> New Jersey-__________ New M exico_________ L__— ___ 7 New York___ _______C_________,_§3 North Carolina.!____ _________ North Dakota.'________ O h io ---------------Oklahoma ' ¿ ^ ___ Oregon_____ ___■;_________ ._____ _ _ Pennsylvania___ _ _ i ____________ Rhode Island—___________ South Carolina____________ South Dakota___________ ‘__^__ __ Tennessee____ ________________ Texas_____________ Utah'___________ ________ ll______ rV erm ont____ .._____________^ ___ Virginia__________________________. W ashington_______________ W est Virginia _____ W isconsin_____ it*___- ____ _ Wyoming__________ ____ fX _>: A la sk a ___ ,________ Porto Rico________________________ 11 7 13 94 21 2 33 37 7 53 3 21 2 20 23 1 2 34 14 40 10 l 3 4 TYPES OF POSTAL OFFENSES. The largest number o f cases reported were for larceny o f mail— 496 cases—and post-office breaking and entering and larceny—246 cases. F ifty or more cases each were reported for forgery, larceny o f postal funds or property, “ stubbing” special-delivery letters,2 and wrongful use o f the mails. A list o f the various offenses and the number o f children committing each offense follow s: Per cent disNumber. tribution. T°ta,l---------------- ---------- —---- —_—____ 1,108 Larceny---------- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ------------------------------------------^_________ O f m a il____ ___________________ |_____ ________ ____ 490 555 100.0 5 0 .1 Of postal funds or property_________________ ________ y (, 50 O f money left in rural boxes_.____ ___________ ____ ____ 3 O ther____________________________________________________ 0 1 No cases reported from Idaho o r Nevada. 2 When a special-delivery messenger fails to attem pt to deliver letters given him fo r delivery and makes a false return on the return slip, collecting the & cents allowed for delivery o f each letter, he is guilty o f “ stubbing.” https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis C H IL D R E N V IO L A T IN G 13 POSTAL LAW S Number. Breaking and entering and larceny, post office__________ .______ “ Stubbing ” __________________________ _- ________________ ___-____ _ Forgery------------------------------------------- ---------------------- ________ -______ Wrongful use o f m a ils------------------------ __________ ._______________ Breaking and entering, post office_______ Larceny of mail and forgery_________ _:_________.______ _________ Destruction o f post-office property___________________ Embezzlement__________________________________ ._________ ________ Having stolen post-office property in possession_____ ___________ Attempted robbery___________________________ ____________________ O ther___________________________________________ _____ ______________ Per cent distribution. 246 58 5(3 50 41 31 28 21 2 2 .2 5 .2 5 .1 4 .5 3.7 2. 8 2.5 1. 9 .7 .3 1 .0 8 3 11 Postal offenses committed by the 54 girls reported were confined chiefly to three types: (1) Forgery o f mail or of checks contained in stolen mail— 15 cases; (2) larceny o f mail— 15 cases; (3) wrong ful use o f the mails—10 cases—including 8 cases o f sending obscene letters and 2 involving schemes to defraud. AGES OF OFFENDERS. Slightly more than half (566) o f the children committing postal offenses were reported to be under 16 years o f age at the time o f apprehension. The 54 girls reported were proportionately older than the boys, as nearly two-thirds o f the girls, but less than half the boys, were 16 and 17 years of age. The age distribution o f the boys and girls is shown in the following list: Total. Under 10 y ea rs_________________________ ________________________________ 10 to 11 y ea rs____________________________________________ :______________ 12 to 13 y ea rs__________________________ _____________________________ l__ 14 to' 15 y e a r s__________ ____________ ._______________ ___________________ 16 to 17 y ea rs_______________________ .__________________________________ Age not reported________________________________ _________ ______________ Boys. Girls. 1,054 54 38 69 145 295 498 9 1 5 13 34 1 Except for post-office breaking and entering and larceny and the “ stubbing ” o f special-delivery letters there seems to be no close rela tion between the age and type o f offense. O f the 244 boys arrested for breaking, entering, and larceny from post offices, 108 were 16 years o f age or over. In 55 o f the 58 cases o f “ stubbing ” reported the boy was o f this age group; this was the largest proportion 16 years o f age or over reported for any one offense, and is accounted for by the policy of not employing as special-delivery messengers boys who are under the age o f 16. TYPES OF COURTS. As stated in Chapter I, United States district courts have original jurisdiction o f the violations of postal laws, but the policy o f re ferring cases involving children to juvenile and other State courts is followed in many districts, though no legal provision has been https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 14 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD, made for such action.3 Table 1 shows for each State the children before specified types o f courts. T a b le 1.— Type of court, according to S ta te ; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal laws. Children violating postal laws. Before State.1 Total. U. S. district. 1,108 676 21 7 24 53 18 11 2 27 22 38 119 19 8 17 21 19 8 24 56 18 34 34 39 6 11 7 13 7 94 21 2 33 37 7 53 3 21 2 20 23 1 2 34 14 40 10 1 3 4 17 1 18 «11 1 3 1 10 20 34 98 13 5 12 16 13 5 8 16 ' 5 8 11 13 30 30 2 1 6 12 7 41 18 2 21 430 5 26 18 specified type court. • Juve nile. Other State. 202 38 10 2 9 1 1 35 5 15 3 2 5 1 No court action taken. Court action not re ported. 136 79 1 2 4 3 3 2 4 1 6 6 1 3 6 6 1 3 5 2 3 13 2 6 1 3 2 1 3 3 3 7 3 1 2 2 1 3 2 2 9 3 5 1 1 4 4 2 1 7 3 17 9 15 1 2 1 1 6 32 17 21 1 26 4 26 2 1 3 3 of 2 2 3 5 5 6 3 1 2 6 3 2 1 1 1 1 5 9 1 1No cases in Idaho or Nevada. * Includes 5 children before a United States district court, whose cases were later transferred to juvenile courts. 8 Includes 1 child before a United States district court, whose case was later transferred to a juvenile court. 4Includes 1 child before a United States district court, whose case was later transferred to a State court other than juvenile. In 15 cases court action was not reported; in 79 cases—7.1 per cent—no court action was taken, it being decided by the United States attorney or by the postal authorities not to prosecute. O f the remaining 1,014 cases, 202— 19.9 per cent—were before juvenile 3 See p. 8. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 15 CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. courts, and . 136—13.4 per cent—were taken before other State courts— county, district, circuit, or city courts. Some o f the last group o f courts, though not reported as juvenile courts on the postoffice records, probably belonged in the juvenile-court group as having juvenile jurisdiction and organization for dealing with chil-' dren’s cases. The majority o f cases—668, or 60.3 per cent—were heard before the United States district courts, and 8 others were first heard by these courts and then transferred to juvenile or other State courts. Cases presented to the United States commissioner for preliminary hearing or to the grand jury for indictment, whether or not a bill was returned, were considered to have had court action. Half, or more than half, the children’s cases reported were referred to juvenile or other State courts in California, Colorado, Connecti cut, District o f Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. The policy o f referring juvenile cases to State courts is much more prevalent in cases involving young children than in cases involving older boys and girls. The majority o f postal cases involv ing children under the age o f 12 and exactly one-half o f those involving children 12 and 13 years o f age were handled by juvenile and other State courts. O f the cases involving children 14 years o f age and over, the largest number were before Federal courts. The comparatively small proportion o f children 16 years o f age and over referred to juvenile courts may be accounted for in part by the fact that their jurisdiction extends in some States only over chil dren under 16 years o f age and in others only over children under 17. Furthermore, it may not be considered necessary to refer the older children to the juvenile or other State courts for the more informal procedure available there. Table 2 gives further detail o f the ages o f children before the different courts. Table 2.— Age at apprehension and type o f co u rt; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal laws. Children violating postal laws. Before specified type of court. Age at apprehension. Total. Total................................................... United States Juvenile. district. Other State. No court Court action action not taken. reported. 1,108 676 202 136 79 15 38 70 150 308 532 ' 10 8. 19 60 1 177 2 408 4 11 33 45 73 38 2 4 10 30 . 33 57 2 15 7 11 19 25 2 1 4 6 4 1 Includes 2 children before a United States district court whose cases were later transferred to a juvenile court. > Includes 5 children before a United States district court whose cases were later transferred to a juvenile court, and I whose case was transferred to a State court other than juvenile. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 16 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. Comparison o f the type of offense with the type o f court handling the case does not indicate that any definite policy was followed in referring certain types of cases to State courts. In only four groups o f offenses was no instance o f reference to juvenile or other State courts reported: (1) Larceny o f mail from rural mail boxes, in volving forgery o f checks contained in the letters; (2) larceny o f money for stamps left in rural boxes; (3) use o f mails in a scheme to defraud; and (4) sending threatening letters. These offenses are not more serious than others reported. The largest numbers of cases .referred involved larceny o f mail and post-office breaking and entering and larceny,, which were the offenses most frequently committed. O f the 496 cases o f larceny o f mail, 36.3 per cent were referred to State courts, and 55.6 per cent were brought before United States district courts; o f the 246. cases o f post-office breaking and entering and larceny only 29.3 per cent were taken to local courts as compared with 63.4 per cent before the Federal courts. A considerable number o f the cases of larceny from post offices involved State in addition to Federal offenses, as the post office was often located in a store from which merchandise was stolen at the same time. In a number o f instances of larceny o f mail from hall letter boxes the Federal authorities ruled that the, re sponsibility o f the Post Office Department ended with the delivery o f the mail. Table 3 shows the types o f offenses involved in cases before the different courts. Table 3.— Offense and type of court; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal lanes. Children violating postal laws. Before specified type of court . Offense. Total. United States Juvenile. district. No court Court action action not taken. reported. Other State. 1,108 1 676 202 136 79 Larceny........... ........................... 555 311 139 59 41 5 Of mail.................~T.. . . ........ Of postal funds or property. Of money left in rural boxes O th e r................................... 496 50 3 6 277 28 3 3 129 10 51 6 34 6 5 2 1 246 58 56 50 41 31 28 21 8 3 156 57 43 36 17 10 15 20 5 2 4 25 1 7 5 2 11 6 1 2 47 11 3 1 16 5 3 3 5 6 5 4 i 1 3 Total Breaking and entering and larceny, post office..................................... ................... . “ Stubbing” .................................... ............ F orgery.;................................................... W rongful use of mail................................... Breaking and entering post office............. . Larceny of mail and forgery...................... . Destruction of post-office property........... . Embezzlement............................................. Having stolen property in possession....... . Attempted robbery................................... Other...........................................................; h 3 15 7 3 1 1Includes 8 children before United States district courts whose cases were later transferred to juvenile or other State courts. \ https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 17 CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. PLACE OF RESIDENCE. The organization o f the United States district courts, each district covering considerable territory, with specified places of holding court at stated intervals, often necessitates taking the child some dis tance from his home and holding him for some time awaiting trial. The child’s place o f residence was other than the place of holding court in 310, or 56.2 per cent, o f the 552 cases before United States courts in which place o f residence was reported. On the other hand, the child lived in the city in which the court was located in 72.3 per cent o f the 188 cases reported heard by juvenile courts in which place o f residence was reported, and in 52.9 per cent of the 87 cases before other State courts. The place o f residence in relation to the place o f holding court, for the 881 cases in which the place o f resi dence was reported, is shown in table 4. Table 4.— Place of residence in relation to place o f holding court and type of cou rt; children arrested in 1918 and 1819 for violating postal laws. Children violating postal laws whose residence was reported. Before specified type of court. Total. Place of residence.' United States district. Juvenile. Other State. No court action taken. Court action not re port ed. Per Per Per Per Per cent cent cent cent cent Num dis- Num dis- Num dis- Num dis- Num dis- Num ber. tri- ber. tri- ber. tri- ber. tri- ber. tri- ber. bububububution. tion. tion. tion. tion. Total........................ Same as place of holding court___ Other than place of holding court. t£ P * m 881 100.0 1552 100.0 188 100.0 87 100.0 45 100.0 9 448 433 136 52 46 41 20 25 44. 4 55.6 5 50.9 49.1 242 310 43.8 56.2 72.3 27.7 52.9 47.1 7 chlldren tefore United States district courts, whose cases were later transferred to juvenile The largest number o f the 1,108 children were reported as residing in communities o f less than 10,000 population—385, or 34.7 per cent. The next largest group—240, or 21.7 per cent—resided in cities o f 500,000 population and over. The size o f place o f residence and the type o f court are shown in Table 5. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 18 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . Table 5.— Size o f place of residence and type of court; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal laws. Children violating postal laws. Before specified type >f court. Size of place of residence.i Total. United States dis trict. Juvenile. Other State. No court Court action action taken. not reported. Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 Total................... 1,108 Under 10,000................. 10,000, under 25,000___ 25,000, under 100,000... 100,000, under 500,000.. 500,000 and over........... Not reported................ 385 47 90 109 240 237 676 61.0 202 18.2 136 12.3 79 7.1 15 1.4 235 34 58 63 151 135 61.0 57 3 19 36 71 16 14.8 58 10 7 5 8 48 15.1 28 7.3 7 1.8 4.6 3.3 20.3 5 2 10 34 1 3 2.8 4 1.Ó 57.8 62.9 57.0 33.0 29.6 6.8 1.8 4.2 14.3 1Derived from Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Vol. I, Popu lation, p. 320 ff * Not shown where base was less than 100. The percentage o f cases referred to juvenile or other State courts was almost as high in towns of less than 10,000 population as in large cities—29.9 in the former as contrasted with 37.6 and 32.9 in cities o f 100,000 to 500,000 and o f 500,000 and over, respectively. However, in cities o f over 100,000 population, less than 5 per cent were referred to State courts other than juvenile, while in communi ties under 10,000 the percentage was 15.1. This difference is doubt less accounted for by the fact that large cities are much more likely than smaller communities to have organized juvenile courts. DISPOSITIONS OF CASES. Types of dispositions. Because o f the absence o f probation and power to suspend sen tence in the Federal courts, commitments to institutions constitute the most frequent form o f disposition in the 1,014 postal cases for which definite court action was reported. The National Training School for Boys, State reformatories, and jails received the largest number o f commitments from the United States district courts, while the State industrial schools received the largest number from ju venile and other State courts. Probation, suspended sentence, or both probation and suspended sentence were used in the majority of cases dealt with by juvenile courts. Both State and Federal courts dismissed cases, Federal courts usually upon preliminary hearing before the United States commissioner. Summarizing the disposi tions made by courts o f all types in the 1,014 cases, it is found that https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. 19 the Federal grand jury made a return o f “ no b ill” in 79, the cases against 31 children were nol-prossed by the United States district attorney, 68 cases were dismissed, 137 children were placed on pro bation, 24 were given suspended sentences, 15 others were given suspended sentences and placed on probation, 14 were placed in the custody o f the United States marshal for one day, 77 were fined, 417 were committed to institutions and jails, other dispositions were made in the case o f 11 children, and dispositions were not reported for 141. O f the 553 cases before United States district courts, the disposi tion of which was reported, the children were committed to institu tions in 52.3 per cent ; in 24.4 per -cent other disposition was made, in 9 per cent the case was dismissed, and in 14.3 per cent no bill was returned by the grand jury. In the 289 cases in which commitments were made the children were committed as follows : Total— „ - _ r— __:----------- T — ._---------------------------------------------- --------------- - 289 National Training School for B o y s 4___________________________________ *____ __ 124 State reformatories*________r_______ ____________ ________ _________ .______ _______ 37 State industrial schools__._____ ___________________________ ______,____ ■*______.___ 10 1 Private institutions_________ _____________________ t_________________ l ____________ Jails ®______________________ ____________________ ;__________________ ___________ l___ 94 Other institutions 5_________________________________________________________ ______ 17 It is significant to note that the commitments to jails formed the second largest group. The following list shows other dispositions made by the United States district courts: Total ----- ____--------------------------------- ---------------135 Cases nol-prossed__________ ________ ____ ____ ____ i_____ 154___ ________________ _ Fined__________________________________ •______________________ _____________•'______ Custody o f the United States marshal_________ ________________________________ Informal probation____ ____________________,_____ _______________________________ Suspended sentence and probation T_ _ ______________ ________________ lL ________ Other disposition__________ _________________ _______ *_____________________ * _______ 31 76 14 12 1 1 4 F our also fined. 8 One also fined. 6 Ten were also fined, and one was ordered to pay costs. 7 Case was before the Supreme Court o f the D istrict o f Columbia, where probation is provided for. 80749°—22----- 4 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 20 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . O f the cases referred to the juvenile and other State courts, 5.6 per cent were dismissed, commitments were made in 40 per cent, and 54.4 per cent were disposed of otherwise. The following list shows the institutions to which the 128 children committed by juvenile and other State courts were sent: T o ta l_________________ _________ — _________________________ __________ 128 National Training School for B o y s 8-------_----------------------------------------------- r----------- 2 State reformatories______________J------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- 18 State industrial schools______________________________________________________ — - 68 Private institutions________jO i'iLlr___________________________ ______________ ulu l 8 ----------------— î- 4 - h Jails *______ _____ .__________ _________ __________________ _— Other institutions------ ----------------------- --------------------- »-------------------------------------------ïÿ 5 27 O f the 174 cases in which disposition other than commitment was made by juvenile and other State courts, the child was placed on probation in 125 cases,10 in 24 cases sentence was suspended, in 14 sentence was suspended and the child was placed on probation, in 10 some other disposition was made, and 1 child was fined. Disposition was not reported in 123 cases before the Federal courts, in a considerable number o f cases the final disposition not having been made at the time of this study. O f the juvenile-court cases, the disposition was not reported for 18. Dispositions and types o f offenses. In a majority o f the cases o f larceny o f mail, o f post-office larceny, and o f “ stubbing” tried by the Federal courts, the children were committed to institutions ; about one-third o f the cases o f larceny o f mail referred to juvenile and other State courts resulted in com mitments. No special relation seemed to exist between type of offense and disposition made in the Federal courts, each court following its own policy. In the juvenile courts disposition was based usually upon the child’s need rather than upon the type o f offense. A ges and types o f dispositions. O f the children before F ederal courts for whom disposition was re ported, a larger proportion of those under 14 years o f age than of those 14 to 17 years were committed to institutions—60.6 per cent as compared with 51 per cent. In only 1 o f the 5 cases involving children under 10 years o f age was the child committed to an in stitution ; o f the 66 children 10 to 13 years o f age, 42 were sent to in stitutions; and o f the 478 children 14 to 17 years o f age, 244 were committed. Other dispositions and expedients used by the Federal 8 Committed by the Juvenile Court o f the D istrict o f Columbia, the National T raining School being the institution receiving comm itm ents o f delinquent boys from that court. 9 T w o also fined. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 21 CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. courts were reported for 28 children under 14 years o f age, and for 234 o f those in the group from 14 to 17 years. -The largest number o f children before juvenile and other State courts were 14 and 15 years o f age, and the next largest number were between the ages o f 16 and 17 years, inclusive. In each o f these groups more children were committed than were placed on probation, o f the former group 40 being committed and 37 placed on probation while o f the latter 47 were committed and 34 were placed on proba tion. In the group under 14 years o f age before juvenile or other State courts more children were placed on probation than were com mitted to institutions. Length of commitment. Commitments made by the United States district courts were in the majority o f cases for definite terms, only 13 o f the 289 com mitments being for indeterminate periods or during minority. In contrast, 66 o f the 128 commitments by juvenile and other State courts were for indeterminate periods and 25 during minority—a total o f 91. The largest number o f commitments by the Federal courts were for two years but'less than three, 54 not being, reported. Further details as to the length o f commitment in the cases before the two types o f courts are shown in Table 6. T able 6. — Term of commitment and type of cou rt; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal laws, and committed to institutions. Children violating postal laws who were committed to institutions. . B y United States district courts. Term of commitment. By juvenile and other State courts. Total. Per cent Percent Number. distribu Number. distribu tion. tion. Total..................................................................... i 404 2 284 100.0 i 120 100.0 Indeterminate............................................................... During minority............................................................ 68 36 2 11 .7 3.9 66 25 55.0 20.8 Definite terms less than minority................................ 300 271 95.4 29 24.2 36 53 15 23 51 55 40 12 15 33 47 13 19 45 54 34 12 14 1 month, less than 3............................................... 6 months’, less than 12............ ............................... 1 year, less than 2.......... . .................................. 2 yearn, less than 3.................................................. 3 years^ less than 4..... ............................................. 1 Excluding 13 for whom length of commitment was not reported. 2 Excluding 5 for whom length of commitment was not reported. 8Excluding 8 for whom length of commitment was not reported. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 3 6 2 4 5 1 6 i 22 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. Indictment. O f the 1,108 cases o f postal violations 658 were reported as pre sented to United States grand juries. The remaining 450 cases in cluded those in which no court action was taken, those disposed of in preliminary hearings before United States commissioners, those presented to United States district courts by filing information (as is permissible in cases of misdemeanors), and cases heard by State courts. In 84.2 per cent of the 575 cases in which the finding o f the grand jury was reported, a bill o f indictment was returned, and in only 15.8 per cent o f the cases was “ no b ill” returned. O f the 38 cases o f children under 10 years o f age, only 8 were presented to United States grand juries; 5 resulted in,' indictment, 2 in no indictment, and in 1 case the finding was not reported. The facts regarding indictment and age at apprehension are given in Table 7. Table 7.— A ge at apprehension and grand ju ry finding; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal laws. Children violating postal laws. Cases presented to United States grand jury. Finding reported. Age at apprehension. Total. No bill of indictment returned. T i o t1a i1. Bill of indictment returned. Total. Number. T o ta l.......................... 1,108 658 575 91 Under 10 years...................... 10 to 11 years........................ 12 to 13 years......................... 14 to 15 years......................... 16 to 17 years......................... Not reported, hut under 18 years........... ...................... 38 70 150 308 532 8 20 56 175 395 7 15 51 155 345 2 10 4 2 8 28 53 Per cent. Number. 15.8 484 18.1 15.4 5 15 43 127 292 Cases not pre sented Findto ing United not re- States ported. grand jury.1 Per cent. 84.2 83 450 81.9 84.6 1 5 5 20 50 30 50 94 133 137 2 6 2 i These cases include those in which nocourt action wastaken, those presented to the U. S. district courts on information filed, and cases before State courts. TIME BETWEEN APPREHENSION AND DISPOSITION. The length o f time between arrest and final disposition is usually much longer in Federal court cases than in cases before juvenile and other State courts. The cases heard in the Federal courts must fre quently wait a month or possibly longer until the court meets near the residence o f the child; or, when there is a crowded calendar, the more serious cases are given preference, and the juvenile cases are postponed until the next term o f court; or the necessity o f presenting the case to the grand jury lengthens the period. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 23 CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. The tendency in juvenile courts has been to hear cases as soon as possible after arrest, the period o f time between arrest and-hearing rarely exceeding one week, though cases may be continued for a some what longer period for final disposition. The time between apprehension and disposition in 544 :cases before United States district courts is shown below: Per cent disNumber. tribution. Total1------------------------ -— 1------ r__i_________________ _ 544 Less than 2 w eek s____ :_____ _ _ _ ____________i _ _________ _ _ _ ________ 90 2 weeks, less than 1 month i;__________ _______________ ^ __________ 66 1 month, less than 2 _________ _ _______ __ _________ ___________________ 107 2 to 3 months______________________________ ________________ _______ 131 4 to 5 months__________ „________________ __ ___ w _,_____ ±__ j___1____ 55 6 to 7 months______________ .! _____________ _______ ________________ 40 8 to 9 m onths.__ _ _ _______' ______ £ ______________ ________________ 17 10 to 11 months_________ _______ _________________ ___ _________ _ 11 1 year or o ver______________________________________________________ 27 100.0 . 16. 5 12 .1 19.7 2 4 .1 10.1 7 .4 3 1 2.0 5.0 O f the 315 cases referred to juvenile and other State courts in which time between apprehension and disposition was known, only 2 cases were reported in which the intervening period was over 6 months, being from 10 to 11 months in 1 case and 1 year or over in the other. The majority of these cases (235) were heard within two weeks from date o f arrest. The following list gives the details of this information for the 315 cases : Per cent disNumber. tribution. Total -------------------------------- ________________ ______________ __il 315 100. 0 Less than 2 weeks______________ ,_____ t___:______ ____ _________ ______235 2 weeks, less than 1 month_________ _____________ ____ ________ 36 1 month, less than 2 _____ ____ !_______________ ______________ 'Jg\j__ 11 2 to 3 m onths_________;____________;££_£____ __£ ____ |____ __ ___ J___ 25 4 to 5 months______ _______ft*____________ ___ ___ _____ 6 10 to 11 months___ __ __ __________ ;_____________ ;____________ _______ 1 1 year or o ver__________________ ,___________ ;_____ ........ ...... .......... 1 7 4 .6 11 .4 3 .5 7 .9 1 .9 0 .3 0 .3 In some o f the Federal court cases the long interval is due to the policy o f continuing cases from time to time as a substitute for pro bation or as a means o f handling the case without commitment. Continuance was reported in 117, or 17.3 per cent, o f the 676 cases, thé larger number o f such cases occurring among those in which intervals o f more than six months between apprehension and dis position were reported. In 25 o f the 117 continued cases it was reported that continuance was pending the child’s good behavior or to allow for probation informally arranged; 25 were continued for other reasons; and in 1 Excluding 132 cases in which time between apprehension and disposition was not reported. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 24 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. 67 cases the reason was not reported. The length o f time between arrest, and disposition in the 117 Federal court cases continued is given below : Total. 117 2 weeks, less than 1 month. 1 month, less than 2_______ 2 to 8 . months________________ 6 to 7 months________________ 8 to 9 months________________ 10 to 11 months_____________ 1 year and over_____________ 1 2 4 9 10 4 15 72 Interval not reported_______ Only 3.8 per cent o f the cases heard by juvenile and other State courts were reported continued—two on informal probation, six for other reasons, and five for reasons not stated. DETENTION. Number detained. The types o f detention used by United States district courts and by juvenile and other State courts before trial or pending admission to institutions were reported in 348 cases—260 heard by United States district courts and 88 by juvenile and other State courts. In 88 cases it was reported that there was no detention; 66 o f these were in United States district courts and 22 in juvenile and other State courts. O f the 79 children in whose cases there was no court action 20 were known to have been detained, 17 o f them in jail. No infor mation as to detention was available for 578 cases in which court action was taken; in 123 cases children were remanded in default o f bond, but it was not reported whether they were actually de tained. The number reported detained is probably very much lower than the actual number held. Most o f the information concerning detention was obtained from institution and jail records, the for mer in most cases showing only the boys’ statements, since the court papers sent to the institutions seldom reported on the matter. Type o f detention. O f the 326 children tried before United States district courts for whom information was obtained as to detention, 260—79.8 per cent__ were detained. Jail detention was practically the only method used and was reported for 91.2 per cent o f the 260 cases. O f the 27 chil dren detained by State courts other than juvenile 24 were reported detained in jail. In contrast, only 16 o f the 61 children detained by juvenile courts were held in jail. Table 8 shows the types of https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 25 CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. detention used by Federal courts and by juvenile and other State courts, together with the ages o f the children. T able 8.— Type o f detention used by Federal, juvenile, and other State courts, according to age at apprehension; children arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating postal laws. Children violating postal laws who were reported as to detention. Detained. Type of court and age at apprehension. Total.1 Not de tained. Total. In jail. In juvenile other Place of detention In place of detention home or detention. not re S. P. C. C. ported. shelter. Total................................, 436 88 348 277 51 18 2 Children before United States district courts......... ............... 326 66 260 s 237 9 12 2 2 5 16 43 2 7 29 68 153 1 2 5 25 * 57 4147 1 1 5 3 1 3 6 2 1 16 to 17 years........................ Age not reported................. 2 9 34 84 196 1 Children before juvenile and other State courts................... 110 22 88 40 42 6 Under 10 years......... . ...... .. 10 to 11 years........................ 12 to 13 years....................... 14 to 15 years........................ 16 to 17 years........................ 4 16 23 36 31 2 6 5 7 2 2 10 18 29 29 1 3 6 8 22 1 7 9 19 6 3 2 1 Under 10 years................... . 12 to 13 years........................ 1 1 Not including 79 children involved in cases in which there was no court action, 15 in which court action was not reported, and 578 not reported as to detention. Twenty of the 79 children for whom there was no court action were known to have been detained, 17 of them in j ail. * Includes 6 children detained in j ail part of the time, and in j uvenile detention home or Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children shelter the remainder of the time. * Includes 4 children mentioned in note 2. 4Includes 2 children mentioned in note 2. Because o f aversion to placing juveniles in jail or because State laws prohibited such detention, 21— 8.1 per cent—o f the 260 children whose cases were heard by Federal courts for whom the facts with reference to detention were reported, were by informal arrangement detained in juvenile detention homes, industrial schools, county de tention homes (not reported as juvenile detention homes), and family boarding homes. O f the 9 children under 12 years o f age, 7 were detained in jail; of those 16 and 17 years o f age 96.1 per cent were reported detained in jail. O f the 79 children with regard to whom no court action was taken 20 were reported detained between arrest and conference with the United States attorney or final decision as to method o f handling the case— 17 in jail, 2 in a juvenile detention home or a shelter main tained by the Society for the Prevention o f Cruelty to Children, and https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 26 THE FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. for 1 the place of detention was not reported. In a few instances it was decided to take no action because the child had been detained in jail, and this was considered a sufficient punishment. The ages o f the IT children detained in jail were as follows: T o ta l________________________ —.--------- ----- ------ ------------------------------------— Under 10 years of age. 10 to 11 years------------12 to- 13 years------------14 to 15 years------------16 to 17 years------------- 17 7 2 1 4 3 The T children under 10 years of age detained in j ail comprised all the children in this age group in whose cases no court action was taken. The 3 children for whom detention other than jail was reported were 14 years of age or over. Length of detention. The longer period between apprehension and disposition in the Federal court cases necessitated longer periods of detention than were required in cases before juvenile and other (¡State courts. Six teen children were reported detained for four months or over. De tention was sometimes longer than the time between apprehension and disposition, since in cases o f commitment to institutions the child was frequently returned to jail to await the convenience of the United States marshal in taking him to the institution. The requirement o f bond for release by the Federal courts is also a factor in increasing the time of detention, since it is often difficult for the children to furnish bond; and even in cases where bond was furnished it was sometimes two or three days before it was secured. In the largest number of the 260 Federal court cases in which de tention was reported— 91, or 35 per cent—the child was detained less than two weeks; but a considerable number were held for longer periods, as shown in the following list. Total Less than 2 weeks---------- r ----------------------- ---------------------- --------------------------------2 weeks, less than 1 month— L" — ---------- --------------------- *— ----------- — ------------1 month, less than 2__ — t.---------- ---------- — — ..-------- — — ----------- ------------2 to 3 months-------------------------------------- .---------- —— ---------------— ------------- — ¿¿« 4-« 4 to 5 months----------------------------------------------------------— — — -------------- ,— — — 6 to 7 m onths-------------------------- -------------- ------------ -------- --— - — — -------------- — Length of detention not reported---------------------------- ------------------- ---------------------- 260 91 32 31 27 H 5 63 Eighty-eight children were reported detained by juvenile and other State courts ; all but 1 o f the 35 for whom length o f detention was reported were detained less than two weeks. It is o f interest to compare the length o f detention with the length o f time between apprehension and disposition. O f the 19T children https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 27 CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAW S. before Federal courts in whose cases this comparison was possible, 66.5 per cent were held only part o f the time between apprehension and final disposition, and 33.5 per cent were detained for the entire period. In a majority o f the latter cases the time between appre hension and disposition was less than four months. Table 9 shows the duration o f detention for cases before the United States district courts. Table 9.— T im e b etw een apprehension and disposition and duration o f deten t io n ; children a rrested in 1918 and 1919 fo r viola tin g posta l la w s , and brought b efore U nited S ta tes district courts. Children violating postal laws and brought before U. S. district courts. Rep ortéd as to detention. Time between apprehension and disposition. Detained. Total. Not de Total. tained. Total. Entire time. Part time. Not re ported as to de Length tention. of de tention not re ported. Total.......................................... ' 676 326 66 260 66 131 63 350 Less than 2 weeks................................ 2 weeks, less than 1 month................. •1month................................................ 2 to 3 months....................................... 4 to 5 months....................................... 6 to 7 months....................................... 8 to 9 months....................................... 90 66 107 131 55 40 17 11 27 132 40 30 60 70 29 23 8 6 10 50 12 3 4 8 13 10 3 1 1 11 28 27 56 62 16 13 13 11 11 20 8 2 8 7 20 8 2 2 5 9 39 1 7 9 25 34 6 9 5 -4 7 25 50 36 47 61 26 17 9 5 17 82 Not reported........................................ 1 2 13 The duration of detention was reported in only 35 of the 88 juvenile and other State court cases. In 25 of these 35 cases the child was detained the entire time, the period being less than two weeks in 24 cases, and two weeks but less than a month in 1 case. ♦ •• SOCIAL HISTORY. Information regarding social history—including previous delin quency records, school attendance, employment, home conditions, and mode o f living—was available from the post-office records in comparatively few cases. The information obtained from the Post Office Department was supplemented, however, from court and in stitutional records. Reports were obtained as to previous delin quency for only 391 o f the 1,108 children, information as to schobl attendance for 573 children, employment prior to arrest for 718, mode of living for 365, and home conditions for 351 children. 80749°—22-----5 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 28 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . Previous delinquency records. For the purpose o f this study a previous delinquency record has been taken to mean that the child had been arrested previously, since reports on the post-office records are made in terms of the num ber o f arrests. O f the 391 children for whom information was re ported as to whether or not they had been previously delinquent, 187 had been arrested previously, and 204 were first offenders. O f the 187, 81 had been arrested once; 24, twice; 11, three times; 3, four times; and 4, five times or more; the number o f arrests was not re ported in 64 cases, though the child was known to have been arrested at least once previously. Sixty o f the 377 children fo r whom data with reference to previous institutional commitments were available were reported to have been committed to institutions prior to the postal violation, and five o f these children had had more than one such commitment. Over half— 54.3 per cent—o f the 186 first offenders for whom dis position by Federal, juvenile, or other State court was reported, were committed to institutions—Federal, State, or private— and to jails. This was 16 per cent less than the percentage (70.3) o f those committed who were known to have been arrested previously. Over three-fourths—78.1 per cent—o f the first offenders before United States district courts were committed to institutions, as compared with only one-sixth— 16.7 per cent—of the first offenders before juvenile and other State courts. The proportion placed on proba tion was larger for first offenders than for children previously ar rested. The dispositions are shown in table 10 for the 344 cases in which court action was reported, and in which information was obtained with regard to whether the child had been arrested pre viously. T able 10.— D isp osition o f case, p reviou s delin qu ency record, and t y p e o f c o u r t; children a rrested in 1918 and 1919 fo r viola tin g posta l lanes. Children violating postal laws whose previous delinquency records were reported. First offenders. Arrested previously. Disposition of case. Total. Total. Before Before United juvenile States and other district State courts. courts. Total. Before Before United juvenile States and other district State courts. courts. Total.................................. 1344 186 114 72 158 2 105 53 Commitment to institution....... Probation................................... Other disposition........................ 212 68 64 101 48 37 89 2 23 12 46 14 111 20 27 81 6 18 30 14 9 1 Exclusive of 11 children who were first offenders and 7 children who had been arrested previously in whose cases no court action was reported. * Includes 8 children before U. S. district courts, whose cases were later transferred to juvenile courts. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAWS. 29 School attendance. O f the 573 children for whom information with reference to school attendance was obtained, only 163 were reported to be attending school at the time o f their arrest. Included in these are some cases o f boys or girls arrested during vacation but reported as attending school during the school term; doubtless this was also true o f a number among the 410 reported as not attending school. Three chil dren under 10 years o f age, 7 who were 10 or 11 years o f age, and 15 aged 12 or 13 years were reported as not attending school, making a total o f 25 under 14 years o f age not attending. Table 11 gives the school attendance according to age distribution. T ab le 11.— A g e at apprehension and school a tte n d a n c e ; children a rrested m 1918 and 1919 fo r violatin g posta l laws. Children violating postal laws. Age at apprehension. Total. Attend ing school. Not attend ing school. School attend ance not reported. Total...................................................................................... 1,108 163 410 535 Under 10 years................................................................................ 10 to 11 years............................ ...................................................... 12 to 13 years................................................................................... 14 to 15 years................................................................................... 16 to 17 years................................................................................... Not reported............ ....................................................................... 38 70 150 308 532 10 9 27 37 53 34 3 3 7 15 99 283 3 26 36 98 156 215 4 Em ploym ent. Regulations regarding employment of children in the postal service.— The postal laws and regulations contain little specific refer ence to the employment o f children, but the following excerpt, in connection with the fact that letter carriers and postal clerks are required by civil-service rules to be 18 years o f age or over, indi cates that it is not the intention o f the post-office authorities that boys under 16 years o f age be employed as special-delivery mes sengers in cities i11 A t city delivery offices postmasters should employ substitute carriers and clerks, preferably the former, instead o f boys, as special-delivery messengers, where the volume of such business is sufficient to warrant these employees in taking up the work and the conditions are otherwise favorable; but boys 16 years o f age or over may be so employed when, in the judgment of the post master, circumstances require it or he is o f the opinion that the efficiency o f the service will be promoted thereby. v Number employed and type of employment.—Three hundred and sixteen o f the 1,108 children were reported employed prior to arrest, 402 were not employed, and no report concerning employment was obtained in 390 cases. It was impossible to make a detailed classin P ostal Laws and Regulations, 1913, sec. 864, par. 1, W ashington, D. C. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 30 THE FEDERAL COURTS AND THE DELINQUENT CHILD. fication as to the type o f employment for those outside the postal service, as they were grouped together under employment other than postal. A considerable proportion o f the postal violations by juve niles may be accounted for by the temptations offered by their em ployment in positions where they had access to mail. O f the 316 working children, 166— 52.5 per cent—were employed by the Post Office Department; o f these, 95, or 57.2 per cent, were specialdelivery messengers ; 42, or 25.3 per cent, were clerks or substitute clerks; and 29, or 17.5 per cent, were in other types o f postal service. Employment other than postal was reported for 143, or 45.3 per cent; and for 7, or 2.2 per cent, the kind o f employment was not reported. T able 12.— A g e and em p loym en t at tim e o f a p p reh en sio n ; children a rrested in 1918 and 1919 fo r violating •posta l laws. Children violating postal laws. Employment at time of appre hension. Total. Under 10 years. 38 10-11 years. 12-13 years. 14-15 years. 16-17 years. Age not reported. Total.................................. 1,108 70 150 308 532 Total employed.......................... 316 6 14 72 222 2 In postal service................... 166 1 1 31 132 !T3 Special-delivery m e ssenger.......................... Clerk“ ............................. Other postal service___ 95 42 29 1 1 18 8 5 75 34 23 i In other than postal service. Employed, occupation not reported............................. 143 5 12 38 87 i 1 3 3 Not employed................. .......... Not reported............................. 402 390 45 19 88 48 116 120 123 187 7 26 12 10 4 4 Ages of those employed.—A total o f 20 children under 14 years o f age—the minimum working age under the majority o f State childlabor laws— were reported as being employed. Some o f these chil dren may have been employed only part time or during vacation, but detailed information was obtained for very few cases. Only 2 were employed in the postal service, 17 were otherwise employed, and the kind o f employment was not reported in 1 case. Reference to Table 12 will show that almost half the employed children be tween the ages o f 14 and 16 years and three-fifths o f those between 16 and 18 years o f age were in the postal service. Although the general policy o f the Post Office Department is not to employ chil dren under 16 years o f age, 20 per cent o f the children offending against postal laws who were employed in the postal service were under that age—20 o f the 95 as special-delivery messengers and 13 o f the 71 in other kinds o f postal service. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAWS. 31 The number o f juvenile postal employees reported as violating postal laws was greater in 1919 than in 1918 by 40 cases, the largest increase being in the number o f special-delivery boys arrested, owing to the prevalence o f “ stubbing ” in some localities during that year. Type of employment and type of offense.— The types o f offenses committed by the 166 postal employees were in all cases suggested by their type o f service. The most frequent were larceny o f mail and “ stubbing.” Over half—56.5 per cent—o f the entire number o f cases o f larceny o f mail by children employed at time o f apprehen sion involved postal employees. The detail is given in the following list : T otal------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ %______ 166 Larceny__________________Jr______________________ ________ ______________ ___ ____ O f m ail______________________ ________________________________________ gy O f postal funds or property____,_L______ __________________________ O th er_____ T_____________ __ _ _ _____________ f________ _________ _________ “ Stubbing ” _ _ _______________________________________________________ ____ __ Embezzlement________________ ___________________ ________________________ __ Breaking and entering and larceny, post office.____ _____________ Forgery______________________ ______________________ __________ ___ __ i 3 go , g 3 _____ Larceny o f mail and forgery __________ _____________________ _________ ;j_____ Having stolen property in possession____________________________ ___________ _ Other_________ ___________________________________________ __________ ________ 2 2 2 1 Larceny o f mail was the offense most frequently committed by those in other than postal-service occupations; 62 o f the 143 so employed committed that offense. O f the 246 children charged with post-office breaking and entering and larceny—the offense with which the second largest number of children were charged— 111 were known not to be employed, no employment information was obtained for another group o f 111, and 21 were known to be employed outside the postal service. Home conditions and mode o f living. In 351 cases some information was available regarding the home conditions, and in 365 the mode o f living was known. The records o f the Post Office Department have been supplemented by the various institutional and court records secured. Social histories were ob tained in the cities visited for those cases referred to the juvenile courts for action. One o f the phases o f the problem o f the child offender tried by a Federal court is brought out in the comparative amount o f social history obtained by Federal and juvenile courts. Because o f lack of probation service very little preliminary social investigation is made in the Federal courts, except in the few courts where the judge arranges informally for it. The records o f the United States attorneys and the court dockets give almost no social information; the amount obtained depends largely upon the policy o f https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 32 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . the inspectors in charge o f the divisions or o f the inspectors handling the cases. Investigations by the inspectors are primarily to obtain facts regarding the details o f the offense and are more comparable with police investigations than with investigations by juvenilecourt probation officers. However, many inspectors attempt to obtain some social information and report it to the United States attorney with a view to promoting a better understanding o f the case. Postal cases referred to juvenile or other State courts having pro bation systems are investigated as are other delinquency cases, and reports in such cases contain information relating to family history and home conditions. In cases committed to institutions by juvenile courts the social history is sent to the institution, but the commit ment papers sent by the United States district courts give only the fact o f arrest and such other facts as may be entered in the court docket. Because o f this absence o f social history in cases before the Federal courts, it is impossible to estimate the number o f cases in which the home conditions would probably have warranted proba tion had there been provision for such disposition. Sufficient in formation to permit o f analysis was obtained only in regard to the status o f the parents, which was reported for 351 cases as follows : Total children______________________________________________________________ 351 Parents living together----------------------------------------------------------------------- -— -----------188 Mother dead, father in home--------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- 12 Father dead, mother in home----------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------- - 40 Stepmother, father in home-------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Stepfather, mother in home_------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 21 Both parents dead------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------- 20 Mother in home, father deserting----------------------------------------------------------------------8 Father in home, mother deserting------------ r ------------------------------- -----------------------2 Separated or divorced------------------------------------18 Mother in home------------------------------------------------------------------------- — --------- 1® Other__________________________________________________________________ 1 8 Home otherwise broken-------------------------1* Father in home, mother a w a y 12— - - -------------------------- — ------------- ------1 Mother in home, father a w a y 13---------- ------------------------------------------------ 13 One parent dead, other deserting------------------------------------------------------------- «$4— 2 One parent dead, other not reported----------------------------------------- ------------------------- H One parent dead, other a w a y 14-------------------------.--------------------------------- --------------3 13 W hereabouts o f m other was not reported. 18 Includes six cases in w hich whereabouts o f father was not reported. 14 Includes one case in w hich father boarded away from home. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN VIOLATING POSTAL LAWS. 33 T ab le 13.— A g e a t apprehension and m o d e o f livin g ; children a rrested in 1918 and 1919 fo r violating p osta l laws. Children violating postal laws whose mode of living was reported. Mode of living. Age at apprehension. Total. Parental home. Total............................... Under 10 years............ .............. 10 to 11 years............................ 12 to 13 years........................... 11 to 15 years.............................. 10 to 17 years........................... Not reported............................. Rela tive’s home. 365 296 31 7 27 53 121 151 3 6 23 18 99 117 3 3 2 15 11 Living Own inde home, married.1 pend ently. Other. 1 11 23 1 1 3 7 1 1 2 7 12 1 All girls. For 365 children—344 boys and 21 girls—mode o f living was reported. O f these, 296 were living in the parental home, at least one parent being present; 31 were in the homes o f relatives; 4 girls were married and living in their own homes; 10 boys and 1 girl were living independently, 4 o f these under 16 years o f age. The 23 reported as living in some other manner included 6 runaways or transients, 1 in a home for dependent children, 1 away at school, 3 living with foster parents, and 1 girl living with a man to whom she was not married. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CH A P TE R III. CH ILD R E N COM M ITTED TO IN ST ITU T IO N S. The institutions to which the largest number o f juveniles violating Federal laws are committed by the United States district courts are the National Training School for Boys (located in the District of Columbia) and certain State reformatories with which the Depart ment o f Justice contracts to receive Federal prisoners. Proportion ately fewer commitments are made in cases referred to juvenile and other State courts, and the children aré sent to State industrial schools or to private institutions, few being committed to State reformatories. Two serious problems are presented by the types o f institutions being used for Federal commitments o f juveniles: First, the age limits o f offenders received at these institutions; second, the inaccessi bility o f the institutions to a great majority o f the courts. The National Training School for Boys receives boys through the age o f IT years, and is the one Federal institution for juveniles only which receives violators o f the Federal laws from outside the Dis trict o f Columbia.1 While the fact that this institution receives only juveniles is favorable, the great distance from most o f the United States district courts creates a serious problem, not only in the ex pense to the Government o f sending a boy to it but also in the effect o f committing him to an institution so far from home. Doubtless some commitments to this school from distant States are made be cause the judges prefer an institution for juveniles, regardless o f distance. The State reformatories receive boys and men between the ages o f 16 and 30. Where such institutions hold contracts to receive Fed eral cases, boys under 16 years o f age and o f 16 and IT years are being confined in institutions with older men. Legally, these State reformatories are supposed to receive only first offenders, but both those visited reported that this rule was not being strictly enforced. 1 The National T raining School fo r Girls, also in the D istrict o f Columbia, is a Federal institution fo r juveniles, but girls outside the D istrict are seldom comm itted to this insti tution and those com m itted from the Juvenile Court o f the D istrict o f Columbia are comm itted fo r offenses under the juvenile-court law. During the w ar 15 girls were sent to the school from a southern State on the charge o f im m orality w ithin the 5-mile zone o f an Arm y camp. A ll but three o f these g irls were transferred to the wom an’ s reform a tory o f another State within a few days, as the National Training School for Girls was not fitted to care fo r that type o f case. These girls have not been included in this study, because the offense arose from a w ar situation, and no records o f like cases were available from the other sources consulted. 34 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN COMMITTED TO INSTITUTIONS. 35 Hence, besides being with older men, the boys are often thrown with so-called hardened criminals. Except the New York State Reformatory at Elmira, which re ceives Federal prisoners from the State o f New York only, the insti tutions receive commitments from outside the State in which the re formatory is located. NATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS. Num ber o f boys committed and types o f offenses. Two hundred and forty-seven boys arrested during 1918 and 1919 for violations o f Federal laws were reported committed to the Na tional Training School for Boys, including 21 cases not committed until 1920. The number o f commitments o f children arrested during 1918 was larger than for 1919, 141 for the former year and 106 for the latter. O f the boys committed, 187 were white and 60 were colored. Boys are also committed to this institution from the Juvenile Court o f the District o f Columbia for offenses under the juvenilecourt law, but these commitments were not comparable with those included in this study and are omitted. O f the 247 boys, only 4 were committed from the District o f Columbia, 1 by the Supreme Court o f the District (which has the powers o f a United States district court), and 3 by the juvenile court, to which the cases had been referred by the United States attorney o f the District on preferred charges; the remaining 243 boys were committed by United States district attorneys in 24 different States. The extreme distances from which many children were committed are evident from the following list: Total_________ — ___________247 Alabama__________ ._____________ — Connecticut_____ _— ----- .-------------Delaware---------------- _ _ _ _ _ _ ---------District of Columbia-—:___ Florida____________________________ Georgia---------------------Illinois_____________ ___________ _— Kansas-------------------Kentucky------------- — — -----------------Louisiana-----------------------Maryland_________ ;— -------------------Michigan------------------------- 26 2 1 4 16 18 4 8 9 18 5 3 Mississippi______________;___________ Missouri______________ ___________ .__ New Jersey_________________________ New York_____ _______________ ___ ;_ North Carolina-,_______ 1_ jl____ _ O h io __________________________ O k lah om a________fá_________ 1-fiffifl Pennsylvania______ I_____!__________ South Carolina_______ _________ „___ Tennessee_________________________ Texas'________ ,_______________ _ V irgin ia________ .__________*_________ W est Virginia________________________ 8 5 3 19 18 10 3 7 17 12 9 8 14 The number o f boys committed for postal violations is only slightly larger than the number committed for other offenses—132, as com pared with 115. O f the latter, interstate-commerce offenses were the https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 36 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . most frequent, there being 74 cases. The numbers committed for the various offenses other than postal are listed as follows: T o ta l----------------— -------------------------------------------- ------------------ -------------------- Interstate-commerce violations_____________ ___________________________ .___ Internal-revenue violations ___________________________ National defense act violations______________________________________________ Railroad offenses (during time when railroads were under Federal control)_________________________________________________ Larceny of United States property— __L ___ 1_____ alUi-.______ __________ Forgery (to defraud the Government)________________________ Other *_________________________________________________________________________ 115 74 12 7 5 7 O f the postal offenses, larceny o f mail and post-office breaking and entering and larceny were the specific charges for which the largest number o f boys were committed, there being 63 commitments for the former and 39 for the latter. The numbers committed to the Na tional Training School for Boys for the various types o f postal offenses were as follows: T o ta l 8___________ ________________________________________________ _______ Larceny of mail * _______,__________________________ ___________________________ 63 Breaking and entering and larceny, post office___ ¿_,______ _________ _______ Forgery------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ _■------- 10 W rongful use o f mails___________ „•____________________________ _______________ Embezzlement_______________________________________ ___________ 1_____________ * Larceny o f postal funds or property_________________ :___ ____ _____________ Attempted robbery_______________________________________ ____________________ Breaking and entering, post office____________________________ __________ I____ Detaining or destroying mail___________ — ____ ___________ ______;_________ Larceny o f mail and forgery_________ ___________ 1 __________ ________ i____ ___ “ Stubbing ” special-delivery letters___ l_______ ________ _________ _____ ______ 132 39 6 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 The following are instances of some of the less serious offenses by juveniles against Federal laws, for which they were tried and committed by Federal courts: (1) A 14-year-old boy was committed to the National Training School for Boys for burning a haystack which was on United States property. (2) Another 14-year-old boy was committed to the National Training School for larceny o f bicycle tires belonging to the United States. 2 Includes one case each o f deserting the Arm y, trespassing on United States property, purchasing such property unlaw fully, embezzlement, destroying w ar material, and viola tion o f the war-savings and drug acts. 8 No post-office record could be found fo r 10 o f these cases. T w o cases not included here were reported by the P ost Office Department, but there was n o record o f the children’ s having been received at the school, and doubtless the order o f comm itm ent was changed and the change not reported to the postal authorities. 4 Larceny o f m ail from lock boxes— 23 cases— and o f parcel-post packages— 12 cases— were the most numerous o f this general class o f offenses. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 37 CHILDREN COMMITTED TO INSTITUTIONS. (3) A third boy stole a bottle of whisky from a box car. He was charged with violating the interstate-commerce act and committed for three years. • (4) Taking a ride on a hand car which was railroad property was the offense for which a 16-year-old boy was committed to the National Training School for two years. It was his first offense. A ges o f boys com m itted. Boys are received by the National Training School through the age o f 17 years. As will be seen by the following list, over fourfifths o f the 247 boys committed for Federal offenses during the two years o f the study were between the ages o f and 17 years, inclusive; 44 boys were under 14 years, and 1 boy was 18 at com mitment, having become 18 after his arrest. 14 Per cent disNumber. tribution. T o ta l---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 247 100.0 1 .4 18 12 to 13 y e a r s______ :■__________________________________ • _________ ___ 25 14 to 15 y e a r s_____ __________________________________________________ 93 16 to 17 y e a r s -------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 108 18 years______________________________________________________________ 1 Not reported, but under 16 years_____________._____________________ 1 7.3 Under 10 y e a r s____________________________ 1______________________ __ 10 to 11 y ea rs________ _________________ ____________________________ 10 .1 37. 7 43. 7 .4 .4 Term o f com m itm ent and parole. Commitments to this institution from the United States district courts are, with few exceptions, for definite periods o f time, which may terminate before or after the completion o f the child’s minority. Therefore in this institution, which is primarily for juveniles, boys often remain beyond the age o f 21 years, especially in cases where no parole is earned or where parole is violated and the boys are returned.5 O f the 247 boys committed for Federal offenses, only 11 were com mitted until they should reach majority, and only 3 for indeterminate periods. The variance in terms o f commitment is due to the differ ent policies o f the judges in sentencing for maximum or for minimum terms. The largest number o f boys (79) received sentences o f two but less than three years. One boy barely 14 years o f age was com mitted for seven years for robbing a post office—his first offense, so far as known. O f the boys under 14, only 1 was committed for less than a year and the remainder for various terms between two and five but less than six years. Table 14 shows these terms by age at commitment. 6 Report o f Board o f Trustees o f the National Training School fo r B oys fo r the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1919, p. 4. W ashington, D. C., 1920. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 38 THE FEDERAL COURTS AND THE DELINQUENT CHILD. T a b l e 14.— T e rm o f com m itm en t, b y age at c o m m itm e n t; children com m itted to N ational Training Sch ool fo r B o y s fo r F ed era l offenses in 1918 and 1919. Children committed to National Training School for Boys. Term of commitment. Age at commitment. Total. Less than 1 year. Total................... 247 9 Under 10 years............. 10 to 11 years................ 12 to 13 years................ 14 to 15 years................ 16 to 17 years................ 18 years..-.................... Not reported, but under 16 years............... 1 18 25 93 108 1 1 3 5 1 2 3 4 5 7 year, years, years, years, years, years, Dur Inde- Not less less less less less ing less terre than than than than than than mi mi- ported. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8. nority. nate. 42 79 43 23 2 1 15 24 1 7 4 32 34 9 14 15 2 4 6 10 11 1 12 1 11 1 5 3 7 3 24 1 3 2 ft 15 1 1 Became IS years of age between apprehension and commitment. The length o f commitment dated from the day the order was made by the court, regardless of the date upon which the boy actually arrived at the institution. As boys were committed to the school by courts located at great distances from it, the interval between court disposition and admission to the school varied, being in 34 cases one month or over. The intervals between commitment and admission were as follow s: Total_______________________ _ 247 Less than 1 week___________ ____ 80 1 week, less than 2_____ j_____ 68 2 weeks, less than 1 month________ 1 month_________________________— ifi 2 months-___________________ 68 3 months \ I'll*___ __________ ; 4 months-.______ 1___ _il_______J_ 5 months-_____ ______ 7 months—;____ ______ 23 Interval not reported___________ 7 1 l 1 1 2 O f the boys who waited two months or more, eight were from Alabama, one was from Illinois, one from Kentucky, one from Ohio, and one from Tennessee. Often the boy is detained after court commitment until arrange ments can be made for the United States marshal o f his district to ac company him to the institution. Twenty-four boys were returned to jail o f ter commitment, while five who had not been detained in jail pending hearing were so held thereafter. Boys may earn parole by the end o f a year from the date o f com mitment, upon satisfactory record according to the requirements o f the school. This study was made early in 1920, and therefore very few o f the boys sentenced in 1919 were eligible for parole. Only 14 of the 247 boys were reported as paroled; in 13 o f these cases the https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 39 CHILDREN- COMMITTED TO INSTITUTIONS. offense was committed in 1918, and in 1 in 1919. At the time of the study, 41 boys had been discharged, and 36 were reported to have escaped. Detention prior to com m itm ent. The records o f the National Training School show detention of the boys prior to commitment, but the accuracy o f the figures is qualified by the fact that this information is obtained only from the boys’ statements in the initial interviews at the school. O f the boys committed, 192— 77.7 per cent—were reported as having been de tained part or all o f the time between apprehension and disposition; 176, or 91.7 per cent o f those detained, were held in jails; the re maining 16 were detained as follows: 9 in a juvenile detention home or a shelter maintained by the Society for the Prevention o f Cruelty to Children, 3 in a house of detention (not reported whether or not a special juvenile detention home), 1 in an industrial school, 1 held by the juvenile court (place o f detention not reported), and in 2 cases the type o f detention was not reported. Ninety-five o f the 132 boys committed for postal offenses were detained previous to commitment, 82 of the 95 reporting jail detention. Ninety-seven o f the 115 com mitted for other offenses reported detention; 94, or all but 3, were detained in jails, the 3 reporting detention in a juvenile detention home. Three-fifths o f those detained in jails were under 16 years o f age. The age distribution o f the 176 boys reporting jail detention is shown as follows: Per cent disNumber. tribution. Total Under 16 y e a r s_____ Under 10 years. 10 to 11 years 12 to 13 years 14 to 15 years 16 to 17 years_______ https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 176 1 0 0.0 5 9 .7 1 13 28 63 71 4 0 .3 40 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . The long periods o f detention reported were due partly to the length o f time between apprehension and- commitment in Federal courts and partly to the difficulty in obtaining bonds. In all but 9 o f the 192 cases in which the boy was detained, length o f detention was reported. In 52,5 per cent of the 183 cases, the boy was detained for one month or over. Length of detention is shown below : P er cent disNumber. tribution. Total 4 -— 1-—~ __ -________ Less than 1 month_____________ Less than 2 weeks______ ii'^i 2 weeks, less than 1 month. One month or over____ _____ 1 month_________ __________ 2 months_________________ _ 3 months_______ 1_________ 4 months___l____________ i_ 5 months__;_________ s___j___ 6 months_____ _____________ 10 months_________________ __ 183 100. O' 87 4 7 .5 96 5 2 .5 54 33 43 25 12 9 3 3 1 Previous delinquency records. The results o f the absence o f probation in the Federal courts are shown in the number o f boys committed to the National Training School upon their first offense, many o f whom would doubtless have been placed on probation by a juvenile court. Over half (136) o f the 247 boys committed reported commitment upon their first offenses; 66— over one-fourth—reported one previous arrest; 27— one-tenth—more than one but less than five; and 6 reported five or more previous arrests. The information secured with reference to previous arrests'is as follows: Number. Per cent distribution. T o ta l_____ ___________________________ _________ ______________ 247 1 0 0 .0 No previous a rrests______________ ____ ________________ ___A]__________ 136 1 previous arrest 1___ _____________ T._____ _____ JjL______ _____________ 66 27 More than 1, less than 5 arrests 2__________ ___ __________ jki_______ 5 or more arrests 8_______________ ||________^____ ________ r------- — 6 Number o f arrests not reported 4__________________________________ 12 5 5 .1 26. 7 1 0 .9 2 .4 4 .9 Since these figures are based on the boys’ statements upon entering the school, the proportion reported as previously arrested is un doubtedly an understatement o f the facts. Eighteen reported pre vious institutional records, and 3 had served previous terms in city jails. 1Eight 2Seven 3Three w ith previous institutional records. w ith previous institutional records. w ith previous institutional records. 4 Three having several previous terms in ja il. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN COMMITTED TO INSTITUTIONS. 41 School and employment records. School and employment records previous to commitment were also taken from the boys’ statements upon admission to the school. O f the 184 boys who reported on school attendance, 146, or 59.1 per cent, were not attending school; 24 o f these were under 14 years o f agS, 56 were 14 but under 16, and 66 were 16 but under 18. Nine o f these boys reported that they had never attended school; o f these, 3 were 12 but under 14 years o f age, 2 were 14 but under 16, and 4 were 16 but under 18. Only 38 stated that they were attending school. It was impossible to tabulate the types o f employment, other than postal service, because o f the indefiniteness o f the information. The number o f boys reporting that they were employed prior to commit ment was 131; 55 reported that they were not employed, and 51 did not report as to employment. O f the 53 boys under 14 years o f age, 24—not quite half—were reported as employed, but none were em ployed in the postal service. Sixty-nine o f the 132 boys committed for violating postal laws were employed, only 11 o f these being in postal service of some kind; 43 were not employed; and for 20 the employment was not reported. O f the 115 boys who had been committed for other offenses, 72 were employed, 12 were not employed, and 31 did not report whether or not they were employed. Table 15 gives the data on the employment o f the boys. T able 15.— E m p lo ym en t prior to com m itm en t, b y age at apprehension; children co m m itted to the N ational Training S chool fo r B o y s fo r postal and fo r other F ed era l offen ses in 1918 and 1919. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 42 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . Social history. Very little is known o f the social histories o f the boys coming to the school, as the commitment papers did not include these facts. Each boy upon entrance to the institution was questioned as to his parents’ status and his home environment, and the records showed only the facts thus obtained—in most cases very meager. It was known that 132 boys came from homes where the parents, or the parent and step-parent, were living together; 24 reported both parents dead; 68, one parent dead; and 16 stated that their parents were separated or divorced, 3 o f the latter having one parent in a hospital for the insane. Seven did not report as to status o f parents. TWO STATE REFORMATORIES. Num ber o f boys com m itted and types o f offenses. The New York State Reformatory at Elmira receives Federal commitments from the State o f New York only, and consequently fewer juveniles were committed to that institution than to the Iowa State Reformatory at Anamosa. Ten boys were committed to the New York reformatory during the period covered by this study, and 29 to the Iowa reformatory. Five o f those sent to the New York reformatory were committed for offenses against postal laws and 5 for other offenses, 2 o f the latter having been committed for viola tions o f the interstate-commerce act, 1 for grand larceny, and 2 for offenses not specified. Twenty-two boys were committed to the Iowa reformatory for postal and 7 for other Federal offenses; the latter included 1 committed for internal-revenue violations, 3 for interstatecommerce violations, and 3 for whom the type o f offense was not reported. A ll but one o f those committed to both institutions were committed by United States district courts. The following list shows the localities from which the boys were committed to the Iowa reformatory, and the number from each: T o ta l___________________ ,_________1_______&___________ _________ .is_____ m t California, southern district-.______________a _______________ __________________ Illinois, northern district (Chicago)____ yL§|_________ __ %_________ I|S_ M arylan d____ I---------- -¿ p _____ _ ________________________ 1___A|i__________ 2 Ohio------------ --- L A *4sr%_______-¿-4- ________ — ■ ______________ :_ _______« ______ W ash ington _______________________ j_______ ___ ____________________;________ 1 .____ W est V irgin ia_______________________________________ __________________________ 29 1 13 6 1 q The fact that boys were sent to the Iowa institution from States as far distant as California, Washington, West Virginia, and Mary land, shows the lack o f suitable arrangements for,the commitment o f juveniles to institutions within easy access o f their homes and the courts committing. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CHILDREN COMMITTED TO INSTITUTIONS. 43 A ges o f boys com m itted. No boys under 16 years o f age were committed to the New York reformatory, and only 3 under that age were committed to the Iowa institution. The .largest number (24) were 17 years o f age, 11 were 16, 3 were 15, and 1 was 18, having attained this age between arrest and commitihent. The following list shows the age distribution o f those committed to these institutions: Total______-1__________•-_________________ ______ —______ ___- 39 New Yj6rk State Reformatory, Elmira____ ____ I___ ___i _____________________ /16 yearsJ-^i-u'i-i-it-lL^-____ cSj_____ 1*5-----------------— | | lp §______1 / I ?l years____ _ _ ________ _ ____ __________ _ £ L _ _ _ — l l -8 10 ,4 / 18 years____ _________ ___— ___ ?_____________________ ______________ 1 Io\ya State Reformatory, Anamosa_____ .____ ------------------ ---------------- %____ _ 2 9 15 years------------ _ ------------ ------------------ — ,------ -..-------------- 1— *------- — — 3 16 years------ .-------- ----------------- ------------------------------------- .------------------_ 10 17 years____ __________ i _ _ _____ Z ._ i----------------------------------- !— 16 Term o f com m itm ent, and parole. The terms o f commitment to both these institutions were for defi nite periods, except in two cases o f commitment during minority to the Iowa reformatory. O f the 10 boys committed to the New York reformatory, 1 was committed for a term of five years, 1 for two years and six months, 3 for two years, and 5 for one year but less than two. Commitments to the Iowa reformatory were in general for shorter, terms, there being 12 for periods of six months or less. The longest term was for three years, there being 6 o f that length; 4 boys were committed for two years, 5 for one year, and 2 during minority. Conditions affecting parole are the same for the Federal as for State cases, except that in the case o f Federal offenders a parole, after recommendation by the superintendent and the board o f parole for the institution, must be approved by the Attorney General o f the United States. Parole is earned through good conduct while in the institution. In addition, no prisoner at the New Y ork reformatory may be paroled until he has a position in the line o f work for which he has trained while in the institution and approved by the parole officer in the district to which he is going. Three boys were paroled from the New York institution and five from the Iowa institution. The boys serving short sentences of six months or less would not o f course be eligible for parole. Detention prior to com m itm ent. Detention pending hearing was reported in the case o f only one boy committed to the New York institution. The records o f the Iowa institution did not give any facts regarding detention prior to https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 44 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. commitment; but information from other sources, such as post-office and jail records, showed that seven boys committed to the Iowa re formatory were detained, six of them in county jails, the place o f detention being not reported for one boy. Alkseven were postal offenders and are included in the discussion under> detention in the section on postal offenses. Previous delinquency records. As in the case o f boys committed to the National Training School, a majority (23) o f those committed to the two reformatories were first offenders. One boy was committed for one year and one\month for breaking into a freight car and stealing a bottle o f milk—his first offense. Because the bottle o f milk was stolen from a freight car in interstate shipment the case was taken to the Federal cfyurt, where there were no facilities for placing him on probation, had the judge desired to do so. O f the 15 reporting previous arrest, 7 re ported only one, 3 reported two, and 4 reported three or more. For 1 boy the number o f previous arrests was not reported; and for another there was no report as to whether or not he had been pre viously arrested. One boy had previously served terms in two in stitutions. School and employment records. A ll but 7 o f the 39 boys committed to the two reformatories re ported that they were employed prior to commitment. A ll 10 com mitted to the New York institution were employed in occupations other than postal service. O f the 22 postal offenders committed to the Iowa institution, 12 were in postal service as special-delivery messengers or temporary substitute clerks at the time the offense was committed; 1 was in the Navy; 5 were laborers or mechanics; for 1 the type o f employment was not reported, and 3 reported no em ployment. Three of the 7 committed for other offenses were em ployed, and 4 reported no- employment. Only one o f the seven boys who reported no employment stated that he was attending school prior to commitment, there being no report on this point for the other six. Previous to the completion in December, 1919, of the Woman’s Reformatory at Rockwell City, Iowa, the Iowa State Reformatory had a woman’s departmenti and six girls under 18 years o f age were committed there for violation o f the section o f the national defense act relating to immorality around Army camps. These girls came from Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. Three o f the girls were 16, and three were 17 years o f age. A ll were committed for a definite term o f one year, and the three who had not been discharged were transferred to Rockwell City in December, 1919. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis C H A P TE R IV . CH ILD R E N V IO L A T IN G F E D E R A L L A W S IN EIG H T L O C A L IT IE S. NUMBER OF CASES IN EACH LOCALITY. In order to obtain information concerning the extent o f the problem and the various methods o f procedure in the United States district courts as well as the juvenile and other State courts, eight localities were selected for special study, as follows : District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania (eastern district), New York (eastern and southern districts), Massachusetts, Indiana, and Illinois (northern district).1 Selection o f these localities was made from information received from the Post Office Department supplemented by data from the National Training School for Boys. The places selected were those in which there were the largest number o f cases coming under the scope o f this study and which were representative o f different parts o f the country and o f the different policies in handling Federal cases involving juveniles. In this section o f the report particular attention is called to the disposition made o f juvenile cases other than commitment to the three institutions included in the study, and to the length o f time between the child’s arrest and the final disposition. Short-term com mitments to jail, placing the offender in the custody o f the United States marshal for a day, fines, a few commitments to local industrial schools and private institutions, and informal probation were dispo sitions made frequently bv the Federal courts. The total number o f cases reported for these eight localities was 417, o f which 328 involved postal offenses, and 90 other offenses.' These figures are underestimates of the problem in each locality, be cause o f inability to obtain information as to the exact number o f juveniles committing offenses other than postal, owing to absence o f age data in the records o f the United States attorneys and the Federal courts. The postal cases reported probably include all such 1 The territory included was as fo llo w s : (1 ) D istrict o f C olum bia; (2 ) M aryland (entire S t a t e ); (3 ) eastern district o f P enn sylvania: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, M ontgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and Schuylkill C ounties; (4 ) eastern district o f New Y o rk : Kings (B rooklyn B orou gh ), Nassau, Queens (Queens B orou g h ), Richm ond (Richm ond B orough), and Suffolk C ou n ties; (5 ) southern district o f New Y o rk : Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, New York (B ron x and Manhattan B oroughs), Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and W estchester Counties ; (6 ) Massachu setts (entire State) ; (7 ) Indiana (entire State) ;>(8) northern district o f Illinois : Boone, Carroll, Cook (C h icago), Dekalb, Dupage, Grundy, J o Daviess, K ane, Kendall, Lake, L a Salle, Lee, M cHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, W hiteside, W ill, and W innebago Counties. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 46 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . cases, because o f the check through the first source—the reports of the post-office inspectors. Table 16 gives for each district the num ber o f cases, the types o f offenses, and the types o f courts hearing the cases. T able 16.— District, type o f offense, and type of court; children in eight selected, localities arrested in 1918 and 1919 for violating Federal laws. Children in selected localities violating Federal laws. Children violating postal laws. Children-violating other Federal laws. District. Total. Total. Total............................. Pennsylvania, eastern district..................................... New York, eastern district... New York, southern district. Illinois, northern district___ Before Before No United juvenile court States or other action district State taken. court. court. Total. Before Before No United juvenile court States or other action district State taken. court. court. 418 328 180 130 18 90 64 23 34 35 27 24 10 1 16 15 1 2 7 7 11 5 4 2 7 2 29 19 112 8 57 * 24 108 23 13 62 57 21 101 10 3 30 5 15 91 10 9 30 49 6 10 3 1 2 6 6 50 2 5 38 3 1 10 3 7 3 7 3 1 2 1 Tneindea l child before the United States district court, whose case was later transferred to the juvenile court. 2 Includes 2 cases outside the city of Philadelphia. * Includes 31 cases outside the city of Boston. i Includes 6 cases outside the city of Indianapolis. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Num ber and types o f cases. Because o f the form o f government in the District o f Columbia, all violations o f the law are under Federal jurisdiction, yet the large majority are not comparable with violations o f Federal laws in other localities. Because o f the opportunities offered it might be expected that the problem o f juvenile offenders against Federal laws would be more serious in the District o f Columbia than in other localities. This does not seem to be the case, however, as only 34 cases were reported by the Post Office Department, the Supreme Court o f the District o f Columbia (having the jurisdiction o f a United States district court), and the juvenile court. This number included 27 postal cases and 7 o f other types— 4 of forgery o f Government checks and 3 o f larceny o f United States property. Types o f courts and ages o f children. H alf the cases (17) were referred to the juvenile court on pre ferred charges o f larceny or “ taking the property o f another.” Two cases were dismissed by the United States attorney without further prosecution. A ll the juveniles referred to the juvenile court were https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 47 under 16 years o f age, and only 2 under 16 were heard before the supreme court. Although the age limit of the juvenile court is 17 years, o f the 13 children 16 years o f age or over who were before the District Supreme Court, 9 were under 17 and might have been referred to the juvenile court, so far as age was concerned. The age distribution o f the cases before the juvenile court and the Supreme Court o f the District of Columbia was as follow s: Total____ __________ £___ ________ __________________________________________ 34 Before supreme court— _________ i _________ ______________ 1|_______________ - __15 15 years_________ __________ _____________ ________ ________________________ 2 16 to 17 years— ________— ______ — — ___ — „ J|________ ____ 13 Before juvenile court__________________________ _____________ _____ t______________ 17 Under 10 years__________ LlA*. ;_______1— _£*j— _____.&A 2 10 to 11 years— __________ ____________ £:_____ _______________ — ________ l 12 to 13 years_______ — — _____ „ ___ _____ ______________ 4 14 to 15 years__— _______________________________________ _____ _____ ___ 10 No court action > — ;______ ___ _______________ :_____________ 1__________ _______ 2 15 to 16 years_____ — ___________:_____________ k:____________________ 2 f ¿11 & Dispositions. Disposition other than commitment to institutions or jails was made in 9 cases by the supreme court and in 14 by the juvenile court. Legal provision for probation is made for the supreme court, and in 4 cases sentence was suspended and the boy placed on probation; 1 boy was dismissed by the United States commissioner after pre liminary hearing. At the time o f this study final disposition had not been made in 4 cases. The dispositions by the juvenile court in the 14 cases not committed to institutions were as follows: T o ta l---------- '_____ ;------------------------------------ •____ • _________ _______ ____ — — ia' 14 Placed on probation___________________________________ _______ ______________ Placed on probation with suspended sentence_________________ - A i - _________ Committed to Board of Children’s Guardians (sentence suspended)________ Dismissed___________________________________ __________________________ _______ 1 6 1 6 One boy was committed to the National Training School for Boys by the Supreme Court o f the District o f Columbia, and 3 by the juvenile court. Four o f the boys before the former court were com mitted‘ to a penitentiary and 1 was sentenced to the Washington Asylum Hospital and Jail. Tim e between apprehension and disposition; detention. A much longer time elapsed between apprehension and disposition in a majority o f the cases before the supreme court than in those handled by the juvenile court. Only 2 o f the supreme-court cases, but 16 o f the juvenile-court cases, were disposed o f in less than one month from time o f apprehension, 12 o f the latter being disposed o f in less than two weeks. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 48 TH E FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. Information with regard to detention was obtained in only 14 cases, there being 13 children reported detained and 1 reported not detained. Two other children were reported remanded to jail, but it was not known whether they were actually detained. O f the 13 de tained, 8 were held at the House o f Detention (for women and chil dren) by order o f the juvenile court, 4 were held in jail by order o f the supreme court, and 1 was detained by order o f the Federal au thorities but was released without court action. One o f the boys was first detained by the juvenile court, and when the case was later taken to the supreme court he was placed in jail to await grand jury action. MARYLAND. Num ber and types o f cases. Thirty-five children were reported for the District o f Maryland as violating Federal laws. O f these, 24 violated postal laws and 11 committed other offenses, including 7 arrested for interstate-com merce violations, 1 for selling liquor to a sailor, 1 for shooting craps on a Government reservation (Navy camp), 1 for forgery, and 1 for whom the type o f offense was not reported. Types o f courts and ages o f children. O f the 35 cases reported,2 20 were dealt with by the United States district court, 8 by the Baltimore juvenile court, and in 7 cases re ported by the Federal authorities no court action was taken. The 5 children committing offenses outside Baltimore were before the United States district court, which meets in Baltimore. A ll interstate-commerce cases (7) in which arrests were made by inspectors of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad were taken by the rail road company before the juvenile court. A ll but 3 o f the 20 children before the United States district court were over 14 years o f age. Three o f the 8 children before the juvenile court were under the age o f 14, 4 were reported to be 14 but under 16 years of age, and the age o f 1 child was not reported. O f the 7 children for whom no court action was reported, 1 was 13 years o f age, 2 were 15,1 was 16, 2 were 17, and for 1 the age was not reported. Dispositions. Commitments to public institutions were made by Federal authori ties in 8 o f the 20 cases tried by them, and in a ninth case arrange ments were made by which the child was sent to a private institu tion. In 5 o f the 10 cases disposed o f in other ways, the child was fined; 2 children were dismissed, 1 being found f not guilty,” the other being fined on another charge; in 4 cases the boy was com- 2One ease before the United States district court was later transferred to the juvenile court. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 49 mitted to the city jail for one day— doubtless to conform with the law that sentence must be imposed after conviction in Federal cases, probation not being provided for. Three children were committed to State reformatories—2 o f them to the Iowa reformatory and 1 to the Connecticut reformatory at Cheshire; 5 were committed to the National Training School for Boys; and in 1 case the child was sent to a private institution in Baltimore. O f the boys committed, 6 were 15 years o f age at commitment, and 3 were 17. O f those fined, 1 was 14 years o f age, and the others were 16 or 17 years. Three o f the boys committed to jail for one day were 16 or 17 years o f age, and one was 15. O f the 8 boys before the juvenile court 1 was committed to St. Mary’s Industrial School, 1 was fined, 1 dismissed, and 5 were placed on probation. The proportion o f cases in which dispositions other than commitments were made was larger in the juvenile than in the Federal court. Three o f the 5 children placed on probation were under 14 years o f age, and 2 were 14 years old. Two o f the 3 not placed on probation were 14 or 15 years o f age, and the age o f the third was not reported. Time between apprehension and disposition; detention. The problem o f the long period o f time between arrest and dis position as found in the Federal courts generally is somewhat lessened in the district o f Maryland, because Baltimore is the only place o f meeting o f the court, which is in almost constant session except for •two months in the summer. This makes it possible for cases to be brought up for trial more quickly than in districts where the court meets only at stated times. Disposition was made in 8 o f the cases before the United States district court within a month after arrest, 3 cases were disposed o f in one month but less than two, 2 in two months, 2 in four months, and 3 in six months; the length o f time was not reported in 2 cases, as the date o f arrest was not given. A ll the 8 cases before the juvenile court were disposed o f in less than two weeks; 6 o f them on the day the arrest was made. Six o f the 35 children were reported as having been detained pend ing hearing, 4 in jail and 2 in private institutions. No detention was reported in 2 cases; 4 children were remanded to jail in default o f bond, but further report as to whether they were actually detained was not made. No report as to detention was made in 23 cases, iiicluding the 8 handled by the juvenile court. EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. Num ber and types o f cases. O f the 29 cases reported in the eastern district o f Pennsylvania 23 involved postal offenses and 6 offenses o f other types. A ll except 2 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 50 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . were Philadelphia cases. The six boys arrested for offenses other than postal included two accused o f fraudulent claims for pay at the H og Island shipyard, one of selling narcotic drugs, one o f deserting the Navy, one o f wearing the United States uniform unlawfully, and one o f wearing a Boy Scout’s uniform with Army trimmings. Types o f courts and ages o f children. In Philadelphia 11 boys were dealt with by the Federal authorities, and 12 by the juvenile division of the municipal court; T o f the postal offenders taken to the juvenile court were referred directly by the arresting officers, and no record o f these cases was made by the inspector. In four cases no court action was taken. O f the two cases outside Philadelphia, one was handled by the United States district court in session at Lancaster, and the other was referred to the court o f quarter sessions, a State court. A ll six boys under 14 years o f age were taken before the juvenile court, as were also five who were 14 to 15 years o f age, and one aged 16 years. O f the 13 boys before the Federal court, 1 was 15 years, and 12 were 16 or IT years o f age. The boy referred to the court of quarter sessions was aged IT years. Dispositions. In this district juvenile Federal offenders are seldom committed to institutions. The juvenile court follows its usual procedure in de linquency cases, and the Federal authorities prefer to continue cases and place the children on probation informally. One boy was sent by the Federal court to the National Training School for Boys, and one child was committed and one returned to an institution by the juvenile court. The dispositions were as follows: T o ta l_________ _______________ __________________— — — ----------------- .--------29 Before United States district court------------ ----- ---------------- ----- ----------------------- — — 12 Committed to National Training School______________________ 1 Informally placed on probation---------------- ------------------------------ — 7 Dismissed____________________ ------------ i ------------ ---------------— ,— 2 Disposition not reported— ___ _______ _— ;i___r _ --------- -— _— _ _ — .— 2 Before juvenile or other State courts-— — ----------- I t ------------ -— '----- ;— 13 Committed to institution_________________ —liifapii-------— _ 1_— ------------ 1 Placed on probation__________ a ---------- -------------------------i--------------------------- - 2 Returned to institution__________________________________ F Ju<----------— rp— 1 . Restitution ordered___________ _____ ____________ — t -~rv,l Dismissed __________ !____ L ____________ ------------------- — ------- - 7 - ------ 8 No court action taken_______ -------------------------------------------- — — — — _ i _ i -------4 Informal probation was made possible through arrangements with the municipal court o f Philadelphia, o f which the juvenile court is a division. The United States district attorney frequently sent child offenders, immediately after arrest, to the house o f detention. These https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 51 cases were seldom brought before the juvenile-court judge, the offenses being usually o f a minor character. The superintendent of the home, acting as a probation officer, placed the child on probation or discharged him, just as he would do in the case of children violat ing State laws. This policy was pursued by the district attorney even with boy and girl offenders over 16 years o f age. Tim e between apprehension and disposition; detention. Because so many cases were placed on probation in this manner or were handled through the United States attorney’s office, more prompt action was taken than is usually possible in Federal cases. O f the eight cases handled by Federal authorities in which dates o f arrest and disposition were reported, three were disposed o f in less than two weeks, two in one month, and three in two months. The house o f detention in Philadelphia is used frequently by the Federal authorities, as well as by the juvenile court. Only four boys were reported to have been detained in jail, none of these bein«so held in Philadelphia. Three o f them were detained in jail in Illinois on another charge for one month previous to removal to Philadelphia to answer for the postal offense for which they were wanted there, and the fourth boy was detained in a county jail in Pennsylvania. EASTERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS OF NEW YORK. Num ber and types o f cases. The largest number of juveniles violating Federal laws in any of the localities studied was reported in the eastern and southern dis tricts o f New York. The total number o f cases in these two districts was 131 75 postal cases and 56 Federal cases o f other types. The large number o f offenses other than postal was due to war conditions as 38- were violations o f the national defense act and two other war-time acts — 16 cases o f unlawful wearing o f a uniform and 22 cases which involved procuring liquor for or selling liquor to soldiers or sailors. These war-time cases were more prevalent in New York than in the other localities studied. Three interstate-commerce violations were reported, 5 cases o f lar ceny o f United 'States property, 1 scheme to defraud the Government 1 assault with intent to commit felony on board an American vessel’ 1 trespass upon Government property, 3 violations o f the drug act’ and 1 case o f interference with and destruction o f war material; in 3 cases the offense was not reported. The number o f cases in the southern district (including Manhattan and Bronx Boroughs) was 112, and the number in the eastern dis- ’• trict (including Brooklyn and Queens Boroughs) was 19. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 52 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . Types of courts and ages o f children. Cases in both districts were heard by the Children’s Court of New Y ork City, being- taken directly to this court by the authorities making the arrests. Forty-eight were reported as heard in the Boroughs o f Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens by the children s court, 1 was heard by a court o f quarter sessions, and 1 was heard by a magistrate’s court; 76 were taken before the United States district courts; in 5 cases no court action was taken— 4 were dismissed with out prosecution and the fifth was transferred to the eastern district o f Pennsylvania, no further report being made. Figures showing the ages o f the children taken before the different courts indicate that the policy is to refer the younger children to the children’s court. O f the 8 boys reported before the United States District Court in Brooklyn, 1 was 15 and the others were 17 years o f age. O f the 10 children before the children’s court in the Boroughs o f Brooklyn and Queens, the 2 youngest were 10 and 12 years, respec tively, the others being 14 and 15 years of age. The children’s court has jurisdiction only over children under the age o f 16 years. This policy is further borne out by the following age figures for the children before the courts o f the southern district (including Man hattan) : Total-----------------------------, ------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------- l 12 Before the United States district court------------------- ---------------------------— — - — 10 to 11 years----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 14 16 Before 68 1 to 13 years------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------1 to 15 years-------- ---------------- --------------------------- ------------------I----------------15 to 17 years— -------------------------------------------^— — --------- -------- 44— 51 the children’s court and other State courts------------ ------------------------------- Under 10 years-------------------------------------------------------- =-----------------------------3 7 10 to 11 years--------------------- i------------------------------------------------------------------12 to 13 years--------------------------§|jp--------------- ---------- — ---- -------------- — 8 14 to 15 years____________________;_____ lM------------------------------------- -— P 15 16 to 17 years---------- ------------------------------------------------ --------------------------— 7 No court action— L__------------------- ------------------ -— 7----------- 7- --------- --------------------Under 10 years-------------------------------------------------------- — -------- -------------2 16 to 17 years----------------------- ----------------- L-------- —4------------------------ -------2 40 4 Dispositions. The number of cases before the United States District Court of the Southern District which were disposed o f otherwise than by commitment was somewhat larger than the number o f cases result ing in commitments to institutions— 83 as compared with 26. Seventeen o f the 33 children were placed in the custody o f the United States marshal for one day, a sentence no doubt passed by the court because o f the lack o f probation facilities and the inadvisabil ity o f committing the boys to an institution. Nine cases were dis missed; 1 o f these involved a girl whose case was dismissed “ be https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ■ VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 53 cause she was only 16 and had been in jail three days.” Sentence was postponed in 3 cases, in 2 o f which the boy was ordered to re port weekly to a priest, and in the third the boy was discharged in the custody o f his mother during the time o f continuance; 1 boy was fined; and 3 cases were nol-prossed. O f the 26 children com mitted to institutions, 17 were committed to jail for short terms of 60 days or less— 15 o f them to the Tombs prison and 2 to the Essex County Jail in New Jersey; 8 boys were committed to the National Training School for Boys, and 1 to the New York State Beformatory at Elmira. No bill of indictment was returned by the grand jury in 2 cases, and in 7 cases disposition had not been made at the time o f this study. The dispositions made by the United States District Court for the Southern District o f New York were as follows: _______________.____ _____ 68 Committed to institutions______________________________ fe_- ____________________ National Training School for B o y s _ A l_ ___ l_____ __________ J_________ 8 New York State Reform atory-______ _________ U ____________ ________ l J a il_____ ,____ .___________ f __ ____ __ — __ _____ k__________ _________ — 17 Other dispositions made___________ __________________________ __________ ________ Custody United States marshal for 1 day_______ _____ 1_1______ 17 Dismissed— ____________________ ;__________ i_________ __ _ i __________ 9 Fined___._____ ______— _____.__,_______________________ j_____ ^___ f__________ 1 Nol-prossed____________ ,______________________ *________ V..11V? ,____,___„ 3 Other_____ ____________,______ — _ _____£ ¿ ¡ z ______ — — ________ 3 No bill of indictment returned___!______ .____________________________ ___________ Disposition not reported__- ____ _1____ __ _______________ !_____ ii________________ 26 Total j — ii;____i*___________i;____ ii____ tii 11 33 2 7 In contrast, 32 of the cases handled by the children’s court did not result in commitments, and only 5 children were committed; in 1 case the disposition made was not reported. Two cases before other State courts were placed on probation. This larger proportion o f noncommitment cases was due, o f course, to the facilities available for probation and to the legal provision for dismissing cases or sus pending sentence. In 26 o f the 32 noncommitment cases the child was placed on probation, 5 cases were dismissed, and in 1 sentence was suspended. .The 5 committed were sent to local institutions for children—2 to the New York Catholic Protectory, 2 to the Jew ish Protectory and A id Society, and 1 to the New Y ork Juvenile Asylum. Comparing dispositions made by the United States district court and the children’s court for the same types o f offenses, it is evident that the Federal authorities recognized that in some types o f cases commitment to institutions is not always warranted; many cases were disposed o f in such ways as were possible under the law with out commitment to institutions, these dispositions being the best available substitutes for suspended sentence and probation. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 54 t h e federal courts and t h e d el in q u en t ch ild . O f the 8 cases before the children’s court involving the procuring o f liquor for, or selling liquor to, men in uniform, 7 resulted in pro bation and 1 in commitment to a private institution for a short period. O f the 14 children before the United States district courts for the same offense, 1 was placed in custody o f a priest; 1 in cus tody o f his mother, sentence being postponed; the cases o f 2 were dismissed; 5 were placed in custody o f the marshal for one day; 3 were committed to the Tombs prison for 1 day, 5 days, and 30 days, respectively; and in 2 cases the disposition was not reported. Similarly, among the boys arrested for wearing uniforms unlaw fully, the 3 before the children’s court were dismissed. In 1 o f the 13 cases before Federal courts sentence was postponed, the boy to report to a priést regularly ; in 6 the child was placed in the custody o f the marshal for one day ; 14 children were placed in the Tombs prison, all for one week or less; and 2 were committed to-the Na tional Training School for Boys. Time between apprehension and disposition ; detention. In these two districts the United States district courts are in ses sion continuously, and for this reason there was little difference between the Federal and the State courts as to the length o f time between arrest and disposition. The 3 cases in which final disposi tion was not made for a year or more were continued from term to term and then nol-prossed. Twenty-six o f these 76 cases before the United States district courts were heard and disposition was made in less than one week from the date o f arrest. The length o f time between apprehension and disposition for the 125 cases in which court action was taken is shown in the following list: Total______________________ _______________________________ _________________ 126 Before United States district courts______ _________ __________________________ Less than 1 week________________________________i------------------------------------26 1 week, less than 2 ---------------------------------- ------------— — _________________ 9 2 weeks, less than 1 month------------------------ ----------- --------------------------------- 7 1 month______________ ------------------------- 1_______________________________ ’___ 6 2 months___________________-1;------ -------------------- -~}----- __ ----------------- 76 6 3- to 7 months___________________________ M-i-----------------— ---------------------- 4 1 year and over------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------------- 3 Time not reported 4____________________— -------------------- -— ------------15 Before the children’s court and other State courts---------------------------------------Less than 1 week-------------------------------------------------------------------------:------------ 21 1 week, less than 2---------------------------------------------------------------------— :-------- 21 2 weeks, less than 1 month------------ ___ -------- :----------------------------------------4 3 months----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ 1 Time not reported------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------- ------- 3 50 1Date o f arrest w as not reported in 5 cases ; no disposition had been made in 5 ; date o f disposition was not reported in 1 ; and 4 cases were continued from tim e to time, the child being on inform al probation and final disposition not having been made. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAWS IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 55 Local ordinances o f New York City require that no children under 16 years o f age shall be placed in jail, and because o f this ruling the children under 16 arrested for violating Federal laws were detained in the shelter maintained by the New York Society for the Prevention o f Cruelty to Children and used by the children’s court as a juvenile detention home. Boys over 16 were detained in the Tombs prison and in the Brooklyn city prison. Detention was reported in a total o f 91 cases; 50 children were detained in jail, 38 in the shelter, and 3— all 15 years o f age—for part o f the time in the shelter and for the remain der in jail. Detention periods were comparatively short; 18 were de tained for only one day or less, and only 4 for one.month or over. Length o f detention in the shelter or in jail is given below for the 9 1 cases in w h ic h th e c h ild w a s r e p o r te d d e ta in e d . Total— :______________________ ___________ ____ ______________________ _ 91 Shelter maintained by Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children______ 38 1 day or le s s -______ ____________________ __________ 11____ __________ _______ 11 More than 1 day, less than 1 week____ '____ ___________________________ _ 13 1 week, less than 2 __________________ ________ ___________________,________ 11 . 2 weeks, less than 1 month____________________________ _____________ ____ 2 1 month or m ore________—___ =.:________ 1__________________ •______ i Both shelter and ja il_________ ________________ _____________________________ ___ _ 3 1 week or less---------------------------------- _______________ ____ *____ „ __ 2^____ 2 Not reported_______________________ _____ ____ __________ ._________________ l Jail___,-------------------------------------------------*----------------------------------------------- ------------------1 day or less_______________________ - _______________ ____ __________________ 7 More than 1 day, less than 1 week-._______________— — ;_______ ____ — 19 1 week, less than 2-------j____________ ¡§1---- --------- ^____ _— ------- ------------- 13 2 weeks, less than 1 month_________ ,------------------------ -— _________ _______ 7 1 month or more____________ _____________ ____ ______ ________________ 3 N ot reported---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 50 MASSACHUSETTS. Num ber and types o f cases. No cases o f juveniles committing Federal offenses other than postal were reported in Massachusetts, there being 57 children reported as violating postal laws. O f these, 26 were from Boston, and 31 from outside that city. Information was obtained from the Post Office Department in all except one case, which was reported by the Juvenile Court o f Boston. Supplementary information from court records was obtained for only 14 of the Boston children, the 3 in Cambridge, and the 7 in Quincy. Types o f courts and ages o f children. Because of the absence o f probation facilities in the Federal courts the policy in the district o f Massachusetts is to refer children violat ing Federal laws to the juvenile and other State courts having juris diction o f juvenile cases. O f the 57 cases, 49 were thus referred, 5 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 56 th e federal courts an d th e d e l in q u e n t c h il d . were handled by the Federal authorities, and in 3 no court action was reported. O f the 36 children reported from Boston, Cambridge, and Quincy, 28 were referred to juvenile courts, 1 to a municipal court, 2 to a State court in Suffolk County, 4 were handled by the Federal au thorities, and no court action was reported in 1 case. A ll but 1 o f the 21 cases reported outside these three cities were before State courts having jurisdiction over children’s cases. The 5 boys whose cases were handled by the Federal authorities were all 16 or 17 years o f age. The age distribution of the children referred to juvenile and other State courts is as follows : T o ta l___ _____________________ — -------------------------------------------- 1------------------ 49 Under 10 years___________ _ _ _ _____ _— _ _ _ _ _ _ p — ------------------- fl j — 1 10 to 11 years------------ ------- - ----------------------- ----------------------— ------------- -4&Jy------------ 8 12 to 13 years________ _— • — :----------_i!€— __ _ _ _ _ _ — ----------- p ’ ? 14 to 15 years— .— ----------------------------------- __csr.-------------— — .— — - - 18 16 to 17 years____________ — ------------------------- 1— - P - — — ------- ------------------ -J '• 14 1 Age not reported, but under 16 years— ---------------------- _ _ _ — -----------------— D ispositions. One o f the three boys in whose cases no court action was reported was returned to the Connecticut Reformatory, from which institution he had escaped. O f the four cases handled by the Federal authorities in Boston, one was nol-prossed after indictment by the grand jury, one was dismissed by the United States commissioner upon the request o f the United States attorney, one was continued by the commissioner for a-month and a half pending the good behavior o f the child and was then dismissed without further court action, and in one case the final disposition was not reported. In 18 o f the 29 cases from Boston, Cambridge, and Quincy, which were referred to juvenile and other State courts and reported as to disposition made, the boys were placed on probation, 6 being given a suspended sentence also ; 1 boy was committed to the Massachusetts Reformatory; 3 were committed to the Industrial School for Boys at Shirley; 1 was sent to the Lyman School for Boys (a State training school) ; 1 was returned to the Home for Destitute Catholic Chil dren ; 1 was committed to the care o f the Massachusetts State Board o f C h arity;5 3 were returned to the Suffolk School for Boys (a county institution for truants and delinquents, since closed) ; and in 1 case the disposition was not reported. Nine children before State courts outside the three cities named were placed on probation, while 8 were committed to institutions, ®Now the M assachusetts Departm ent o f Public W elfare. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 57 2 were returned to institutions without court action, and 1 case was dismissed by Federal and 1 by State authorities. Tim e between apprehension and disposition. The problem o f the length o f time between apprehension and dis position in cases o f children violating Federal laws is not serious in Massachusetts, because almost seven-eighths o f the cases were referred to the State courts, disposition being made for all but 10 o f these within two weeks after arrest. O f the 5 cases handled by the Federal authorities, 1 was continued by the United States com missioner for almost two months and was then dismissed; the case which was nol-prossed was carried on the court records for a year before final disposition was made \ 1 case was pending for a month; and in the 2 other cases the date o f disposition was not reported. INDIANA. Num ber and types o f cases, types o f courts, and ages o f children. The territory included under the jurisdiction o f the United States District Court o f Indiana comprises the entire State. From this district 24 cases were reported, 18 o f which were presented to the United States District Court in Indianapolis; the remaining 6 cases were heard before State, circuit, and county courts outside Indian apolis. Only 3 children were reported arrested for offenses other than violations o f postal laws, including 2 arrested for interstatecommerce violations and 1 for embezzlement o f funds. Eleven o f the 18 children dealt with by the United States district court were known to have lived outside Indianapolis. A ll the 11 children had to be taken away from their place o f residence for court hearing. A ll but 6 o f the children were 16 and 17 years o f age; 5 were be tween 14 and 16 years, and 1 was 13 years o f age. Dispositions. In Indiana the United States district judge handles juvenile cases informally, usually following the policy o f continuing cases from term to term pending the good behavior o f the child, and then having the case nol-prossed. Only 5 commitments were made by the dis trict court; 4 were to the county jail in Indianapolis (3 for 6 months and 1 for 1 day only) „the fifth being a sentence o f 10 years to the United States Penitentiary at Atlanta, Ga. Following the usual procedure o f continuing juvenile cases pending good behavior, this boy, who was 17 at the time o f arrest, had been allowed to return to his home; but upon report by his mother that he was continually in trouble, he was returned to the court and the penitentiary sen- https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 58 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . tence was imposed. He had become 18 years o f age before final disposition. The offense o f which he was guilty was embezzlement of funds from the American Railway Express Co., which was taken under Federal control during the war. Four boys were fined, and the cases o f 8 children—7 boys and 1 girl— Were nol-prossed after continuance, the children having been required to report to the court on dates set in the order for con tinuance ; 1 case was nol-prossed because it was found that the wrong person had been indicted. In only 1 of the 6 cases reported before State courts was the child placed on probation. Three children were committed to the Indiana Reformatory, and 2 to the Indiana Boys’ School. Tim e between apprehension and disposition; detention. The policy o f continuing cases in the Federal court makes the time between apprehension and final disposition much longer than was found in other localities. But these cases are comparable with cases placed on probation by State courts, the nolle prosequi amount ing to a dismissal order following a satisfactory probation period. In 3 o f the 8 cases in which continuance pending good behavior was reported the child was practically on probation for 11 months, in 3 for 1 but less than 2 years, in one for 2 years, and in one case the length o f time was not reported. The case o f the boy mentioned above who was committed to the county jail for one day had been continued for a year before this final disposition was made. In 3 o f the remaining 10 cases less than a month elapsed between arrest and final disposition; no report on this point was made in 3 cases. In 4 cases before the £>tate courts, disposition was made within one week from time o f arrest; the interval was not reported in the 2 remaining cases. Six children were reported detained pending trial, all in the county jail. No detention was reported in 6 cases, and in 12 cases no re port was given as to detention. Federal prisoners were separated from other prisoners in the Marion County jail at Indianapolis, but no separation o f juveniles from adults was made. NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS. Num ber and types of cases. The problem of juvenile Federal offenders in the Northern Dis trict o f Illinois appears to be largely confined to the city of Chicago, though 18 counties are included in that district. O f the 108 cases reported, all but 6 involved residents o f Chicago, and in these 6 cases the place o f residence was not reported. Almost all the Federal offenses committed were against the postal laws. Only 3 cases were reported o f larceny from interstate com https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATION'S OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 59 merce, 1 of unlawfully wearing a uniform, and 1 of selling liquor to sailors; in 2 cases the offense was not reported. a Stubbing ” seemed to be more prevalent in Chicago than in any of the other cities visited. This practice doubtless accounted for the large num ber of juvenile Federal cases in Chicago during the two years, as half the postal offenders were arrested on that chargee Types o f courts and ages o f children. In Chicago juvenile Federal cases were dealt with almost exclu sively by the Federal authorities, only eight having been referred to the juvenile court and two to the boys’ court6 during the two years. A large majority of the boys from this district were 16 or IT years o f age, 81 being reported in that age group. Twenty-one were 14 or 15 years o f age, 3 were under 14, and the ages o f 3 were not reported though they were known to be under 18 years. Three o f the 8 boys referred to the juvenile court were 11, 13, and 14 years o f age, respectively; 4 were 15, and 1 was 16 years o f age. Both boys referred to the boys’ court were IT years o f age. D ispositions. Including the jail commitments, in almost half the 98 cases before the United States district court the boy was committed to an insti tution—2 boys to the National Training School for Boys, 14 to the Iowa State Reformatory at Anamosa, 4 to the St. Charles School for Boys at St. Charles, 111., and 23 to county jails in Chicago and the vicinity. These jail commitments were mostly for 30 days, but some were for shorter or longer periods. Commitments to the Iowa reformatory were also for short terms, the longest being for 1 year, and the others for 60 days, 3 months, or 6 months. That the largest number o f commitments were to county jails may be due to the distance from Chicago o f the two institutions receiving juveniles from this district on Federal commitments—the National Training School for Boys and the Iowa State Reformatory. The jails in the counties immediately surrounding Chicago were used more com monly than Cook County jail (Chicago), though a few children were committed to the latter. O f the 55 boys before the Federal court who were not committed to institutions, 6 were sentenced to remain in the custody o f the United States marshal for a day, and 2 for 1 hour; fines were imposed upon 5; and 4 were dismissed, 3 by the United States commissioner and 1 after being held as a witness. One o f the 3 dismissed by the com missioner was first released on bail for 60 days and was required to report to him periodically during that time. 6 T h e B o y s’ C o u rt o f th e M u n icip al C ou rt o f C h icago has ju risd ictio n over cases all 'o f boys betw een the ag es o f 17 an d 2 1 yea rs. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 60 the FEDERAL, COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. In 18 cases presented to the grand jury, no indictment was re turned, and the case was dismissed with no further prosecution; 4 o f these boys were reported to have been held in jail by order o f the United States commissioner for 30 days before the presentation of the case to the grand jury, not only as punishment but also as an object lesson to other boys. Up to the time when the records were obtained for this study, the final disposition had not been made in 20 cases; some o f these cases were being continued from time to time, others had not come to trial. Seven o f the eight boys referred to the juvenile court were placed on probation, and one was committed for 30 days to the Chicago and Cook County School for Boys. One o f the two before the boys’ court was committed to the Cook County House o f Correction, and one was placed on probation. The 23 boys committed to jails, the 2 sent to the National Train ing School, and 11 o f the 14 sent to the Iowa State Reformatory were 16 years o f age or over. Tim e between apprehension and disposition; detention. In only 24 cases before the United States district court was final disposition reported to have been made in less than one month from the date of arrest. The periods between apprehension and dis position were as follows: Total____________________________________________________________________ 108 Before the United States district court__________________________________ _ Less than 1 month___________________________ ____________ _____ _____ 24 Less than 1 week___________________________________________ _ 4 1 week, less than 2____ ._____________________________________ 8 2 weeks, less than 1 month_______________ _____________ i d - 12 1 m on th__________ 20 2 m onths__________ ___________________________ ___ j_________12 8 to 5 months___________________________ J____ ______________________ 10 7 6 to 10 months_______________________________________ 1 year and o ver1______________ :________i_________________ _________ I__ 3 Not reported____________________________ 1.______________^___ ________ 22 Before the juvenile court or the boys’ court_______________ ________________ Less than 1 week_____ ______________________________________________ 3 1 2 weeks, less than 1 month________________________________________ 2 months, less than 3______________________ _________________________ 6 98 10 Detention in county jails was the only method used for the 59 juveniles detained by order o f the Federal authorities; only 11 boys were reported not detained, and for 35 cases no information regard ing detention was obtained. In a number o f the last cases the rec ords stated that the boys were remanded to the county jail in default of bond, but no report was obtained as to whether they were actually 7 Tw o o f these cases were given a hearing within 10 days and were continued to report to the United States attorney. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 61 detained; bond may have been furnished early enough to prevent actual detention. Three o f the boys before the juvenile court were detained at the Juvenile Detention Home, and 1 before the boys’ court was detained at a police station. The largest number o f boys detained were held for less than one week; 20 o f the 34 so reported were detained for one day only. The length o f detention for the 62 detained was as follow s: Total___ l:___ ___ i __N__I __i_____ _______________ ’_____ ___________________ 62 Less than 1 week___ _ _ TV._________.________________ ______ ■_________________34 1 week, less than 2_T________ ___ ____________________ ________________________ 2 weeks, less than 1 month______________________ ________ ________________ :__ 1 month, less than 2____ _____________________________ i_________________________ 2 months— .___ ,____ _Trr!____ _________ _________ i_______i___„ ________ ,—x,_______ 3 months___________________&____ ____ _________ _____________________________ .__ Time not reported8__^________ ~_____________ ______- ___ *__________________ ____ 6 8 4 4 1 5 Previous delinquency records. Information as to whether or not the boys reported in this district were first offenders was obtained for only 42 o f the 108 children. Twenty-one, including 7 o f the 8 before the juvenile court and the 2 before the boys’ court, were first offenders, while 21 had been pre viously arrested, O f these, 9 were arrested once previously, 5 twice, 2 three times, 2 four times, and 3 were known to have been arrested but the number o f times was not reported. Nine o f the 21 pre viously arrested had been committed to institutions. Twelve children before the United States district court were known to be first offenders, but in spite o f this fact 10 were com mitted to institutions— 8 to a reformatory and 2 to institutions for delinquent children; 2 were sentenced to one day in the custody o f the United States marshal. Six o f the 7 first offenders before the juvenile court were placed on probation, the seventh being sent for 30 days to the Chicago and Cook County School for Boys. O f the 2 boys referred to the boys’ court— both first offenders— 1 was placed on probation, and 1 was committed for 30 days to the Chicago House o f Correction. ILLUSTRATIVE CASES. The following brief histories of three boys, two of them brothers, who had previously been before the juvenile court, are cited to illus trate the need of facilities for social investigation in the Federal courts, the complicated procedure, and the long periods between arrest and disposition during which the child, if not subjected to the injurious influences of jail detention, is left in the community without supervision. Under juvenile-court procedure full informa8 Inclu des three cases before th e ju v en ile court and one b efore the b o y s’ court. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 62 the federal courts a n d the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . tion concerning the social history could have been obtained, and prompt action have been taken for the correction o f the child’s de linquent tendencies and the protection o f the public. A 15-year-old boy was arrested by the Federal authorities on February 5, 1919, on a charge o f stealing m ail from hall letter boxes. A few months prior to this trouble the boy was before the juvenile court, and the investigation made at that time revealed that the mother was dead and that the father had neglected the family. There were six children in the family, the youngest o f whom was in an institution for the feeble-minded. An 11-year-old girl was keep ing house. Previous to her death the mother had been obliged, because o f the father’s neglect, to support the family. The father reported the boy to be incorrigible, running the streets a t night and associating with boys who had a bad influence over him. On a later visit the probation officer found the boy boarding with a married sister. After the boy was arrested by the Federal authorities he was detained in jail for more than a month. The court pro cedure was as follow s: February 5. Arrested, and in default of bond placed in jail.. February 27. Indicted by United States grand jury. March 6. Plea o f not guilty entered. B ail fixed at $1,000. March 11. Bail reduced to $500. Bonds filed for $500, and boy released from jail. May 9. Cause set for trial May 12. May 12. Bench warrant issued. Cause continued for trial to May 14. May 14. Cause continued to May 16. May 16. Trial proceeds. M ay 19. Verdict o f guilty by jury, with recommendations. Motion for new trial. Cause continued to June 2. June 2. Motion for neyv trial. Cause continued to June 7. June 7. Motion for new trial. Cause continued for sentence to Septem ber 15. September 15. Cause continued to November 17 for disposition. November 17. Cause continued 60 days to January 16, 1920, for disposition. No further action reported on docket. Two brothers, 15 and 16 years of age, were indicted in February, 1919, on the same charge— that of stealing mail from hall letter boxes. The first boy had been arrested prior to indictment, but his brother was not arrested until May. The parents were dead. One boy lived with his maternal grandparents; the other, with his sister, had been living with the paternal grandparents, but had been turned out o f the home and at the time of the trouble was living with an uncle. Both boys had been before the juvenile court for previous offenses, one having been dismissed by that court and the other having been placed under suspended sentence to the State industrial school. Subsequent to the Federal cases, the probation officer o f the juvenile court reported that the boy had left his uncle’s home and had not returned. Court procedure was as follow s: February 4. First boy arrested; placed in jail. February 6. Removed from one county jail to another. February 14. Released from jail. February 27. Both boys indicted and bench warrant issued for the one not arrested. Bond set for first boy, $1,500. March 6. Plea o f not guilty entered for the first boy. May 9. Cause continued for trial to May 16. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis VIOLATION'S OF FEDERAL LAW S IN EIGHT LOCALITIES. 63 May 12. Bench warrants issued. May 14. Cause continued for trial to May 16. May 16. Second boy arrested. May 16. First boy— plea of “ not guilty ” withdrawn, and plea of “ guilty ” entered. May 17. Second boy— plea of “ guilty ” entered. May 17. Trial o f both boys proceeds. May 19. Motion for new trial entered. Cause continued for hearing to June 2. June 2. Motion for new trial. Cause continued to June 7. June 7. Motion for new trial. Cause continued for sentence to September 15. Order entered canceling bond, of first boy. Defendant released on own recognizance. September 15. Cause continued to November 17. November 17. Both boys fined $5, no costs. December 30. Fine paid. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CH A P TE R V . G E N E R A L CO NCLU SIO NS. NUMBER OF CHILDREN VIOLATING FEDERAL LAWS. This study has shown that throughout the United States during a two-year period 1,145 children under 18 years o f age were arrested for violation of postal laws.1 From the eight districts and the three institutions visited, 211 children were reported arrested during the same period for other Federal offenses— a number which undoubtedly represents only a, small proportion of the total arrests for such o f fenses in the United States. During the two-year period, the yearly average number o f children included in the two groups was 1378; if complete data were available for the entire country the total yearly average under 18 years of age would without doubt be found to be nearly 1,000 and might exceed that figure. O f these, it appears that the majority are under the age o f 16-years and that some are under 10 years o f age. O f the 1,145 children arrested for postal offenses, 1,091 were boys, there being only 54 girls. No girls were reported as violating other Federal laws. The Federal offenses most frequently committed by juveniles are apparently violations of postal laws and regulations. Violations o f interstate-commerce laws appear to come next in frequency; 94 o f the 211 children known to have committed offenses other than postal had violated interstate-commerce laws. With the exception o f Idaho and Nevada, postal cases were re ported from every State, the District o f Columbia, Alaska, and Porto Rico. The largest numbers were reported from Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, California, and Pennsylvania, over 50 cases being reported for each. O f the eight districts studied, Chicago and New York reported the' largest number o f cases, including postal and other types o f offenses. For offenses other than postal violations, boys were re ported committed to the National Training School from 21 States and the District o f Columbia. The largest numbers o f children violating postal laws were re ported as residing in communities o f less than 10,000 population and in cities o f over 500,000 population, 84.7 per cent o f the 1,108 postal offenders reported by the Post Office Department residing in the former type o f communities and 21.7 per cent in the latter. 1 In clu d in g 1 ,1 0 8 reported to th e P o st Office D ep a rtm en t a n d 3 7 n o t in cluded i n .t h e record s o f th e d ep a rtm en t h u t reported fro m o th er sou rces a s v io la tin g p o sta l la w s. 64 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. Fifteen per cent o f the children violating postal laws and reported by the Post Office Department were employed in the postal service, 33 being under 16 years o f age. Adherence to the policy laid down by the Post Office Department, that young children, whose judgment and ability to withstand temptation are not fully developed, should not be employed in positions where they are intrusted with delivery o f mail or with postal funds, would reduce the number o f offenders against Federal laws. O f the 1,356 cases included in this study, 121 were reported only by the National Training School for Boys or by the New York and Iowa State reformatories, and all these were tried by United States district courts or by courts in the District o f Columbia.2 O f the re maining 1,235 cases, 758, or 61.3 per cent, were tried by United States district courts; 375, or 30.4 per cent, were taken before juvenile and other State courts; 8 cases were tried first by United States dis trict courts and were then transferred to juvenile courts; court action was not reported in 15 cases; and in 79 cases no court action was taken.3 METHODS USED IN CHILDREN’S CASES BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES. The fundamental concept of the juvenile-court movement is that children should not be held criminally responsible for their miscon duct, but that they should be afforded protection, care, and training, within or outside an institution and should be safeguarded from contact with adult offenders. This principle has not been applied in the Federal courts, in which the chancery procedure has not been substituted for the criminal in children’s cases, nor the criminal pro cedure modified. Thus, the proceedings are formal and frequently include several preliminary hearings followed by grand-jury action and public trial, while long delays are often occasioned by crowded calendars, absence o f continuous session, and the distance o f the court from the child’s place o f residence. Further difficulties are found in lack o f facilities for discovering what kind .of child is being dealt with, his past experience and his possibilities o f development, and in the inability o f the court to suspend sentence, place on proba tion, and supervise the child in the community. During the long periods frequently occurring between the apprehension of the chil dren and the disposition of their cases, the children must often be kept in detention— and jail detention is the form most frequentlv 2 F o r th e purpose o f com paring th e num bers heard b y F ed eral an d b y S ta te cou rts these cases have been excluded, sin ce th eir in clu sion w ou ld ov erw eigh t th e p roportion tided in F ed eral courts. 3 C ases w ere in cluded a s h a v in g had cou rt a c tio n i f a p relim in ary h earin g w a s held by th e U n ited S ta te s com m ission er, regard less o f the a c tio n tak en by h im . C ases dism issed by th e U n ited S ta tes attorney w ith o u t fu rth e r h earin g w ere considered as h a v in g had n o court action. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 66 TH E federal, cou rts a n d the d e l in q u e n t c h il d . used by Federal courts. Holding children o f tender years in jail, where they are terrified by the experience and subjected to contact with adult criminals, leaves an impression not conducive to normal development or good citizenship, that is difficult i f not impossible to eradicate. Moreover, the Federal courts are at present limited with reference to the institutions to which they may commit children. The na tional training schools for boys and girls, in the District o f Colum bia, are the only Federal institutions especially adapted to the care o f delinquent children. Federal authorities in distant States are frequently reluctant to send children so far away, from home, such a disposition often inflicting great suffering on both parents and child. On the other hand, the institutions nearer home with which the United States Government has made arrangements for the care o f Federal offenders are frequently institutions designed primarily for adult offenders and are conducted as prisons with cell blocks and prison discipline. The younger children committed to these institu tions are subjected to a program not adapted to their training and are in contact with older offenders. The officials sometimes make an effort to modify the regime in favor of a young child—keeping him in the office o f the institution during the day, for instance—but such practices can be only sporadic and o f doubtful success. An essential feature of the juvenile-court system is that a finding of delinquency does not constitute a conviction of crime, and that juvenile records, therefore, do not stand as criminal records. In the Federal courts the children found to have committed the offenses with which they are charged thereby stand convicted of crime, and suffer throughout life from the disqualifications consequent upon a criminal record. Many judges, commissioners, attorneys, and post-office inspectors were found who recognized that the usual procedure was not adapted to the handling o f children’s cases ; and, moreover, the statement was sometimes made that grand juries were very unwilling to return in dictments in these cases. Under a more or less rigid legal system, when there exist in any particular case unusual circumstances, such as the extreme youth o f the offender, one o f three courses may be fol lowed: (1) The imposition o f the penalty fixed by law, sometimes in spite o f doubt in the minds o f the authorities as to whether such disposition is in accord with real justice; (2) the dismissing or nolprossing o f the case or refusal to indict, the authorities taking no steps to correct the offender or to safeguard society; and (3) the use o f various expedients not specifically provided by law, which it is hoped will more nearly achieve justice, the correction and training o f the offender, and the protection o f the community. Many in https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 67 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. stances o f the adoption o f such expedients have been cited in this report. They range from immediate reference o f the case to juvenile courts by post-office inspectors and United States attorneys to the use o f informal probation by the Federal authorities themselves, prior to the hearing or pending continuance on condition o f good be havior. They also include short-term jail sentences and such nomi nal sentences as small fines and sentences to one day in the custody o f the United States marshal. Except the reference to juvenile courts, none o f these methods o f handling children’s cases is satis factory, because the authorities have no facilities for ascertaining the necessary facts about the child and his environment, nor the means for the intensive supervision and reconstructive work essen tial to treatment o f delinquents in the community. Following is a comparison o f the usual procedure in a well-organ ized juvenile court and in a United States district court, leaving out o f consideration expedients sometimes used by Federal authorities: JUVENILE-COURT PROCEDURE. UNITED STATES D IS T R IC T -C O U R T PRO CEDURE. 1. In itia tion o f case. Complaint and summons, except cases o f summary arrest. 2. in Arrest upon warrant, or summary ar rest (In some cases arrest follows instead o f preceding indictment.) P eriod b etw een initiation and court action. Prompt court action days or a week). (within a few 3. Frequently weeks or months elapse before final court action. Care pending court action. Release to parents on personal recogni zance, or detention in detention home for children. Release on bond or detention in jail. 4- P relim in a ry in vestiga tion. Thorough investigation, including: Physical examination. Mental examination. Personal history (schooling, recre ation, habits, companions, etc.). Home conditions: Family history. Investigation confined mainly to ascer taining whether or not child com mitted the offense. . 5. Court action. Hearing— private, jury. informal, without . Preliminary hearing before commis sioner. Presentment to grand jury, or direct to court on information filed. Trial— public, formal, often with jury. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 68 THE FEDERAL COURTS AND TH E DELINQUENT CHILD. J u v e n il e - C ourt P rocedure — Con U n ited S ta t e s tinued. D is t r ic t -C ourt cedure — P ro Continued. 6. Disposition of case. Dismissed or filed, if child not in need o f protection or discipline, or Probation, or Placement in agency, or care of Dismissed, or nol-prossed, or Fine, or Jail sentence, or child-placing Commitment to National Training School (District o f Columbia), or Commitment to special institution for Sentence to reformatory or peniten care o f juvenile delinquents. tiary (State or private institutions for delinquent children are available I to a few United States courts). 7. FoUow-up care. For children on probation by trained probation staff. No provision. 8. Effect of adjudication. Juvenile-court record does not consti- I Conviction o f crime, tute a criminal record. POSSIBILITIES FOR MORE ADEQUATE TREATMENT. Two possibilities suggest themselves for providing a procedure better adapted to the handling o f Federal cases involving children: First, a definite system o f reference to State courts, preferably at the beginning o f the case; and second, the establishment o f a Fed eral probation system, accompanied by certain other modifications o f the Federal procedure in children’s cases, so that an informal chan cery procedure will be possible. Reference to State courts. Juvenile-court organization is constantly being extended, and State wide systems are being developed, under which rural as well as urban communities have available court organizations especially adapted to children’s work. Even where juvenile courts are not fully developed, the State courts having jurisdiction over children’s cases have the5 advantage o f prompt action and usually have some means for pro bationary supervision. ^ The practice o f referring children’s cases to juvenile or other State courts is already followed to a considerable extent. Almost a third o f the cases reported by the Post Office Department during the two-year period were so referred. In one district, children violat ing Federal laws were frequently sent, immediately after arrest, to the house o f detention maintained by the juvenile court. The super intendent o f the home, who had the power to place juvenile de- https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 69 linquents on informal probation, dealt with these Federal offenders in the same manner as with juvenile court cases.4 A regular system of reference of children’s cases to State courts, under uniform rules, would be much more effective than the method now followed at the discretion of the authorities in some districts. Modification o f Federal procedure in children’s cases. Prior to December, 1916, Federal judges had always used their discretion in placing offenders on probation.5 In that month the Supreme Court o f the United States held that Federal judges had no legal power to place offenders on probation except in the District o f Columbia. Immediately thereafter, in February, 1917, a bill pro* viding for probation, for adults as well as for juveniles, was passed by both Houses o f Congress but did not receive the President’s sig nature. In the course o f hearings on probation bills introduced in the House o f Representatives in 1920, the author o f one o f the bills presented letters from 49 Federal judges, o f whom 43 were in favor o f the plan. One judge wrote: I have your letter o f December 12 asking me for my opinion as to the wisdom o f a probation system in the Federal courts. It is indeed not only wise but an absolute necessity for any effective administration of justice. A t present in the case o f juvenile offenders a judge’s position is most unsatis factory. The Supreme Court has forbidden any suspension of sentence, and except through a colorable evasion the judge is bound to deal sentence then and there. I f he imprisons the juvenile for a period he does two bad things; he does his best to take away any chance which the offender may still have for recuperation by throwing him into the worst possible surroundings, and he takes away his only hold over him, as his jurisdiction terminates when the sentence has expired. The result violates the judgment o f all competent penologists, I think. W e need in the first place some power to suspend sentence. The judge goes on to express his opinion that voluntary proba tion officers could be obtained to carry out the work of supervision.6 The bills introduced in 1920 were not enacted into law, and in April, 1921, a bill (H. R. 4126) was introduced relating to the parole o f United States prisoners and providing for a probation system in the United States courts. This bill was also referred to the Commit tee on the Judiciary, and hearings were held on May 31. It differs from the 1920 bill, referred to in the letter cited above, principally in respect to compensation o f probation officers. The latter bill pro vided that the judges appointing a probation officer might determine whether a salary was to be paid and the amount o f the salary, and that salaried officers should be under civil-service regulations. The 4 See p. 5 0 . 6 See p. 5 . « “ P ro ba tio n sy ste m in th e F ed eral c o u r t s ; a u to m a tic p arole.” H e a rin g s b efo re th e C o m m ittee on th e J u d iciary, H o u se o f R ep resen ta tiv es, 6 6 t h C o n g., 2 d sess. Serial N o . 2 0 , p . 8 . G ov ern m en t P rin tin g Office, W a s h in g to n , 1 9 2 0 . https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 70 the federal courts and the d e l in q u e n t c h il d , bill now before Congress provides that probation officers shall serve without pay. The main provisions relating to probation are asfollow s: 1. A pp oin tm en t o f probation officers.— Courts o f the United States having original jurisdiction of criminal actions, except in the District o f Columbia, shall appoint as many probation officers, male or female, as occasion may re quire, such officers to serve without compensation. 2 . Cases in w h ich probation m a y be applied.— After a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or after conviction, the imposition or execution o f sentence may be suspended and the defendant placed upon probation in any case except those involving treason, honjicide, rape, arson, kidnaping, or a second convic tion o f a felony. 3. P erio d o f probation. — Original period o f probation, together with extension thereof, shall not exceed five years. 4. Conditions o f probation. — Probationer shall be provided with a written statement of the terms and conditions of probation; he shall observe the rules prescribed for his conduct and report as directed. H e may be required to pay a fine, to make restitution or reparation, and to provide for the support o f any person or persons for whose support he may be legally responsible. 5 . P relim in a ry in vestiga tions. — Investigations shall be made by the probation officers in all cases referred to them by the court. They shall make recom mendations to the court to enable it to decide whether or not the defendant ought to be placed on probation. 6. S u p ervision o f probationer. — Probation officers shall keep informed con cerning the conduct and condition of each probationer under their supervision. They shall use suitable methods to aid persons on probation and to bring about improvement in their conduct and condition. They shall keep records o f their work and report to the court from time to time concerning all cases in their care. 7. R elea se fr o m probation.— Upon expiration of the term o f probation, or when directed by the court, the probation officer shall report to the court, with a statement o f the conduct of the probationer. The court may discharge the probationer from further supervision, or may extend probation. 8. Modification of the terms of probation, and revocation o f the probation order or o f suspension of sentence.— A t any time during the probationary term the court may modify the terms and conditions of probation, or may terminate probation, discharging the probationer, or may cause the probationer to be arrested and brought before the court. A t any time after the probation period, but within; the maximum period for which the defendant might originally have been sentenced, the court may cause the defendant to be arrested and brought before the court. In either case, upon causing the probationer to be brought before the court, probation or suspension o f sentence may be revoked and sentence imposed. The bill applies to adults as well as to juveniles, and does not take cognizance o f the peculiar problems involved in the handling o f children’s cases. Moreover, it does not provide for paid proba tion service, which has been found to be essential to effective work with children. But the passage o f the bill would enable the Federal courts to utilize the professional probation service which has been developed in connection with State courts. To the extent to which https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis GÉNÉRAL CONCLUSIONS. 71 such cooperation between Federal and State courts could be effected the provisions o f the bill would make it possible for United States district courts to be informed concerning the character of the chil dren before them and the kind o f disposition that would best protect the interests o f the children and the general public. The courts would also, have means o f supervision and constructive help for children placed on probation. Except for such amelioration as probation officers might be able informally to effect, there would still remain the disadvantages in volved in the length o f time between apprehension and final action-, jail detention, formal procedure and public trial, and the disqualify ing effects o f a criminal record. It would doubtless be possible, through cooperation with the State courts, to secure to the children the benefits o f special facilities for detention pending hearing and fo r intensive study through such diagnostic clinics as exist for the purpose o f giving physical and mental examinations. Such cooper ation with the States might also make available for the use o f the Federal authorities more institutions especially designed for the care o f delinquent children who can not safely remain under supervision in the community. The difficulties o f delayed hearings, formality and publicity, and criminal record could not be met except by further specific legisla tion. It is evident that the possibilities of adapting Federal court pro cedure to children’s cases are limited, and that because o f the rela tively small number of such cases before' any one Federal court, cooperation with State courts and utilization of their resources seem to be essential. It is probable, therefore, that the simplest, most practicable, and least expensive plan for the proper handling o f children’s cases involving violations o f Federal laws would be the first suggested in this chapter—the development of a definite system o f reference to State courts, at least for certain types o f Federal cases involving children. Whatever plan may be adopted, the same fundamental principles governing court procedure in children’s cases must be followed if the children are to be saved the suffering and disastrous results in volved in the criminal procedure in juvenile cases. Perhaps o f equal importance from the standpoint of public welfare, child offenders whose cases are now dismissed or nol-prossed, or who receive nomi nal sentences through a desire to avoid unjust or harsh punishment, could then be given the protective care that would prevent future delinquency. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis A D D I T I O N A L C O P IE S OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D . C. AT 10 C E N T S P E R C O P Y V https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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