Young People in Trouble. By Sir Robert Mayer. (Gollancz. 2s.
6d. THIS is a very short survey or guide-book to the machinery dealing with juvenile delinquency in England. Its object is to give the psychiatrist, scout master, club leader or worker in a remand home a glimpse over the hedge at the other work being done in this field. It might also be useful as a very elementary introduction for a sociological student. There is a chapter on causes, which gives the first place to broken homes (these produce three or four times as many delinquents as a normal atmosphere), and a diagram which shows that in 1942 and 1943 there were over ten times more ho' offenders than girls, probably because the latter are less likely to get into gangs and more likely to be occupied with work in the home. There follows a description of the juvenile courts and the ten alter- native methods of treatment used after a child is proved guilty. including Approved Schools, Borstal and Probation. It is perhaps not generally known that in America the chi:dren's courts are administered by professional jurists, whereas English opinion supports the lay system. Suggestions for future improvement include nursery schools, the enforced resignation of senile magistrates, and more and better nursery schools, observation centres and child guidance clinics. The book, which ends with an outline of the Norwegian system, is suitable only for those who have not pre- viously studied the subject, but within these limits it is useful and unprejudiced.
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