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1st November 1954
Sir,
These has been a report in the press of a magistrate's criticism of an approved school, and if this report is correct it calls for comment. The management of antisocial children is so difficult that those who undertake this work cannot be expected to do their best if the nature of their work is not understood by the public and by the magistrates of juvenile courts.
It appears that Mr. H. R. Dunnico is disturbed to find pin-up pictures on dormitory walls and he looks for an in which children spring to attention and say “sir.” It may be of course that the approved school in question is a bad one, but the details mentioned in the report of Mr. Dunnico's comment give no indication of this. Can it be said that the real nature of the task of the approved school is not understood by the magistrate?
The issue can be clarified by the sub-division of the problem in the following way. First there is the prevention of delinquency by all sorts of measures, such as adequate housing conditions, full employment, etc., and by education. Secondly there are the very large number of children with antisocial tendencies who do not come before the courts because in some way or other they are helped through a difficult period by the home and by various agencies who give assistance. Thirdly, there are the children