NCJ Number
146440
Journal
American Sociological Review Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: (1951) Pages: 653- 661
Date Published
1951
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article shows the inadequacies of official statistics in explaining the extent of delinquent behavior in the urban slum areas.
Abstract
The range of possible enumerations of delinquents in high-rate areas is illustrated by data from a representative jurisdiction. Delinquency data are from the 10 areas of Chicago that registered the highest delinquency rates from 1927 through 1933. Official data encompass juvenile commitments, juvenile court appearances, and police complaint cases. The analysis eliminates multiple counts of the same delinquents. Although the statistics cannot provide an accurate profile of the delinquency rate in urban slum areas, there is sufficient evidence that even urban areas with high rates of delinquents also have many law-abiding juveniles. This suggests that the residents of these areas are influenced by a mixture of conventional and criminal cultural norms. This hypothesis can be useful in constructing a typology of delinquency areas based on degrees of integration of opposing value schemes. It can also account for psychological factors that contribute to delinquent and nondelinquent behaviors. A discussion of these findings by George Vold of the University of Minnesota concludes that the findings provide a foundation for additional study of the behavior and attitudes of nondelinquents who live in high delinquency areas.