Youth, Crime and Delinquency - Coursework Example

Youth, Crime and Delinquency (criminology) Assess the impact and importance of the child saving movement in either Britain or the United s, 1880-1920. Introduction The Child Saving Movement began in the United Sates of America in the mid 19th century, its aim being to protect and benefit children. The movement, funded by private charitable organizations, started as a coalition of philanthropists, women’s club members and urban professionals. However, by 1920 the field of social work instead of being filled with volunteers was largely composed of college educated professional women. At its peak, the movement was involved in various reform efforts. Some of these efforts included regulating child labor, reducing the rate of infant mortality, garnering for the pension of women, establishing the juvenile court, combating child abuse, constructing play grounds, and establishing children’s schools (Hamilton, 1985). Child saving movement was highly influenced by middle class women who were extending their housewifely roles to the public service and stressing on the dependence of social order to ensure proper socialization of their children. The Child Saving Movement in the US developed in the progressive period as reformers were responding to issues associated with large scale immigration and fast industrialization. The child savers believed that they could secure a bright future for their country if they Americanized the children of immigrants and alleviated the perils of poverty for their young ones (Hamilton, 1985). The impact and importance of the child saving movement According to Hamilton (1985), the child saving movement received both negative and positive response from their activities. On one hand they were recipients of praises for their revolutionary efforts and on the other hand they were highly criticized for being over radical. In spite of this, the movement brought about a fresh realization of humanism. The impacts and importance of the child saving movement can be examined through the following areas: Education Although statutes for the compulsory attendance of school existed in the United States of America before 1880, they were neither well documented nor widely enforced. In Great Britain, effective compulsory school attendance regulations were instituted in the late 19th century. Child saving movements in both nations worked to establish both privately funded and publicly schools for young children. At the turn of the century, members of the Child Study movement in the United States were calling for education reforms, criticizing the stale teaching method and the overcrowded schools. Some child saving movements were calling for vocational education programs which could give the working class children practical skills hence making them great industrial workers. (Hamilton, 1985) Juvenile Delinquency In both Great Britain and the United States, the innovations in the treatment of the juvenile delinquents forced the child saving movements to create a separate judicial system for juveniles (Platt, 1977). The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Chicago. Ben Lindsey (famous spokesperson of the juvenile court) argued that the court needed to work in the best interest of the children and be flexible in its approach to the juvenile offenders. The juvenile courts were against institutionalization but favored probation, either at home or with foster families (Hesse, Hesse & Lawrence, 2009). By 1916, only a few states had not established a juvenile court system. In the early 1920s, a great focus on psychiatry emerged in the juvenile courts and clinics on child guidance changed the way the courts viewed at the young offenders. Britain established its own system of juvenile courts in 1908. In a bid to rehabilitate young law breakers, the courts depended on industrial schools and probation (Hamilton, 1985). Child Labor The photographs taken by Lewis Hine depicting juveniles working in coal mines, textile mills and canneries in the south provided a powerful picture that motivated the child saving movements to strive towards ending child labor. Child labor laws were enacted in 28 states before 1900. However, these regulations only emphasized on mining and manufacturing as opposed to street trade, farm labor, and domestic services. The compulsory education laws were also applied in reducing child labor (Platt, 1977). In Britain, child labor had been regulated earlier. In 1833, Britain had passed the Factory Act which controlled the number of hours that children aged between 9 and 12 were supposed to work in the textile mills. The act required these children to work for 48 hours per week in the textile mills and attend school for 2 hours a day. However, the silk factories which were the major employers of these children were no restricted to these laws. Therefore, unlike in the United States of America, in Britain anti-child labor movements were given greater interest than other child saving activities. Public Health Both America and Britain child savers were worried about the public health of their children (Hesse, Hesse & Lawrence, 2009). Tainted milk and food supplies, poor sanitation and the outbreak of tuberculosis were greater concerns of the child savers. In 1875, Britain passed a law that required that all infant births and deaths be registered. It also aimed at inspecting the foster homes and foster parents so as to prevent the abuses of baby farming. British schools also started to offer meals and medical inspection to elementary students and school children. In 1912, the United States Children’s Bureau was established after the White House Conference on the care of dependent children in 1909. The Bureau was first concerned with high infant mortality rate among poor residents of the city. It published instructional pamphlets on infant and prenatal care and supported the campaigns on baby saving. The Bureau also worked tirelessly to expand studies on infant mortality and promote campaigns on registration of births. Youth Organizations and Child Leisure Most of the child saving movements worked to create and organize the children’s leisure time. Luther Gulick and Henry Curtis formed the Playground Association of America in 1906. The association received support from the municipal and aimed in providing children with outdoor play leaders and play spaces. The playground movement succeeded because their arguments that play were fundamentally important in the development children was highly welcomed by many (Hesse, Hesse & Lawrence, 2009). Robert Powell established the boy scouts in 1908 in Britain. He trained the scouts using the technique he acquired while training the young soldiers in the Boer war. Powell believed that scouting would improve the mental and physical fitness of the boy scouts. He also believed that scouting would help them deal with the dangerous years of adolescence. Child Abuse and Neglect The child saving movements saved many children from abuse and neglect either from foster parents or their real parents. In 1853, the New York Children’s Aid Society engaged in saving children from poor backgrounds by sending those who were abused, orphaned and neglected to stay on farms with foster parents. Child abuse also led to the establishment of the Ney York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children which protected the children and provided laws protecting their rights (Platt, 1977). In Britain, child savers followed the American way and formed Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1883 which was to prosecute parents who abused their children. However, the Liverpool SPCC was reluctant to prosecute parents who abused their children but only gave formal warnings to correct the wayward parents. (Hamilton, 1985) Age of Consent In 1985, issues concerning sexual abuse of girls raised a lot of questions in British consciousness with T. Stead’s “Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon”, which was an investigation of vices being published in the Pall Mall gazette. Among the stories covered in this series was the purchase or sale of a 13 year old virgin by a brothel. This story resulted in the age of consent for girls being increased from 13 to 16 (Gaines & Miller, 2008). The police were also given a lot of power to prosecute those who were involved in prostitution. In an effort to protect girls from sexual abuse, reformers in the United States of America also fought successfully to increase the age of consent for girls. (Hamilton, 1985) Negative impacts Although there were several positive outcomes from the child saving movements, there were also many problems or negative results from their activities (Open University. School and Society Course Team, 1971). Many educated people believed that the child saving movements promoted guidance and altruism but others argued that they should not be considered as humanists or libertarians. This is because research had shown that the indeterminate sentencing, hard labor, indiscriminate arrests and military drills were the concrete results of their reforms. In addition, their move to promote liberation of the delinquent children from the horrors of the urban centers and place of work did not succeed but resulted in tight supervisions and control from the parents. Also, despite their efforts and participation in the establishment of the first juvenile court and the Juvenile Protective Association, they did not succeeded in controlling and preventing the juvenile delinquency. This rather resulted in worse consequences. (Hamilton, 1985) Conclusion Child saving ended not in 1920. What changed was the philosophy and focus of the efforts to save children. In the early 1910s, focus of those interested in child saving changed to social science research on normal children from reformation. The research on children became important and as a result numerous child research institutes were formed accompanied by legislative reforms. Moreover, a part from focusing on environmental factors to explain the problems in child development, the new professional child savers focused on internal emotional conflicts to do so. The new child savers focused their attention on understanding the “normal” child whereas the progressives were concerned with assisting the “subnormal” child. References Gaines K. & Miller R. (2008) Criminal Justice in Action: The Core. Cengage Learning. Hamilton, Cravens (1985) "Child-Saving in the Age of Professionalism, 1915–1930." In American Childhood: A Research Guide and Historical Handbook, ed. Joseph M. Hawes and N. Ray Hiner. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Hesse M., Hesse L. & Lawrence R. (2009) The Essentials of Criminal justice. SAGE. Open University. School and Society Course Team (1971) School and society: a sociological reader. Taylor & Francis. Platt A. (1977) The child savers: the invention of delinquency. University of Chicago Press. 1977. Read More