T H E J U V E N I L E C O U R T I N B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A A n E v a l u a t i o n o f t h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t s , t h e P r o b a t i o n S e r v i c e s , a n d O t h e r A s s o c i a t e d F a c i l i t i e s i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , 1 9 6 0 . b y D O N A L D J O H N B L A C K L O C K T h e s i s S u b m i t t e d i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l m e n t o f t h e R e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e D e g r e e o f M A S T E R OF S O C I A L WORK i n t h e S c h o o l o f S o c i a l W o r k A c c e p t e d a s c o n f o r m i n g t o t h e s t a n d a r d r e q u i r e d f o r t h e d e g r e e o f M a s t e r o f S o c i a l W o r k S c h o o l o f S o c i a l W o r k 1 9 6 0 T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a In presenting t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements f o r an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r reference and study. I f u r t h e r agree that. p e r m i s s i o n f o r extensive copying of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e . I t i s understood that copying or p u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be allowed without my w r i t t e n permission. Department of School of S o c i a l Wnrv^ The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver 8, Canada. Date June 14, 1960. i v A B S T R A C T T h e s u b j e c t o f t h e t h e s i s i s a n e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e e x i s t i n g j u v e n i l e c o u r t s e r v i c e s i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a . T h e o b j e c t i v e i s t o a s s e s s w h e t h e r t h e i n t e n t o f t h e f o u n d i n g l e g i s l a t o r s h a s b e e n r e a l i z e d , a n d a l s o w h e t h e r t h e c o u r t a c h i e v e s c u r r e n t l y -r e c o g n i z e d s t a n d a r d s i n i t s . o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n . T h e l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t u n d e r l y i n g t h e J u v e n i l e D e l i n q u e n t s A c t o f C a n a d a , a n d t h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t s A c t o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a i s d e f i n e d , i n s o f a r a s t h i s i s p o s s i b l e . R e f e r e n c e s a r e c i t e d o n s t a n d a r d s f o r t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e c o u r t , j u d g e s , p r o b a -t i o n o f f i c e r s , d i a g n o s t i c a n d t r e a t m e n t f a c i l i t i e s , a n d j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m m i t t e e s . A d e s c r i p t i v e a c c o u n t o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a i s b u i l t u p f r o m i n t e r v i e w s w i t h o f f i c i a l s o f t h e P r o v i n c i a l P r o b a t i o n S e r v i c e a n d t h e V a n c o u v e r J u v e n i l e C o u r t , r e p o r t s o f t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f v a r i o u s s e r v i c e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t , a n d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h t h e A t t o r n e y -G e n e r a l ' s D e p a r t m e n t . T h e e v i d e n c e g a t h e r e d i n d i c a t e s t h a t o n e o f t h e p r i m a r y p u r p o s e s b e h i n d t h e o r i g i n a l f o r m a t i o n o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i n C a n a d a , t h e k e e p i n g o f c h i l d r e n o u t o f a d u l t j a i l s , h a s n o t y e t , b e e n a c h i e v e d i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , e x c e p t i n t h e l a r g e s t u r b a n c e n t r e s . I t s h o w s t o o t h a t t h e c o u r t s , w h i c h h a v e b e e n l e g a l l y e s t a b l i s h e d i n a v e r y l a r g e n u m b e r o f c o m m u n i t i e s , l a c k a n y w e l l - d e f i n e d s t a n d a r d s f o r t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f j u d g e s , a n d a n y o b j e c t i v e m e a n s f o r a s c e r t a i n i n g t h e s u i t a b i l i t y o f t h o s e w h o a r e a p p o i n t e d . P r o b a t i o n s e r v i c e s , v i t a l t o t h e e f f e c t i v e o p -e r a t i o n o f t h e c o u r t , a r e n o n - e x i s t e n t i n s o m e a r e a s , a n d c a r r y e x c e s s i v e w o r k l o a d s w h e r e t h e y d o e x i s t . T h e d i a g n o s t i c s e r -v i c e s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e c o u r t s d o n o t m e a s u r e u p t o s u g g e s t e d s t a n d a r d s . T h e s t u d y a l s o s h o w s t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n a l t r e a t m e n t f a c i l i t i e s a r e l i m i t e d i n s c o p e , r e s t r i c t e d i n p r o g r a m m e , a n d o v e r c r o w d e d . E x c e p t f o r t h e p r o b a t i o n e r , n o o t h e r n o n - i n s t i t u -t i o n a l t r e a t m e n t r e s o u r c e s a r e a v a i l a b l e o n a f o r m a l l y - o r g a n i z e d b a s i s . T h e e v a l u a t i o n s h o w s a n e e d f o r b r o a d l e g i s l a t i v e c h a n g e s w h i e h w o u l d m a k e p o s s i b l e t h e a t t a i n m e n t o f h i g h s t a n d a r d s o f p e r f o r m a n c e . O n e p o s s i b l e w a y i s t h r o u g h t h e c r e a t i o n o f d i s -t r i c t c o u r t s w i t h f u l l - t i m e j u d g e s . T h e s t u d y s h o w s t h e n e e d f o r d e f i n i n g q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r j u d g e s a n d o t h e r c o u r t p e r s o n n e l , a n d e s t a b l i s h i n g m e a n s o f a c h i e v i n g t h e s e s t a n d a r d s . I t s h o w s t o o t h e n e e d f o r p e r i o d i c p o s t - e n a c t m e n t e v a l u a t i o n s o f l e g i s -l a t i o n t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r s t a t u t e s a r e a c h i e v i n g t h e p u r p o s e s f o r w h i e h t h e y w e r e e n a c t e d . i i T A B L E OE C O N T E N T S C h a p t e r 1 . D e l i n q u e n c y a n d t h e L a w P a g e T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t — y e s t e r d a y a n d t o d a y . T h e p r o b l e m o f d e l i n q u e n c y . C a n a d a ' s c o n c e r n w i t h c o r r e c t i o n s . A s o c i a l i n n o v a t i o n . T h e e x p e r i m e n t . S o c i a l A c c o u n t a n c y . T h e n a t u r e o f t h e e v a l u a t i o n . 1 C h a p t e r 2 . O r i g i n s a n d I n t e n t i o n s T h e a p p r o a c h t o t h e p r o b l e m . L e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t : I n -t e n t a s e x p r e s s e d i n r e g u l a t i o n s , R o y a l C o m m i s s i o n — 1 9 3 8 , P r o -v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i o n . A u t h o r i t a t i v e L i t e r a t u r e : T h e p h i l o s o -p h y , T h e c o u r t ' s f u n c t i o n , T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t j u d g e , S e l e c t i o n o f t h e j u d g e , P r o b a t i o n , T h e p r o b a t i o n s t a f f , P r o b a t i o n c a s e -l o a d s , D e t e n t i o n f a c i l i t i e s , D i a g n o s t i c f a c i l i t i e s , T r e a t m e n t f a c i l i t i e s , T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m m i t t e e , O r g a n i z a t i o n t o r a i s e s t a n d a r d s 2 0 C h a p t e r 3 . T h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t : P r e s e n t E a c i l i t i e s L e g a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t . T h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t i n V a n c o u v e r ; S u r r e y ; o t h e r a r e a s o f t h e p r o v i n c e . T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t j u d -g e s . P r o b a t i o n s e r v i c e s : V a n c o u v e r ; N e w W e s t m i n s t e r ; V i c t o r i a . P r o v i n c i a l P r o b a t i o n S e r v i c e . D e t e n t i o n f a c i l i t i e s . D i a g n o s -t i c f a c i l i t i e s . T r e a t m e n t f a c i l i t i e s . B r a n n a n L a k e S c h o o l . W i l l i n g d o n S c h o o l . J u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m m i t t e e s 5 0 C h a p t e r 4 . P o l i c y a n d S t a n d a r d s T h e l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t . T h e j u d g e s . P r o b a t i o n S e r v i -c e s . D e t e n t i o n f a c i l i t i e s . D i a g n o s t i c f a c i l i t i e s . T r e a t m e n t f a c i l i t i e s . J u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m m i t t e e s . 7 5 C h a p t e r 5 . H o w C a n t h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t D o I t s B e s t W o r k ? T h e s t r a t e g i c r o l e o f t h e c o u r t . T h e c o u r t a n d i t s j u d g e s . T h e c i r c u i t c o u r t i d e a . A m e t h o d o f s e l e c t i n g j u d g e s . P r o b a t i o n s t a f f . T h e l a c k o f d e t e n t i o n f a c i l i t i e s . D i a g n o s t i c f a c i l i t i e s . T r e a t m e n t . T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m m i t t e e . S o m e b r o a d e r i m p l i c a t i o n s 9 0 A p p e n d i c e s : A . B i b l i o g r a p h y . i i i T A B L E S A N D C H A R T S I N T H E T E S T ( a ) T a b l e s T a b l e 1 . J u v e n i l e C o u r t a p p e a r a n c e s a n d f i n d i n g s o f d e l i n -q u e n c y . . 7 T a b l e 2 . C a s e s d e a l t w i t h b y t h e V a n c o u v e r J u v e n i l e C o u r t a n d h a n d l e d o u t o f c o u r t b y p r o b a t i o n o f f i c e r s . . . 6 1 T a b l e 3 . T o t a l n u m b e r c o m m i t t e d t o I n d u s t r i a l S c h o o l s a n d p l a c e d o n p r o b a t i o n ; 6 2 T a b l e 4 . C o m p a r a t i v e w o r k l o a d s t a t i s t i c s f o r t h e P r o v i n c i a l P r o b a t i o n B r a n c h 6 5 ( b ) C h a r t s F i g u r e 1 . S t r u c t u r a l C h a r t — V a n c o u v e r J u v e n i l e a n d F a m i l y C o u r t . . . 5 2 V A C K N G W L E D G E M E N T S I w i s h t o e x t e n d my s i n c e r e t h a n k s t o M r . A d r i a n M a r r i a g e f o r h i s a d v i c e i n p l a n n i n g t h i s s t u d y , a n d f o r h i s v e r y h e l p f u l c r i t i c i s m o f t h e m a t e r i a l a s i t p r o g r e s s e d t o c o m p l e t i o n . I w i s h a l s o t o t h a n k D r . G . D . K e n n e d y , D e p u t y A t t o r n e y -G e n e r a l ; M r . E . G . B . S t e v e n s , D i r e c t o r o f C o r r e c t i o n s ; M r . G . D . D a v i d s o n , A s s i s t a n t C h i e f P r o b a t i o n O f f i c e r , M r . R . J . C l a r k , S t a f f S u p e r v i s o r , a n d M r . K . H o l t , P r o b a t i o n O f f i c e r , P r o v i n c i a l P r o b a t i o n B r a n c h ; J u d g e W. H . S . D i x o n , M r . G . S t e v e n s , C h i e f P r o b a t i o n O f f i c e r , a n d M r . H . R o b s o n , A s s i s -t a n t C h i e f P r o b a t i o n O f f i c e r o f t h e V a n c o u v e r J u v e n i l e C o u r t , M i s s W . M. D r q u h a r t , S u p e r i n t e n d e n t , W i l l i n g d o n S c h o o l f o r G i r l s , e a c h f o r t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y s u p p l i e d w h i c h h a s i n l a r g e m e a s u r e p r o v i d e d t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t c o u r t o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d f a c i l i t i e s . F i n a l l y , m a y I e x t e n d a s p e c i a l t h a n k s t o my d e v o t e d w i f e w h o h a s p u t u p w i t h m y i r r i t a b i l i t y , h a s e n c o u r a g e d me w h e n I n e e d e d i t m o s t , a n d h a s h e l p e d i n a v e r y t a n g i b l e w a y i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s , b y t y p i n g i t f o r m e . C H A P T E R I D E L I N Q U E N C Y A N D T H E LAW T h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t — Y e s t e r d a y a n d T o d a y T h e p r o b l e m o f j u v e n i l e c r i m e h a s l o n g b e e n w i t h t h e w o r l d . T h e h i s t o r y o f s p e c i a l l a w s t o d e a l w i t h t h i s p r o b l e m s e e m s t o g o b a c k m a n y c e n t u r i e s , f o r R o m a n l a w c o n t a i n e d s p e c -i a l p r o v i s i o n s f o r o f f e n d e r s u n d e r t h e a g e o f t w e n t y - f i v e . 1 D u r i n g t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a g r o w i n g c o n c e r n w a s f e l t f o r c h i l d r e n w h i c h w a s r e f l e c t e d i n i t i a l l y i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s b y t h e p r o v i s i o n o f s p e c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r c h i l d o f f e n d e r s , b e -g i n n i n g w i t h t h e N e w Y o r k C i t y H o u s e o f R e f u g e i n 1 8 2 5 . 2 S i m -i l a r r e f o r m s c h o o l s w e r e o p e n e d i n o t h e r s t a t e s , f o l l o w e d b y a c t s p r o v i d i n g f o r s e p a r a t e h e a r i n g f o r c h i l d r e n ' s c a s e s i n t h e r e g u l a r c o u r t s . T h e f i r s t g e n e r a l p r o b a t i o n l a w , l i m i t e d t o B o s t o n , w a s p a s s e d i n 1 8 7 8 . 3 I n B r i t a i n d u r i n g t h e s a m e p e r i o d , m o r e t h a n t w o h u n d r e d o f f e n c e s w e r e d e a l t w i t h b y c a p i t a l p u n i s h m e n t . 4 C h i l d r e n o v e r t h e a g e o f s e v e n y e a r s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d l e g a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e a n d w e r e a c c o r d e d t h e s a m e t r e a t m e n t a s a d u l t s . * * A s i n A m e r i c a , 1 N. K . T e e t e r s , a n d J . 0. R e i n e m a n n , T h e C h a l l e n g e o f D e l i n q u e n c y , N e w Y o r k , P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 1 9 5 0 , p . 4 2 . 2 C . L . C h u t e , " F i f t y Y e a r s o f t h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t , " C u r r e n t A p p r o a c h e s t o D e l i n q u e n c y , j f e d . M a r j o r i e B e l l , ) N e w Y o r k , N a t -i o n a l P r o b a t i o n a n d P a r o l e A s s o c i a t i o n , 1 9 5 0 , p . 2 . 3 I b i d . . p . 3 . 4 H . E . B a r n e s , a n d N. K . T e e t e r s , N e w H o r i z o n s i n C r i m i n -o l o g y * N e w Y o r k , P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 1 9 5 3 , ( S e c o n d E d i t i o n ) , p . 3 7 6 . 5 T e e t e r s a n d R e i n e m a n n , op_ . c i t . , p . 4 2 . -2-there were signs appearing of concern f o r the treatment of c h i l d offenders. John Watson, w r i t i n g on the origins of the juvenile court i n B r i t a i n notes that the Home Secretary met opposition from Queen V i c t o r i a when he sought to reduce the number of children being imprisoned. In 1880 he wrote to the Queen concerning the imprisonment of children f o r minor offences and said: •Sir Williams humbly begs leave to represent to Your Majesty, that protracted imprisonment i n such cases has an injurious effect upon both the physical and moral nature of children of tender years....'1 This concern was f i n a l l y to r e s u l t i n the formation of what has since been known as the juvenile court In 1899. In an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d " F i f t y Years of the Juvenile Court," Charles L. Chute describes t h i s occasion: July 1, 1899 i s an important date. On that day a law became e f f e c t i v e i n the state of I l l i n o i s which pro-vided for the establishment i n Chicago of the f i r s t juvenile court i n the world. Probably no single event has contributed more to the welfare of children and t h e i r f a m i l i e s . I t revolutionized the treatment of delinquent and neglected children and led to the passage of s i m i l a r laws throughout the world. I t has been acclaimed by l e g a l experts. Roscoe Pound has c a l l e d i t 'the greatest advance i n j u d i c i a l h i s t o r y since Magna Charta.• Sociologists have regarded i t as the embodiment of a new p r i n c i p l e ; that law v i o l a t o r s , the a n t i - s o c i a l and maladjusted, especially children, should be treated i n d i v i d u a l l y through casework processes f o r t h e i r own protection and that of society, instead of by the punitive and r e t a l i a t o r y methods of the criminal law. The juvenile court was the f i r s t l e g a l t r i b u n a l i n which law and the s c i e n c e s — e s p e c i a l l y those which deal with human behaviour-were brought into a close working r e l a t i o n s h i p . * 1 J . A. F. Watson, The Child and the Magistrate. London, Jonathan Cape, 1950, p.34. 2 Although most publications c i t e the I l l i n o i s l e g i s l a t i o n as the f i r s t , Teeters and Reinemann, op. c i t . , p.285 state that " . . . i n 1890, children's courts were introauced i n South A u s t r a l -i a by m i n i s t e r i a l order and were subsequently l e g a l i z e d under a state act i n 1895...." 3 Chute, Q£. o£t., p . l . - 3 -Q t h e r l i t e r a t u r e i s f i l l e d - w i t h a r t i c l e s h e a p i n g p r a i s e u p o n t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t . W h e n t h e C h i c a g o c o u r t r e a c h e d i t s f i f t i e t h a n n i v e r s a r y i n 1 9 4 9 , a n u m b e r o f p e r i o d i c a l s d e v o t e d c o n s i d e r a b l e s p a c e t o s u c h a r t i c l e s . A s t h e a u t h o r o f o n e o f t h e s e m a n y a r t i c l e s , H a r r i s o n D o b b s s a y s : T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t h a s a s p e c i f i c p u r p o s e . U p u n t i l n o w , a t l e a s t , i t i s l a r g e l y u n p a r a l l e l e d i n s t r u c t -u r e a n d f u n c t i o n . A s t r o n g d e f e n c e o f i t m a y b e m a d e o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e f u n d a m e n t a l u s e f u l n e s s i t s t i l l h a s t o c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p s . I t h a s r e -m a i n e d a s e r v i c e a b l e s o c i a l I n s t i t u t i o n . 1 T h i s q u o t a t i o n i s a c o n s e r v a t i v e e x a m p l e o f t h e m a n y v o i c e s w h i c h h a v e b e e n a n d a r e b e i n g r a i s e d i n p r a i s e o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i d e a , a n d i t s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t t h e y b e l o n g t o p r o f e s s i o n a l p e o p l e i n t h e f i e l d o f c o r r e c t i o n s w h o a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e b a s i c c o n c e p t u p o n w h i c h t h e c o u r t r e s t s . W o t e v e r y o n e w h o h a s v i e w e d t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i n o p e r a t i o n h o l d s i t i n s u c h h i g h e s t e e m h o w e v e r . A r e c e n t C a n a d i a n P r e s s r e l e a s e f r o m V e r n o n , B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , q u o t e s a m a g i s t r a t e f r o m t h a t c i t y w h o h a s q u i t e o p p o s i t e v i e w s . T h e r e l e a s e s a y s : A Y e r n o n m a g i s t r a t e s a y s s o c i e t y h a s g o n e t o o f a r i n i t s u s e o f c h i l d p s y c h o l o g y o n j u v e n i l e o f f e n d e r s . T h e r e s u l t h a s ' t a k e n t h e t e e t h o u t o f t h e l a w . ' M a g i s t r a t e F r a n k S m i t h c a l l e d f o r i m m e d i a t e r e v i s i o n o f t h e l a w s s o c o u r t s c a n t a k e a m o r e r e a l i s t i c a t t i t -u d e o n w h a t i s j u s t p u n i s h m e n t . H e s a i d c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t i n t h e h o m e , s c h o o l a n d c o u r t s w o u l d h e l p c o r r e c t w a y - w a r d j u v e n i l e s . • . . . A d u l t b e l i e f t h a t c h i l d p s y c h o l o g y i s t h e a n s w e r t o j u v e n i l e p r o b l e m s , a n d t h a t r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f f e r s t h e o n l y s o l u t i o n , ' i s m e a n i n g l e s s a n d u s u a l l y f a i l s , ' t h e m a g i s t r a t e s a i d . . . . . S o m e y e a r s a g o t h e l a w s w e r e r u t h l e s s t o t h e e x -t e n t o f d r a w i n g p u b l i c p r o t e s t . 1 H . A . D o b b s , " I n D e f e n s e o f J u v e n i l e C o u r t s , " F e d e r a l P r o b a t i o n , v o l . 1 3 { S e p t e m b e r 1 9 4 9 ) , p . 2 5 . ' I n i t s e f f o r t s t o c o r r e c t t h i s s i t u a t i o n , s o c i e t y h a s g o n e t o t h e o p p o s i t e e x t r e m e a n d t a k e n t h e t e e t h o u t o f t h e l a w . » 1 I n a c r i t i c a l a r t i c l e , W i l l i a m F o r t f a c e s u p t o t h e c h a r g e s w h i c h a r e b e i n g l e v e l l e d a t t h e c o u r t a n d s a y s : T o d a y t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i s u n d e r i n c r e a s i n g a t t a c k — i n c r i e s o f " m o l l y c o d d l i n g m u s t s t o p " o r " t h r o w t h e s o c i a l w o r k e r s o u t " o r " t o t a l l y u n r e a l i s t i c " o r " b a c k t o t h e w o o d s h e d . " L e t * ® f a c e i t — m u c h o f t h i s c r i t i c i s m i s j u s t i f i e d ! F e w j u v e n i l e c o u r t s a r e d o i n g t h e j o b t h e y w e r e d e s i g n e d t o p e r f o r m . W h a t t h e n i s t h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s f a i l u r e ? 2 T h i s i s i n d e e d a d i f f e r e n t a n d c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e p o s i t i v e s t a n d f r o m t h a t t a k e n b y t h e m a g i s t r a t e . H o w e v e r , i t t o o s e r v e s t o p o i n t u p t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t a s a n a i l i n g , i f n o t a n a c h r o n i s t i c s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n . T h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t a s a s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n m i g h t b e c o n s i d e r e d a s s h a k y I f v i e w e d o n t h i s b a s i s a l o n e t h e n . T h e a v i d p r o t a g o n i s t s p o i n t o u t i t s m a n y t h e o r e t i c a l p o s i t i v e s b u t t h e r e a l i t y , a t l e a s t i n t h e e y e s o f s o m e c r i t i c s , i s f a r f r o m f a v o r a b l e . P e r h a p s i t w o u l d b e f a i r e r t o s a y h o w e v e r , t h a t m a n y o f t h e c r i t i c i s m s a r e l e v e l e d a t c o u r t s w h i c h f a l l s h o r t o f t h e s t a n d a r d s a d h e r e d t o b y i t s s u p p o r t e r s . T h e P r o b l e m o f D e l i n q u e n c y D e l i n q u e n c y i s o f m a j o r c o n c e r n i n m o s t N o r t h A m e r i c a n c i t i e s a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e . Hot o n l y i s t h e f r e q u e n c y o f d e -l i n q u e n t b e h a v i o u r i n c r e a s i n g , b u t a l s o t h e c r i m e s c o m m i t t e d 1 V a n c o u v e r S u n , N o v e m b e r 2 7 , 1 9 5 9 , p.23 . 2 w . S . F o r t , " T h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t E x a m i n e s I t s e l f . " N P P A J o u r n a l , v o l . 5 ( O c t o b e r 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 4 1 0 : : a r e b e c o m i n g m o r e s e r i o u s i n n a t u r e . 1 I n O t t a w a d u r i n g 1 9 5 8 , a s e v e n t e e n y e a r o l d b o y w a s s e n t e n c e d t o t h e p e n i t e n t i a r y a f t e r b e i n g f o u n d g u i l t y o f m a n s l a u g h t e r . H e w a s c o n v i c t e d a f t e r s t a b b i n g a n o t h e r t e e n - a g e b o y t o d e a t h i n a s t r e e t f i g h t i n v o l v i n g a n u m b e r o f b o y s , s o m e o n l y f i f t e e n y e a r s o l d . T h i s w a s n o t a e h a n e e f i g h t , b u t w a s c a r e f u l l y p r e p a r e d f o r , a n d t h e t w o j u v e n i l e g a n g s p r o w l e d t h e c i t y i n t h e i r a u t o m o b i l e s s e e k -i n g e a c h o t h e r o u t . T h e b o y c o n v i c t e d o f t h e k i l l i n g w a s a t t h e t i m e o n p r o b a t i o n , t h e s e n t e n c e h e h a d r e c e i v e d f o r h i s i n -v o l v e m e n t i n a s t r e e t f i g h t s l a y i n g o f a n o t h e r b o y i n 1 9 5 6 . T h i s o c c u r e n c e l e d t o t h e i m m e d i a t e f o r m a t i o n o f a c o m m i t t e e c o m p o s e d o f c i t i z e n s a n d w e l f a r e o f f i c i a l s t o s t u d y t h e p r o b l e m o f d e l i n q u e n c y i n t h e c i t y . S u c h a s t u d y h a d a l r e a d y b e e n i n t h e p l a n n i n g s t a g e s b y t h e O t t a w a W e l f a r e C o u n c i l b e c a u s e o f t h e a l a r m i n g i n c r e a s e s i n d e l i n q u e n c y i n t h e c i t y . 2 A m e r i c a n c i t i e s t o o h a v e b e e n n o t i n g t h i s t r e n d , N e w Y o r k 1 " T e r r o r C o m e s t o C i t y S t r e e t s , " U . S . N e w s a n d W o r l d R e -p o r t » v o l . 6 7 ( S e p t e m b e r 1 4 , 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 6 5 ~ T h i s a r t i c l e s t a t e s t h a t t h e n u m b e r o f j u v e n i l e s a r r e s t e d f o r s e r i o u s c r i m e s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n c r e a s e d 8 . 1 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 5 8 o v e r 1 9 5 7 . S t a t e -m e n t s o n t h e i n c r e a s i n g s e r i o u s n e s s o f j u v e n i l e c r i m e m u s t b e c o n s i d e r e d w i t h a g r e a t d e a l o f c a u t i o n h o w e v e r . E v e n s t a t i s t i -c a l r e p o r t s c a n m e a n m a n y t h i n g s . S o u r c e s o f t h e s t a t i s t i c s v a r y g r e a t l y s i n c e f e w , i f a n y , a r e a s h a v e a c h i e v e d s t a n d a r d i -z a t i o n i n r e p o r t i n g o f c o u r t a c t i v i t i e s . T h e a n a l y s i s a n d i n t e r -p r e t a t i o n o f t h e s e s t a t i s t i c s m a y a g a i n i n f l u e n c e t h e f i n a l r e -s u l t . I n c r e a s e d p u b l i c c o n c e r n o v e r t h e p r o b l e m a s a r e s u l t o f n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t i n g m a y b e o u t o f a l l p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e a c t u a l f a c t s . O n e p a r t i c u l a r l y h e i n o u s o f f e n s e m a y c r e a t e a t r e m e n d o u s s t i r . A s a r e s u l t , n e w s p a p e r s a n d o t h e r m a s s m e d i a m a y f o c u s o n e v e r y j u v e n i l e o f f e n s e w h i c h i s c o m m i t t e d , c r e a t i n g a f a l s e i l l u s i o n t h a t j u v e n i l e c r i m e i s s u d d e n l y r u n n i n g r a m p a n t . 2 T h e w r i t e r w a s w o r k i n g I n a n a f t e r - c a r e a g e n c y i n O t t a w a a t t h e t i m e o f t h i s o c c u r r e n c e , a n d h a d o c c a s i o n t o a t t e n d s o m e o f t h e m e e t i n g s h e l d b y t h e w e l f a r e C o u n c i l c o m m i t t e e . - 6 p a r t i c u l a r l y h a v i n g s u f f e r e d a r a s h o f j u v e n i l e h o m i c i d e s d u r -i n g t h e s u m m e r m o n t h s o f 1 9 5 9 . 1 S p e a k i n g o n t h e a l a r m i n g i n -c r e a s i n g d e l i n q u e n c y i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , S e n a t o r T h o m a s C . H e n n i n g s , C h a i r m a n o f a U n i t e d S t a t e s S e n a t e C o m m i t t e e c u r r e n t -l y s t u d y i n g t h e p r o b l e m o f j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y , p r e s e n t s t h i s p i c t u r e : I f w e l o o k a t w h a t h a s b e e n c a l l e d a " d e l i n q u e n c y g e n e r a t i o n , " t h a t i s , c u r r e n t a n d r e c e n t l y d e l i n q u e n t c h i l d r e n i n t h e t e n t h r o u g h s e v e n t e e n y e a r a g e g r o u p , w e f i n d . . . t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t y o u n g m a l e s i n t h i s d e l i n q u e n c y g e n e r a t i o n w h o h a v e b e e n d e l i n -q u e n t o n e o r m o r e t i m e s c o m p r i s e s 1 6 t o 2 0 p e r c e n t o f o u r t o t a l m a l e p o p u l a t i o n o f j u v e n i l e c o u r t a g e . T h i s m e a n s t h a t i n o u r p o p u l a t i o n t o d a y w e a c t u a l l y n a v e 1 , 7 0 0 , 0 0 0 c h i l d r e n w i t h d e l i n q u e n c y r e c o r d s . . . . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s e c o u r t a p p e a r a n c e s , w e a r e f a c e d w i t h t h e f a c t t h a t f r o m 3 0 t o 5 0 p e r e e n t o f t h e s e c h i l d r e n h a v e a p p e a r e d b e f o r e t h e c o u r t m o r e t h a n o n c e . x >. A n d t h i s f i g u r e d o e s n o t i n c l u d e t h e J a i g e n u m b e r o f h i d d e n d e l i n q u e n t s — s e r i o u S g O f f e n d e r s — w h o h a v e n e v e r a p p e a r e d b e f o r e t h e c o u r t s . B a s i n g h i s r e m a r k s o n i n f o r m a t i o n g a t h e r e d b y t h e W o r l d H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n , D r . M a n u e l L o p e z - R e y s a y s o f t h e d e l i n q u e n -c y p r o b l e m : I t w o u l d s e e m t h a t t h e p r e s e n t a p p r o a c h t o j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e g e n e r a l l y c a l l e d h i g h l y d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s , i s i n n e e d o f s e r i o u s r e v i s i o n . N e v e r i n t h e h i s t o r y o f m a n k i n d h a s s o m u c h b e e n d o n e f o r t h e w e l l - b e i n g o f h u m a n b e i n g s a n d m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r c h i l d r e n , j u v e n i l e s , a n d y o u n g p e o p l e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , i n s p i t e o f m a n y e f f o r t s , a g r e a t d e a l o f m o n e y s p e n t , j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y , w i t h v e r y f e w e x c e p t i o n s , i s i n c r e a s i n g i n m a n y 1 " T e r r o r C o m e s t o C i t y S t r e e t s , " U . S . N e w s a n d W o r l d R e -p o r t , v o l . 6 7 , ( S e p t e m b e r 1 4 , 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 6 5 ^ T h i s a r t i c l e d e s -c r i b e s f o u r k i l l i n g s a n d a n u m b e r o f s t a b b i n g s w h i c h t o o k p l a c e i n N e w Y o r k c i t y d u r i n g a n e i g h t d a y p e r i o d i n t h e s u m m e r o f 1 9 5 9 . 2 S e n a t o r T h o m a s H e n n i n g s J r . , " E f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e J u v -e n i l e C o u r t S y s t e m , " F e d e r a l P r o b a t i o n , v o l . 2 3 ( J u n e 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 3 . - 7 -c o u n t r i e s , a n d m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h o s e c o n s i d -e r e d a s e c o n o m i c a l l y h i g h l y d e v e l o p e d . 1 C e r t a i n l y t h e d e l i n q u e n c y s t a t i s t i c s f o r B r i t i s h Columbia, w o u l d b e a r o u t t h i s s t a t e m e n t . T h e f o l l o w i n g t a b l e p r o v i d e s f i g u r e s f o r t h e y e a r s 1 9 5 1 t h r o u g h 1 9 5 6 , ( t h e m o s t r e c e n t a v a i l -a b l e ) , w i t h c o m p a r a t i v e f i g u r e s f o r t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n . T a b l e 1 . J u v e n i l e C o u r t A p p e a r a n c e s a n d F i n d i n g s o f D e l i n q u e n c y f o r B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , C o m - p a r e d t o T o t a l P o p u l a t i o n , 1 9 5 1 - 1 9 5 6 . Y e a r C o u r t A p p e a r a n c e s ( a ) F o u n d D e l i n q u e n t ( b ) T o t a l P o p u l a t i o n ( c ) N u m b e r D e l i n q u e n c i e s • p e r 1 0 0 0 p o p . 1 9 5 6 1 3 1 7 1 2 5 4 . 1 , 3 9 9 , 0 0 0 . 9 0 1 9 5 5 9 1 4 8 4 4 ; 1 , 3 4 2 , 0 0 0 . 6 3 1 9 5 4 1 0 3 7 9 5 6 . 1 , 2 9 5 , 0 0 0 . 7 4 1 9 5 3 1 0 1 3 9 5 2 1 , 2 4 8 , 0 0 0 . 7 6 1 9 5 2 1 0 2 1 8 7 7 1 , 2 0 5 , 0 0 0 . 7 3 1 9 5 1 8 9 3 8 1 5 . 1 , 1 6 5 , 0 0 0 . 7 0 S o u r c e : ( a , b ) C a n a d a , J u v e n i l e D e l i n q u e n t s , Q u e e n ' s P r i n t e r , O t t a w a , 1 9 5 1 - 1 9 5 6 . T h e s e s t a t i s t i c s a r e b a s e d o n j u v -e n i l e s a s u n d e r a g e s i x t e e n . S i n c e t h o s e u n d e r e i g h t e e n a r e 1 c o n s i d e r e d a s j u v e n i l e s i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , d i f f e r e n c e s o f a s m u c h a s o n e h u n d r e d p e r c e n t h a v e b e e n n o t e d i n a r e a s i n w h i c h c o m p a r a b l e f i g u r e s a p p e a r i n t h e P r o v i n c e o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a A n n u a l R e p o r t o f t h e S o c i a l W e l f a r e B r a n c h o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f H e a l t h a n d W e l f a r e ^ : ( c ) C a n a d a Y e a r B o o k . 1 9 5 7 - 5 8 , p . 1 1 9 A r t i c l e s i n t h e V a n c o u v e r n e w s p a p e r s . t e n d t o i n d i c a t e t h e c o n c e r n , i n s o m e q u a r t e r s , a t l e a s t , o v e r t h e m o u n t i n g p r o b l e m o f 1 M . L o p e z - R e y , " P r e s e n t A p p r o a c h e s t o t h e P r o b l e m o f J u v -e n i l e D e l i n q u e n c y , " F e d e r a l P r o b a t i o n , v o l . 2 3 ( J u n e 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 2 4 . -8-d e l i n q u e n c y . A p r e s s r e l e a s e f r o m C h i l l i w a c k s t a t e s i n p a r t : S i x d i s t r i c t r e s i d e n t s h a v e b e e n a p p o i n t e d t o a n e w l y f o r m e d j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m m i t t e e . . . . T h e c o m m i t t e e i s t h e r e s u l t o f a p e t i t i o n f r o m t h e C h i l l i w a c k C o u n c i l o f Women a s k i n g f o r a g r o u p t o s t u d y j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y i n t h e C h i l l i w a c k a r e a . 1 A n o t h e r p r e s s r e l e a s e f r o m L a n g l e y , B . C . i n d i c a t e s a t o w n w i t h a d e l i n q u e n c y p r o b l e m a n d i n a d e q u a t e f a c i l i t i e s t o d e a l w i t h i t . T h e s t a t e m e n t s a y s : A p r o v i n c i a l p r o b a t i o n o f f i c e r s a y s c o m m u n i t y i n t e r e s t i n p r o b l e m s o f y o u n g o f f e n d e r s c a n r e -d u c e t h e j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y r a t e . L e s L a n g d a l e t o l d L a n g l e y B o a r d o f T r a d e a v i t a l s t e p i n c o m b a t t i n g t h e d e l i n q u e n c y p r o b l e m w o u l d b e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o m -m i t t e e t o f i n d e m p l o y m e n t f o r y o u t h s a n d p l a n f o r i n s t a l l a t i o n o f a l o c a l d e t e n t i o n h o m e . M a y o r E . E . S e n d a l l r e c e n t l y s t a t e d s u c h a c o m -m i t t e e i s n e e d e d t o p r o v i d e " e n v i r o n m e n t a l c h a n g e s " 1 f o r c e r t a i n y o u n g s t e r s , e i t h e r b y f i n d i n g t h e m w o r k o r n e w h o m e s . H e s a i d a m a j o r p r o b l e m h a s b e e n r e p e a t o f f e n s e s w h i l e y o u t h s a r e a w a i t i n g t r i a l o n e a r l i e r c h a r g e s . • T h e r e s n o p l a c e t o p u t t h e m n o w w h e n t h e y a r e r e -m a n d e d u n l e s s t h e m a g i s t r a t e s e n d s t h e m t o G a k a l l a . ' • T h a t ' s n o t o f t e n t h e c a s e , s o t h e y a r e r e l e a s e d t o g e t i n t o t r o u b l e a g a i n 1 , t h e m a y o r s a i d . 2 T h e p r o b l e m o f d e a l i n g w i t h j u v e n i l e o f f e n d e r s i s o f c o n -c e r n t o s o m e m a g i s t r a t e s t o o . Y a l e C o u n t y C o u r t J u d g e G o r d o n L i n d s a y , s p e a k i n g t o a c o n v e n t i o n o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a M a g i s t r a t e s , h a d t h i s t o s a y : . . . . ' C a n w e r e a l l y u n d e r s t a n d t h e w o r k i n g s o f a c h i l d t e m i n d ? ' • A r e w e s u r e o f t h e r i g h t a n s w e r s w h e n d e a l i n g w i t h y o u n g p e o p l e w h o a r e a l l m i x e d u p ? ? 1 V a n c o u v e r S u n , O c t o b e r " 1 7 , 1 9 5 9 , : p . 2 1 . 2 V a n c o u v e r S u n . M a y 7 , 1 9 5 9 , p . 6 . - 9 -i u o t h i n g , t i e s a i d , g i v e s a m a g i s t r a t e m o r e c o n c e r n t h a n d e a l i n g w i t h y o u n g o f f e n d e r s . T h e m a g i s t r a t e h a d . t h e i d e a t h e j u v e n i l e s h o u l d h e p u n i s h e d . O t h e r s c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e c o u r t s h y a w a y f r o m i m p o s i n g p u n i s h m e n t , h e o b s e r v e d . • M a y b e t h e r e i s r o o m f o r a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e m a g i s -t r a t e i n m o d e r n p s y c h i a t r y , a n d w e m i g h t f i n d s o m e w a y o f b r e a k i n g j u v e n i l e s , ' J u d g e L i n d s a y s a i d . l T h i s s t a t e m e n t i m p l i e s c o n c e r n b y m a g i s t r a t e s f o r t h e u s e o f a p p r o p r i a t e m e a s u r e s t o d e a l w i t h t h e j u v e n i l e . H o w e v e r , t h e i m p l i c a t i o n i s a l s o m a d e t h a t t h e p h i l o s o p h y o f t r e a t m e n t i n h e r e n t i n t h e o p e r a t i o n o f j u v e n i l e c o u r t s h a s n o t b e e n u n i -v e r s a l l y a c c e p t e d , s i n c e t h i s j u d g e h a s p u b l i c l y s t a t e d h i s b e -l i e f i n p u n i s h m e n t a s t h e a p p r o p r i a t e m e a s u r e . C a n a d a ' s C o n c e r n w i t h C o r r e c t i o n s C o r r e c t i o n a l s y s t e m s a r e o f v e r y g r e a t i n t e r e s t i n C a n a d a a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e . S p e a k i n g a t t h e C a n a d i a n C o n g r e s s o f C o r r e c t i o n s i n 1 9 5 7 , ivi. A . J . M a c L e o d , D i r e c t o r o f t h e R e m i s s i o n S e r v i c e o f . t h e F e d e r a l G o v e r n m e n t , m a d e r e f e r e n c e t o t h e a d v a n c e s w h i c h h a v e t a k e n p l a c e s i n c e 1 9 4 7 . H e c i t e d R o y a l C o m m i s s i o n s w h i c h h a v e s t u d i e d t h e C r i m i n a l C o d e , t h e l a w s r e -l a t i n g t o i n s a n i t y a s a l e g a l d e f e n s e , a n d t h e l a w s r e l a t i n g t o c r i m i n a l s e x u a l p s y c h o p a t h s . 2 H e m e n t i o n e d t o o t h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y C o m m i t t e e w h i c h h a s s t u d i e d t h e p r o b l e m o f c a p i t a l p u n i s h m e n t , c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t , a n d l o t t e r i e s , a n d t h e S e n a t e c o m m i t t e e W h i c h n a s s t u d i e d t h e n a r c o t i c d r u ; g s p r o b l e m . 3 S i n c e 1 9 5 7 , t h e 1 Y a n c o u v e r S u n . M a y 6 , 1 9 5 9 , p . 1 1 2 A . J . M a c L e o d , " C o r r e c t i o n s i n C a n a d a , 1 9 4 7 a n d T o - d a y , " P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e C a n a d i a n C o n g r e s s o f C o r r e c t i o n s . O t t a w a , 1 9 5 7 C a n a d i a n C o r r e c t i o n s A s s o c i a t i o n , p p . 2 6 , 2 7 . 3 I b i d . , p . 2 7 . - 1 0 -f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t h a s t a k e n s t e p s t o i m p r o v e t h e s y s t e m o f p a r o l e , f o l l o w i n g r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e F a u -t e u x R e p o r t , 1 a n d h a s s e t u p a n o t h e r c o m m i t t e e k n o w n a s t h e P e n a l R e f o r m C o m m i t t e e t o s t u d y t h e e n t i r e f e d e r a l f i e l d o f c o r r e c t i o n s . T h i s c o m m i t t e e i s e x p e c t e d t o r e p o r t s o o n , 2 m a k i n g b r o a d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e o f C a n a d a ' s p e n a l s y s t e m , i n c l u d i n g a r e c o m m e n d a t i o n f o r r e s e a r c h i n t h e e n t i r e f i e l d o f c o r r e c t i o n s . 3 I n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a t o o , m u c h h a s b e e n d o n e i n r e c e n t y e a r s b y w a y o f b u i l d i n g b o t h a n e w B o y s ' I n d u s t r i a l S c h o o l , 4 a n d a n e w G i r l s ' I n d u s t r i a l S c h o o l . 5 A n e w p r i s o n , c l a i m e d t o b e t h e f i n e s t i n t h e c o u n t r y , w a s o p e n e d a t H a n e y . 6 T h e p r o -v i n c i a l p r o b a t i o n s y s t e m h a s a l s o b e e n m u c h e x p a n d e d i n r e c e n t y e a r s . 7 Y e t t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f j u v e n i l e s p l a c e d o n p r o b a t i o n i n t h e p e r i o d 1 9 5 1 . t h r o u g h 1 9 5 6 h a s r e m a i n e d v i r t u a l l y u n -1 M a c L e o d , P r o c e e d i n g s , p . 2 7 2 A s o f d a t e o f w r i t i n g , D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 9 , t h e r e p o r t h a d n o t b e e n r e l e a s e d . 3 V a n c o u v e r S u n , N o v e m b e r £.,1959, p . 8 . 4 B r a n n a n L a k e S c h o o l w a s p u t i n t o u s e o n M a r c h 1 6 , 1 9 5 5 . B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , A n n u a l R e p o r t o f t h e S o c i a l W e l f a r e B r a n c h o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f H e a l t h a n d W e l f a r e , 1 9 5 5 , V i c t o r i a , Q u e e n ' s P r i n t e r , 1 9 5 5 , p . 7 8 . " 5 T h e W i l l i n g d o n S c h o o l f o r G i r l s w a s o f f i c i a l l y o p e n e d o n M a r c h 2 6 , 1 9 5 9 , a n d t h e b u i l d i n g w a s o c c u p i e d o n A p r i l 7 , 1 9 5 9 . M i s s W . M . D r q u h a r t , S u p e r i n t e n d e n t , I n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e w r i t e r , 2 2 F e b r u a r y , 1 9 6 0 . 6 H a n e y C o r r e c t i o n a l I n s t i t u t i o n b e g a n t o t a k e i n i t s f i r s t i n m a t e s i n A u g u s t , 1 9 5 7 . B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , A n n u a l R e p o r t o f t h e D i r e c t o r o f C o r r e c t i o n s , V i c t o r i a , Q u e e n ' s P r i n t e r , 1 9 5 9 , p . 9 . 7 M a c L e o d , op_ . c i t . , p . 2 8 . A c c o r d i n g t o t h i s s t a t e m e n t , B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a h a d t w o f u l l - t i m e p r o b a t i o n o f f i c e r s i n 1 9 4 7 , a n d t w e n t y - o n e i n 1 9 5 7 . - 1 1 -c h a n g e d . ^ T h e c o n c e r n s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n m a i n l y w i t h p r o -v i s i o n s f o r a d u l t o f f e n d e r s a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h i n s t i t u t -i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s . S p e a k i n g a t t h e C a n a d i a n C o n g r e s s o f C o r r e c t i o n s i n M a y , 1 9 5 9 , B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a ' s A t t o r n e y - G e n e r a l , R o b e r t B o n n e r , w a s q u o t e d a s s a y i n g : . . . . B . C . h a s e s t a b l i s h e d a t r e n d t o w a r d s t r e a t m e n t a n d r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f p r i s o n e r s r a t h e r t h a n t h e o l d e m p h a s i s o n r e t r i b u t i o n a n d p u n i s h m e n t ! 2 O n c e a g a i n t h e e m p h a s i s i s o n t h e a d u l t a l r e a d y i n t h e p r i s o n , a n d t h i s s e e m s t o b e t h e s i t u a t i o n a t b o t h t h e p r o v i n -c i a l a n d f e d e r a l l e v e l s . A s t u d y o f S c o t t ' s p u b l i c a t i o n d e s -c r i b i n g t h e l e g i s l a t i v e f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i n C a n a d a p o i n t s u p t h e f a c t t h a t n o s u b s t a n t i a l c h a n g e s h a v e b e e n m a d e i n o u r p r e s e n t j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n t l e g i s l a t i o n s i n c e i t w a s i n t r o d u c e d i n 1 9 2 9 . 3 T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n t a k e n v e r y m u c h f o r g r a n t e d w i t h l i t t l e b u t t e c h n i c a l e h a n g e s b e i n g m a d e i n t h e l e g i s l a t i o n , j u d g i n g b y t h e p a u c i t y o f m a t -e r i a l a v a i l a b l e , v e r y l i t t l e h a s b e e n d o n e t o d e t e r m i n e t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f i t s f u n c t i o n i n g e i t h e r , d e s p i t e t h e r i s i n g t i d e o f i n t e r e s t i n t h e r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f t h e o f f e n d e r . I n v i e w o f t h e f a c t t h a t d e l i n q u e n c y i s c o m m o n l y c o n -1 C a n a d a , D o m i n i o n B u r e a u o f S t a t i s t i c s , J u v e n i l e D e l i n - q u e n t s . O t t a w a , Q u e e n ' s P r i n t e r , 1 9 5 1 - 1 9 5 6 . F i g u r e s d r a w n f r o m t h i s s t a t i s t i c a l p u b l i c a t i o n i n d i c a t e t h a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e -h a l f o f t h o s e c h i l d r e n f o u n d t o b e d e l i n q u e n t I n B r i t i s h C o l -u m b i a w e r e p l a c e d o n p r o b a t i o n i n e a c h o f t h e s e y e a r s . S e e t h e c o m m e n t o n p a g e 7 r e g a r d i n g t h e a c c u r a c y o f t h e s e s t a t i s t i c s h o w e v e r . 2 V a n c o u v e r S u n . M a y 2 5 , 1 9 5 9 , p . 6 . 3 W . L. S c o t t , T h e J u v e n i l e C o u r t i n L a w . O t t a w a , C a n -a d i a n W e l f a r e C o u n c i l , i y 5 2 ( R e v i s i o n o y j . R . S h l f f , e t a l ) . -12-s i d e r e d t o b e a s o c i a l p r o b l e m — i n d e e d a v e r y s e r i o u s p r o b -l e m — a n d a l s o i n v i e w o f t h e r e h a b i l i t a t i v e p u r p o s e w h i c h a n -i m a t e d t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t s y s t e m . ! «JQ e v a l u a t i o n o f i t s f u n c t i o n i n g s e e m s t o b e a n a p p r o p r i a t e t a s k f o r s o c i a l w o r k r e s e a r c h . C e r t a i n l y , i f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a a n d C a n a d a a r e t o h a v e t h e f i r s t c l a s s c o r r e c t i o n a l s y s t e m s w h i c h t h e i r g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e s p o k e n o f , s u c h a n e v a l u a t i o n i s e s s e n -t i a l . A S o c i a l I n n o v a t i o n T h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i d e a w a s c o n c e i v e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s b y i n d i v i d u a l s w h o f e l t t h a t t h e c h i l d o f t e n d e r y e a r s s h o u l d n o t b e t r e a t e d i n t h e c o u r t s o f l a w a s a n a d u l t . I t w a s i n t r o -d u c e d i n C a n a d a a f e w y e a r s l a t e r i n r e s p o n s e t o p u b l i c c o n c e r n o v e r t h e m o u n t i n g p r o b l e m o f d e l i n q u e n c y . I f s o m e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n c a n b e p l a c e d u p o n t h e c o m m e n t s o f p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e S e n a t e d e b a t e s , i t w a s a p p a r e n t l y s e e n a s a p a n a c e a w h i c h w o u l d s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m , f o r a M r . L o u g h e e d s a i d , i n a d d r e s s i n g t h e S e n a t e : . . . l e t me p o i n t o u t s o m e s t a t i s t i c s — a l a r m i n g s t a t i s t i c s — I m i g h t s a y — a s t o j u v e n i l e c r i m e w i t h i n t h e D o m i n i o n o f C a n a d a . H o n . g e n t l e m e n w i l l k e e p i n v i e w t h a t i n d i c t a b l e o f f e n s e s a r e t h e m o r e s e r i o u s o f f e n s e s . I n 1 9 0 1 , t h e c o n -v i c t i o n s o f c h i l d r e n u n d e r s i x t e e n y e a r s o f a g e n u m b e r e d 1 , 0 1 7 . F a n c y , h o n . g e n t l e m e n , a b o u t o n e - f i f t h o f o u r c r i m i n a l p o p u l a t i o n u n d e r s i x -t e e n y e a r s o f a g e i n . 1 9 0 1 , a n d t h e r e w e r e 8 8 2 b e t w e e n t h e a g e s o f s i x t e e n a n d t w e n t y - o n e . T h e s e s t a t i s t i c s , i t s e e m s t o m e , s h o u l d i m p r e s s u p o n t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e a b s o l u t e n e c e s s i t y o f t a k i n g s o m e s t e p s t o w a r d s m a k i n g i n q u i r y i n t o t h e n e c e s s i t y o f a d o p t i n g t h e m o s t p r o g r e s s i v e l e g i s l a t i o n w h i c h c a n b e p u t o n o u r s t a t u t e -b o o k s w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n t s . 2 1 T e e t e r s a n d R e i n e m a n n , o p . c i t . , p p . 2 8 5 - 6 . 2 C a n a d a , : P a r l i a m e n t , S e n a t e , D e b a t e s o f t h e S e n a t e , O t t a w a , K i n g ' s P r i n t e r , 1 9 0 8 , p . 9 8 0 . -13-The juvenile court was a bold venture, the philosophy of which was to change the focus of courts dealing with children from the offense to the offender, and from punish-ment to treatment. In commenting upon t h i s change, Dobbs states that: The state had long acted i n loco parentis for destitute and needy children. However, s t i l l further to extend the concept of the State ser-ving i n the place of a child's parents was a far-reaching step. I t excluded a great number of boys and g i r l s from perquisites of criminal law. I t included them courageously i n chancery planning. This was a momentous measure to i n -troduce and extend. Then to have t h i s innovation w e l l authenticated by c r i t i c a l l e g a l judgement, makes the juvenile court movement rank unusually high i n soundness and a c c e p t a b i l i t y ; that i s , compared with ce r t a i n other attempts at s o c i a l change•1 The children's court idea rushed ahead on t h i s t i d e of opinion which seemed mainly to consist of the b e l i e f that adoption of suitable l e g i s l a t i o n was s u f f i c i e n t to achieve the desired ends. Within ten years, twenty states i n the United States, and the D i s t r i c t of Columbia had some kind of a juvenile court. By 192G, a l l but three states had enacted juvenile court laws, 2 and the Canadian and B r i t i s h Parliaments had adopted s i m i l a r l e g i s l a t i o n . 3 Mention has already been made of the a t t i t u d e of the Canadian Pa^Limentarian i n speaking on t h i s l e g i s l a t i o n . Rather than as a new method of t r e a t i n g the delinquent, the court was seen by many as a cure f o r the problem of delinquency. 1 H. A. Dobbs, "In Defence of Juvenile Courts," Federal Probation, v o l . 13 (September 1949), pp.25-6. 2 Teeters and Reinemann, op. c i t . , p. 289. 3 Canada, Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1908, B r i t a i n , Child-ren Act, 1908. - 1 4 -T h e E x p e r i m e n t T h r o u g h t h e y e a r s s i n c e i t s i n c e p t i o n t h e n , t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t h a d u n d e r g o n e m a n y c h a n g e s . T h a t i t h a s b e e n a r a p i d l y c h a n g i n g i n s t i t u t i o n c a n b e m e a s u r e d b y t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f a S t a n d a r d J u v e n i l e C o u r t A c t b y t h e N a t i o n a l P r o b a t i o n a n d P a r o l e A s s o c i a t i o n i n 1 9 2 5 , w h i c h w a s r e v i s e d i n 1 9 2 7 , 1 9 3 3 , 1 9 4 3 , a n d 1 9 4 9 . A n o t h e r r e v i s i o n i s a l s o c u r r e n t l y b e i n g p r e p a r e d . ! C o m m e n t i n g u p o n t h e m a n y c o n f l i c t i n g c o n c e p t s o f t h e j u v -e n i l e c o u r t w h i c h e x i s t , s o m e o f w h i c h h o l d t h a t i t i s b a s i c -a l l y a l e g a l d e v i c e , a n d s o m e t h a t i t i s a w e l f a r e a g e n c y , R u b i n s a y s : I s i t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i d e a s h o u l d b e s o m a l l e a b l e ? I t w a s a n e x p e r i m e n t s i x t y y e a r s a g o , a n d t h e b a s i c i d e a s u r v i v e s t h a t o f r e m o v i n g c h i l d r e n a c c u s e d o f c r i m e f r o m t h e c r i m i n a l c o u r t s , t o a s p e c i a l i z e d c o u r t g e a r e d t o t h e i r n e e d s . C o n f l i c t i n g v i e w s , r e -v i s e d v i e w s o f c o u r t s t r u c t u r e a n d f u n c t i o n — a r e w e l c o m e s i g n s o f e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n a n d g r o w t h . O u r c o n c e p t o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t h a s b e c o m e , n o t m o r e c o n f u s e d t h r o u g h a l l t h i s h i s t o r y , b u t c l e a r e r . 2 T h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h i s s t a t e m e n t s e e m t o b e t h a t t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i s s t i l l t o b e c o n s i d e r e d a s a n e x p e r i m e n t a l d e v i c e a n d a s s u c h , s h o u l d b e t h e s u b j e c t o f r e g u l a r p e r i o d i c e v a l u a t i o n w h i c h w o u l d d e t e r m i n e i n a s s o u n d a n d s c i e n t i f i c a m a n n e r a s p o s s i b l e t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f v a r i o u s m e t h o d s t r i e d . T h e d e a r t h o f l i t e r a t u r e b e a r s m u t e t e s t i m o n y t o t h e f a i l u r e i n m o s t c a s e s t o a t t e m p t s u c h e v a l u a t i o n . A t l e a s t o n e s u c h 1 S o l R u b i n , C r i m e a n d J u v e n i l e D e l i n q u e n c y , N e w Y o r k , N a t -i o n a l P r o b a t i o n a n d P a r o l e A s s o c i a t i o n , 1 9 5 8 , p . 7 5 . 2 I b i d . , p . 7 6 . - 1 5 -s t u d y h a s r e c e n t l y h e e n u n d e r t a k e n h o w e v e r , a n d D r . A l f r e d K a h n s a y s i n h i s r e p o r t o n t h e N e w Y o r k J u v e n i l e C o u r t : A l t h o u g h t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i s g e n e r a l l y r e g a r d e d a s o n e o f t h e g r e a t s o c i a l i n v e n t i o n s o f t h e c e n -t u r y , m a n y t h o u g h t f u l l e a d e r s o f t h e m o v e m e n t h a v e b e g u n t o e x p r e s s d i s a p p o i n t m e n t a t t h e l i m i t e d e x -p a n s i o n o f t h e c o u r t i d e a b e y o n d l a r g e c o u n t i e s a n d a t t h e i n a b i l i t y o f m a n y o f t h e l a r g e r a n d m o r e i m -p o r t a n t c o u r t s t o a t t a i n l e v e l s o f s e r v i c e i m p l i c i t i n t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o n c e p t . T h e c r i t i c s p o i n t o u t t h a t w h i l e t o d a y t h e r e i s w i d e a g r e e m e n t a b o u t o b j e c t i v e s , t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f t h e s e c o u r t s a r e s t i l l n o t e q u i p p e d f o r e f f e c t i v e s e r v i c e . 1 C o n t i n u i n g t o d i s c u s s t h e o r i g i n a l c o n c e p t i n l i g h t o f p r e s e n t d a y e x p e r i e n c e , K a h n s t a t e s : T h e c h i l d r e n ' s c o u r t p i o n e e r s s a w c l e a r l y t h a t c h i l d r e n s h o u l d n o t b e p u n i s h e d f o r t h e i r p r o b -l e m s . T h e y u r g e d t h a t y o u n g o f f e n d e r s b e a i d e d t o b e c o m e w e l l - a d j u s t e d c i t i z e n s . H o w e v e r , t h e y c o u l d n o t , i n t h e e a r l y d a y s , f o r s e e i n a n y d e -t a i l w h a t i t w o u l d t a k e t o r e a l i z e t h e f u l l p o s -s i b i l i t i e s o f t h e i r d r e a m . 2 J u d g e J e r o m e F r a n k o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s C o u r t o f A p p e a l s h a s m a d e a c o m m e n t w h i c h s e e m s t o s t a t e t h e s i t u a t i o n a s s u c -c i n c t l y a s i s p e r h a p s p o s s i b l e . H e d e s c r i b e s t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i d e a a s a r e v o l u t i o n a n d s a y s o f i t : ' B e c a u s e i t l e t l o o s e o n t h e w o r l d a s t i r r i n g i d e a l w h i c h c a n n e v e r b e w h o l l y a c t u a l i z e d , t h i s r e v o l u t i o n h a s n o t e n d e d a n d w i l l n e v e r e n d . 3 H e d o e s n o t t a k e t h e p o s i t i o n t h a t t h i s i s j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r s i m p l y m a i n t a i n i n g t h e s t a t u s q u o h o w e v e r , b u t g o e s o n t o 1 A . J . K a h n , A C o u r t f o r C h i l d r e n . N e w Y o r k , C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , .1953, p . 24 2 L o c . c i t . 3 J . F r a n k j i n K a h n , pjo. - c i t . . . p . x i -16-say that: . . . i f the i d e a l is. not dead, then, i n i t s l i g h t , the i n s t i t u t i o n should recurrently he examined. Such an examination usually w i l l y i e l d some ad-verse c r i t i c i s m s of the i n s t i t u t i o n s performance. I f n o t — i f the performance f u l l y matches the i d e a l — t h e n that i d e a l i s of a rather lew order.l S o c i a l Accountancy I t i s a form of s o c i a l accountancy to examine l e g i s l a -t i o n and i t s functioning p e r i o d i c a l l y . As can r e a d i l y he seen by perusal of Scott's book, the courts do not always i n -terpret l e g i s l a t i o n i n the way i n which the l e g i s l a t o r s meant p i t to be interpreted. For t h i s reason alone periodic evalu-ation of l e g i s l a t i o n i s e s s e n t i a l . In discussing law i n a general way, Rubin says: ...law i s an experiment. I t i s not sacred be-cause i t Is law, but only i f i t i s good. And i f law i s bad, we have to be independent enough to say so, and to labor f o r i t s repeal.3 The e f f e c t i v e operation of the juvenile court necessi-tates a special type of structure and organization. Because of i t s orientation to the Individual and h i s treatment, i t re-quires specialized organization and s t a f f with attitudes sym-pathetic to the philosophy of the court. Because a l l of these factors rest upon the l e g a l structure upon which the court i s founded, constant evaluation i s necessary to be ce r t a i n that the desired goals are being achieved. Rubin says of the effects of law upon the organization: 1 J". Frank, i n Kahn, A Court f o r Children, p . x i i . 2 Scott, The Juvenile Court i n Law, pp. 4-34. This section of t h i s document i s devoted to a study of ammendments that have been made to the Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929. C l e a r l y , many of these ammendments were made to c l a r i f y the intention of the Act following an adverse court decision. 3 Rubin, 0£. c i t . . p. 17. -17-...the law has profound effect on administration. There i s no doubt that many communities lag be-hind i n t h e i r treatment of people accused or con-victed of crime or delinquency because of archaic or inadequate laws. Law determines the forms of organizational structure; i t ma^y encourage or prevent s e l e c t i o n of highly q u a l i f i e d personnel; and i t greatly influences the procedures of agen-c i e s . 1 , m A second factor i n the idea of s o c i a l accountancy i s that the people have a ri g h t to know what i s happening. I t may be that they w i l l not be s a t i s f i e d with a p a r t i c u l a r system as i t i s functioning and w i l l demand a change. Such i s the basis of our democratic system of government. Judge Gustav Schramm ex-presses himself on t h i s subject as i t relates to the juvenile court when he says: I t i s the ri g h t of the public to expect us to make an accounting. They should know our effectiveness i n dealing with children, our methods, and our ob-je c t i v e s . Likewise, i t i s the ri g h t of the public to demand that we be w i l l i n g to learn; that we con-stantly improve ourselves to the end that every c h i l d s h a l l gain by i t . 2 While t h i s might be the i d e a l , correctional systems s e l -dom become e l e c t i o n issues and seldom receive objective eval-uation. In f a c t , correctional systems seldom seem to receive any evaluation u n t i l they have achieved a considerable degree of notoriety i n some way. Because of the c o n f i d e n t i a l nature of juvenile court proceedings, the functioning of the court i t s e l f i s seldom the subject of p u b l i c i t y , and very l i t t l e seems to be known about the way i n which i t i s f u l f i l l i n g i t s 1 Loc. c i t . , 2 Gustav L. Schramm, "Philosophy of the Juvenile Court," The Annals of the American Academy of P o l i t i c a l and S o c i a l S c i -ence, v o l . 261 (January 1949). -pp. 107-8. -18-purpose. Hence, an e v a l u a t i o n such as i s proposed here i s par-t i c u l a r l y t i m e l y and a p p r o p r i a t e . The Nature of the Evaluat i o n The e v a l u a t i o n w i l l he confined t o the J u v e n i l e Court sys-tem of B r i t i s h Columbia, i n c l u d i n g the f e d e r a l enabling l e g i s -l a t i o n , namely the J u v e n i l e Delinquents A c t , 1929, and the B r i t i s h Columbia J u v e n i l e Courts Act, which makes the f e d e r a l l e g i s l a t i o n operative i n B r i t i s h Columbia. The e v a l u a t i o n w i l l take i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n the o r g a n i z a t i o n of the courts and t h e i r a n c i l l a r y s e r v i c e s such as p r o b a t i o n and d e t e n t i o n homes, and through the establishment of c e r t a i n c r i t e r i a w i l l attempt t o answer two b a s i c research questions. The questions t o which answers w i l l be sought a re: 1. I s the c o u r t , w i t h i t s a s s o c i a t e d s e r v i c e s , a c h i e v i n g what i t was intended t o achieve? 2. I s i t f u n c t i o n i n g i n accordance w i t h recognized juven-i l e court standards? Obviously then, the scope of t h i s study i s l i m i t e d , and w i l l not i n v o l v e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of such aspects as case di s p o -s i t i o n . This i s necessary both from the poin t of view of what c o n s t i t u t e s a f e a s i b l e p r o j e c t , and from the need t o e s t a b l i s h the nature of the Court f a c i l i t i e s before undertaking a s t a t i s -t i c a l study of t h e i r e f f e c t i v e n e s s . An attempt w i l l be made t o e s t a b l i s h the i n t e n t of the l e g i s l a t i o n which makes the court operative i n B r i t i s h Columbia. Through reference t o a u t h o r i t a t i v e w r i t i n g s on the su b j e c t , some c r i t e r i a of what c o n s t i t u t e s a good j u v e n i l e court w i l l be es-t a b l i s h e d . Through i n t e r v i e w s w i t h v a r i o u s people i n v o l v e d -19-with the court's operation throughout the province, a des-c r i p t i o n of the court and i t s operation w i l l he developed. This w i l l he analysed on the basis of the c r i t e r i a established. CHAPTER I I ORIGINS AND INTENTIONS 1. The Approach An e v a l u a t i o n of the j u v e n i l e court system i n B r i t i s h Columbia could take a number of approaches, and i n reaching v a l i d judgements, a l l of these should perhaps be considered. I n order t o shed some l i g h t upon the research questions posed i n the preceding chapter, i t i s proposed i n t h i s study t o es-t a b l i s h a number of e v a l u a t i v e c r i t e r i a . Some of these c r i -t e r i a w i l l be based on " l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t " or' what was appar-e n t l y the i n t e n t i o n of those who passed the l e g i s l a t i o n upon which the j u v e n i l e court i s based. Among other sources, the debates of v a r i o u s l e g i s l a t i v e bodies, r e g u l a t i o n s governing the o p e r a t i o n of the l e g i s l a t i o n , and the v a r i o u s pieces of l e g i s l a t i o n themselves w i l l be looked t o f o r clues t o t h i s " l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t " . A u t h o r i t a t i v e l i t e r a t u r e i n the j u v e n i l e court f i e l d w i l l a l s o be considered as a source of e v a l u a t i v e c r i t e r i a . A u t h o r i t a t i v e l i t e r a t u r e i s meant t o describe those w r i t i n g s on v a r i o u s aspects of the j u v e n i l e court produced by i n d i v i d -u a l s who by v i r t u e of t h e i r years of experience are considered t o be a u t h o r i t a t i v e ; ; o n the s u b j e c t . This d e s c r i p t i o n i s a l s o used t o i n c l u d e w r i t t e n works which ga i n t h e i r a u t h o r i t y through t h e i r acceptance by a u t h o r i t a t i v e bodies i n the j u v e n i l e court f i e l d , such as the N a t i o n a l P r o b a t i o n and P a r o l e A s s o c i a t i o n . A f i n a l source of e v a l u a t i v e c r i t e r i a w i l l be "modellegislatioia" which i s a v a i l a b l e . This i s r e a l l y only a v a r i a n t of a u t h o r i -t a t i v e l i t e r a t u r e described above. -21-— 2. L e g i s l a t i v e Intent a. The Senate The f i r s t J u v e n i l e Delinquents Act t o become law i n Can-ada was introduced i n the Senate i n 1908 and, a f t e r debate i n that house, was subsequently passed by the House of Commons, r e c e i v i n g Royal Assent on J u l y 20, 1908. Although the speeches i n the Senate appear t o have been lengthy, very l i t t l e of a co n c l u s i v e nature regarding the i n -tent of the proposed l e g i s l a t i o n can be gleaned from the r e -ports of the debates. However, reference i s made by one speaker i n d i c a t i n g that t h e . i n t e n t i s summed up i n the pream-bl e t o the b i l l as i t was presented t o the Senate. This pre-amble s t a t e s : Whereas i t i s expedient that y o u t h f u l offenders should be classed or dealt w i t h as ordinary crim-i n a l s , the welfare of the community demanding that the3>- should on the contrary be guarded against ;assoc-i a t i o n w i t h crime and c r i m i n a l s , and should be sub-jec t e d t o such wise care, treatment and c o n t r o l as w i l l tend t o check t h e i r e v i l tendencies and t o strengthen t h e i r b e t t e r i n s t i n c t s ; . . , . ! • The preamble seems t o i n d i c a t e that the i n t e n t i s t o guard j u v e n i l e s from contact w i t h adult c r i m i n a l s , and t o pro-vide care, treatment, and c o n t r o l . Reference has already been made i n Chapter l 2 t o the speech made i n the Senate by Mr. Lougheed during t h i s same debate which seems t o view the j u v e n i l e court as a panacea t o solve the problem of j u v e n i l e crime.3 1 Canada, Parliament, Senate, Debates of the Senate, Ottawa, King's P r i n t e r , 1908, p. 975. 2 Chapter 1, p. IS. 3 Canada, Debates of the Senate. 1908, p. 980. -22-T h r e e i t e m s d r a w n f r o m t h e s p e e c h o f t h e H o n . M r . C o f f e y i n t h e S e n a t e d e b a t e s e e m a l s o t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e i n -t e n t o f t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t a s h e s a w i t d e v e l o p i n g . I n s p e a k -i n g o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n s t r u c t u r e o f t h e c o u r t , M r . C o f f e y h a d t h i s t o s a y : • T h e r e i s o n e f e a t u r e c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e c h i l d r e n ' s c o u r t m o v e m e n t w h i c h s t r i k e s me a s o f p a r a m o u n t i m -p o r t a n c e , t h a t i s , t h e c o n n e c t i o n w h i c h m a y e x i s t b e t w e e n t h e o r d i n a r y p o l i c e c o u r t s , a n d t h e t r i b u n a l b e f o r e w h i c h c a s e s o f y o u t h f u l d e l i n q u e n c y . . . m a y b e a d j u d i c a t e d u p o n . . . . W h e r e v e r i t w o u l d b e s o a r r a n -g e d t h e t w o c o u r t s s h o u l d b e e n t i r e l y d i s t i n c t , e v e n t o t h e e x t e n t , o f n o t h a v i n g b o t h i n t h e s a m e b u i l d — i n g . 1 G n t h e s u b j e c t o f u s i n g t h e a d u l t m a g i s t r a t e i n t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t , M r . C o f f e y h a d s o m e v e r y d i s c e r n i n g r e m a r k s t o m a k e : " N o r i s i t a d v i s a b l e t h a t t h e p o l i c e m a g i s t r a t e s h o u l d i n a l l c a s e s b e e m p o w e r e d t o a d j u d i c a t e u p o n t h e c r i m e s c h a r g e d t o t h e y o u n g . W h i l e s o m e o f t h e s e m e n a r e b y n a t u r e a n d a c q u i r e m e n t s w e l l e q u i p p e d f o r w o r k o f t h i s c h a r a c t e r , i t i s n e v e r t h e l e s s a f a c t t h a t m a n y a r e q u i t e u n f i t f o r t h e h a n d l i n g o f c a s e s o f c r i m i n a l i t y a m o n g s t t h e y o u n g . T h e y h a v e p i n n e d t h e i r f a i t h t o m e t h o d s o f t h e h a r s h o r d e r . T o t h e m , k i n d -n e s s i s a l m o s t a n d u n k n o w n q u a n t i t y . 2 C o n t i n u i n g i n h i s s p e e c h i n s u p p o r t o f t h e c o u r t , M r C o f f e y w e n t o n t o d e s c r i b e h i s c o n c e p t o f h o w t h e c o u r t m i g h t b e e f f i c i e n t l y o r g a n i z e d i n a c o u n t r y s u c h a s C a n a d a . H i s r e -m a r k s r o n ; t h i s s u b j e c t h a v e n o t b e e n h e e d e d t o a n y g r e a t e x t e n t . T h e s a m e c o n c e p t h o w e v e r , i s c o n t a i n e d i n o n e o f t h e m a j o r r e c -o m m e n d a t i o n s m a d e b y t h e N a t i o n a l P r o b a t i o n a n d P a r o l e A s s o c -i a t i o n f o r a s t a t e s y s t e m o f c o u r t s , w h i c h w i l l b e d e a l t w i t h l a t e r i n t h e c h a p t e r . I n h i s s p e e c h , M r . C o f f e y s a i d : 1 C a n a d a , D e b a t e s o f t h e S e n a t e . 1 9 0 8 , p . 9 7 6 . 2 L o c . c i t . - 2 3 -The argument may be advanced th a t Canada's popu-l a t i o n i s not yet la r g e enough, and t h a t i n i t s c i t i e s the:© do not e x i s t those c o n d i t i o n s which would j u s t i f y a new departure of t h i s k i n d . I qu i t e recognize the i n a d v i s a b i l i t y of e s t a b l i s h -i n g j u v e n i l e courts i n small p l a c e s , but a num-ber of such l o c a l i t i e s could be grouped.! Mr. Coffey too was i n t e r e s t e d i n separating j u v e n i l e s from a d u l t s , but he saw a l s o the b a s i c need f o r a good judge and was quick t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h i s could be achieved i n s p i t e of a s c a t t e r e d r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n . b. The House of Commons - 1908 The o f f i c i a l r e p o r t of the House of Commons Debates on the J u v e n i l e Delinquents Act - 1908, i n d i c a t e s a gross i g n o r -ance of the subject among the men who passed the b i l l . Since the B i l l came from the Senate where i t had already been de-bated at some l e n g t h , and since i t appeared t o be a harmless pi e c e of l e g i s l a t i o n , the i n c l i n a t i o n apparently wasL t o pass i t without comment. But f o r the i n s i s t e n c e of one member of the House i t appears l i k e l y t hat t h i s would have happened. When c a l l e d upon f o r an ex p l a n a t i o n of the B i l l , the Hon. A. B. Aylesworth, M i n i s t e r of J u s t i c e , s a i d : The general e f f e c t of t h i s B i l l I t h i n k I may sum-marize by saying t h a t i t i s intended t o obviate the n e c e s s i t y f o r c h i l d r e n , when accused of crime, being t r i e d before the or d i n a r y t r i b u n a l s . . . . Under ho circumstances i s i t (the c h i l d ) t o be sent t o j a i l . . . . I want t o prevent the p o s s i b i l i t y of c h i l d r e n who might be reclaimed i f t r e a t e d otherwise than as c r i m i n a l s , being sent t o the ordin a r y p r i s o n s of the country w i t h the o l d e r and p o s s i b l y hardened o f f e n d e r s . 2 As the debate on second reading of the B i l l continued, a Mr. 1 Canada, Debates of the Senate. 1908, p. 978. 2 Canada, Parliament, House of Commons, O f f i c i a l Report of Debates, v o l . 7, 1907*38, pp. 12, 399 7400. -24-A l c o r n asked Mr. Aylesworth: I s t h i s B i l l modelled on some other law as to which there has been experience? I presume that a B i l l of t h i s kind c o n s i s t i n g of a mass of d e t a i l i s not put upon the s t a t u t e book simply as an experiment. In r e p l y , Mr. Aylesworth f u r t h e r confirmed h i s l a c k of know-ledge of the su b j e c t , although i t was he who had introduced the B i l l t o the House. He answered by saying: I can only answer i n a very general way as I have not prepared the B i l l myself.... The whole subject i s one t o which those i n t e r e s t e d have given a great deal of a t t e n t i o n . . . . I understand t h i s measure has received very c a r e f u l c o n s i d e r a t i o n from the Senate and has been passed w i t h a view t o f i l l i n g a need.... This s t a t u t e w i l l confer upon the court a much wider d i s c r e t i o n so as t o avoid going the length of im-prisonment where i t i s a young o f f e n d e r . 2 The one b a s i c i n t e n t that can be found i n a l l these references i s t h a t of concern w i t h keeping the c h i l d out of j a i l s and sep-arate from the a d u l t offender. . The concept of treatment seems almost t o have been an a f t e r - t h o u g h t , c. Commons Debates - 1929 On October 24, 1928, a conference attended by f i f t y per-sons i n t e r e s t e d i n j u v e n i l e c o r r e c t i o n s work met i n Ottawa f o l l o w i n g a request from the Canadian C o u n c i l on C h i l d Welfare t o the M i n i s t e r of J u s t i c e t o c a l l such a meeting. The r e s u l t was the d r a f t i n g of a r e v i s e d J u v e n i l e Delinquents Act which was l a t e r debated and passed by the House of Commons. The De-bates i n the Commons on t h i s B i l l again are not p a r t i c u l a r l y i l l u m i n a t i n g i n so f a r as l e a r n i n g the i n t e n t i s concerned. 1 "Canada, House of Commons, 1907-8, p. 12403. 2 Loc. c i t . - 2 5 -H o w e v e r , t h e t e n o r . o f t h e d e b a t e s s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n o n e i n w h i c h t h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s c a l l e d u p o n t o u p h o l d t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f s e p a r a t e t r e a t m e n t f o r j u v e n i l e s i n t h e f a c e o f d e m a n d s f o r h a r s h e r t r e a t m e n t f o r t h e m o r e s e r i o u s y o u n g o f f e n d e r . 1 I n t h e m a i n , h o w e v e r , t h e J u v e n i l e D e l i n q u e n t s A c t , 1 9 2 9 , w a s n o t s e e n a s a m a j o r c h a n g e i n a n y w a y a n d t h e H o n o r a b l e M r . L a p o i n t e , M i n i s t e r o f J u s t i c e s a i d o f i t : T h e b i l l a r i s e s e n t i r e l y o u t o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s m a d e a t a c o n f e r e n c e o f t h e C a n a d i a n C o u n c i l o n C h i l d W e l f a r e . . . . T h e c o n c l u s i o n s o f t h e c o n f e r -e n c e w e r e t h e s u b j e c t o f a r e p o r t t o t h e D e p a r t -m e n t , a n d t h i s b i l l e m b o d i e s t h e s u g g e s t i o n s m a d e b y t h e c o n f e r e n c e . . . . I t i s t h e o l d a c t , w i t h c e r t a i n c h a n g e s a n d i m p r o v e m e n t s , a l l m a d e w i t h a v i e w t o f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e w o r k i n g o f t h e J u v e n -i l e D e l i n q u e n t s A c t . d . I n t e n t a s e x p r e s s e d i n R e g u l a t i o n s T h e o r i g i n a l J u v e n i l e D e l i n q u e n t s A c t o f 1 9 0 8 a n d t h e r e v i s e d A c t o f 1 9 2 9 b o t h c o n t a i n a s e c t i o n p e r m i t t i n g t h e F e d -e r a l G o v e r n m e n t t o p u t t h e A c t i n f o r c e i n a n y c i t y o r t o w n w i t h i n a p r o v i n c e w h e n t h e p r o v i n c e i t s e l f h a s n o t d o n e s o . T h e A c t s i m p l y s t a t e s t h a t t h e G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l i n o o u n c i l m u s t b e s a t i s f i e d t h a t p r o p e r f a c i l i t i e s f o r t h e d u e c a r r y i n g o u t o f t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f t h i s A c t h a v e b e e n p r o v i d e d . . . 3 B y o r d e r o f t h e G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l i n C o u n c i l p u b l i s h e d i n t h e C a n a d a G a z e t t e o f S e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 1 9 0 8 , t h o s e f a c i l i t i e s c o n s i d -e r e d t o b e n e c e s s a r y w e r e d e f i n e d q u i t e e x p l i c i t l y , a n d i n o r d e r 1 C a n a d a , P a r l i a m e n t , H o u s e o f C o m m o n s , O f f i c i a l R e p o r t o f D e b a t e s , v o l . 3 , 1 9 2 9 , p p . 2 5 7 2 - 7 3 . 2 I b i d . , p p . 2 5 6 8 - 6 9 . 3 J u v e n i l e D e l i n q u e n t s A c t , 1 9 2 9 , R . S . o f C a n a d a 1 9 5 2 , c . 1 6 0 , s . 4 3 , s . s . 1 . -26-to further c l a r i f y the apparent intent of the Juvenile De-linquents Act, i t seems advisable to quote them i n part: 1. That a proper detention home has been es-tablished and w i l l be maintained f o r the temp-orary confinement of juvenile delinquents, or of children charged with delinquency. The i n -s t i t u t i o n should be conducted more l i k e a fam-i l y home than l i k e a penal i n s t i t u t i o n , and must not be under the same roof as, or i n the immediate v i c i n i t y of any polioe s t a t i o n , j a i l , lock-up or other place i n which adults are or may be imprisoned. 2. That, an i n d u s t r i a l school, as defined by a clause of section 2 of the Act e x i s t s , to which juvenile delinquents may be committed. 3 • • • 4. That remuneration f o r an adequate s t a f f of probation o f f i c e r s has been provided by munici-p a l grant, public subscription or otherwise. 5. That some society or committee i s ready and w i l l i n g to act as the juvenile court com-mittee. 1 Section 3 of these regulations has been ommitted because i t i s lengthy and deals only with the t e c h n i c a l aspect of the federal government appointing a judge, which i s of course, a p r o v i n c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . Nonetheless, from these regulations i t can be seen that the federal government of that day envisaged the juv-eni l e court as a separate establishment with i t s own f a c i l i t i e s adequate to do the job entrusted to i t . Once again the emphasis upon separation from adult offenders i s seen, but interest i n the treatment idea seems to be implied. 1. W. L. Scott, The Juvenile Court i n Law, Ottawa, Canadian Welfare Council, 1952, (Revision by J . R. S h i f f et a l ) , pp. 31-32. -27-e. Royal Commission - 1958 The Royal Commission to Investigate the Penal System of Canada, (popularly known as the Archambault Report) whieh pub-lish e d i t s report i n 1938, devoted some space to comments on the juvenile court system of Canada.1 Although t h i s study was made t h i r t y years a f t e r the o r i g i n a l passing of the Juvenile Delinquents Act, the Commission set down i n i t s report a num-ber of p r i n c i p l e s which seem to r e f l e c t the intent of the Juv-eni l e Delinquents Act as the Commission interpreted i t . Their report states: The underlying p r i n c i p l e s on which the Juvenile De-linquents Act i s based may be stated as follows: 1. A c h i l d ought not to be treatedaas an adult even though i t breaks the law. A 1-though a c h i l d over the age of seven years i s regarded as capable of committing crime, i t ought not to be held as s t r i c t l y account-able f o r i t s actions as an adult; 2. Incarceration of children awaiting t r i a l ought only to be permitted i n deten-t i o n homes properly arranged for the purpose; 3. Probation i s a more ef f e c t i v e method of dealing with juvenile offenders than imprison-ment ; 4. Where probation f a i l s , children ought to be detained i n i n d u s t r i a l or reform sehools f o r education, t r a i n i n g , and reformation, and not sentenced to prison f o r punishment; 5. Children put on probation ought to be under the supervision of s p e c i a l l y trained probation o f f i c e r s . Fv'here probation o f f i c e r s are not appointed, a voluntary committee of c i t i z e n s should be available to a s s i s t and 1 Canada, Royal Commission, Report, The Penal System of Canada, Ottawa, King's P r i n t e r , 1938, pp. 182-190. -28-advise the c o u r t . 1 A further statement by the Commission on the apparent functioning of the juvenile court i n large, urban centers again r e f l e c t s what the Commission sees as the i d e a l func-t i o n i n g of the court. Their report states: In the more t h i c k l y populated centers of Canada, where juvenile courts have been established, pro-bation o f f i c e r s have been appointed and the ser-vices of p s y c h i a t r i s t s to advise the court have been obtained. In these better organized courts, the probation o f f i c e r s , together with the psy-c h i a t r i s t , make an exhaustive study of the phys-i c a l and mental, condition of the c h i l d , i t s s o c i a l back-ground, and a l l causes that may have c o n t r i -buted to i t s delinquency. They report to the judge of the juvenile court, and a s s i s t him i n de-termining the proper treatment f o r the c h i l d . 2 Three basic p r i n c i p l e s emerge from these statements by the Royal Commission: Three basic p r i n c i p l e s emerge from these statements by the Royal Commission: 1. the need f o r separation of adults and children i n the correctional system; 2. the need f o r treatment instead of punishment; 3. the use of professional s t a f f f o r treatment; f . P r o v i n c i a l L e g i s l a t i o n The Juvenile Courts A c t 3 i s the implementing l e g i s l a t i o n which puts the Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929, into force In the Province of B r i t i s h Columbia. Section 2 of the Act pro-vides f o r the establishment of courts throughout the province. 1 Royal Commission, The Penal System of Canada, pp. 185-6. 2 Loc. c i t . 3 Juvenile Courts Act, R.S.B.C. 1948, c. 77. -29-Section 4 provides f o r the appointment of either men or women as juvenile court judges. Section 5 l i m i t s the juvenile court to the meaning and purposes of the Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929, and i n addition gives i t the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , for cases a r i s i n g under the Protection of Children A c t . 1 The I n d u s t r i -a l School f o r G i r l s A c t , 2 and the I n d u s t r i a l School f o r Boys A c t . 3 The l e g i s l a t i o n indicates the recognition of the need f o r a n c i l l a r y services to the court i n the form of probation o f f i c e r s and detention homes. In sections 8, 9, and 1G, pro-v i s i o n i s made fo r appointment of probation o f f i c e r s by the court. No provision i s made fo r organization of these proba-t i o n o f f i c e r s into a stable, professional service with good personnel practices, and the tenure of t h e i r employment i s l e f t to the d i s c r e t i o n of the i n d i v i d u a l judges. Section 11, subsection 4 of the Act states that a deten-t i o n home sa t i s f a c t o r y to the Attorney-General s h a l l be pro-vided i n every municipality i n which a juvenile court i s es-tablished. Subsection 1 of section 11 provides that every temporary home or shelter provided under the Protection of Children Act and every children's home or i n s t i t u t i o n , whose trustees give t h e i r consent, s h a l l be considered to be a de-tention home. Subsection 2 states that the Attorney-General 1 P r o t e c t i o n of Children Act, R.S.B.C. 1948, c. 47. 2 I n d u s t r i a l School f o r G i r l s Act, R.S.B.C. 1948, c.158. 3 I n d u s t r i a l School f o r Boys Act, R.S.B.C. 1948, c. 157. -30-...may declare any place, house, home or i n s t i t u t i o n a detention home. Section 13 provides f o r rules and regulations to be made to ensure the f u l l and proper carrying out of the Act, but the Deputy Attorney-General states that no such rules and regula-t i o n s are i n existence. In essence, the Juvenile Courts Act provides f o r the es-tablishment of juvenile courts within the meaning of the Juv-enil e Delinquents Act, i t provides f o r judges to manage these courts, and i t provides f o r probation and detention f a c i l i t i e s f o r the court. I t sets out no standards f o r the court or the associated services, i n d i c a t i n g that t h i s i s a function of reg-ulations to be created as needed. Since none have been formu-lat e d , i t is.impossible' to make any generalizations about the intent of t h i s l e g i s l a t i o n beyond these vague statements. 3. Authoritative Literature An attempt has been made to draw upon the writings of those considered to be authorities i n the juvenile court f i e l d i n order to e s t a b l i s h some c r i t e r i a upon which the juvenile court i n B r i t i s h Columbia may be evaluated i n terms of i t s attainment of recognized standards of operation, a. The Philosophy One of the prime requisites of a court which most writers on the subject mention i s the idea or philosophy on which the court i s founded. The writings on t h i s are voluminous and only a few w i l l be referred to i n order to establ i s h the tenor of thinking generally held. Roscoe Pound, one of the great pro-ponents of the juvenile court idea i n the United States, quotes -31-the report of the Committee of the Chicago Bar Association i n 1899 which says: The fundamental idea of the (juvenile court) law i s that the state must step i n and exercise guardian-ship over a c h i l d found under such adverse s o c i a l or i n d i v i d u a l conditions as develop crime.... I t pro-poses a plan whereby he may be treated, not as a crimina l , or l e g a l l y charged with crime, but as a ward of the state, to receive p r a c t i c a l l y the care, custody, and d i s c i p l i n e that are accorded the ne-glected and dependent c h i l d , and which, as the act states, " s h a l l approximate as nearly^as may be that wnich shoMd be given by i t s parents"! Certainly t h i s statement i s as fundamental today as i t was when the f i r s t juvenile court law was passed i n 1899. I f anything, the more recent tendency has been to place an even greater em-phasis upon the i n d i v i d u a l . Pauline Young has commented quite f o r c e f u l l y on t h i s matter by saying: I t cannot be re i t e r a t e d too often that juvenile courts are courts of equity, which lay major em-phasis not on the offense but on the offender; not on the r i g i d l e g a l t e c h n i c a l i t i e s but on the soc-i a l f a c t s , the chi l d ' s physical and mental make-up, and h i s s o c i a l world; not on punishment, but on education, t r a i n i n g , and protection from f u r -ther mishaps. 2 In t h i s same vein, a book published by the National Pro-bation and Parole Association states that: The modern juvenile court i s geared to the p h i l -osophy of protecting a chi l d ' s ri g h t to f u l l p h ysical, mental, and moral development. 3 1 Roscoe Pound, "The Juvenile Court and the Law," Co-operation in Crime and Control. Marjorie B e l l , ed., New York, National Probation Association, 1945, pp. 13, 14. 2 Pauline V. Young, S o c i a l Treatment i n Probation and De-linquency, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1952, pp. 210, 211. 3 National Probation and Parole Association, Guides f o r Juvenile Court Judges, New York, National Probation and Parole Association, 1957, p. 1. -32-Getting almost into the area of method, Herbert Lou des-cribes the court as: ...a l e g a l t r i b u n a l where law and science, espec-i a l l y the science of medicine and those sciences which deal with human behaviour, such as biology, sociology, and psychology, work side by side . . . . ! b. The Court's Funct ion Closely related to the court's philosophy i s i t s method of functioning, f o r i t i s through i t s functioning that the philoso-phy i s put into p r a c t i c e . Watson i n describing the B r i t i s h juv-eni l e court says that i t s l e g a l foundation i s that of a criminal court, unlike the chancery courts of America whose prime func-t i o n i s guardianship of the c h i l d . Nevertheless statutory pro-v i s i o n has made the B r i t i s h court's function very s i m i l a r he says, 2 and he outlines i t i n t h i s way: ...the functions of the juvenile court involve three stages. The f i r s t i s the f i n d i n g of the facts—whether the c h i l d or young person i s guilty of the alleged offense, or beyond control, or i n need of care or protection, or i s a truant f o r whom some treatment i s necessary to make him go to school. The second, and highly important stage, i s the i n -quiry into what l i e s behind the f a c t s — a n d investiga-t i o n of the environmental and, i f necessary, the psy-chological conditions of which the child's troubles may be symptomatic. The t h i r d and l a s t stage i s the prescribing of treatment.3 I m p l i c i t i n the various references that have been made on the philosophy and function of the court i s the idea of treating 1 Herbert Lou, Juvenile Courts i n the United States, Uni-v e r s i t y of North Carolina Press, 1927, p. 2, cite d inUTJnited States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Standards fo r Specialized Courts Dealing with Children, B u l l e t i n No. 346, 1954, p. 1. 2 John A. F. Watson, The Child and the Magistrate.; London, Jonathan Gape, 1950, pp. 35, 36. 3 I b i d . , pp. 37, 38. -33-the offender rather than focusing on punishment f o r the offense. A b u l l e t i n published by the United States Children's Bur-eau comments i n i t s opening pages that: Individualized j u s t i c e i s not however, easy to aehieve. In order f o r a court to become a f u l l y e f f e c t i v e and f a i r t r i b u n a l operating f o r the gen-e r a l welfare, there must be: 1. A judge and s t a f f i d e n t i f i e d with and capable of carrying out a non-punitive and individualized service. 2. S u f f i c i e n t f a c i l i t i e s available i n the court and the community to insure: (a.) that the dispositions of the court are based on the best available knowledge of the needs of the c h i l d . (b) that the c h i l d , i f he needs care and treatment, receives these through f a c i l i t i e s adapted to h i s needs and from persons properly q u a l i f i e d and empowered to give them. (c) that the community receives adequate protection. 3. Procedures that are designed to insure that two objectives are kept constantly i n mind, these being: (a) the i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n of the c h i l d and his s i t u a t i o n , and (b) the protection of the l e g a l and constitu-t i o n a l r i g h t s of both parents and c h i l d . 1 Another w r i t e r , H. A. Dobbs sums up the problem of the court's needs i n a somewhat blunter way by saying: No s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n can do what i t i s supposed to do_ i f i t i s denied the personnel and material appar-atus required f o r carrying on i t s p a r t i c u l a r a c t i v i -t i e s . 2 1 United States, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Children's Bureau, Standards f o r Specialized Courts Dealing With Children. B u l l e t i n No. 346, 19b4, pp. 1, 5. Q 2 H. A. Dobbs, "In Defense of Juvenile Courts.'* Federal Pro- bation, v o l . 13, (September 1949), p. 28. -34-In the remainder of t h i s chapter, an attempt w i l l he made to describe and define, according to recognized standards and practices, cert a i n machinery considered necessary to the func-t i o n i n g of the juvenile court. These items w i l l then be used as c r i t e r i a f o r evaluating the court as i t ex i s t s i n B r i t i s h Columbia. c. The Juvenile. Court Judge The Judge, as the chief presiding o f f i c e r i n the court, i s unquestionably the most important i n d i v i d u a l to be considered i f an ef f e c t i v e system i s to operate. To him f a l l s the respon-s i b i l i t y f o r both the welfare of the i n d i v i d u a l appearing i n court and the protection of the community which he represents. As E i l e e n Younghusband has said: .... Here i s power, enforceable coercion over people fs l i v e s : the power to order t h e i r l i v e s , to make devastating mistakes sometimes,...! Because of i t s very nature as a device f o r treatment rather than punishment, the juvenile court has tended to be given the broad discretionary powers 2 to which Younghusband makes r e f e r -ence. This being the case, i t i s es s e n t i a l that the selection of the judge be made very c a r e f u l l y . In discussing the necessity f o r a good juvenile court judge, the National Probation and Par-ole Association makes the point that the quality of judge w i l l determine the quality of the court. They comment that: ...no court can be expected to r i s e above i t s judge. 3 1 Eileen L. Younghusband, "The Dilemma of the Juvenile Court," S o c i a l Service Review, v o l . 33, (March 1959) p. 12. 2 Roscoe Pound, i n , fYoung,0p_. c i t . , p. x i v . 3 Guides f o r Juvenile Court Judges, p. 124 -35-Th e Archambault Report commented simply that: We believe that the presiding o f f i c e r of a juvenile court can best perform his duties i f he i s trained i n the law.l wo reasons are given f o r such a view, nor i s any further ampli-f i c a t i o n of desirable q u a l i t i e s made. Other opinions by Ameri-can w r i t e r s i n the f i e l d seem to bear out t h i s thinking however, and Chute attempts a d e f i n i t i o n which includes most of the ideas expressed by others on the subject. Chute's d e f i n i t i o n says: I t has never been easy to define what ought to be the q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of the good juvenile court judge; but since he must decide controversial cases, deal with attorneys, and adjust l e g a l problems, he should have l e g a l t r a i n i n g . Also, since he i s the head of a s o c i a l agency dealing with s o c i a l problems, he 1 Royal Commission, The Penal System of Canada, p. 188. 2 The Standard Juvenile Court Act c i t e s the opinion of sev-e r a l eminent juvenile court judges _on t h i s question. Their state-ment says i n part: "Judge Alexander states,'...Start with a good lawyer. He should possess the highest degree of i n t e g r i t y , i n -t e l l i g e n c e , industry, independence, patience, hard common sense.... These are fundamental prerequisites of any judge i n any Court. But running a juvenile court i s the job of a s p e c i a l i s t . I t de-mands special q u a l i f i c a t i o n s above and beyond those required of others. "•That f i r s t prerequisite of a juvenile court judge ...should ...be eagerness to learn....* "...Judge Schramm says, 'He m u s t f i r s t of a l l recognize that each c h i l d i s a d i s t i n c t human being.... He must, i n countenance, i n speech—yes, even i n tone of v o i c e — a s w e l l as i n action convey to the troubled c h i l d and to the troubled parent a composite im-pression of humbleness,oof capacity to understand the personal stake, of wisdom to reach a f a i r decision. There i s no place for r i d i c u l e or abuse or a r b i t r a r y display of power by the judge. "'...Broad education i n the law, profound understanding of human nature, j u d i c i a l temperament, i n f i n i t e patience, s e n s i t i v -i t y , k i ndliness, firmness—these, w e l l blended with common sense constitute a d d i t i o n a l desirable prerequisites.'" pp. 12, 13. -36-should be w e l l informed on casework and related s o c i a l services. Above a l l , l i k e the probation o f f i c e r , the judge should he a man or woman with the character, personality, t a c t , sympathy and understanding to work with c h i l d r e n . 1 B r i t i s h thinking on the problem of selecting judges has dif f e r e d materially from that presented above. In her book, Cavenagh makes mention of the Committee on Young Offenders which reported i n 1927. In t h e i r report, Cavenagh says: They rejected the idea that an age l i m i t , or s e l -ection by professional q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , educational or otherwise, would secure i n e v i t a b l y the r i g h t choice of magistrates f o r t h i s work, but thought that experience of s o c i a l work among youth would be a valuable asset. The q u a l i t i e s which are need-ed i n every magistrate who s i t s i n a juvenile court are a love of young people, sympathy with t h e i r i n -t e r e s t s , and an imaginative insight into t h e i r d i f -i c u l t i e s . The rest i s la r g e l y common sense. 2 The bench of the juvenile court i n B r i t a i n i s constituted d i f f e r e n t l y to what what i s commonly the case i n Canada or the United States. As a resu l t of recommendations made by the com-mittee c i t e d above, provision was made under the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, f o r the constitution of the court. Cav-enagh says that: There must now be at least two j u s t i c e s , i f they are lay j u s t i c e s (the Stipendiary can s i t alone as he can In his other courts), but not more thanthree. One of the j u s t i c e s should, i f possible, be a wom-an and i n an emergency two women may s i t alone.3 In r e f e r r i n g to the current q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r juvenile court j u s t i c e s , Cavenagh makes i t clear that the B r i t i s h system hasre-1 Charles L. Chute, " F i f t y Years of the Juvenile Court," Current Approaches to Delinquency. Harjorie B e l l , ed., New York, National Probation and Parole Association, 1950, p. 9. T« A 2 C a vfnagh, The Child and the Court. V i c t o r Gollancz, .London, 1959, p. 66. , 3 Ibidv.,-rp;i;v67.:Ir^.t-:y:-cl,y.', v..] ; M ^ V ; ;V3 .. .^r^-xr 1:^,0, -37-tained i t s previously described c r i t e r i a f o r selecting judges for she mentions a Home Office l e t t e r of 1949 on the sel e c t i o n of new juvenile court panels which: ...reminded j u s t i c e ' s clerks that the rules required the appointment of people "who are s p e c i a l l y q u a l i f -ied f o r dealing with juvenile cases'...that the need i n the juvenile courts was fo r 'men and women who have not merely a love f o r children, but r e a l apprec-i a t i o n f o r the surroundings and way of l i f e of the type of c h i l d who most frequently finds h i s way into the juvenile courts'1 I t should be noted that these c r i t e r i a have resulted i n the appointment of some eminent s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s to the bench 2 thus suggesting an alte r n a t i v e to the l e g a l profession as a source of juvenile court judges. Both Watson 3 and Cavenagh4 however, make reference to courses of study which are available to new lay magistrates and emphasize that they should not undertake t h e i r duties u n t i l the/ are f a m i l i a r i z e d with them i n t h i s way. The content of these courses and other t r a i n i n g i s not to teach the law,:.so much as to i n s t i l l an understanding of what i s meant by "acting j u d i c i -a l l y . " I t should be noted too, that i n B r i t a i n , with the ex-ception of stipendiary magistrates i n the large urban centers, the panels of ju s t i c e s from which the juvenile court i s selected are unpaid. 5 1 Cavenagh, The Child and the Court, pp. 67, 68. 2 A. Marriage, Interview with the w r i t e r , 26 February 1960. 3 Watson, op_. c i t . , pp. 315-18. 4 Cavenagh, op. c i t . , p. 27. 5 Watson, 0 £ . c i t . , p. 305. -38-d. Selection of the Judge I t seems obvious from the discussion of the desirable q u a l i t i e s of the judge that the method of h i s sel e c t i o n i s im-portant. I t should not be made i n an a r b i t r a r y fashion but should be done through some formula devised to ensure that the best possible i n d i v i d u a l or individuals are selected. Various methods are used but i n the United States the most common meth-od i s to elect them by popular vote."'- Such a system has ob-vious drawbacks, and the National Probation and Parole Assoc-i a t i o n ^ Standard Juvenile Court Act makes provision f or a sys-tem of selection and defines, the minimum q u a l i f i c a t i o n s necess-ary f o r the p o s i t i o n . In b r i e f , the method outlined c a l l s f o r sele c t i o n of the required judges by the governor of the state from a l i s t of candidates prepared by a panel composed of rep-resentatives of the supreme court, the bar association, the public welfare department, the education department, and the department of h e a l t h . 2 The composition of such a panel would vary s l i g h t l y depending upon whether or not a l o c a l or state system of courts was involved, but the p r a c t i c a l r e s u l t would be the same.3 The Standard Act further suggests these minimum q u a l i f i -cations as a guide to the panel: The persons whose names are submitted by said panel s h a l l have been admitted to the practice of law i n t h i s state, and s h a l l be selected with reference to t h e i r experience i n and understanding of problems 1 Standard Juvenile Court Act, pp. 8-10. 2 I b i d . , pp. 8-10. 3 Variations of such a plan have actu a l l y been t r i e d i n a few states, notably Missouri, and such a plan has been endorsed by the American Judicature Society and the American Bar Associa-t i o n . Standard Juvenile Court Act, p. 11. -39-of family and c h i l d welfare, juvenile delinquency and community organization.l The present method i n B r i t a i n of selecting juvenile court judges, or j u s t i c e s as they are c a l l e d , i s f o r the whole body of magistrates f o r the petty sessional d i v i s i o n to elect from t h e i r number those who are to s i t i n the juvenile c o u r t . 2 The group of magistrates i s f i r s t selected by l o c a l advisory com-mittees appointed by the Lord Chancellor. 3 This varies s l i g h t -l y i n London where the juvenile panels are selected from the whole body of magistrates by the Home Secretary. 4 There have from time to time been complaints raised that the s e l e c t i o n of magistrates by t h i s method tends to abuse,,a system of p o l i t i c a l rewards, and the current p o l i c y of the Lord Chancellor i s to impress upon the advisory committees that s u i t a b i l i t y rather than p o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a t i o n must be the primary consideration. 5 I t i s . obvious that any number of variations .on the two methods described above f o r the selection of judges might be t r i e d . Also many other unique methods might be adopted. While the two methods described above seem i n i t i a l l y to be quite d i f -ferent, they both have some things i n common, namely, they t r y ' to e s t a b l i s h a method f o r impartial selection of men or woman suitable to be juvenile court judges, and they base t h i s selec-1 Standard Juvenile Court Act, p. 10. 2 Watson, op_. c i t . , p. 308. 3 I b i d . . p. 306. 4 I b i d . , p. 308. 5 Ibid.-, pp. 307, 308. -40-t i o n on pre-determined c r i t e r i a which state the q u a l i t i e s de-sired i n the judge. e. Probation In discussing the work of the juvenile court, Kahn says thatM. . •;• I t i s widely agreed that without a competent pro-bation department there cannot be a successful juv -enile court. Achievement of the court's basic ob-jectives requires i n d i v i d u a l i z e d appraisal of, and p l a n f u l work with and f or, <:children, rather than routine processing—and the e f f e c t i v e operations of the probation department are a necessary condition of such service.1 The Standard Juvenile Court Act published by the National Probation and Parole Association makes provision f o r a probat-ion s t a f f but simply refers to i t as part of the court person-nel , s t a t i n g that the term "probation o f f i c e r " i s inadequate to describe the s o c i a l casework function involved. Section 5 of the model act makes provision f o r appointment of such s t a f f but spe c i f i e s that a l l such employees s h a l l f a l l w i t h i n the c i v i l service system ,and t h e i r appointment, salary, tenure, and a l l other conditions of employment s h a l l be governed by e x i s t i n g c i v i l service laws and r e g u l a t i o n s . 2 Section 6 of the model act states i n part that: , The professional employees s h a l l have charge of cases assigned t o them for in v e s t i g a t i o n or t r e a t -ment and s h a l l perform such other duties as may be assigned to them by the director or the judge. 3 f. The Probation Staff The Archambault Report makes strongly worded representation 1 A l f r e d J . Kahn, A Court f o r Children, New York, Columbia » University Press, 1953, p. 136 '• 2 Standard Juvenile Court Act, p. 14. 3 I b i d . , p. 15. -41-for an adequately trained s t a f f f o r the juvenile court. The Report states that: . . . i t i s of the utmost importance that the probation o f f i c e r s attached to the juvenile courts should be men and women selected with the greatest of care and re-gard for t h e i r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , and that they should be only such as have been s p e c i a l l y trained i n s o c i a l ser-vice work. 1 In one of i t s publications, The National Probation and Par-ole Association also comments on the need f o r competent and w e l l trained probation s t a f f . Their book says: The court sees people with many of the most complex problems i n human behaviour and the judge's e f f e c t -iveness i n understanding and dealing with them i s aided or handicapped by the work of his probation s t a f f . . . . The preferred educational q u a l i f i c a t i o n f o r a pro-bation o f f i c e r i s two years of graduate t r a i n i n g i n an accredited school of s o c i a l work.... Besides the academic t r a i n i n g , probation personnel should be emotionally mature and stable, capable of learning and of developing t h e i r knowledge and s k i l l s . They should have i n t e g r i t y , a capacity to l i k e , accept, and be accepted, and a genuine interest i n people and t h e i r welfare. 2 The B r i t i s h system of probation provides f o r t r a i n i n g of o f f i c e r s by two means, both provided by the Home Office. The f i r s t i s a long course requiring a two years' s o c i a l science dip-loma course at a University. The second i s a short course offered f o r older candidates who might have d i f f i c u l t y undertaking purely academic t r a i n i n g . 3 In a l l of these references then, the basic coneept of w e l l trained probation s t a f f i s present. In each case too the desired 1 The Penal System of Canada, p. 190. 2 Guides f o r Juvenile Court Judges, pp. 23, 24. 3 Watson, op. c i t . , p. 168. -42-standard seems to be that of post-graduate un i v e r s i t y t r a i n i n g with recognition of the r e a l i t y that i t may be necessary to accept a lesser amount of t r a i n i n g because of the short supply of f u l l y trained personnel. g. Probation Caseloads F i n a l l y , the caseloads of probation o f f i c e r s need to be ca r e f u l l y considered i f the desired goals of a probation system are to be achieved. Gn t h i s subject, the National Probation and Parole Association make the following recommendation: The National Probation and Parole Association rec-ommends that a probation o f f i c e r should supervise not more than f i f t y cases at any one time.... When an o f f i c e r i s making investigations, i t i s recommended that one investi g a t i o n be considered as equivalent to supervision of three to f i v e cases.1 With caseloads of t h i s order i t i s expected that the prob-ation o f f i c e r would have time to devote to the probationers a s -signed to him. Probation might then f u l f i l l the treatment goal inherent i n the concept and would become more than the l i p ser-vice which i t i s i n so many j u r i s d i c t i o n s today. h. Detention F a c i l i t i e s Deeply imbedded i n the juvenile court's early history i s the concept that children must be kept out of the j a i l s which house adult offenders. In the comments which accompany the 1949 Re-v i s i o n of the Standard Juvenile Court Act, the National Probation and Parole Association states: The e v i l practice p e r s i s t s of detaining children i n j a i l s . J a i l i n g of any c h i l d under sixteen should not be tolerated anywhere, and the law should be framed to prevent unwarranted detention. 2 1 Guides f o r Juvenile Court Judges, p. 24. 2 Standard juvenile Court Act, p. 23. -43-The Standard Act makes provision for release of children to t h e i r parents with no detention i n as many cases as i s con-sidered f e a s i b l e , 1 and provides f o r proper juvenile detention f a c i l i t i e s f o r those that i t i s f e l t must be detained. 2 In commenting upon the need for these f a c i l i t i e s , the National Probation and Parole Association says: Detention f a c i l i t i e s are as essential a part of the court's resources f o r dealing with children as i s the probation service. The use of family homes f o r detention has been successful f o r most types of children i n some j u r i s d i c t i o n . 3 Authorities w r i t i n g on the subject of juvenile detention are f i r m i n t h e i r declaration that these f a c i l i t i e s should not be used any more than i s absolutely necessary however. A pub-l i c a t i o n of the united States Children's Bureau states that: Detention should not be used f o r the convenience of personnel making a s o c i a l study or a c l i n i c a l exam-ina t i o n . Detention should not be used as a dispo- -s i t i o n by the court,...nor should a probation o f f i c e r place a c h i l d i n detention without the intention of bringing the c h i l d before the court. Neither should detention be used as an interim placement f a c i l i t y by s o c i a l agencies i n the community.4 In a recent a r t i c l e , Harold F i e l d s outlines very s p e c i f i c -a l l y the proper uses for detention f a c i l i t i e s . He says that: The detention home should provide: (1) Assurance of continued presence without being a a security i n s t i t u t i o n ; (2) Services to assure the physical w e l l being of the 1 Standard Juvenile Court Act, pp. 21, 22. 2 Ibi d p. 23. 3 Ibi d p. 24. 4 United States, Children's Bureau, op. c i t . , p. 46. c h i l d ; • (3) Reports to the court of any information available on behaviour and adjustment with i n the i n s t i t u t i o n which would have a bearing on the projected d i s p o s i t i o n by the court; (4) Provision f o r continuance of school t r a i n -ing; (5) Provision f o r recreational and interest a c t i v i t i e s ; (6) Provision for r e l i g i o u s observance and ed-ucation; (7) An o v e r a l l program consistent with the purposes of the court; (8) Segregation of individuals by sex and, wit h i n sexes, by age grouping, depth of d e l i n -quency pattern, emotional pattern, and mental s t a b i l i t y . 1 In B r i t a i n , the remand home serves roughly the same purpose but also takes i n c e r t a i n categories of children who are await-ing transfer to an approved school or who have escaped and are awaiting a court appearance. Others may also be committed to the remand home f o r short periods of punishment, although t h i s i s not. used o f t e n . 2 Watson states that he believes these latter groups should not be included at a l l . 3 i f they were to be re-moved, the remand home would even more closely p a r a l l e l that described above. Watson i s of the opinion too that the remand home should either contain or have access to the f a c i l i t i e s of a c h i l d guidance c l i n i c so that the court may be provided with an adequate assessment of the c h i l d . 4 1 Harold N. F i e l d s , "Guideposts f o r Juvenile Court Opera-t i o n , " Federal Probation, v o l . 22, (December 1958), pp. 14, 15. 2 Watson, op_. c i t . , p. 287. 3 I b i d . , p. 290. 4 I b i d . , pp. 300-1. -45-i . D i a g n o s t i c F a c i l i t i e s Mention has already been made of the n e c e s s i t y t o have a probation s t a f f . One f u n c t i o n , o f the probation s t a f f w i l l of course be the pr e p a r a t i o n of a pre-sentence report which con-t a i n s an assessment of the boy and h i s s o c i a l s i t u a t i o n , and u s u a l l y makes a recommendation. Another f a c i l i t y , the p s y c h i -a t r i c c l i n i c , has been mentioned above, and i t i s suggested that i t could w e l l form^a part of the remand home i n the B r i t -i s h system. I n whatever way i t i s organized, whether as part of the cou r t , or as outside s e r v i c e s which the court makes use of, the p s y c h i a t r i c c l i n i c i s considered e s s e n t i a l . The United States C h i l d r e n ' s Bureau s t a t e s t h a t : In order that the probation o f f i c e r may make a com-p l e t e study of a c h i l d brought before a c o u r t , the court should have a v a i l a b l e " t o i t the s e r v i c e s of a p h y s i c i a n , a p s y c h i a t r i s t , and a p s y c h o l o g i s t . • These s e r v i c e s may be i n t e g r a t e d i n a c l i n i c a l s er-v i c e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y part of the court's s t r u c t u r e , or may be attached t o or provided by another agency .... However, i f t h i s plan i s f o l l o w e d , arrange-ments should be made that w i l l give the c o u r t s " p r i -o r i t y , p a r t i c u l a r l y where c h i l d r e n are being held i n d e t e n t i o n . ! j Treatment F a c i l i t i e s While d i s c u s s i n g the operation of the j u v e n i l e c o u r t , Harold F i e l d s o u t l i n e s the necessary treatment f a c i l i t i e s which should be a v a i l a b l e t o the court as i n c l u d i n g (1) adequate probation s t a f f w i t h l i m i t e d caseloads, (E) adequate f o s t e r homes, (3) av-a i l a b l e p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s , (4) r e s i d e n t i a l f a c i l i -t i e s f o r s e r i o u s emotionally d i s t u r b e d c h i l d r e n , (5) f a c i l i t i e s 1 United S t a t e s , C h i l d r e n ' s Bureau, op_. c i t . , p. 87. -46-for the feeble-minded, (6) adequate state t r a i n i n g schools f o r those who must be committed. 1 Obviously i f the court i s to function as the treatment system i t has been conceived to be, and i f i t i s to make proper use of the diagnostic advice i t should receive, i t must have available a variety of treatment resources to meet the needs of various children. This i s the point F i e l d s i s making i n o u t l i n i n g six, d i f f e r e n t resources t. that are needed. Senator Hennings, Chairman of a United States Senate Com-mittee currently studying juvenile delinquency i n the United States, had t h i s to say i n a speech made i n Washington, D. C , i n which he c i t e d examples of the f a i l u r e of the court's t r e a t -ment f a c i l i t i e s : I could give many more examples, but I think the point has been made. The court i s , a f t e r a l l , only a part of any treatment system. I f the other parts do not work, neither does the court, and vice versa. 2 Under the B r i t i s h system, provision i s made fo r a number of alternative treatment f a c i l i t i e s , including boarding out i n fos-t e r homes, use of hostels, and f o r homes i n which the i n d i v i d u a l l i v e s and works. Various combinations of probation as required, may be used with these plans. 3 Should none of these milder forms of treatment seem appropriate, provision can be made f o r deten-t i o n i n remand homes, detention centres, and approved schools. For those offenders over sixteen, yet s t i l l under the juvenile 1 F i e l d s , op. c i t . , p. 15. 2 Senator Thomas C. Hennings, "Effectiveness of the Juven-i l e Court System," Federal Probation, v o l . 23 (June 1959), p. 5. 3 Watson, op_. c i t . , pp. 176-200. -47-court age of seventeen, recommendations to a higher court f o r committal to a bo r s t a l i s a p o s s i b i l i t y . 1 Hence, i t can be seen that the need f o r a range of treatment f a c i l i t i e s has been recognized and provided f o r to a f a r greater extent i n B r i t a i n than i n Canada or the United States where probation, or t r a i n i n g schools are the usual modes of treatment, with occasional use of some more imaginative technique, k. The Juvenile Court Committee No mention i s made of provision for such a c i t i z e n ' s com-mittee i n the present r e v i s i o n of the Standard Juvenile Court Act. However, the Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929, makes pro-v i s i o n f o r such a committee. 2 The Children's Aid Society i s to provide i t i f such a society e x i s t s , and i f not, i t i s to be created of c i t i z e n s i f desired by the community. The National Probation and Parole Association mentions such a committee i n one publication, and suggests i t s usefulness to the court: An active c i t i z e n s advisory committee has proved i n -valuable to many a court. While i t should not be too large (probably not over f i f t e e n members) the com-mittee should be as broadly representative of the com-munity as possible so that i t can bring to the judge and his s t a f f a true picture of l o c a l attitudes and expectations regarding the court. In l i k e manner,its members should be able i n turn to carry the story of the court's philosophy, methods, and needs back to the community.3 Judge Williams S. Port comments too on the value of such a committee but he evidently views i t l a r g e l y as a medium f o r bujld-1 Watson, The Child and the Magistrate, pp. 201-229. 2 Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929, s. 27. 3 Guides f o r Juvenile Court Judges, p. 121. -48-ing good public r e l a t i o n s i and not as an advisory committee to the court as seems to be implied i n the Canadian l e g i s l a t i o n . 2 1. Organization to Raise Standards Lowell Carr points out the dilemma of the juvenile court as i t exists i n many parts of the country. He says: The small town juvenile court simply cannot come up to b i g c i t y standards; and so long as i t remains merely a small town court, i t never w i l l . . . . Rural counties cannot possibly r a i s e the money to pay for such standards. I f they could, i t would be an out-r i g h t waste of public money.3 He goes on to pose a possible answer to the dilemma by saying: i Why not combine counties to provide enough work f o r one well-equipped, t e c h n i c a l l y competent court i n place of half a dozen or dozen of the imitations that,we have now?4 In the comments to the Standard Juvenile Court Act, a r e s o l ution to the same effect passed by the. National Probation and Parole Association at i t s Annual Meeting i n 1948 i s quoted. The r e s o l u t i o n says: Whereas, although the law of every state i n the Union provides f o r juvenile courts, large areas of most states are s t i l l without e f f e c t i v e juvenile courts, and even when the need f o r an adequate separate court i s recog-nized and the desire for i t s establishment p r e v a i l s , i t i s impracticable to set up such courts i n r u r a l or less densely populated areas on a county basis because there i s not s u f f i c i e n t volume of work to j u s t i f y a f u l l time q u a l i f i e d juvenile court judge, probation s t a f f , c l e r i -c a l employees and detention f a c i l i t i e s with the attend-ant f i n a n c i a l cost; and 1 W. S. Fort, "The Juvenile Court Examines I t s e l f " , NPPA Journal, v o l . 5, (October 1959), p. 404. 2 Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929, s. 28. 3 L. J . Carr, "Most Courts Have to be Substandard," Feder-a l Probation, v o l . 13, (September 1949), p. 30. 4 I b i d . . p. 31. -49-Whereas certain states, notably Utah, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, have established and found effec-t i v e the system of area or d i s t r i c t courts to serve a combination of counties, towns and smaller c i t i e s w i t h i n the borders of such area or d i s t r i c t having a s u f f i c i e n t population and volume of work t o j u s t -i f y an adequately staffed court and i t s attendant expense; Be I t Resolved: That the plan of such area or d i s -t r i c t courts i s commended and recommended.1 In keeping with t h i s r esolution, the current Standard Juvenile Court Act contains a l t e r n a t i v e provisions f o r such a state court system.2 A s i m i l a r p r o v i n c i a l court system might very w e l l recom-mend i t s e l f to B r i t i s h Columbia as a means of achieving high standards i n spite of the r u r a l nature of much of i t s area. Utah appears to have made very valuable use of such a system which was f i r s t adopted i n 1908.3 A recent a r t i c l e states: The present state-wide juvenile court plan i s the end r e s u l t of many years of juvenile court adminis-t r a t i o n . The problems .which have been faced by Utah have not been d i f f e r e n t from those faced by many other states. Utah i s a state of wide open spaces, a state of scattered population, a state low i n income. 4 That courts should be combined i n order to provide better service i s not a purely North American idea either f o r Watson r e -marks that the same device, f o r which l e g i s l a t i v e power evidently e x i s t s , might be used to good advantage i n B r i t a i n . 5 1 Standard Juvenile court Act, p. 7. 2 I b i d . . p. 6. 3 Charles L. Chute, "The Juvenile Court i n Retrospect". Fed-e r a l Probation, v o l . 13, (September 1949), p. 5. 4 J . F. Larson, "Utah's State-Wide Juvenile Court Plan," Federal Probation, v o l . 13, (June 1949), p. 15. 5 Watson, OJD. c i t . . p. 41. CHAPTER I I I THE JUVENILE COURT: PRESENT FACILITIES Legal Establishment of the Court The juvenile court, as a l e g a l e n t i t y , e x i s t s throughout B r i t i s h Columbia. In order to c l a r i f y t h i s matter, the follow-ing question was directed to the Deputy Attorney-General: Section 2 of the Juvenile Courts Act indicates that there s h a l l be a juvenile court i n every c i t y or por-t i o n of the province i n which the Juvenile Delinquents Act, 1929, i s i n force. In how many c i t i e s or port-ions of the province i s t h i s act currently i n f o r c e ? 1 In answer, he stated: ...the Juvenile Delinquents Act of Canada i s i n force i n a l l parts of B r i t i s h Columbia. That statute now appears as Chapter 160 of the Revised Statutes of Can-ada, 1952. Provision i s made i n the statutes of the Province f o r juvenile courts under the Juvenile Courts Act, chapter 77 of the Revised Statutes of B r i t i s h Col-umbia f o r 1948. Under the l a t t e r statute, the Lieu-tenant Governor-in Council may establi s h a court, that i s a juvenile court, for such parts of the Province and at such places as he deems proper. Juvenile courts have been established at most of the se t t l e d places i n the Province. In the past the j u r i s d i c t i o n t e r r i -t o r i a l l y of the courts has been larg e l y based upon the p r o v i n c i a l e l e c t o r a l d i s t r i c t s or parts of those d i s -t r i c t s contained within c e r t a i n m u n i c i p a l i t i e s . More recently we have been proceeding up county boundary l i n e s , which are more stable than the boundaries of el e c t o r a l d i s t r i c t s . There are juvenile courts out-side Vancouver i n p r a c t i c a l l y a l l centres and, i f need ar i s e s , a court i s created i n any centre where none ex-i s t s under the power&s given to the Lieutenant-Governor i n Council under the Juvenile Courts A c t . 2 I t was made clear i n the standards formulated i n Chapter I however, that e f f e c t i v e operation of a juvenile court requires more than i t s l e g a l establishment. The effectiveness of the op-1 Letter to the Deputy Attorney-General from the w r i t e r , 25 February 1960. 2 G. D. Kennedy, Deputy Attorney-General, Province of B r i t -i s h Columbia, Letter to the w r i t e r , 2 March 1960. -51-eration of the court depends e n t i r e l y on the q u a l i t y of judge and other personnel and f a c i l i t i e s . An attempt w i l l now he made to describe these personnel and f a c i l i t i e s as they exist i n B r i t i s h Columbia. Vancouver Juvenile and family Court The Vancouver Juvenile and Family Court i s organized under section 3 of the Juvenile Courts Act which makes provision f o r such organization when both courts have come into existence i n the community. Figure 1 on page 52 i l l u s t r a t e s administrative structure, i n d i c a t i n g the way i n which three major functions, those of Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Court Clerk,aand Superinten-ent of the Detention Home, are a l l f i l l e d by one person. Appar-ently there i s no particular, reasoning behind such a system ex-cept that i t was set up that- way i n 1910, when the court was f i r s t organized, and s t i l l seems to work w e l l . One rationale made by the present incumbent, Gordon Stevens, i s that i t pro-vides good coordination between probation and detention services and prevents the development of a philosophical gulf between these two. As can be seen i n the s t r u c t u r a l chart, the judges are appointed by the Attorney-General, and the senior judge i n turn appoints the Chief Probation Officer and other court s t a f f . The Superintendent of the Detention home i s appointed by the c i t y however. Because of the dual r o l e involved, the i n d i v i d u a l f i l -l i n g t h i s p o s i t i o n i s responsible to two separate a u t h o r i t i e s f o r the p o l i c y which he must put into e f f e c t . The probation supervisor i n the present organization i s also -52-Figure 1 . Structural Chart, Vancouver Juvenile and Family Court Attorney General Judg Deputj ;e and r Judge -C h i e f Probation Superintendent Officer of Court Clerk Detention Home Assistant Superintendent Detention Home Juvenile Court Supervisor Family Court Supervisor C l e r i c a l Supervisor Ten Probation Officers Six Caseworkers C l e r i c a l Staff Detention Home Staff Maintenance The present Juvenile Court Supervisor i s also Assistant to the Chief Probation O f f i c e r , although he does not f a l l i n the l i n e of authority. The City of Vancouver i s responsible f o r financing the t o t a l operation, including the court and detention home. Po l i c y f o r the detention home originates with the C i t y , While the Judge i s responsible f o r p o l i c y of the court. Source: Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Mr. G. Stevens. -53-assistant to the Chief Probation Officer although he i s not i n l i n e of authority. This was admitted by the Chief Probation Offic e r to be a poor administrative set-up, but was seen to have advantages i n terms of possible expansion of the court. The C i t y of Vancouver i s responsible f o r finances for the entire organization, although i t i s only responsible f o r p o l i c y i n the Detention Home area. This has implications f o r personnel which w i l l be discussed l a t e r , under the section dealing with probation s t a f f . Although the c i t y i s f i n a n c i a l l y responsible for the oper-ation of t h i s court, i t has apparently not been anxious to re-eive reports of i t s a c t i v i t i e s . For t h i s reason, no report has been published since 1945, and such s t a t i s t i c s as are used i n t h i s study were obtained i n a piecemeal fashion through i n t e r -views with the Chief Probation Officer and the Assistant Chief Probation O f f i c e r . Surrey Juvenile and Family Courtl During 1959 a Juvenile and Family Court was o f f i c i a l l y or-ganized i n Surrey Municipality. This court has a judge who i s a member of the l e g a l profession and receives a salary f o r the the two days a week which he devotes to the a c t i v i t i e s of the court. Because no provision has been made fo r s t a f f or physical f a c i l i t i e s apart from the judge and the probation o f f i c e r , who i s a member of the P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch, i t i s reported t t h a t the operation of the court i s v i r t u a l l y at a s t a n d - s t i l l i n 1 K. Holt, Probation O f f i c e r , P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch, Interview with the w r i t e r , 14 March 1960. -54-terms of any improvement over what existed p r i o r to t h i s new organization. The Court i n Other Areas of the Province As noted at the beginning of t h i s Chapter, the court ex-i s t s as a l e g a l e n t i t y throughout the province. Except i n the areas already described however, there are no f u l l time c o u r t s 1 and the part-time courts which exist seem i n the main to lack the rudiments of a juvenile court as described i n Chapter I I . They do not have separate physical f a c i l i t i e s , f u l l time judges, or other services usually associated with a well operated court. 2 The Juvenile Court Judges The Juvenile Courts Act makes provision f o r the appointment of Juvenile Court Judges by the Lieutenant-Governor i n Council. In order to c l a r i f y the way i n which selection i s made, the f o l -lowing question was directed to the Deputy Attorney-General: Are there any c r i t e r i a , either i n the form of regu-l a t i o n s , or established through pr a c t i c e , which guide the Lieutenant-Governor i n Council i n the appointment of judges as provided f o r In Section 4 of the Juvenile Courts A c t ? 3 In answer, the Deputy-Attorney General said: There are no formal regulations s e t t i n g out the qual-i f i c a t i o n s f o r the o f f i c e . I think i t i s s u f f i c i e n t to say, i n short, that s u i t a b i l i t y f o r dealing with juvenile type work i s the main c r i t e r i a . 4 In answer to another question asking about the current jud-1 G. D. Kennedy, Deputy Attorney-General, Letter to the writer, 2 March 1960. 2 E. G. B. Stevens, Director of Corrections, Telephone i n -terview with the writer, 18 February 1960. 3 Letter to the Deputy Attorney-General from the writer, 25 February 1960. ' 4 Kennedy, op_. c i t . -55-ges and the occupation, t r a i n i n g , and experience which i s con-sidered to q u a l i f y each of these individuals f o r the p o s i t i o n , the Deputy Attorney-General stated that: A number of them are members of the Bar who have shown a p a r t i c u l a r interest i n t h i s type of work. The occupation of others range over a very wide f i e l d . . . f o r example,iin Vancouver...they are both members of the Bar, one takes very active interest i n club and church work, the other i s a mother of two teen-age children. In Surrey the judge i s a l -so a member of the Bar, recommended by an i n t e r e s t -ed group of c i t i z e n s i n Surrey f o r the p o s i t i o n be-cause of his interest i n the problems of j u v e n i l e s . ! The occupations, t r a i n i n g and experience of the many other judges remains unknown. This may be looked upon as unimportant, since the t o t a l number of eases dealt with by t h i s l a r g e l y r u r a l group of magistrates may be r e l a t i v e l y small, as the Deputy Attorney-General indicates when he says: ...outside the larger centres such as Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria", there i s not usually s u f f i c i e n t work for f u l l - t i m e judges of the/Juvenile Court and...therefore the Juvenile Court judge i n the small communities, some of whom may not hear more than one or two juvenile cases a year, w i l l hold very often other posts as well.2 While the t o t a l number of cases with which they deal may be r e l a t i v e l y small however, t h i s same group of juvenile court judges i s responsible f o r a very large percentage of the committals to the Brannan Lake School f o r Boys. The report of the School's Superintendent shows that i n 1956, 72 per cent of the 167 boys committed came from courts outside Vancouver, v i c t o r i a and Surrey.3 The same general trend has continued, with 64 per cent of 262 com-1 Kennedy, op. c i t . 2 Loc. c i t . 3 B r i t i s h Columbia, "Report of the Boy's I n d u s t r i a l School," Annual Report of the S o c i a l Welfare Branch of the De-partment of Health and Welfare, 1956, pp. 88-90. -56-m i t t a l s i n 1957, 1 and 69 per- cent of 285 committals i n 1958, coming from outside Vancouver, v i c t o r i a and S u r r e y . 2 Recent newspaper a r t i c l e s on the Brannan Lake School h i n t t h a t the sentencing by j u v e n i l e court ss throughout the province i s l e s s than p e r f e c t . The r e p o r t e r w r i t i n g the s t o r y says t h a t the superintendent of the s c h o o l : . . . s t r e s s e d t h a t he can't i n t e r f e r e w i t h the c o u r t s , hut i t i s obvious t h a t almost o n e - t h i r d of the boys sent t o the school by the 80-odd j u v e n i l e court j u d -ges i n the province shouldn't have been sentenced i n the f i r s t p l a c e . He s a i d such boys f a l l i n t o three c a t e g o r i e s : Those of the tender age group (10, 11, and 12); those com-mitted f o r minor offenses (one boy i s i n f o r s t e a l i n g money from m i l k b o t t l e s ) ; and those not given a chance at p r o b a t i o n (committed f o r a f i r s t offense.3 Sentencing i s u l t i m a t e l y the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the judge, although he may be i n f l u e n c e d t o a greater or l e s s e r degree by the r e p o r t of h i s p r o b a t i o n o f f i c e r . Another newspaper rep o r t i n d i c a t e s that the government i s aware th a t some of i t s j u v e n i l e court judges are f a i l i n g i n t h i s r e s p e c t . The statement notes t h a t meetings are being arranged between o f f i c i a l s of the Attorney-General's Department and the Welfare Department t o work out s o l u t i o n s t o sentencing problems. The s o l u t i o n s a r r i v e d at w i l l be presented t o the next conference of p r o v i n c i a l magistra-t e s . 4 I n order t o complete t h i s general d e s c r i p t i o n of the juven-1 B r i t i s h Columbia, Annual Report of the S o c i a l Welfare Branch of the Department of Health and Welfare, 1957, pp. 70, 71. 2 B r i t i s h Columbia, Annual Report of the S o c i a l Welfare Branch of the Department of Health and welfare, 1958, pp. 82, 83. 3 Vancouver Sun, March 3, 1960, pp. 1, 2. 4 Vancouver Sun, March 4, 1960, pp. 1, 2. -57-i l e court judge and his duties i n B r i t i s h Columbia, i t should be noted that outside the Vancouver Juvenile Court t h i s p o s i t i o n carries no remuneration. 1 The Judge—Vancouver Juvenile Court The senior judge of the Vancouver Juvenile and Family Court i s paid as a f u l l time judge and hears a l l juvenile court t r i a l s and other delinquency cases not involving a t r i a l . He also hears a part of the family cases. The deputy judge hears the remain-ing family cases and a l l t r a f f i c cases not involving a t r i a l . The deputy judge i s paid on a per diem basis. In an interview, 2 the senior judge emphasized his b e l i e f that i d e a l l y the juvenile court judge should have l e g a l t r a i n i n g , and ci t e d cases to i l l u s t r a t e the complex l e g a l problems which a r i s e . These examples were a l l family cases involving support orders however, and when questioned on whether complex l e g a l problems arose i n delinquency cases, he indicated that i n the main they did not. The judge was also of the opinion that i n de-linquency cases the probation o f f i c e r shares the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r suggesting an appropriate.course of action, thus further e l r iminating the need f o r a judge trained i n anything but the law. In an attempt to determine the extent t o which he keeps up with current thinking i n the juvenile court f i e l d , the judge was asked about h i s reading preferences. He stated that h i s own current reading i s mainly confined to the l e g a l area, but said that publications dealing more s p e c i f i c a l l y with the juvenile 1 E. G. B. Stevens, Director of Corrections, Telephone i n -terview with the w r i t e r , 18 February, I960. 2 W. H. S. Dixon, Interview with the w r i t e r , 26 March, 1960. -58-court are received by the court and are available to any of the st a f f who are interested. He seemed to be unaware of s p e c i f i c publications of the National Probation and Parole Association such as Guides for Juvenile Court Judges.1 Probation Services There i s no o v e r a l l system of probation which covers the entire-province. Instead, three systems are a c t u a l l y i n e f f e c t , o f f e r i n g service t o a large majority of the population. Quite large but r e l a t i v e l y unpopulated areas of the province remain without any form of probation service however. Probation i n Vancouver 2 The Vancouver Juvenile Court has a f i e l d s t a f f of eight male and two female probation o f f i c e r s , as w e l l as a Chief Pro-bation Officer and a Supervisor. A l l of these personnel are appointed by the juvenile court judge as provided f o r i n the Juvenile court l e g i s l a t i o n . The f i e l d s t a f f appointments have been made on the recommendation of the Chief Probation Officer and the Assistant Chief Probation O f f i c e r , a f t e r study of ap-p l i c a t i o n s received through the c i t y ' s personnel department. Establishment of salary scales and other personnel matters are l e f t w i t h i n the framework of the c i t y personnel department. Because the appointments are made by the judge, the s t a f f •> do not have security of tenure. While t h i s has not proved to be a problem, i t i s t h e o r e t i c a l l y possible that any, or a l l , of 1 M. B e l l , ed., Guides for Juvenile Court Judges. New York, , National Probation and Parole Association, 1957. 2 G. Stevens, Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Vancouver Juvenile Court, Interview with the w r i t e r , I f February 1960; and H. Robson, Assistant Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Vancouver Juvenile Court, In-terview with the w r i t e r , 26 February 1960. -59-these employees could be removed from t h e i r positions by the judge, and they would have no r i g h t of protest. The Chief Probation Offic e r has established u n i v e r s i t y graduation as h i s minimum standard of t r a i n i n g f o r probation s t a f f . This could be with a degree i n the s o c i a l sciences, preferably i n criminology or psychology, or i f possible, one or two years of s o c i a l work. An i n d i v i d u a l with any of these qual-i f i c a t i o n s would be designated as a probation Offic e r I I , and would have a salary ranging from #428.00 to $513.00 monthly, i n f i v e yearly increments. A l l of the present s t a f f are i n t h i s Grade I I category, although not a l l have s o c i a l work t r a i n i n g . A p o s i t i o n of Probation Officer I has also been established. Into t h i s category would f a l l those with in-service t r a i n i n g , and experience (or some equivalent), The salary range for t h i s pos-i t i o n would be from #391.00 to $470.00 i n f i v e yearly increments also. There i s no provision made for promotion from t h i s p o s i t -ion, but i t i s hoped eventually t o establish promotion to Grade I I status upon completion of a d d i t i o n a l t r a i n i n g . To attempt to describe the work of a probation o f f i c e r i n the Vancouver Juvenile Court i n terms of the size of caseload seems t o t a l l y inadequate. Instead i t i s f i r s t necessary to con-sider the multitude of functions which are h i s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and then attempt to evaluate the work involved i n each function. One important and time-consuming duty involves attendance at court s i t t i n g s . Before the court the probation o f f i c e r may be required to: (a) submit o r a l and w r i t t e n pre-sentence reports. -60-(b) submit reports on active probation cases. (c) give evidence on unsatisfactory probationers. (d) represent the c h i l d as required by section 31 of the Juvenile Delinquents Act. (e) a s s i s t the judge i n T r a f f i c Court. When juveniles are committed to the Brannan Lake School, the probation o f f i c e r i s required to escort the i n d i v i d u a l there, a t r i p involving a f u l l day. Each time a juvenile i s given a p s y c h i a t r i c examination, the probation o f f i c e r i s responsible f o r preparation of a written s o c i a l h i s t o r y , plus attendance at the c l i n i c a l conference. when adults are convicted i n the Vancouver Magistrate's Courts, and are remanded f o r a pre-sentence report, the juvenile probation o f f i c e r i s very often c a l l e d i n t o consultation because the adult offender has frequently had a juvenile record. A sim-i l a r service i s offered t o courts outside Vancouver on a recipro-c a l basis. For every juvenile charged with a delinquency, the intake process involves interviews with the c h i l d , parents, school p r i n -c i p a l , and interested s o c i a l agencies, and the gathering of such other material as may contribute to an understanding of the case. This material w i l l form the basis of the written pre-sentence re-port f o r the court. The probation o f f i c e r i s also responsible f o r continuing work with the family of an i n d i v i d u a l committed to either of the In-d u s t r i a l Schools. This involves planning f o r the eventual re-lease from the school, a step which can only be f i n a l l y taken -61-when the court i s s a t i s f i e d that community plans are ready. One l a s t major task of the probation o f f i c e r working under t h i s court i s the actual s u p e r v i s i o n of those placed on pro-bation. Assignment of the cases f o r t h i s purpose, as f o r a l l the other functions mentioned, i s made on a geographical basis, the c i t y being divided into ten areas according to the density of problems a r i s i n g . The following table shows the number of delinquency cases handled by the court, complaints handled by probation o f f i c e r s without a court appearance, and t r a f f i c cases. In the l a t t e r category, probation o f f i c e r s would be active i n only a selected few cases. In the other two categories however, a complete as-sessment of each case by the probation o f f i c e r would normally be necessary. Table 2. Cases Dealt With by the Vancouver Juvenile Court, and Those Handled Out-of-court by Probation Officers f o r the years 1954, 1958, and 1959. Year Juven: L i e Court Handled Out-of-Court Total Delinquency T r a f f i c Offenses 1954 1958 1959 858 1308 1149 343 757 1072 354 656 1006 1955 2721 3227 Source: Interview with H. Robson, Assistant Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Vancouver Juvenile Court, 26 February, 1960. I t can be seen from t h i s table that to make a complete as-sessment of these cases f o r 1959 on the basis indicated above would require a minimum t o t a l of 2155 s o c i a l studies by the pro--62-bation s t a f f of ten o f f i c e r s . This i s only part of the workload however, as has been indicated i n the description of the probat-ion o f f i c e r ' s functions. Table 3 which follows gives a picture of the d i s p o s i t i o n of a part of these cases for the same years and also compares the increase i n cases with the increase i n s t a f f . Table 3. Total Number Committed to I n d u s t r i a l Schools and Placed on Probation by the Vancouver Juvenile Court During 1954, 1958, and 1959, with Comparative F i g -ures f o r the Size of Probation S t a f f . Year Probation Cases Comm: L t t a l s Number of Pro-bation Officers Boys G i r l s 1954 1958 1959 315 691 663 55 47 80 27 27 26 7 10 10 Source: Interview with H. Robson, Assistant Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Vancouver Juvenile Court. While i t was not possible to obtain a figure representing an average caseload of probations^,! two things of importance can be determined from Table 3. The f i r s t i s that doing the year 1959 663 new probationers were added to caseloads. The second point i s that a t o t a l of eighty man days must have been lo s t escorting boys to the Brannan Lake School. The number of probationers vases 1 I t was suggested by the_ Assistant Chief Probation Officer that an average monthly caseload could be determined simply by di v i d i n g the t o t a l number of probationers by the number of pro-bation o f f i c e r s . This would only be accurate however, i f each probation case handled by the court was carried f o r exactly one year, or the average length of probation for a l l cases was f o r one year. -63-terminated during the year was not determined hut a regular review i s apparently made t o ensure that probation i s terminated when i t has served i t s purpose. No s t a t i s t i c s are kept to indicate the number of interviews held by i n d i v i d u a l probation o f f i c e r s . As professional people, the s t a f f are f e l t by t h e i r supervisor to be competent to make necessary judgements on how much time an i n d i v i d u a l probationer needs. Recording s t a t i s t i c s on interviews and other work i s seen as an infringement on professional r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . Making, an apparently subjective appraisal however, the Assistant Chief Probation Officer stated that intensive casework i s given to those cases which require i t . No assessment was obtained of how much time might be con-sumed by the other functions of the probation o f f i c e r that were outlined above. However, i t can safely be assumed that as the number of cases increases the time spent with court hearings, ps y c h i a t r i c conferences and other tasks w i l l increase. Probation i n New Westminster and V i c t o r i a There i s no independently organized juvenile probation ser-vice i n either of these communities. Any probation work required i s done by the police department through an arrangement with the court.! P r o v i n c i a l Probation Service 2 The P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch i s organized as a part of 1 C D . Davidson, Assistant Chief Probation O f f i c e r , Prov-i n c i a l Probation Branch, Interview with the writer, 16 lebruary 196a 2 Davidson, Interview with the w r i t e r , 16 February 1960, and Clark, Interview with the w r i t e r , 24 February 1960. -64-the P r o v i n c i a l government. I t currently employs t h i r t y - t h r e e f i e l d o f f i c e r s who carry on the task of adult and juvenile pro-bation i n most of the more heavily populated areas not covered by the probation services already described. Because of the geography of B r i t i s h Columbia, many of these o f f i c e r s are covering rather large t e r r i t o r i e s . For ex-ample, the man located i n Vernon i s responsible for the t e r r i -tory from Kelowna to Salmon Arm and Revelstoke, a t o t a l of eight courts. This would mean that he covers an area almost one hun-dred miles i n length. S i m i l a r l y , the o f f i c e r situated i n Pen-t i b t o n serves eight courts over a t e r r i t o r y extending about eighty miles west from hi s o f f i c e . Even though services have been spread t h i n l y i n t h i s way, no service i s being offered to many communities i n the north, i n parts of the Cariboo region, along the west coast from Squamish to Prince Rupert, with the exception of Kitimat, and on the west coast of Vancouver Island.. Despite these gaps however, i t appears l i k e l y that the major portion of the province's population i s receiving some sort of probation service. The major functions of the Probation Officer are described as preparing pre-sentence reports for the courts, and supervising probationers. However a certai n number of "follow-up" or parole cases are also offered supervisory services. Table 4 shows com-parative s t a t i s t i c s f or these various functions f o r the years 1951 through 1957. These figures include adults and juveniles together without d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , but the Assistant Chief Pro-bation Officer states that about seventy-five per cent of the work i s with juveniles. While these figures give some idea of -65-the volume of work handled, t h e i r value i s l i m i t e d even i n t h i s respect because i t i s not known how long probation or parole cases lasted, and hence how many would be carried over from year to year. Table 4. Comparative Work Load S t a t i s t i c s for the P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch fo r the years 1951/52 to 1957/58. Year New Probation Cases New Follow-Up Cases Pre-Sentence Reports 1951/52 591 33 472 1952/53 598 46 638 1953/54 688 92 736 1954/55 831 151 892 . 1955/56 962 186 965 1956/57 1306 313 1250 1957/58 1431 395 1602 Source: Province of B r i t i s h Columbia, Annual Report of the Director of Corrections f o r the year ended March 31, 1958, p.92. As a rough guide to the average caseload of probationers, the Assistant Chief Erobation Officer stated that they would us-J)«Cn(ber u a l l y range from f o r t y - f i v e to one hundred. A sample month, ^ 1959, showed a high probation caseload of one hundred and ten, and a low of t h i r t y - f i v e . The former was carried by the Probation Of-f i c e r i n Vernon, already mentioned as one of the r e l a t i v e l y large geographical areas to be covered by one man. These caseload f i g -ures would include both juvenile and adult f i g u r e s . By consid-ering the unpublished s t a t i s t i c s f or the period A p r i l 1, 1958, -66-to March 31, 1959, i t i s possible to get a more accurate idea of the proportion of t h i s work that deals with juveniles. Dur-ing t h i s period, 1249 individuals were placed on probation, and 877, or 70.2 per cent, were juveniles. As Table 4 indicates however, the probation caseload i s only a part of the work load of each probation o f f i c e r . Supervision of parolees and preparation of pre-sentence reports must also be included. The time devoted to court appearances must also be a s i g n i f i c a n t f a ctor as noted i n the discussion of the probation o f f i c e r f o r the Vancouver Juvenile court. In theory too, the probation o f f i c e r maintains a contact with the family of the boy or g i r l committed to the I n d u s t r i a l School and must prepare sat-i s f a c t o r y plans p r i o r to release. While no s t a t i s t i c s are available which indicate the number of interviews with each probationer, the Probation Branch f e e l s that i t i s offering a range of service varying from intensive casework to routine reporting, as required by the i n d i v i d u a l . In order to provide the best possible service under these conditions, the Probation Branch has t r i e d to e s t a b l i s h a Master's Degree i n S o c i a l Work as i t s standard of t r a i n i n g . A large pro-portion of the s t a f f have t h i s t r a i n i n g , but some with only a Bachelor's degree i n S o c i a l Work plus some experience, or others with equivalent q u a l i f i c a t i o n s are accepted and would be c l a s s i -f i e d as Probation O f f i c e r , Grade I . The Salary range currently being paid i s $367.00 to $43.0.-00 monthly f o r Grade I Probation O f f i c e r s , and $400.00 to $470.00 monthly f o r Grade I I . Sinee the Probation Officers forming t h i s service are prov--67-v i n c i a l employees, t h e i r tenure i s not subject to the whims of any p a r t i c u l a r judge. In most cases the judges have simply ac-cepted them and a p r a c t i c a l working relationship has developed. In a few cases the judges have appointed i n d i v i d u a l o f f i c e r s as probation o f f i c e r f or t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r court under the terms of the l e g i s l a t i o n . However, t h i s has not been very common. Detention F a c i l i t i e s In order to determine the present p o l i c y regarding the pro-v i s i o n of detention f a c i l i t i e s , the following question was d i r -ected to the Deputy Attorney-General. What are the current regulations covering the pro-v i s i o n of detention f a c i l i t i e s as required under Section I I , subsection 4 of the (Juvenile Courts) Act? (Recent news releases would seem to indicate that courts exist i n mu n i c i p a l i t i e s which do not have the required detention f a c i l i t i e s . ) 1 In answer to t h i s question, he stated: .. . I assume you r e f e r to section 13 (4) dealing with juveniles apparently over the age of fourteen and t h e i r detention pending t r i a l s . So f a r as pos-s i b l e , juveniles are held i n detention homes. Oc-casionally they have to be held elsewhere because of the absence of suitable detention home f a c i l i t i e s , f o r example at such places a B Fort Nelson and other spots on the Alaska Highway and some other areas of the Province. In a l l cases they are kept separate from adult offenders. 2 While the question as phrased to the Deputy Attorney-General did not specify the Juvenile Courts Act, i t was indicated at the top of the questionnaire that a l l questions dealt with t h i s Act, section I I (4) of which requires detention f a c i l i t i e s s a t i s f a c t -ory to the Attorney-General i n any community having a juvenile 1 Letter to the Deputy Attorney-General from the w r i t e r , 25 February 1960. 2 Kennedy, op. c i t . .-68-court. However, the question was apparently misinterpreted as r e f e r r i n g to section 13 (4) of the juvenile Delinquents Act which deals with another aspect of detention. In spite of t h i s , the answer as quoted above seems to cover the p o l i c i e s f o r pro-v i s i o n of detention i n the province generally. The answer given by the Deputy Attorney-General would seem to indicate that detention f a c i l i t i e s exist i n a l l but the most remote areas of the province. However, consultation with the Supervisor of the Provincial, Probation Branch, whose s t a f f i s very intimately involved with t h i s problem, reveals that no proper detention f a c i l i t i e s exist outside Vancouver and v i c t o r i a . l Attempts to make use of foster homes have also proved f r u i t l e s s because of the i m p o s s i b i l i t y of f i n d i n g homes w i l l i n g to take children involved with the juvenile court.2 Reference was made i n Chapter I to a statement by the Mayor of Langley to the effect that lack of detention f a c i l i t i e s i s creating a problem i n that community. The Vancouver and V i c t o r i a Detention Homes seem to be the only r e a l detention f a c i l i t i e s i n the province. The superinten-dent of the Vancouver Detention Home stated that the present fac-i l i t i e s are quite adequate. The present p o l i c y of the Vancouver Juvenile Court i s to hold only those who cannot safely stay i n t h e i r own homes while awaiting a court appearance, and also a few 1 Clarke, op_. c i t . 2 Loc. c i t . 3 Chapter I , p. 8. -69-who are remanded by the court. The building i s b u i l t to house t h i r t y - f o u r boys, and sixteen g i r l s , and the population has never reached t h i s capacity.1 The s i t u a t i o n does not seem to be as good i n V i c t o r i a how-ever. A press release of a few months ago states that: V i c t o r i a juvenile detention home closed today. Long-time superintendent Colonel William Dingley snapped the lock, b l a s t i n g c i v i c o f f i c i a l s f o r "rank incompetence" and " o f f i c i a l bungling" as he drove away. The move means t h e r e ' l l be no o f f i c i a l place to keep young offenders while awaiting juvenile court, but they are expected to be put i n c i t y j a i l . * Since that time the detention home has been reopened with a new superintendent. 3 Worth Vancouver and Burnably solve the problem of detention by using the Vancouver Detention Home, paying a per diem rate for t h i s service. The remaining communities i n the province appar-ently use the e x i s t i n g adult j a i l f a c i l i t i e s to hold juveniles when required. In a few cases a c e l l i s set aside for t h i s pur-pose. 4 A recent e d i t o r i a l i n an i n t e r i o r B r i t i s h Columbia news-paper pointed up t h i s problem, noting that i n some cases i t i s necessary to hold juveniles f o r at least nine days while the nec-essary notices of a hearing are sent. 5 1 G. Stevens, Interview with the w r i t e r , 16 February 1960. 2 "Juvenile Home Locked by Fed-Up Supervisor," Vancouver Sun, May 30, 1959. p. 1. 3 Clarke, op_. c i t . 4 Clarke, op. c i t . 5 fjflaw i n the Theory," Williams Lake Tribune, 10 February 1960. -70-Diagnostic F a c i l i t i e s The Vancouver Juvenile Court does not have any p s y c h i a t r i s t s or psychologists on i t s s t a f f , and i t does not r e t a i n them as consultants. The Chief Probation Officer says that he f e e l s h i s s t a f f of probation o f f i c e r s should themselves by competent to recognize those individuals severely enough disturbed to need these services. One weekly appointment i s available on a per-manent basis at the Children's C l i n i c of the Mental Health Cen-t r e f o r a diagnostic examination of those individuals whom the probation o f f i c e r s f e e l they need help with. After a complete examination of the c h i l d , the probation o f f i c e r i s advised on how to proceed with the case. About f o r t y such examinations are made each year. The Child Psychiatry Services at the Vancouver General Hospital are also available to the court, and on i n d i v -i d u a l cases probation o f f i c e r s cooperate with the psyc h i a t r i c services provided by the Metropolitan Health Unit. For any in d i v i d u a l s who might need continuing ps y c h i a t r i c treatment, apparently nothing i s available except through Van-couver General Hospital's f a c i l i t i e s , or through private psy-c h i a t r i s t s i f the parents can afford the c o s t . 1 The P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch i s able to make use of the Tra v e l l i n g C l i n i c operated by the P r o v i n c i a l Mental Health C l i n i c . For obvious reasons, t h i s does not provide the a v a i l a b i l i t y of service found i n an urban center, but i n an emergency s i t u a t i o n help has been forthcoming with a delay of only two weeks. This c l i n i c offers only a diagnostic service, and any treatment which i s considered necessary must be carried on as a function of the 1 G. Stevens, op. c i t . the probation o f f i c e r . 1 Treatment F a c i l i t i e s Probation services, including t h e i r treatment function have already been dealt with i n a separate section. There appear to be no other formal treatment f a c i l i t i e s i n B r i t i s h Columbia f o r children found to be delinquent, by the juvenile courts except the Brannan lake School f o r Boys, and the Willingdon School f o r G i r l s . Brannan Lake School This i s a r e l a t i v e l y new i n s t i t u t i o n f or the care of de-linquent boys, having been put into use on March 16, 1955. The school program involves work, including community projects as w e l l as the care and maintenance of the i n s t i t u t i o n . I t offers academic classes f o r a l l boys, regardless of age, with class-room i n s t r u c t i o n f o r Grades I to V I I I , and correspondence courses for high school students. After 3:GO p. m. the recreational pro-gramme begins, which runs u n t i l bedtime. This programme con-s i s t s of a l l types of sports, many hobbies, and straight l e i s u r e time for reading and l e t t e r writing.2 This school was o r i g i n a l l y planned to house 120 boys. I t includes cottages f o r the very young, and dormitories f o r those who are older. The age of boys upon admission to the school has varied from nine years to eighteen years. The average age has remained quite constant however, and i n 1957-58 was 14. 8 years. 3 1 Clarke, op_. c i t . 2 B r i t i s h Columbia, "Report of the Boyfe I n d u s t r i a l School," Annual Report, 1956, p. 91. 3 B r i t i s h Solumbia, Report of the Boy's I n d u s t r i a l School,:'.' Annual Report, 1958, p. 70. -72-The average d a i l y population of the school has continued to climb beyond the capacity for which the school was o r i g i n a l l y b u i l t . In the most recent annual report of the school the sup-erintendent comments on t h i s trend and i t s implications. He says i n part: I t w i l l be noted that the average d a i l y population of the School was 152 boys. Since the School has no control over admissions, there was no a l t e r n a t -ive but, to reduce the average stay of a boy i n the School. This resulted i n many boys being released before the School a u t h o r i t i e s f e l t the boys were ac-t u a l l y ready to return to the community. This i n turn, we believe, i s to some degree responsible f o r the increased rate of r e c i d i v i s m which occurred dur-ing the year. 1 No o f f i c i a l s t a t i s t i c s are yet available f o r the school's operation since March 31, 1958. Recent p u b l i c i t y would indicate that the trend noted above has continued however, and that the. present population i s i n excess of 180 boys.2 Willingdon School for G i r l s 5 The Willingdon School f o r G i r l s i s a new i n s t i t u t i o n which was o f f i c i a l l y opened on March 26, 1959, making i t about one year old at the present time. The physical plant i s made up of a large administration b u i l d i n g which contains o f f i c e space, t r a i n i n g class rooms, a combination gymnasium—swimming pool, an admission unit for f i f t e e n g i r l s , a s i c k bay f o r ten g i r l s , and security quarters for ten g i r l s . The remainder of the i n s t i t u t i o n i s composed of three cottages containing twenty single rooms 1 B r i t i s h Columbia, "Report of the Boy's I n d u s t r i a l School,'!-. Annual Report, 1958, p. 86. 2 Vancouver Sun, March 3, 1960, p. 2. 3 Urquhart, Miss W. Iff. , Interview with the w r i t e r , 4 A p r i l 1960. -73-each. These cottages have independent eating and l i v i n g room f a c i l i t i e s hut meals are prepared i n a central kitchen. The school offers regular school i n s t r u c t i o n to those under school leaving age and to any others who wish to p a r t i c i p a t e . Instruction i n sewing i s offered which would ready a g i r l f o r some commercial work a f t e r release. A beauty parlor offers a complete vocational school course, and those over eighteen years of age can write the government examination for t h e i r l i c e n s e . Some inmates do not pa r t i c i p a t e i n a f u l l t r a i n i n g course how-ever, but do housework and take p a r t i a l courses. In the area of recreation, the school has modelling classes, self-improvement classes, f i l m s , sports, and swimming i n s t r u c t i o n . Since i t s opening the school has been f i l l e d at least to i t s capacity of seventy-five g i r l s ( s i x t y i n cottages and f i f t e e n i n the admission u n i t ) . In more recent months the population ?~':.,FS has generally been i n the eighties, and on the date of the i n t e r -view with the -superintendent, ninety g i r l s were i n the i n s t i t u -t i o n . Despite t h i s s i t u a t i o n however, the superintendent states that g i r l s have not been discharged prematurely as they appar-ently have from the Brannan Lake School for Boys. Juvenile Court Committees The l e g i s l a t i o n upon which the court i s based c a l l s for a Juvenile Court Committee to be formed from the Board of the Child-ren's Aid Society i f one e x i s t s . Evidently such a committee did exist many years ago and functioned as a form of case committee, advising the judge on how to deal with i n d i v i d u a l cases. With the coming of the probation o f f i c e r , t h i s function became outmo--74-ded and the committee went out of existence. The Chief Probation Officer of the Vancouver court f e e l s that i t i s an outdated idea i f organized on the basis of a C h i l d -ren's Aid Society Committee. He i s of the opinion that i t could only be a useful device i f i t was a committee appointed by the ' judge and consisting of representative c i t i z e n s who could offer useful advice to him. 1 There are a t o t a l of eight other Juvenile Court Committees i n existence i n the province. These are located at T r a i l , Nel-son, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Prince George, Vernon, Chilliwack, and Langley. From what can be learned of t h e i r operations, i t would seem that these committees i n the main are functioning as some form of case committee, attempting to coordinate the service available i n the community to a s s i s t with p a r t i c u l a r cases.2 1 G. Stevens, op. c i t . 2 Davidson, op_. c i t . CHAPTER IV POLICY AND STANDARDS The L e g i s l a t i v e Intent An attempt was made i n Ohapter I I to establish some concept of the intent of the juvenile court l e g i s l a t i o n , both federal and p r o v i n c i a l , as i t presently e x i s t s . Drawing upon speeches made by members of the Senate of Canada, and the House of Commons, i t was noted that the Juvenile court idea meant diffe r e n t things to various i n d i v i d u a l s . To some i t meant simply the removal of juv-eniles from contact with adult offenders, and to others i t meant a panacea for the problem of juvenile crime. One Senator, the Hon. Mr. Coffey, had some very discerning remarks to make how-ever. 1 He v i s u a l i z e d a completely separate court with separate judges c a r e f u l l y selected f o r t h e i r a b i l i t y to deal i n a kindly manner with children, and he advised against using magistrates from the adult court for t h i s . p o s i t i o n . He foresaw, too the pos-s i b i l i t y of creating d i s t r i c t courts so that provision of these services would be economically f e a s i b l e . The description i n Chapter I I I of juvenile court services i n B r i t i s h Columbia c l a a r l y indicates that more than f i f t y years l a t e r t h i s province has made very l i t t l e progress toward the attainment of such standards. Although the juvenile court may • be established as a l e g a l e n t i t y throughout the province i n ac-cordance with the provisions of the Juvenile Courts Act of B r i t -i s h Columbia, i t remains a pr i m i t i v e device i n most areas, un-1 Chapter I I , p. -76-d i s c i p l i n e d by any regulations which might e s t a b l i s h standards of any sort. An evaluation of the present system of juvenile courts on the basis of the apparent hopes of those who spoke out f o r i t s establishment i n the beginning brings the inescapable conclusion that those hopes have not yet been r e a l i z e d . An ev-aluation on the basis of the vague and unqualified terms of the enacted l e g i s l a t i o n upon which the court i s based however, i n d i -cates that the minimum l e g a l requirements have been f u l f i l l e d , with some possible exceptions which w i l l be dealt with i n d i s -cussing various aspects of the court i n d e t a i l . The Judges No s p e c i f i c information was obtained on the q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of juvenile court judges i n B r i t i s h Columbia except for those holding positions i n Vancouver and Surrey. However, the inform-ation c i t e d on the proportion of i n d u s t r i a l school committals that are made by t h i s group, and the comments of responsible gov-ernment ministers on the s i t u a t i o n would seem to indicate that at best many of these judges are not f a m i l i a r with the philoso-phies of the juvenile court as these were outlined i n Chapter I I . Looking at the problem i n terms of the c r i t e r i a established i n Chapter I I , i t would seem that the basic f a u l t l i e s i n the method of selection of these judges. No s p e c i f i c standards are l a i d down for judges, either i n the l e g i s l a t i o n or through regu-l a t i o n s . While the Deputy Attorney-General suggests that s u i t -a b i l i t y f o r the job i s the main c r i t e r i o n , there i s no formal machinery f o r determining t h i s s u i t a b i l i t y , whatever i t may be conceived to be. Neither does there appear to be any informal means of s e l e c t i o n which i s u n i v e r s a l l y applied. Even assuming -77-that a conscientious attempt i s made to apply the c r i t e r i o n of s u i t a b i l i t y , i t can r e a d i l y be seen that t h i s i s a purely sub-je c t i v e standard, open to dif f e r e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n by every i n -d i v i d u a l who attempts to apply i t . In discussing the juvenile court i n B r i t a i n i n Chapter I I , mention was made of the need f o r new judges to learn something of t h e i r r o l e before assuming the bench themselves. This was described as learning to "act j u d i c i a l l y . " I t seems l i k e l y that many judges i n B r i t i s h Columbia do not have the opportunity to learn t h i s lesson, even through experience i n t h e i r own court, if they a c t u a l l y only hear a case or two a year asvthe Deputy Attorney-General has said. I t seems reasonable to assume that lack of ex-perience, plus l i t t l e or no understanding of the basic philosoph-ies and methods of the juvenile court could r e s u l t i n a very low l e v e l of functioning i n many r u r a l courts. Evidence such as the high rate of committals to Brannan Lake School indicates that t h i s quite possibly i s the r e s u l t . While the Vancouver court does not send a p a r t i c u l a r l y large percentage of i t s cases to the i n d u s t r i a l schools compared to the other courts i n the province, the presiding judge seems to be steeped i n l e g a l thinking, and to have l i t t l e a b i l i t y t o look c r i t -i c a l l y at the court i n other than l e g a l terms. He seems to see the court within i t s l e g a l context and to be concerned with this alone, rather than the broader issue of whether i t i s ac t u a l l y achieving anything worthwhile i n terms of helping young offenders. The interview which was held with the judge seemed to indicate -78-that t h i s l e g a l i s t i c trend has i t s root i n the i n c l u s i o n of various family matters w i t h i n the j u r i s d i c t i o n of a juvenile and family court. Obviously such cases lead to l e g a l contests which are f a r removed from the o r i g i n a l s p i r i t of i n d i v i d u a l i z e d treatment found i n the juvenile court. This tone seems to carry over into the other duties of the judge, although he seems to f e e l that t h i s i s not a matter f o r concern since the probation o f f i c e r w i l l be a mitigating influence upon the court.1 Probation Services Juvenile probation services, i n so f a r as they exist i n B r i t i s h Columbia, seem to be an attempt to achieve the standards suggested as desirable i n Chapter I I . Looking at the t o t a l pi07-ince however, i t i s obvious that gaps e x i s t . In some areas there are no services, and i n other areas the probation o f f i c e r s appear to be carrying excessive caseloads. In two of the larger urban centres, New Westminster and v i c t o r i a , no provision has been made fo r probation service except through an o f f i c e r of the police de-partment. In t h i s evaluation, consideration w i l l not be given to these l a t t e r provisions since they cannot be considered as leg-itimate probation services. Considering more s p e c i f i c a l l y the evaluative c r i t e r i a estab-1 W. E. Cavenagh, The Child and the Court, London, Vi c t o r Gollancz, 1959; and John Watson, The Child and the Magistrate, London, Jonathan Cape, 1950, are both books wr i t t e n by B r i t i s h juvenile court judges who have a clear perception of the desira-ble philosophy of the juvenile court judge. -79-c r i t e r i a established i n Chapter I I , i t appears that both the Vancouver Juvenile Court and the P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch have attempted to estab l i s h quite high minimum educational qual-i f i c a t i o n s f o r s t a f f . Since each of these organizations claims to have no one i n t h e i r lowest, or Grade I category, i t would appear that they have been reasonably successful i n maintaining these standards, although not a l l the present o f f i c e r s have soc-i a l work t r a i n i n g . This i s an area which could bear more inten-sive study, however, considering the importance of adequate pro-bation s t a f f to the court's operation. The use of u n i v e r s i t y graduates with only a major i n psy-chology or sociology, as i s done by the Vancouver Juvenile Court, would seem to be a questionable p r a c t i c e . The description of the probation o f f i c e r ' s functions c l e a r l y indicates that his most important tasks involve the formation of a re l a t i o n s h i p with the i n d i v i d u a l on the basis of which diagnosis and treatment can be offered. Psychology and sociology, p a r t i c u l a r l y at the under-graduate l e v e l , are generally academic course„s, and do not offer t h i s t r a i n i n g and experience i n using a relationship to help the i n d i v i d u a l . At the present time only graduate t r a i n i n g i n s o c i a l work or some other t r a i n i n g which focuses on the use of a thera-peutic relationship can meet t h i s requirement. In terms of personnel practices the P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch reasonably s a t i s f i e s the evaluative c r i t e r i a , f a l l i n g within the p r o v i n c i a l c i v i l service, and enjoying such benefits as may result therefrom. The Vancouver Juvenile Court probation s t a f f are not i n as happy a p o s i t i o n however. While they f a l l w ithin -80-tlie Personnel Department of the. c i t y i n some respects, t h i s i s at best only a s e m i - o f f i c i a l provision which enables them to en-joy the regular c i t y employee benefits. They are appointed by the court however, and no provision i s made to give them any security of tenure such as actual c i v i c employees would have. In theory, the judge of the court could dismiss his entire s t a f f and create a patronage system out of his new appointments. This i s the only l o g i c a l conclusion which can be arrived at when, i n a public organization such as t h i s , no formal provision i s made for c o n t r o l l i n g the system of s t a f f selection or for providing tenure following selection. This has not proved to be a problem i n the Vancouver Court, but the Chief Probation Officer cited ex-amples of other courts i n which i t had been a problem. In terms of work loads, neither of these probation depart-ments seems adequately staffed, while s t a t i s t i c s available are very meagre and f a i l to give an adequate picture of i n d i v i d u a l work loads, the sheer numbers of cases, plus other tasks i n d i -cated i n o v e r - a l l tabulations of each year's services give a crude i n d i c a t i o n that adequate performance cannot be possil|be under such conditions. Some in d i c a t i o n of how f a r the Vancouver Juvenile Court i s below the standards suggested f o r probation by the National Pro-bation and Parole Association can be gained by considering the 2155 court and out of court casesl (excluding t r a f f i c offenses) 1 Table 2, p. 61 -81-which were investigated by the probation o f f i c e r s . The National Probation and Parole Association suggests a maximum probation caseload of f i f t y , and recommends that investigations be counted as equivalent to three to five.cases. Using the mlihiBEcm figure of three, each o f f i c e r would be carrying i n investigations the equiv-alent monthly average of 53.9 cases. Using the maximum figure of f i v e , each would have the equivalent of 89.8 cases per month. These work load figures include none of the other duties of the probation o f f i c e r s , excluding even the major function of super-v i s i n g those individuals a c t u a l l y placed on probation. While i t would be desirable to evaluate work loads i n terms of the quality of work being done, no objective means of achiev-ing t h i s was av a i l a b l e . Since no s t a t i s t i c a l material i s kept which would indicate the equality of work even i n such crude tarns as how frequently individuals are seen, i t would be necessary to conduct a case survey to obtain the data for any sort of q u a l i t a -t i v e evaluation. This would be a large study i n i t s e l f and i s not considered to be within the scope of the present undertaking. Suffice i t to say that the Probation Department of the Vancouver Juvenile Court seems, on the basis of the crude indices a v a i l a b l e , to be seriously understaffed. An a d d i t i o n a l factor of geography enters into any assessment of caseloads carried by members of the P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch. Obviously the t r a v e l l i n g involved i n covering some of the areas described i n Chapter I I I w i l l very seriously a f f e c t ^ the working time available for direct service to i n d i v i d u a l s . Where the pro-bation o f f i c e r i s located some distance from the individua1 pro--82-bationer, i t w i l l also l i m i t h i s a b i l i t y adequately to meet problem situations as they a r i s e . S u f f i c i e n t s t a t i s t i c s are not available to indicate ac-curately the caseloads carried. However, a rough idea of these loads can be gained by considering the sample month high and low caseloads which were given i n Chapter I I I , 1 and adding to t h i s the average number of pre-sentence reports which each o f f i c e r would complete monthly (using the 1958 t o t a l of 16G2 pre-sentence reports). This would mean that each o f f i c e r would complete an average of '4£> pre-sentence reports per month. Using the National Probation and Parole Association equivalent figures of three and f i v e again, each o f f i c e r would carry the equivalent of 12 or 20 cases respectively, depending on whether the minimum or maximum equivalent figure i s used, i n addition to his supervision case-load. For the Vernon o f f i c e r , who carried 110 cases i n December, 1959, t h i s would mean a t o t a l caseload of 122, or 130, scattered 1 over an area roughly one hundred miles i n length. Even the of-f i c e r with the smallest caseload would then have an equivalent of 47, or 55 cases, again a number close to or s l i g h t l y i n excess of. suggested National Probation and Parole Association standards. I t can be expected too that the o f f i c e r with the heaviest case-load would also have more than the average number of pre-sentence reports to complete, thus increasing h i s equivalent caseload even more. Detention F a c i l i t i e s One of the basic p r i n c i p l e s underlying the founding of the 1 Chapter I I I , p. 65. -83-juvenile court was the recognition of the need to separate juv-enile and adult offenders. This was associated p a r t i c u l a r l y with the holding of children i n adult j a i l s , a practice which had long existed. This p r i n c i p l e was paramount i n the thinking of many who were involved i n the passing of the o r i g i n a l Juven-i l e Delinquents Act i n 1908, as w e l l documented i n Chapter I I . I t has also been embodied i n the present Juvenile Delinquents Act 1929, and the Juvenile Courts Act upon which the juvenile court i n B r i t i s h Columbia i s based. The Deputy Attorney-General further v e r i f i e d that the intention dn B r i t i s h Columbia i s to detain juveniles only i n proper detention f a c i l i t i e s , which by law are required to exist i n every community having a juvenile court. He ca t e g o r i c a l l y stated that juveniles are always de-tained separately from a d u l t s . 1 Both the federal and p r o v i n c i a l statutes appear t o contain c e r t a i n weaknesses however, which make possible the fl a u n t i n g of the apparent intention of the l e g i s l a t i o n . Section 13 (1) of the Juvenile Delinquents Act forbids the holding of any c h i l d i n an adult j a i l , but section 13 (4) makes i t possible to hold i n an adult j a i l any c h i l d apparently over the age of fourteen years i f the authorities f e e l i t i s necessary. Section 11 (4) of the Juvenile Courts Act makes i t obliga-tory f o r every community having a juvenile court to have deten-t i o n f a c i l i t i e s . However, section 11 (1, and 4) defines every 1 Kennedy, op_. c i t . -84-temporary home or shelter operating under the Protection of Children Act, or any other place designated by the Attorney-General as a detention home Within the meaning of the Juvenile Courts Act. The evidence offered i n Chapter I I I indicates that there are no proper detention f a c i l i t i e s outside Vancouver and V i c -t o r i a , and that no foster homes are available which might be substituted. I t indicates too that i n some eases at l e a s t , j u v -eniles are being held i n adult j a i l f a c i l i t i e s , not because the individuals necessarily are dangerous enough to require t h i s type of security, but simply because no other f a c i l i t i e s e x i s t . B r i t i s h Columbia has not yet managed t o f u l f i l l the intent of the l e g i s l a t o r s of f i f t y years ago i n respect to detention of children. Nor i s i t achieving what appears to be the intent of the present l e g i s l a t i o n . Most important, i t i s not f u l f i l l i n g the government's p o l i c i e s on detention as these are described by the Deputy Attorney-General. The "other areas of the Prov-ince" which he describes as lacking detention f a c i l i t i e s are apparently not simply remote and unpopulated regions, but include a l l of those areas not served by the Vancouver or V i c t o r i a de-tention homes. Diagnostic F a c i l i t i e s The description of diagnostic c l i n i c s i n Chapter I I I would seem t o indicate that these f a c i l i t i e s are reasonably accessible to the juvenile courts of the province. Since these services are not a part of any court but are only available through other community agencies, t h e i r a c c e s s i b i l i t y i s obviously quite -85-s t r i c t l y l i m i t e d however. From the l i m i t e d evidence a v a i l a b l e , the estimate of "reasonable a c c e s s i b i l i t y " given above must be based on the fact that the probation s t a f f are not at present using a l l of the appointments available to them at the Child-r e n ^ C l i n i c . Since the decision to have a diagnostic assessment made l i e s with the probation o f f i c e r or judge, t h i s obviously might r e f l e c t nothing more than t h e i r i n a b i l i t y to determine which children need a complete psychiatric diagnosis and which do not. I t might r e f l e c t too, the heavy caseloads and li m i t e d time a v a i l -able to the probation o f f i c e r to attend diagnostic conferences. Referrals to the Diagnostic C l i n i c of the Mew York Juvenile Court are made i n much the same way as i n B r i t i s h Columbia, the c h i l d being referred by the judge on the basis of his own assessment, the recommendation of the probation o f f i c e r or both. In describ-ing the r e s u l t s , Kahn says: The C l i n i c ' s own studies have revealed that, over the years, a sizable group of c r i t i c a l l y disturbed individuals appear i n court without r e f e r r a l f o r psychiatric evaluation, whereas a sizable proportion of the judges 1 r e f e r r a l s of diagnostic study are questionable.! The implications of the decision to request or not request a p s y c h i a t r i c evaluation are f a r reaching, upon t h i s decision may rest the f i n a l d i s p o s i t i o n of the ease and ultimately the success or f a i l u r e of the c h i l d , very obviously the i n i t i a l d i -agnosis of the probation o f f i c e r weighs heavily i n the making of t h i s decision, at least i n the Vancouver juvenile Court, and the 1 A l f r e d j . Kahn, A Court f o r Children. New York, Columbia University Press, 1953, p. 231. ^ -86-comments which have already been made regarding adequate proba-t i o n s t a f f again become applicable. Treatment F a c i l i t i e s The description i n Chapter I I I of formally organized f a c i l -i t i e s f o r the treatment of juvenile offenders i n B r i t i s h Colum-bia presents a rather gloomy pic t u r e . The discussion of pro-bation services, which should be the backbone of juvenile t r e a t -ment services, indicates that the present probation services are too understaffed to be doing the treatment job which i s re-quired of them. Apparently no psyc h i a t r i c treatment i s a v a i l -able except as provided by parents through private p s y c h i a t r i s t s . Only the i n s t i t u t i o n s remain as p o s s i b i l i t i e s f or treatment, and i t appears that each of these, although r e l a t i v e l y new fac-i l i t i e s , are already crowded beyond the l i m i t s under which a favorable treatment program could be expected to operate. The boy's school i s admittedly releasing boys simply because they do not have the room to keep them. The g i r l ' s school, while appar-ently not yet reduced to t h i s , i s ce r t a i n l y handicapped i n that i t must use both i t s admission unit and i t s security quarters as regular accommodation, thus greatly reducing the effectiveness of i t s operation. In the description of the program of each of these i n s t i t -utions no mention was made of any attempt at therapy except as t h i s might be a side effect of vocational or other t r a i n i n g . The major goal seems to be to i n s t i l l s e l f - d i s c i p l i n e i n the boy or g i r l . This might i n fact be a v a l i d treatment technique for certain i n d i v i d u a l s who enter these i n s t i t u t i o n s , but I t i s ques--87-tionable whether i s i s the answer i n every case. Judge W. H. S. Dixon of the Vancouver Juvenile Court i n an interview cited the case of an eleven year old boy whom he sent to Brannan Lake. This boy was apparently examined by the Children's C l i n i c and was f e l t by the p s y c h i a t r i s t and his s t a f f to be an extremely disturbed i n d i v i d u a l . The probation o f f i c e r recommended another treatment plan, but the Judge f e l t that because of the gravity of the boy's offenses, he must be committed to the boy's school i n order to protect the community. The f a l l a c y of such a plan l i e s of course i n the fact that the school i s not equipped or able to give such a boy the treatment he evidently needs, and he w i l l ev-entually return to the community, probably no better, and possibly a worse menace than when committed. Juvenile Court Committees The need f o r a juvenile court committee seems to be open to question, judging from the opinions presented i n Chapter I I . Even the drafters of the Juvenile Delinquents Act must c e r t a i n l y have been confused about i t s use, since they make i t s provision o b l i g -atory for some areas and discretionary for others. Under the terms of the Act, Vancouver and V i c t o r i a should be obliged to have such a committee drawn from t h e i r Children's Aid Societies. The Vancouver court has functioned without such a committee f o r many years however, apparently b e l i e v i n g that the role of the committee has been taken over by the probation s t a f f , and that a case committee such as the l e g i s l a t i o n envisages i s an anach-ronism. This point of view may i n fact have some v a l i d i t y , yet f o r a court of law simply to ignore those l e g i s l a t i v e provisions with -88-which i t does not agree seems to border on the r i d i c u l o u s . I t seems u n l i k e l y that the judge would treat t h i s device sympath-e t i c a l l y i f i t were to be raised as a defense by those law break-ers who appear i n h i s court. In any case, i t appears l i k e l y that the l e g i s l a t o r s did not see the court committee as being a substitute f or the. pro-bation o f f i c e r . In the duties of the committee which are out-l i n e d i n the l e g i s l a t i o n , consultation with probation o f f i c e r s regarding cases i s s p e c i f i c a l l y mentioned.1 In a number of the courts cited i n Chapter I I I as having a court committee, t h i s advisory ro l e seems to be the dominant one and i s perhaps more v a l i d i n the'small community not served by a f u l l time probation o f f i c e r . In a smaller community certain of the populace, such as the doctor, could very e a s i l y have a great contribution to make i n advising on appropriate treatment f or the i n d i v i d u a l de-linquent, often having known the i n d i v i d u a l and h i s family intim-ately f o r many years. On the other hand, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to see how the court com-mittee, formed from the directors of the Children's Aid Society i n an urban area l i k e Vancouver, could make a contribution of any significance i f they functioned as a case committee. More l o g i c a l , and more v a l i d i n terms of the standards established i n Chapter I I , would.be a committee named by the judge to advise him on broad general p r i n c i p l e s of treatment of the delinquent and the attitude of the community i n t h i s respect. This i s the 1 Juvenile Delinquents Act, s. 28. -89-sort of committee which the Chief Probation Officer of the Van-couver Juvenile Court saw as being useful. From t h i s point of view of present l e g i s l a t i v e requirements however, i t would seem that t h i s i s one area i n which the Van-couver Juvenile Court has f a i l e d . A small minority of i n t e r i o r communities have demonstrated however, that the court committee might serve some useful purpose, depending upon i t s focus and organization. CHAPTER V "JUDGEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Strategic Role of the Juvenile Court The juvenile court i s a court of law. Yet because of i t s focus on treatment of the juvenile who has broken the law, i t has come to occupy a strategic place i n our armament of s o c i a l services. Kahn has eloquently described t h i s intended double function of the court. He says: The juvenile court movement provided society with a dream and a challenge; a s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n was to be created whieh would protect and help, rather than punish and embitter, children i n trouble. A court was to be developed which would guard l e g a l r i g h t s and represent the community's i n t e r e s t s , but at the same time y i e l d the idea of a f i x e d penalty for each offense and avoid losi n g the i n d i v i d u a l i n a maze of t e c h n i c a l i t i e s . ! Delinquent behaviour may be the f i r s t overt symptom, or at least the f i r s t recognized symptom, of otherwise undetected fam-i l y stresses or i n d i v i d u a l personality problems i n the d e l i n -quent or other family members. The probation o f f i c e r i n v e s t i g -ating the child's s o c i a l history p r i o r to making hi s report to the court may be the only person i n a p o s i t i o n to discover, and help the family understand the underlying problems. Treatment may r e s u l t , not only f o r the c h i l d whose behaviour has brought the attention of the court to bear, but f o r other members of the family who may be helped by r e f e r r a l to one or another of the s o c i a l services a v a i l a b l e . 1 A. J . Kahn, A Court f o r Children, New York, Columbia Un-i v e r s i t y Press, 1953, p. 264. -91-The quotation from Kahn leaves the impression,that he does not f e e l that t h i s i d e a l has been achieved. In discus-sing the f a i l u r e of the juvenile court, Fort raises some very-basic questions. He says: Is i t because the basic premises upon which the juv-enile court i s based are, i n f a c t , unsound? Should law and sociology be divorced? Should the concept of in d i v i d u a l i z e d j u s t i c e be abandoned? Should we, then, return to the ancient r u l e , "Let the punish-ment f i t the crime"? S h a l l our l e g i s l a t u r e s set aside the doctrine of parens patriae? As soon as we phrase such questions, t h e i r answer i s obvious. What then i s to be done? There i s only one answer: the behavioral treatment machine must be equipped with the parts i t needs to move forward i n an orderly manner.! The evaluation which has been made has shown that the juv-enile court system i n B r i t i s h Columbia f a l l s f a r short of hav-ing the parts i t needs to achieve even the most rudimentary goals stated by the founders of the court i n Chicago i n 1899. I t does not even have detention f a c i l i t i e s f o r the greater part of the province and children are s t i l l being held i n j a i l s along with adults. This i s i n part at least a problem created by the vast r u r a l or semi-rural areas which make up B r i t i s h Columbia. Soc-i a l services are i n the main an urban phenomenon which must be translated to the peculiar needs of small communities and sparce-l y populated areas i f they are to be successful. In past years, B r i t i s h Columbia showed imagination i n t r a n s l a t i n g other wel-fare services into a workable p r o v i n c i a l organization, but did 1 W. S. Fort, "The Juvenile Court Examines I t s e l f , " NPPA Journal, v o l . 5, (October 1959), p. 410. -92-nothing f o r the juvenile court. In discussing the substand-ard nature of many juvenile courts i n the United States, Carr makes t h i s same point, describing the predominantly urban nat-ure of welfare services. Speaking more s p e c i f i c a l l y , he says: Even the juvenile courts whose j u r i s d i c t i o n s i n -cluded r u r a l areas amounted to l i t t l e , as we have seen, unless they were located i n sizeable c i t i e s . Throughout the nineteenth and the f i r s t h a l f of the twentieth century r u r a l America lay outside the s o c i a l work f r o n t i e r . I t s t i l l does.l Not only welfare measures have suffered i n most r u r a l areas however. Poor housing conditions are widely looked upon as a feature of urban slum areas. A survey carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture i n 1945 showed however, that about one h a l f of the nearly three m i l l i o n farm homes did not meet a standard of decent, safe, and sanitary housing. 2 Educationally too, the r u r a l area has suffered. Generally the per p u p i l expenditures have been-.lower, and one of the main r e s u l t s has been that the r u r a l school has long been the proving ground f o r the inexperienced teacher. B r i t i s h Columbia has attempted to solve the shortage of r u r a l teachers by providing t r a i n i n g grants which carry a period of r u r a l teaching as one obligation, thus furthering the trend to have inexperienced teachers i n r u r a l schools. Another feature of r u r a l education has been the economic i m p o s s i b i l i t y of providing the same assortment and quality of 1 L. J . Carr, "Most Courts Have To Be Substandard," Federal Probation, v o l . 13 (September 1949), p. 32. 2 J . H. Kolb, and E. deS. Brunner, A Study of Rural Soc-i£iy_, Boston, Houghton M i f f l i n Company, 1952 (copyright 1946), U. 302. -93-courses to a very small group which the urban school can o f f e r . One attempt to solve t h i s was the school consolidation idea adopted extensively throughout B r i t i s h Columbia a few years ago. After considering similar, programs i n the United States, Kolb and Brunner comment that: Despite the progress made i n r u r a l education i n the l a s t decades, however, there i s every i n d i c a t i o n that there i s now more inequality i n education opportunity between r u r a l and urban America than there was at the close of the C i v i l War....1 Rural medical care has lagged f a r behind the urban centres too. At one time, r u r a l l i f e was considered to be the most healthy, and mortality rates indicated t h i s to be true. As better medical care and preventive programs were introduced i n urban areas, the r u r a l areas l o s t t h i s advantage and have never recovered i t . Rejections of m i l i t a r y applicants during world war I I consistently showed the farmec to be the least p h y s i c a l l y f i t . 2 Doctors are badly needed i n the r u r a l areas and the small towns of America, yet the r a t i o of doctors to population i n these areas continues to drop.3/ While i t may be argued that B r i t i s h Columbia i s not predominantly r u r a l , i t i s a fact that there are only a very l i m i t e d number of urban areas able to support the services available i n the large c i t y . Small town areas have i n the mainllagged behind urban areas i n the provis-ion of some of the most basic s o c i a l requirements. The evalua-t i o n of the juvenile court i n B r i t i s h Columbia indicates that 1 Kolb, and Brunner, A Study of Rural Society, p. 318. 2 Ibid., p. 407. 3 Ibid., p. 420 -94-the pattern also holds true,for t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n . While the Vancouver Juvenile Court i s f a r from i d e a l , as w i l l he pointed out l a t e r , i n comparison to other juvenile courts i n the prov-ince i t has made considerable progress. The Court and I t s Judges I t was stated i n Chapter I I that one of the most impor-tant features of a juvenile court i s i t s philosophy. I t was also suggested that t h i s involved, among other things, the court attempting to act l i k e a good parent to the c h i l d i n trouble. The judge, as presiding o f f i c e r and p o l i c y maker of the court, i s obviously the person who must influence the court i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n i f the notion i s to become the guiding force behind the court's operation. The judge i s unquestionably the central figure around which revolves the destiny of any court. I f he i s not imbued with t h i s r e a l interest i n young people as suggested above, he can-not pass on to h i s court t h i s same i n t e r e s t . He should not be content simply to be the a r b i t e r of l e g a l questions, leaving to the probation s t a f f t h i s v i t a l r o l e either. The court i n B r i t -i s h Columbia seems to suffer from exactly t h i s problem however, with better than 180 judges,! many of whom are also magistrates, and few i f any, having any r e a l experience or t r a i n i n g which q u a l i f i e s them f o r the p o s i t i o n . Even the judge of the Vancouv-er court exhibits a very l e g a l i s t i c interest i n h i s ro l e as was noted i n the previous chapter. 1 W. H. S. Dixon, Interview with the w r i t e r , 26 March 1960. -95-The C i r c u i t Court Idea These are very sweeping statements to make. Yet the cur-rent organization of the court appears to warrant them. No provision i s made fo r objective means of selecting judges ac-cording to pre-determined c r i t e r i a . The statements by ministers of the government cit e d i n Chapter I I I make i t clear that even the responsible o f f i c i a l s are concerned with the actions of some of those who have been appointed. In short, the organiza-t i o n of the court on a l o c a l basis such as currently e x i s t s f a l l s squarely into the traps suggested i n Chapter I I as being endemic to the r u r a l court. B r i t i s h Columbia needs to look to a r e v i s i o n of the l e g i s l a t i o n which would make possible the appointment of f u l l time judges who could operate on a c i r c u i t court basis throughout the province. Only i n t h i s way can urban standards of operation be made available to the r u r a l areas. Only i n t h i s way can the children of r u r a l British'Columbia be protected from the vagaries of inexperienced and incompetent courts which are not f a m i l i a r with the philosophies of the juv-eni l e court Idea and continue to place t h e i r f a i t h i n harsher methods. A Method of Selecting Judges The administrative reorganization of the court i s not enough however, f o r i t would s t i l l leave the way open to appoint-ment of incompetent judges. This would indeed become a greater problem perhaps, i f the juvenile bench were to become a worth-while paid p o s i t i o n . C r i t e r i a f o r the q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of the judge must be c l e a r l y defined, and a means formulated to object-i v e l y evaluate p o t e n t i a l appointees. Some q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r the judge have been suggested i n Chapter I I , and a means of selecting through use of a representative committee which would make recommendations to the Lieutenant-Governor i n Council might he a fe a s i b l e plan. While many of the au t h o r i t i e s con-tinue to i n s i s t upon l e g a l l y trained people f o r judges, the description i n Chapter I I of the B r i t i s h system indicates that there are other a l t e r n a t i v e s . The use of such an a l t e r n a t i v e person, w e l l equipped with the personal a t t r i b u t e s and experi-ence desired, but lacking l e g a l t r a i n i n g , might be more fe a s i b l e with a d i s t r i c t court large enough to have a l e g a l person as a cle r k . Probation S t a f f No juvenile court i n B r i t i s h Columbia appears to have an adequate probation s t a f f . The Vancouver court seems to have a philosophy which i s consistent with that suggested i n Chapter I I but the evidence which has been presented suggests that work loads are excessive. While the o f f i c i a l s of the court continue to pay l i p service to these high i d e a l s , i t i s questionable to what extent they can be r e a l i z e d with a probation s t a f f d e f i c -ient i n numbers and i n t r a i n i n g . Both of these factors must be remedied, and some s t a t i s t i -c a l means i n s t i t u t e d to determine objectively the nature of the work being done. The argument that tabulation of interviews would be an Infringement of professional r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s un-sound. I t i s questionable i n the f i r s t place whether i n d i v i d u -a l s who have only university graduation i n psychology or crim--97-inology can r i g h t l y he defined as professional. Even i f they can, such a system should not bother them, since i t i s used by almost every other s o c i a l agency i n the community. The value of t h i s device i s not li m i t e d to acting as a control on the quality of work being done eit h e r , but can also be an ex-cellent means of demonstrating the need f o r ad d i t i o n a l s t a f f . I In terms of personnel practices, the Vancouver Juvenile Court needs modification, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r i t s probation s t a f f . While s a l a r i e s are adequate, i n f a c t , above the average f o r other community s o c i a l agencies, the c i v i l service commission type of organization outlined i n Chapter I I i s absent. This, however, i s a direct f a u l t of the l e g i s l a t i o n which should be revised to make provision f o r a court s t a f f which would be appointed on a competition basis and enjoy the advantages of c i v i l service status. The P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch more closely adheres to some of the standards outlined i n Chapter I I f o r a probation s t a f f . In terms of structure they f a l l w ithin the Province's c i v i l service organization, and they have attempted to estab-l i s h two years of s o c i a l work t r a i n i n g as t h e i r minimum educa-t i o n a l requirement. As noted i n Chapter I I I however, the re-la t i o n s h i p of the probation o f f i c e r s with the various courts served seems to be a very vague and informal one which needs c l a r i f i c a t i o n through l e g i s l a t i v e r e v i s i o n . In t h i s way, the Probation Branch would assume some o f f i c i a l r o l e , rather than simply being used by the juvenile courts to f i l l a gap. The major c r i t i c i s m of the P r o v i n c i a l Probation Branch -98-ean be made i s i t s i n a b i l i t y to serve e f f e c t i v e l y the various juvenile courts of the province. As was shown i n Chapters I I I and IV, some parts of the province are not served at a l l . The probation o f f i c e r s serving most other areas have excessive case-loads plus long distances to t r a v e l . Looked at i n terms of the standards established i n Chapter I I , the service as i t currently exists i s t e r r i b l y inadequate, and badly needs s t a f f increases as w e l l as the l e g i s l a t i v e c l a r i f i c a t i o n already noted i n order to improve i t . I t i s r i d i c u l o u s to argue that the juvenile court has proved to be either a success or a f a i l u r e i n B r i t i s h Columbia. I t would be more proper to argue that the juvenile court as a s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n dedicated to the treatment of young offenders has never come into being i n the province. An adequate proba-t i o n service, able to carry out the diagnostic, advisory, and treatment roles which belong to i t , i s an i n t e g r a l part of the juvenile court, and i s just as necessary as a good judge i f the court i s to exist as more than a l e g a l e n t i t y . The evidence i n -dicates that B r i t i s h Columbia has f a i l e d to provide t h i s necessary probation s t a f f and has thus made a mockery of the concept of the juvenile court. This i s g l a r i n g l y obvious i n those courts which simply make use of a po l i c e o f f i c e r to f u l f i l l the nec-essary l i p service to the idea of probation, but i t i s also true of any court whose probation department i s not equal to the task i t i s charged with. The Lack of Detention F a c i l i t i e s Despite the statements of the Deputy Attorney-General on -99-the subject, the evidence indicates that adequate detention f a c i l i t i e s do not exist i n areas outside Vancouver and V i c t o r i a . Children i n B r i t i s h Columbia are s t i l l being locked i n adult j a i l c e l l s . I f the juvenile court i n B r i t i s h Columbia i s to operate with any degree of success, detention f a c i l i t i e s which achieve at least the minimum of standards outlined i n Chapter I I must be provided. This w i l l necessitate basic changes i n the l e g i s -l a t i o n , both federal and p r o v i n c i a l , i n order to remove the weaknesses outlined i n Chapter IV. The presence of a foster home i n the community would presumably meet the requirements of the Juvenile Courts Act. Yet t h i s obviously does not mean that t h i s home i s available or suitable for detention purposes. The Juvenile Delinquents Act makes provision f o r penalties f o r anyone placing a juvenile i n an adult j a i l . In the succeeding sections however, provision i s made to l e g a l l y place a juvenile over fourteen years old i n such j a i l s i f i t i s deemed necessary. Presumably t h i s must be the r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n behind the use of adult j a i l s t o detain juveniles i n B r i t i s h Columbia, and i t i s suggested that t h i s needs r e v i s i o n , either by r a i s i n g the age l e v e l s , or by providing l e g a l guarantees of some sort to prevent abuse. The actual detention f a c i l i t i e s might be provided i n a num-ber of ways. Obviously i t would not be economically f e a s i b l e f o r each community i n the province to operate i t s own e s t a b l i s h -ment. However, several adjacent communities might together op-erate a j o i n t detention home. A second al t e r n a t i v e would be -100-the use of good private homes. Although these could not pro-vide the security which might sometimes he required, they could handle most cases. I f such a plan were to be adopted however, i t would be imperative that the homes be available when needed. The current l e g i s l a t i o n does not establish any standards fo r determining what might constitute adequate detention f a c i l -i t i e s . This i s very obviously needed, and provision should also be made for periodic inspection to ensure that these standards are adhered t o . This could perhaps be handled by r e v i s i n g the l e g i s l a t i o n or by appending.a schedule of regulations governing i t s operation. Diagnostic F a c i l i t i e s Judged on the basis of use of present f a c i l i t i e s , the Van-couver Juvenile Court would appear to have adequate diagnostic f a c i l i t i e s . However, t h i s i s a most inadequate basis f o r making a judgement since the use of these f a c i l i t i e s may a c t u a l l y bear no relationship to the need f o r t h e i r use. Further study on an i n d i v i d u a l case basis i s needed to determine objectively the accuracy of r e f e r r a l s , and also the numbers of cases not re-ferred which should have been referred. Such a study of cases handled by courts outside Vancouver i s also necessary to de-termine accurately the need f o r psychiatric services throughout the province. Should such a study show that severely disturbed in d i v i d u a l s are passing through the juvenile courts without r e -ceiving adequate diagnostic assessment, steps should be taken to make more diagnostic f a c i l i t i e s available to the courts. Provision should be made fo r these f a c i l i t i e s i n the l e g i s l a t i o n -101-and standards of operation and use c l e a r l y defined to avoid the present f o r t u i t o u s manner of r e f e r r a l . Since the use of available f a c i l i t i e s depends almost en-t i r e l y on the p r i o r diagnosis of the probation o f f i c e r hand-l i n g the case, the need for .properly q u a l i f i e d probation s t a f f i s again emphasized. I t i s questionable i f those not s p e c i f i -c a l l y trained i n the task of personality assessment have the a b i l i t y to make the appropriate decisions. Thus, the s t a r t i n g point i n improvement of diagnostic services must be with the probation s t a f f . This can be done by raising personnel stand-ards to include only those with s o c i a l work t r a i n i n g , or some-thing as good, and by decreasing caseloads so that the probation o f f i c e r has adequate time to study and diagnose c a r e f u l l y , and carry out whatever treatment i s appropriate. Treatment F a c i l i t i e s The treatment services available to the juvenile courts of B r i t i s h Columbia are inadequate and lack the d i v e r s i t y and imag-in a t i o n which such countries as B r i t a i n l and Sweden2 have d i s -played i n t h e i r organization. This inadequacy seems to be par-t i c u l a r l y g l a r i n g i n the area of psychiatric treatment which i s apparently lacking unless the family i s able to provide i t them-selves. This must seriously handicap the court i n dealing with any disturbed delinquent since the alternatives available do not appear l i k e l y to meet the need. 1 J". Watson, The Child and the Magistrate, London, Jonathan Cape, 1950. This book describes the diverse treatment f a c i l i t i e s used i n B r i t a i n . 2 Ola Nyquist, "How Sweden Handles i t s Juvenile and Youth Offenders", Federal Probation, v o l . 20, (March 1956), pp. 36-42. -102-I f the courts are to provide adequately f o r treatment of delinquent children as they are supposed toddo, the necessary f a c i l i t i e s must he provided. The need f o r probation staff, i n -creased i n both quantity and qu a l i t y has already been mentioned and cannot be overemphasized. I f adequate probation services were to be provided, i t might be f e a s i b l e to place an increased number on probation and reduce the overcrowding i n the present i n s t i t u t i o n s . Even i f t h i s were to be achieved however, there Is a need f o r provision of ps y c h i a t r i c treatment through the court f o r those who i t i s f e l t by the court can safely remain free, and through small, specialized i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r those, l i k e the boy c i t e d i n Chapter IV, who seemed too dangerous to leave at l i b e r t y . Obviously much more detailed study i s needed to determine the s p e c i f i c treatment f a c i l i t i e s which are needed. However, the recommendation here i s simply that any new f a c i l i t i e s not be a r e p e t i t i o n of those which currently e x i s t , but attempt to show a l i t t l e d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n and imagination i n meeting the needs of children i n trouble. Sweden i s a good example of such a d i v e r s i f i e d system, where 22 correctional t r a i n i n g schools, ranging i n size from 19 to 82 boys, serves a t o t a l population of about seven m i l l i o n people.1 Juvenile Court Committee The problem of the juvenile court committee l i e s i n i t s l e g i s l a t i v e foundation rather than i n the idea i t s e l f . - The sec-1 Nyquist, "How Sweden Handles I t s Juvenile and Youth Offenders," p. 41. -103-tions of the Juvenile Delinquents Act which make provision f o r a juvenile court committee, and specify i t s duties, need a complete review. The juvenile court committee should he retained as an ess e n t i a l part of the court, but i t should be divorced completely from Children's Aid Societies. I t should be appointed by the judge as a representative advisory com-mittee, and i t s duties should be broadened so that i n the larger urban areas i t would i n a sense form an inte r p r e t i v e l i n k between the community and the court. In the smaller com-munities the committee might very w e l l continue to function as a case committee, f u l f i l l i n g a task less o f f i c i a l but very s i m i l a r to that of the Child Welfare Council i n Sweden.1 Another obvious function of the committee, and one which i s implied i n the above recommendation, i s that of educational and public relationslwork. .The present provisions which c a l l f o r appointment of a committee when a p e t i t i o n of f i f t y names has been obtained i s r i d i c u l o u s , and the reasoning behind i t vague. Obviously i t w i l l only be carried out when some i n d i -v i d u a l or group shows enough interest to promote i t . I t i s questionable whether many people understand anything of the juvenile court, and appointment of a committee of c i t i z e n s by the judge would be an obvious way to promote further knowledge. This might be increased too i f provision f o r rot a t i o n of the committee were made. 1 Nyquist, "How Sweden Handles I t s Juvenile and Youth Offenders," p. 37. -104-Some Broader Implications The evaluation of the juvenile court which has been under-taken has, through l i m i t a t i o n s of time and f a c i l i t i e s , only man-aged to cover rather s u p e r f i c i a l l y what are considered to he some of the most important features of the juvenile court. In some ways i t may have served only to ra i s e more questions than I t has answered. Many areas such as the cal i b r e of judges and the implications which t h i s has f o r the operation of the court, and the quality of the pjresent probation supervision need de-t a i l e d study. Because of the lack of s t a t i s t i c a l material av-a i l a b l e , answers to many of the unanswered questions w i l l only be obtained through the conducting of f u l l scale research projects. I t would seem however, that despite these l i m i t a t i o n s , suf-f i c i e n t evidence has been gathered to suggest negative answers to both the questions which were posed i n beginning the study. S p e c i f i c a l l y , i t would seem that B r i t i s h Columbia has not by any means achieved the goals which apparently motivated the founding of the court. Certainly, i t has not achieved anything l i k e the standards of operation suggested as desirable i n Chapter I I , and suggestions have been made i n t h i s l a s t chapter f o r ways to more nearly achieve these standards. Perhaps the major implications which can be drawn from t h i s study i s the need f o r more post enactment evaluations. This i s necessary i n order to determine whether or not the intent of the p a r t i c u l a r l e g i s l a t i o n has been achieved. I t would also help i n determining whether the intent of the l e g i s l a t i o n i s s t i l l timely and applicable. There seems to be a tendency to work -105-toward recognition through l e g i s l a t i v e action of such devices as the juvenile court. Unfortunately t h i s i s often the end of interest and no attempt i s made to determine the effectiveness of the operation of the i n s t i t u t i o n which has been created. While i t i s true that amendments have from time to time been made to the l e g i s l a t i o n i n question, Scott's pamphlet makes i t clear that these have been piecemeal changes aimed at correcting s p e c i f i c l e g a l weaknesses. Even the Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1929 was viewed by the government as nothing more than a con-s o l i d a t i o n of l e g i s l a t i o n already i n force, and i t did not mat-e r i a l l y change anything. In short, i t would appear that no attempt has been made to take an o v e r a l l look at the l e g i s l a t i o n , viewing the juvenile court as a sac i a l i n s t i t u t i o n and seeing whether i t s operation i s adequate and desirable. I t was suggested e a r l i e r that t h i s same concept of s o c i a l accountancy could p r o f i t a b l y be applied to other l e g i s l a t i o n too. Certainly the need appears great i n the f i e l d of s o c i a l l e g i s -l a t i o n i f the provisions made are to keep abreast of the rapid changes taking place i n society. -106-BIBliI OGRAPHY Alexander, P. W. "Of Juvenile Court Justices and Judges." Re-d i r e c t i n g the Delinquent, ed. Marjorie B e l l , New York, National Probation and Parole Association, 1948. 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