Crime Problems and the Church
Keegan, Robert F.
638 T H E C O M M O N W E A L November 4, I9Z5 .i CRIME PROBLEMS AND THE CHURCH By ROBERT F. KEEGAN T HERE is perhaps no single topic today which challenges the attention of...
...acter of youth is then our pressing duty...
...These fig-ures represent a complete demonstration that the foreign-born do not have higher rates in criminal acti- vities than the native-born...
...Then the sinner expresses the sorrow which he feels in his heart and his determination to put aside the things of sin and cling to the things of God...
...Here, He Who came not "to call the just, but sinners" calls upon His faithful to kneel, one by one, before a duly author- ized priest, and there unfold the exact state of his soul...
...For the last twenty-five years, the Church in New York has maintained a probation bureau at the request of the judges of the Court of General Sessions of New York City...
...This view constitutes a via media between the deter- minists and the legalists...
...so that in performing a delinquent act he does so despite the moral considerations of which he is thus made aware...
...Second, special institutions where: the feeble-minded, insane, epileptic and diseased offenders can be sent until they are cured, or if incurable, detained as long as they are a menace to society and to themselves--often for life...
...Both theories, in their many ramifications, have their vogue because of a grain of truth tucked away in each...
...The determinist school, whose chief fetish is science, is ably represented...
...And this contention is made despite the fact that true scientists finally abandoned such belief when com-parisons made by Dr...
...In the placing, she says, of any act characteristically and morally human two spiritual faculties participate...
...A greater development and closer unification of the work of social agencies is imperative for the strength- ening of character...
...Others find the cause of crime in the presence of certain environmental conditions, either social or economic...
...Dr...
...To these institutions will go the recidivists, who will be restrained for life, or until there is a change in their characters...
...Ah, would that I Might clasp your swiftness in a sigh, Might brim your silence in a word-- Might speak what in the dawn is heard...
...Miriam Van Waters, referee in the Juvenile Court at Los Angeles, declares that "it is a gigantic folly, and indeed a travesty of the human spirit, to imagine that merely untoward environmental condi-tions produce delinquency...
...William Healy, noted director of the Judge Baker Foundation of Boston, asserts after years of painstaking study, that "nothing is more striking to the careful student than the fact that reactions between personalities and living conditions are not fixed and are not a priori predict- able...
...Two outstanding conclusions may already be drawn from the work--first, the policy of probation when properly administered is sound and is an indispensable factor in our modern treatment of the criminal...
...With respect to the family, it is agreed that a good home readily and successfully combats either inherent weakness of character, or the effects of bad environ- ment...
...Herman Adler, of Illinois, proved conclusively that the general level of intelli-gence between criminals and men drafted during the war was practically identical...
...Third, reformatory institutions where offenders will be kept until rehabilitated...
...They must aim at that degree of perfection which will uncover incipient character de-terioration in any youth of the community...
...There in the largest and oldest criminal court in the country (receiving its charter from Charles II) are arraigned those criminals who are guilty of committing the most serious crimes...
...The plan of treatment which I have just suggested is a common sense program...
...Social agencies must mobilize throughout the country all forces which serve to strengthen character and tend to destroy the forces of evil...
...Closely affiliated with the function of the school in its relation to the child is the work of modern science...
...A striking illustration of this point of view is to be found in a recent article in Current History~wherein Dr...
...for the Church's message is not only for society...
...It is essential that criminals be quickly de- tected, presented before the bar of justice, and suc-cessfully prosecuted...
...tion, therefore, of the family, the school, modern science, social agencies, the community, and the Church should be focused on the accomplishment of that purpose...
...Sutherland con- cludes, from a close study of the statistics, "it is evident that the native-born generally have higher rates, vary- ing from almost the same to twice as high as the foreign-born...
...Science now insists that crime, whether con-sidered as a specific act or as a national fact, is an expression of faulty character...
...They declare lately, with vehemence, that our immigration laws are not sufficiently rigid and our crime problem is aggravated by the operations of imported criminals...
...and second, our legal forces must be socialized...
...To modernize our criminal law and individualize our justice, the following steps are proposed: First, a standard probation service in each community for the supervision of convicted delinquents who are of nor-mal mentality...
...This school also asserts that criminals are multiplying because they are no longer disciplined...
...This flows di- rectly and logically from a strong administration of justice...
...No inconsiderable number of chronic thieves, vagrants and even more desperate criminals were defective children whose amenability at an earlier age should have been utilized to their own and society's advantage...
...Every punishment well ad- ministered has this as its end...
...Probation, which is individual case-work treatment in practice, when properly carried out, gives an un-equaled opportunity for studying the life of the crim- inal...
...The teacher has the opportunity, too often neglected, to study and to mold the child's character...
...They insist that crime results because there are too many laws on our statute books, and these improperly enforced...
...The illogical manner in which this last conclusion is arrived at is typically illustrated in the following quota- tion taken from a magazine article recently published by Richard Washburn Child, a member of the Na-tional Crime Commission...
...The Church admits that these moral considerations may be presented to the will in varying degrees of acuteness dependent upon the ravages of destructive social forces...
...Attend-ance officers, visiting teachers, special classes for the exceptional child, and vocational guidance are some of the means which the school may use in helping to weave the fabric of good character in our children...
...If we are to prevent crime and to reform criminals, we must get back to case-work treatment, back to individual character formation...
...Exquisite pain Is in the sunshine and the rain . . . Slim grasses leaning on the wind, And shining wings Of butterflies, and little things That happen in the leaves have power To wound me as they wound a flower...
...A staff of young men and women who have received college training, have specialized in social work and who are solidly grounded in Catholic prac- tices and principles was placed at his disposal...
...Opposed to these opinions is the legalistic school whose arguments are all concerned directly or indirectly with the concept of the law...
...It is based on immutable truth con- cerning the constitution of a human being...
...But we believe further that fol- lowing a conviction, the criminal should be treated in- telligently...
...The treatment of the criminal is an individual problem...
...She therefore lays it down as a principle that the rational way to reduce crime is so to influence the intellect and the will of the one tempted to do evil that his intellect presents true moral considerations and his will is trained to want and desire what is good...
...Any real solution must rest on true understanding and right action, for the greatest social forces of today are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men and women of good will...
...O World, O World, be temperate In your caress-- Withdraw a little, loveliness...
...Allowing the mentally defective child to crystallize his character in a bad mold, through lack of specialized treatment, both religious and secular, represents social and moral neglect which often brings dire results to the individual and society...
...This theory has several variations...
...WheI;e in all the category of human forces can we find a power for the reclamation of the sinner and the remolding of his character which compares witl~ the Divine instituted tribunal of penance...
...Some commentators characterize us as the "most lawless nation in the world," but Professor Pound has indicated that it is not possible to make any intelligent comparison of crime in America with crime in other countries...
...There should be an approach to the offender along religious lines...
...Two pathways of approach are presented first, there must be procured a strong administration of justice...
...Often a trial is delayed for months, or years, while the offender is free on easy and inadequate bail...
...she sees Him turn that face toward another, bound like Himself on a cross, and from His lips she hears those words of eternal promise--"This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise...
...sec-ond, the criminal is not a type...
...To properly form the char...
...It ignores the fundamental fact that a criminal is a human being, partaking of a nature common to that of every other man...
...That soul, she tells us, is so dear to His heart that He sent His Own Divine Son to suffer and to die in order that it might be won back from the pathway of sin...
...Let us now consider a rational plan for the treat-ment of the existing crime evil...
...victed of crime as well as with the prevention of crime among those who have not known it...
...Within this body may be found many men basing their belief on phil-osophic determinism, who assure us that crime is com- mitted by delinquents as a matter of necessity and consequently, since the criminal cannot avoid doing what he does, he cannot be held responsible for his actions...
...She further admits that the responsibility of the evil-doer is graded according to the degree of his knowledge of the malice of the act...
...Only when he has the full facts before him, does the priest make his decision, impose the punishment, and forgive the sinner...
...Society must concern itself with the treatment of those con...
...Though lacking," he says, "any sufficient statistical analysis of criminality in the United States, nevertheless, it can be shown easily enough that one of the first causes for our crime is immigration...
...O World, you are too beautiful-For pity press Not closer in your loveliness Against our hearts...
...Bring back, they cry, the whipping post, severe penalties, mass treatment and the spirit of re- taliation and vengeance...
...MARY DIXON THAYEL...
...Scientists of today are coming to recognize this truth...
...She speaks directly to the individual soul...
...O World, you are too beautiful...
...They treat with caustic dis- dain the humane ideas which find embodiment in probation and parole, and in fact blame these agencies, together with prison reform for the existence of the so-called crime wave...
...All of them may be present in the lives of the law-abiding citizen and they frequently are present in the lives of brothers and sisters of the delinquent without resulting in delinquency...
...Through mental health clinics those who are mentally inferior will be quickly detected and placed in a protected environment...
...We firmly be- lieve that if the individual is to be kept away from committing those overt acts which constitute crime, it can be done only by the formation of a decent and substantial character...
...To eradicate it, all our knowledge must be employed, through individual treatment, in a temperate and sober way...
...if we are strangers to everything but vicious experience, we will have formed a character which may sanction parti...
...Shadows and scents And sounds---of these, your sacraments, Mortals too carelessly partake, O World, when will a poet make A song that fully utters you...
...The question naturally arises~"What is to be done in the matter...
...I cannot sing The sudden glory of the spring-I cannot tell in words the ways Of autumn through enchanted days...
...But neither one can aid very much in solving the crime problem...
...Discipline and punishment, while necessary, should be very well directed so that they may not influence the delinquent in any unfor- tunate way...
...This condition in our machinery of justice calls for correction at once, and in our program for the rational treatment of criminals such reform has a place of primary importance...
...that our prisons today, because of indulgent laws, are pleasant places wherein anyone would be happy to sojourn...
...No les~ ~rital, however, if we are to reduce our crim- inal population, is the socialization of our legal forces...
...Some there are who explain crime in terms of maladjustment, but this expression is en- tirely too generalized and can be applied to individuals who are not criminals...
...The November 4, I925 THE COMMONWEAL 64I early examination of children suspected of mental ab- normality is advisable...
...Through these great channels of grace, she brings God's helping hand to the individual soul--to encourage, to strengthen, to forgive and tO inspire...
...Fourth, an adequate parole organization which will give effective adjustment to community life, or, when necessary, prompt return to custodial care...
...court clinics to make mental and physi- cal diagnoses, closely associated with the probation staff, as a part of the equipment of each court...
...Edwin H. Sutherland...
...The fact of the situation is that the best available statistics are those which were compiled in I92o in the cities of Chicago, Washington, Newark, New York, and the state of Massachusetts by the eminent criminologist, Dr...
...Ever mindful of that fearful sentence imposed on the unrepentant sinnerm"Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," the Church still turns her eyes wistfully toward the hill of Calvary, and as they rest upon the torn and bleeding figure of One condemned to die as a rebel and a blasphemer, she sees on His bruised and swollen face a look of kindness...
...This program is evolved from the highest principles of philosophy and religion combined with the true findings of modern science...
...But there has been given to her another heritage, an inestimable boon to mankind, in the Divine gift of the seven Sacraments...
...Moreover, in some jurisdictions, the abuse of the plea of insanity is notorious...
...The best recreational facilities, clubs and settlements, boy scout and girl scout movements, should be utilized for this purpose...
...These studies have had widely varying results, but the representative con- clusion has been that the criminal is not a type...
...Harry E. Barnes, professor of historical sociology at Smith College, informs us that "the net result of the application of psychiatry to the problem of criminology has been the entire repudiation and elimination, once and for all, of the theological and metaphysical inter- pretation of criminal conduct and responsibility...
...These doctrines the Church with Divine authority has preached to her children in every age...
...That soul, she tells each of us, is precious, and however incased it may be in a body crippled or weakened by infirmity, it is the direct creation of God Almighty...
...The probation system has thus been given a rare chance to show its true worth under favorable conditions...
...The special committee on law enforcement of the American Bar Association, in its x9z 3 report, estimated that during the ten years which preceded that date, no less than 85,ooo citizens perished by poison, the pistol, the knife, or other unlawful means...
...Such a parole system must be able to secure employ-ment, rebuild families and actively help the ex-convict who is trying to make good...
...With respect to the first suggested approach, there is even today much truth in the statement of Chief Justice Taft, made seventeen years ago, that "the administration of the criminal law in the United States is a disgrace to civilization," and that "the trial of a criminal seems like a game of chance, with all the chances in favor of the criminal...
...Parents should realize that in their relations with their children all their care must be directed toward the formation of good moral character in the growing child...
...Its purpose is to understand the criminal so that steps may be taken to prevent a repetition of his misconduct...
...First, the intellect...
...It is rather an attempt to deal constructively with the law breaker...
...It has its roots in character for- mation...
...The highest standards of investigation and social treatment have been insisted upon...
...For it is a well known fact that in this country, many criminals, when detected committing offenses, retain skilful and unscrupulous attorneys who, on technicalities in our law, obtain freedom for their clients...
...The second great problem to which we must address ourselves is the prevention of crime...
...and the usage of frequent appeals from the judgment of a trial court on flimsy and technical grounds which were not at the trial pre- judicial to the cause of the criminal, is an equally well known scandal...
...With the desire that our ideas of justice toward the criminal may conform to the Divine Ideal, let us adopt a rational viewpoint on the crime problem...
...They will be taught trades or fitted for agricultural or industrial pursuits...
...and secondly, the will...
...By this phrase is understood a very general modifica- tion of our legal and penal forces...
...All these means help to give youth opportunities to assimilate ideals and principles which can dominate constructively the formation of character...
...or, as Dr...
...It is not a destructive plan, aiming to abolish present-day institutions...
...Some, or all, of the destructive forces, such as poverty, bad environ- ment, evil associates, broken homes, bad parental ex-ample, the lack of religious training, may have had their play upon the criminal...
...The community at large, in its manner and thought, in its expression of ideals and its actions, must hold out to youth proper examples of civic virtue and proper incentive thereto...
...Moreover, they say, the laxity of the administration of our justice today is caused by these same sentimental considerations...
...It is not founded on emotional solicitude for the welfare of the delinquent, to the detriment of society in general...
...It relegates bad environ-ment, economic conditions and mental deficiency to their proper places...
...Finally, we have the group which is positive that crime results exclusively from mental abnormality...
...For this moral training based on God's law is necessary...
...If the community atmosphere is health-giving, then our young folk will grow up strong and active in the principles of right living...
...After this presentation of the case, the priest, trained for long years in the care of souls, gives the word of warning, or encouragement, or correction, or consolation that is needed by the particular penitent who kneels beside him...
...In a word, this school forgets its history, and is furiously objective in its consideration of the crime problem...
...He is an individual and requires individual case treatment...
...Even more recently, he tells us that the entire situation in which a given delinquent is placed must be studied to learn what "had made the mental life of the offender sponsor misconduct," and further, "that it is not the bare fact of feeble-mindedness which causes delinquency--there are many mentally defective per- sons with good character traitsY The net result of true scientific efforts in the field of criminology has been to confirm once more the basic conception of the criminal, which Catholic the- ology and sound philosophy have always held to be true...
...but if the atmosphere be permeated with degrading in-fluence, if the unworthy things of life are allowed to be depicted in word and picture, on the screen and stage, can we logically expect that our youth will be other than tainted by that atmosphere ? Finally, though all of those social forces can con-tribute appreciably to the formation of stable, worth- while character, none of them can exercise so con-structive an influence as the Church...
...The intel- lect presents to the will alternatives of conduct, but in such a manner that the agent is informed of the moral November 4, I925 THE COMMONWEAL 639 qualities of the act...
...Disclosed also are the pertinent facts and cir- cumstances surrounding the sins which have been com- mitted and the habits which have been contracted...
...In January of this year the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York reorganized this proba- tion service, placing in charge one of the leading probation officers in the country, a recognized authority in this field, who has written widely and ably on this subject...
...638 T H E C O M M O N W E A L November 4, I9Z5 .i CRIME PROBLEMS AND THE CHURCH By ROBERT F. KEEGAN T HERE is perhaps no single topic today which challenges the attention of this nation as much as that of the crime problem...
...The atten...
...He is often physically inferior and sometimes mentally ill But, these con-ditions are not the cause of his evil conduct...
...The school procedure should be suited to the needs of every child...
...Dawn 0 World, you are too beautiful...
...If we are in early life taught to love and appreciate that which is good and true, we will have acquired a good character...
...There are as many kinds of criminals as there are individual delinquents...
...An officer of the same religious persuasion as the offender is often the best one to bring into play the moral forces necessary to effect permanent reform...
...In our homes, if anywhere, youth must learn from parents' example the virtues of courage, truth-fulness, honesty, purity and loyalty to God and neigh- bor...
...In the terms of money, crime is said to cost this nation $xo,ooo,ooo,- ooo annually~a sum which represents twelve times the cost of the army and navy and which approximates the cost of education...
...The school of today has its task to train the child's will as well as its intellect...
...This view is borne out by scientific studies made in prisons throughout the country...
...Healy, in a happy phrase, expresses this belief when he says--"Every bit of regulation of a child's life should be aimed at the development of the power of self-discipline...
...When the day of the trial finally arrives, few material witnesses are available to the prosecution, and those who can be located are readily discredited in their 640 T H E C O M M O N W E A L November 4, I925 testimony because time has clouded their recollections...
...We must keep our civic conscious- ness virile and clean...
...The Church has a well defined position toward crime and the criminal...
...The probation force must be of the number and quality which will insure thorough knowledge of the proba- tioner and constructive treatment for him...
...The dis- credited Lombroso taught that the criminal is an atavistic individual, and may be recognized by his physical stigmata...
...cipation in criminality...
Vol. 2 • November 1925 • No. 26
