388 HUMAN BIOLOGY 



is another cause for the extent of crime, which, very plainly, 

 at least through national registration and identification, 

 must be met by centralized federal effort. 



The facts of criminology, even those belonging to biology 

 and psychology, certainly include environmental conditions 

 as they exist in any particular community. Crime is conduct- 

 reaction of a given person to a given environment. The crime 

 problem, whether of any individual or of a statistical 

 series, includes variables of personality and environment. 

 In etiological studies, the latter, as well as the former, is 

 bound to have its place. 



Indeed this is so true that the influences which make for 

 crime in one city and state may be found to be utterly 

 unlike those in another part of the country, and differences 

 of racial origins may be insufficient to account for this. 

 In our own comparative studies of Chicago and Boston 

 offenders we discovered most notable contrasts in crime 

 tendencies, even among peoples of the same racial standards, 

 such as the southern Italians. Concerning, for example, 

 these Italians, in Boston there is the comparatively stabili- 

 zing influence of police and court work almost entirely free 

 from politics, and much social effort of other sorts. This 

 is challenging in its results and may be compared to what 

 has so unfortunately met the same type of immigrants 

 and their children in the other city. 



With many things similar in two communities, there are, 

 nevertheless, great possible differences in influences in the 

 same country and under the same laws. By investigating 

 the after-careers of 420 boys, repeated offenders, handled 

 in the Juvenile Court of Chicago, it was ascertained that 

 no less than 209 of them were in court as adult offenders for 

 the more serious offenses, and 157 were committed to adult 

 penal institutions; at least 13 (possibly 16) of these became 

 murderers, and 3Q are known habitual or professional 

 criminals. Coming to the Juvenile Court of Boston during 

 the same years were 400 young repeated offenders who 

 produced only 84 appearing in the adult court and with 

 offenses relatively so minor that only 25 were sent to adult 

 penal institutions; there were no murderers, and almost 

 none became habitual criminals. 



