﻿Edmondson: Juvenile Delinquency and Adult Crime G9 



The prevalence of certain kinds of offenses as shown in the 

 police records of a community depends largely upon the manner 

 of dealing with such offenses in that community. The fact that 

 there appears in the police records a very great many cases of 

 assault and battery, drunkenness, vagrancy, larceny, gambling, 

 prostitution, running houses of ill fame, frequenting houses of 

 ill fame, and adultery may not mean that these offenses are more 

 prevalent in that community than in any other, but may be 

 due to the special activity of the police in arresting such offenders, 

 and to the severity of the courts in dealing with them. 



In this study of crime in Gary, such offenses as drunkenness, 

 vagrancy, disorderly conduct, etc., are considered crimes according 

 to the definition of crime as used in this study — that is, offenses 

 which the law so recognizes and punishes. 5 



The general classification of offenses used in this study is a 

 modification of that of the Special Report of the United States 

 Census of 1904 on Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents, prepared 

 by John Koren. 6 Offenses are classified under five chief headings: 

 offenses against the person; offenses against property; offenses 

 against society, including offenses against chastity and morality 

 and offenses against public policy; miscellaneous offenses; and 

 offenses not specified. 



In this study under the first heading, offenses against the 

 person, are included the following: accessory in homicide, homi- 

 cide, assault, robbery, rape, and attempted rape. Under the 

 heading, offenses against property, are included the following: 

 burglary, larceny, forgery, fraud, embezzlement, malicious mis- 

 chief and malicious trespass, and malicious destruction of property. 

 Offenses against society are divided into two subdivisions. Under 

 the subdivision, offenses against chastity and morality, are 

 included the following: adultery, bigamy, crime against nature, 

 fornication, running houses of ill fame, prostitution, public inde- 

 cency, and profanity. Under the subdivision, offenses against 

 public policy, are included the following: counterfeiting, violating 

 United States laws, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, violating 

 liquor laws, vagrancy, violating local ordinances, operating 

 gambling-houses, gambling, violating pure food laws, violating 

 fish and game laws, riot, cruelty to animals, provoke, and such 

 other offenses as soliciting business in court, jumping bond, 

 fugitive from justice, interfering with officer, contributing to 



5 Quinton, p. 94; Boies, pp. 88, 89. 

 6 Koren, p. 19. 



