In an examination of the factors which promote juvenile delinquency special attention must be given to the type of community in which children grow up. The more normal and well balanced a community is, the greater are the child's chances of developing a well-balanced personality. The teaching at school may be good, the home training satisfactory, but these good influences may be upset by defects in the neighbourhood. When the atmosphere of home or school is unsatisfactory, the chances of normal healthy development are made progressively worse for any child whose community environment is also poor.
(1) Housing Development
In New Zealand there are a number of communities which have grown quickly and have become unbalanced. No one doubts the urgent need that there has been for houses to accommodate a rapidly expanding population. On the other hand, in the light of experience, it is considered that wise planning in the future could avoid some of the disadvantages which have become evident in these areas. These disadvantages are:
(a) Fewer Adults
Large-scale housing is primarily for married people with growing families. Eventually the number of young people is much greater than the number of adults. There is a pronounced difference between a settlement of mushroom growth and one that has developed gradually with large family homes and smaller homes, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, and children.
In order to illustrate the disparity between the adult and juvenile population in all such areas the Committee obtained from the Education Department a statement of the primary and secondary school children in Wellington and the Hutt Valley as at 30 August 1954:
| Wellington | Hutt | |
| Pupils at primary public and private schools | 15,300 | 12,250 |
| Pupils at secondary public and private schools | 5,750 | 3,000 |
| ——— | ——— | |
| 21,050 | 15,250 |
It must not be overlooked that the homes of many children who attend schools in Wellington are situated outside the ordinary confines of the city; many of the children are resident in the Hutt Valley. For instance, 250-300 of the girls at Wellington College come to that college from the Hutt, and many more children from outside the city attend other city schools. The exact total is not readily assessable, but it is known to be considerable. On the other hand, it is not thought that the rolls of Hutt schools are increased by the attendance of pupils from outside that district.
Another statement shows that in Wellington city 70.4 per cent of the total population are adults, whereas in the Hutt only 60.1 per cent are adults.
If that abnormal distribution of population is a causative factor in juvenile delinquency, the situation will have to be carefully watched because: