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:
(i) A graph compiled for the Committee shows that the biggest number of children is in the two-to-four-year-old group. When one considers that the delinquency now being considered is in the 13-to-17-year-old group, the period of greatest danger will not be reached until about another nine years have elapsed. This is a disturbing prospect and demands serious consideration.
(ii) There are many similar housing settlements in New Zealand. The absence of public disclosures of delinquency in any of those places must not be taken to mean that they are free from it.