The figures compiled for the Committee by the Superintendent of the Child Welfare Division show that:
(i) There was a substantial increase in juvenile delinquency during the Second World War.
(ii) After the war was over, the rate settled down to something like the pre-war rate.
The following is a fair selection of these figures (alternate years being taken):
_Number of Offences and Rate per 10,000 of Complaints of Children Juvenile Population Year Out of Control, etc. 7-17 years 10-17 years_ 1934 1,653 53 73 1936 1,786 57 79 1938 2,447 77 105 1940 2,464 79 107 1942 2,421 79 107 1944 2,493 84 113 1946 1,786 60 83 1948 1,589 51 74 1950 1,464 46 66 1952 1,883 56 78 1954 2,105 56 81
In making comparisons it should be noted (as explained later) that during recent years the Department has undertaken much preventive work which may account for a return to the pre-war rate in spite of the existence of other factors leading to an increase in delinquency.
_(c) Juvenile Delinquency in Maoris and Non-Maoris_
Another illustration of the care required in the use of statistics is afforded by a comparison as between Maori and non-Maori offenders in the 10-17-year-old group. (For the purpose of these figures "Maori" means of the half-blood or more).
For the year ended 31 March 1954 there were 565 Maori delinquents, or 28 per cent of the total number of juvenile delinquents. During this same period there were 1,433 non-Maori offenders, or 72 per cent of those delinquents. But the Maori offenders came from 10 per cent of the juvenile population, whereas the non-Maoris came from 90 per cent of that population. On that basis juvenile delinquency among Maoris was three and a half times that among the rest of the child inhabitants of New Zealand.
The Committee has been unable to arrange for a dissection of the figures to ascertain whether there was a bigger percentage of sexual offenders among young Maoris than among other sections of the people. A considerable portion of offences may come from factors inherent in the culture and traditions of the Maori and their difficulty in conforming to another mode of living.
_(d) Children Under Control or Supervision_
It is interesting to find that after the war there was a steady decline in the number of children committed to the care of the State, or placed under supervision, until the year 1953. This is shown by the following table: