CRIME ANALYZED

The ascendant curve of crimes and misdemeanors, the inadequacy of American legislative procedure and, as a comparatively recent development, the numerous prison breaks during the past months, have focussed national attention on the penal system of the United States. The prevalent opinion that there is something manifestly hampering the prevention and correction of crime has given rise to several investigations by political bodies. Charges and counter-charges fill the air but as yet the actual attempt at reform remains at an impasse.

Refreshing in its simplicity and in its contrast with senatorial committees is the intelligent method with which Professor Glueck of the Harvard Law School approaches the question. In an exhaustive analysis of 500 criminal careers, which has recently been published in book form, his attitude is more that of the psychiatrist than of the investigator of the chamber-room. Using the scientific method of induction he has sifted a huge mass of material into eight specific conclusions, all of them at variance with the accepted code of procedure in penal institutions.

The alarm with which sane citizens regard the breaking down of even theoretical vestiges of intelligent punishment and permanent reform in American prisons tells the story. Professor Glueck points the moral. A judicious application of his theories to the faltering reformatory system would not be too far amiss.