Juvenile Delinquency and Hooliganism

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 April 1964.

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Photo of Mr Henry Brooke Mr Henry Brooke , Hampstead 12:00, 27 April 1964

We must take juvenile delinquency more seriously than the hon. Member did.

I should like to end by referring to some words I used in the foreword to the Report published the other day, because I believe they touch the heart of the matter. Those who wish for the bygone days back again may be forgetting that in those days there was often less willingness to understand than to condemn. Simply to condemn misbehaviour is an incomplete and unproductive reaction. It gains value only when it is a spur to action; and the basis of action must be a fuller understanding. Understanding may be enhanced by practical contact with boys and girls in their difficulties, or by systematic research, or—best of all—by both in combination. These are the lines of advance which the Government are encouraging.