Wielokrotni recydywiści o wczesnym i późnym początku karalności

This part of the work presents an analysis of the process of social degradation regarding prisoners, persistent recidivists (convicted not less than four times and imprisoned for at least the fourth time), aged between 26 and 35. The investigations embraced 220 prisoners whose delinquency was closely examined. This work however takes particular note of those, who relatively late (only after 21) had their first trial in the Court of Justice. First of all, it was important to determine whether they were less socially maladjusted in their childhood than the recidivists whose trials began earlier (between 17 and 20), what were the origins of their delinquency and what factors influenced the etiology of their recidivism. Those recidivists whose first trials began at 21 or later constitute a relatively small group of 29,6%, among the 220 recidivists investigated. The remaining recidivists of 26-35 years of age had their first trials earlier. 1. On the basis of the interviews and after a check in Juvenile Courts it has been established that among the late recidivists (convicted for the first time at the age of 21 at least) only about one third (30,7%) were those who committed offences (thefts as a rule) as juveniles (under 17). Among the early recidivists (convicted for the first time at the age of 17-20) such subjects constituted 60,0%. In general, among the late recidivists, those who stole or committed other offences as juveniles constituted 33,8% while among the early recidivists such subjects constituted as many as 65,1%. These figures show that more of the early recidivists than of the latę recidivists committed offences (thefts as a rule) as juveniles. There is a statistically significant correlation between the perpetration of offences by the subjects when they were juveniles and the early beginning of their trials after they were 17 (dependence at the level of significance 0,001). Thefts committed by the late recidivists in their juvenility were in general less frequent and less serious than those committed at that period by the early recidivists. Only 43,8% of the late recidivists of whom it was possible to obtain some data relating to the places of thefts they had committed as juveniles, were stealing outside their homes and schools. Among the early recidivists such persons constitute as many as 80%. 24,5% of the early recidivists were tried at least twice in Juvenile Courts while among the late recidivists such persons constituted merely 6,1%. The division of the subjects into two groups according to the age at which they were first tried after they were 17 is then justified by the ascertainments of the actual beginnings of their delinquency when they were juveniles. Among the late recidivists, the subjects who started committing offences as juveniles and continued to do so until their first trial when they were at least 21, constitute only 13,8%. The remaining late recidivists, who committed offences as juveniles (20%), did so only sporadically or altogether stopped to commit them but recommenced in connection with their later abuse of alcohol. 2. The fact that despite a late, in general, beginning of their actual delinquency the late recidivists were repeatedly convicted and repeatedly imprisoned, may be connected with the circumstance that the subjects who were socially maladjusted already as juveniles constituted two thirds of the total. However, the late recidivists manifested social maladjustment in their juvenility less often than early recidivists, among whom as many as 90,8% were socially maladjusted at that time. (Social maladjustment was established in 83% of cases of the total of the investigated persistent recidivists). These late recidivists who did not display any symptoms of social maladjustment in their juvenility began, in general, to commit offences in connection with their abuse of alcohol, and their entire delinquency as adults is connected with alcoholism: they commit chiefly aggressive offences in the state of inebriety, also thefts, the proceeds of which are immediately spent on alcohol. 3. The childhood of the subjects was characterized by considerable disturbances of their study at school. Only 43,6% of the investigated (47,7% of the late recidivists and 42,5% of the early recidivists) finished the 7-grade elementary school. The education of the investigated recidivists is lower than that of the total of prisoners. 16,5% of the subjects finished three grades, at most. Those who did not reach the sixth grade of the elementary school constitute 41,4% of the total of recidivists (40,0% among the late recidivists and 42,5% among the early recidivists). Similar gaps in elementary education have also been established through investigations on juvenile recidivists, previously conducted by the Department of Criminology. It has been established that the subjects did not finish the elementary school on account of their having been brought up in a negative family environment, lower of their intelligence, social maladjustment in their juvenile years and war-time difficulties of some part of the subjects. About two thirds of the subjects repeated some grades. Truancy was systematically practised by 54,6%, of the investigated (40,4% of the late recidivists and 60,4% of the early recidivists). In 60% of cases the subjects stated that teachers had often complained of their bad behaviour at school. About half of the subjects declared that they had considerable difficulties at school. 50,6% of the subjects drank liquor as juveniles at least once a month or wine at least once a week. (36,5% of the late recidivists and 57,0% of the early recidivists). 41,1% of the subjects ran away from home (21,5% of the late recidivists and 49% of the early recidivists). The subjects (60,0%) often kept company, as adolescents, with friends who committed thefts (38,6% of the late recidivists and as many as 68% of the early recidivists). In this way, the late recidivists less often than the early recidivists displayed as adolescents particular symptoms of social maladjustment. 4. The subjects' family environments revealed in majority of cases a syndrome of factors which were negative from thę educational point of view. Family environments, evaluated negatively because of alcoholism in the family, lack of systematic work of the father or delinquency, constituted no less than 60,3% (50% among late recidivists and 64,4% among early recidivists). Systematic abuse of alcohol by fathers was often (52,4%) established in the families of the investigated (46% of the fathers of the late recidivists and 61,4% of the fathers of the early recidivists). The percentage of fathers who systematically abused of alcohol even before birth of the investigated is also considerable and amounts to 43%. (35% of the late recidivists and 48,3%, of the early recidivists). Alcoholism was established in a fairly considerable percentage of families of parents of the investigated, namely their fathers or brothers (55,6%). The late recidivists were for the most part brought up in only one educational environment, i.e. they had only one home and were under constant care of at least' one and the same person (73,8% of the late recidivists). During the childhood of the early recidivists, changes of their educational environments were established more often (45,5% of cases). Nearly one third of the early recidivists were brought up in at least three educational environments while such frequent changes of educational environments regarding the late recidivists were established in only 13% of cases. Family homes of the late recidivists were educationally more advantageous than those of the early recidivists. Educationally negative factors such as alcoholism or delinquency of fathers were established less often. Similarly, changes of educational environments during their childhood were less frequent. 5. The percentage of those subjects who came from large families was considerable: 36,4% of the investigated had three or more brothers or sisters. Brothers and sisters of the investigated either displayed similar lacks in elementary education but some of them were on a much higher educational level. In 36,4% of cases the investigated had brothers or sisters who did not finish elementary school. As many as 28,5% of the investigated had somęone in the family who graduated from a vocational school. Higher education appeared in families of the investigated in 7,2% of cases. In many families there were brothers without any professional qualifications whatever (53,7 % of cases). It is significar that many persistent recidivists had brothers who displayed symptoms of social maladjustment' committed offencęs or were judicially convicted. Social maladjustment of at least one brother was established in two-thirds of cases, 44,7% of the investigated had someone in their families who committed unrevealed thefts or was tried by Juvenile Courts or Courts of Law for thefts and other offences. Percentages of the late recidivists with socially maladjusted siblings did not differ from similar percentages of the early recidivists. 6. At the time of the investigations 41,8% of the investigated were bachelors, which constitutes a percentage twice higher than the established percentage of the total of men in Poland aged between 25 and 34. Bachelors appeared more often among the early recidivists (45,8%) than among the late recidivists (32,3%). However, most marriages contracted by the late recidivists were subsequently broken (54,5%). In the period preceding their arrest only 28,6% of the investigated stayed with their wives. 19,5% lived outside their family circle at that time. Wives of the investigated often came from the ranks of socially maladjusted women. 28,8% of them were abusing of alcohol. 18% were convicted by Courts of Law. 8% of the wives of the late recidivists and 17,5% of the wives of the early recidivists were suspected to practice prostitution. In two thi

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