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54 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 211 (1963)
Why Runaways Leave Home

handle is hein.journals/jclc54 and id is 219 raw text is: POLICE SCIENCE WHY RUNAWAYS LEAVE HOME JAMES A. HILDEBRAND James A. Hildebrand is a Detective assigned to the Missing Persons Unit of the New York Police Department. Detective Hildebrand received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the City College of New York, and is currently pursuing graduate work in Police Science at this school.- EDIrOR. Law enforcement agencies today are faced with the constantly increasing problem of the runaway youth. Indicative of the increasing demand for police services in this area is the number of resi- dents reported missing in New York City. In 1950, 6,328 cases were reported. By 1960 the total had increased to 9,555, or one every fifty-five minutes. This represents a 51 percent increase over a ten year period, a period in which the population of the city declined by 1.4 percent. Of the cases reported in 1960, 5,067 involved runaways. A runaway is intended here to mean a subject under 18 years of age who leaves home without parental consent, and who is reported to the police as a missing person. This police interest in runaways has evolved out of public concern for their safety and welfare and not because they have committed a crime. It is typical of present day trends in law enforcement in which police depart- ments are assuming responsibilities for services that are allied in some manner to their original responsibility of law enforcement. In these cases the object of the police search is to locate the youth and return him to his family. Most information dealing with delinquency is based on accessible case histories available from juvenile courts and probation offices, after the delinquent behavior pattern is formed. The run- away, on the other hand, represents the youth who has a problem, but in most instances has not developed a definite anti-social attitude. His action is a predelinquent indicator, and as such its value should be recognized. If this danger signal is ignored society has lost another battle in its at- tempt to control crime. The importance of this judgment can be more fully appreciated when con- sideration is given to the estimate that more than 50 percent of all police work involves youth, and that 70 percent of all delinquents have run away at one time or other.' As each case is reported to police, the reporting person is asked various questions to aid in locating and identifying the runaway. One of these ques- tions is: Why did the subject run away? In over 75 percent of the cases the cause is listed as unknown. Time after time, parents flatly state that there is no valid reason. They infer that some sinister fate has befallen the subject. But police experience has shown that these so-called sinister happenings seldom occur. Why then do children leave home? To gain some insight into this problem a study of two hundred sixty-two cases was conducted. These cases originated in six precincts located in the southwest section of Brooklyn, an area com- prised in the main of families in the middle to low income range, with the lower middle income group most prevalent. Housing is approximately evenly distributed between one and two family houses and apartment buildings. The major ethnic groups are: German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Scandi- navian. It is recognized that the information contained here is not complete since it is impossible to know how many children run away and are not reported. Many previously unreported cases are disclosed when cases reported for the first time reveal prior instances, and when unreported cases are picked up while wandering the streets. The purpose of this study was to find out the following: to determine the age distribution of runaways; to identify any recidivist patterns; to determine the length of time they remain away from home; and to determine what impels a child to leave home. Information pertaining to three 'JOHN P. KENNY, PoLc WoRK wrm JUVxN s, page 5. SHELDON GruacK AND ELEANOR GLuEcic, UNRAVELING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, page 257.

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