Crime Institute Set at Duquesne

BLACK BUZZ NEWS SERVICE
The James S. Robinson Jr. Project
Robinson & Saunders Archives
Pittsburgh PA
October 28, 2010

The following article appeared in the Pittsburgh Press on July, 9 1947.

Crime Institute
Set at Duquesne

The second of a series of clinical institutes on delinquency and crime will be held at the Campus Theatre, Duquesne University, next Tuesday, under the auspices of Duquesne University and Mount Mercy College, Judge Ellenbogen, head of the Social Protection Board, announced this week.
The first clinic of the series was held this week at Carnegie Institute Lecture Hall and the University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday. At the morning session, students of the two colleges listened to Judge Ellenbogen, Walter Rome of the Juvenile Court Staff and Detective James S. Robinson, of Hill City discuss the rising tide of crime and delinquency.
Detective James S. Robinson, who heads up the Hill City organization, as an effort of the Pittsburgh Police Department/Public Safety to re-educate the underprivileged, delinquent child, and put him back into society as a law-abiding citizen, told the group that more individual work with a particular child, as well as mass panaceas to cure delinquency was needed.
Robinson cited the fact that just a few years ago, twenty-three children gangs roamed the Hill District, pilfering stores and threatening the proprietors." Today, Hill City, by creating a youth municipality, organized with all the legal officials of an adult city, has broken up that evil," said Robinson.
"CAN'T HIDE FROM KIDS"
"These Juvenile delinquents can hide from the police, but they cannot hide and they must associate with their fellow playmates. If the fellow playmates refuse to countenance wrong by belonging to and working in an organization such as ours, the juvenile delinquent is not only turned in but is given work to do in our organization and is reformed.
Mr. Robinson told of the case of a gang member, who became interested in music through Hill City and organized an Orchestra. Later the fellows went into a union and now they are one of the most popular musical aggregation in this district and are engaged in a legitimate gainful occupation, Mr Robinson said.
MASS ACTION O.K.-BUT
"Athletics, teenage canteens and clinics are fine, but more time must be spent with the individuals if we are to solve our crime problem,"Robinson said.
Judge Ellenbogen recited a numbers of statistics on crime problems and said that juvenile delinquent was high on such statistics. The juvenile delinquent of two or three years ago is just now beginning his professional crime career, the Common Pleas Court Judge added. He compared the six million criminal army in America with the twelve million army the United States used in World War II to fight a major war.
The afternoon session of this week's crime clinic was devoted to panel discussions of various phases of crime and delinquency and was held Tuesday afternoon in the Classrooms of the Cathedral of Learning.
Judge Ellenbogen Charmian of the Social Protection Board, will also serve as moderator of next week's clinics at Duquesne University. Father Francis P. Smith, President of Duquesne University; Rev. Francis X. Foley, head of the Sociology Department, Mt Mercy College; Dr. Francis McQuade, professor of psychology, Mt Mercy College; Claire McGinnis, Duquesne University sociology instructor; William McGowan, professor of sociology and former Morals Court magistrate and others will discuss the various aspects of juvenile delinquency.
The public has been invited to attend the crime clinics. The clinical institutes are sponsored by the Social Protection Board as part of the educational campaign preliminary to the essay contest being conducted by the Board on the prevention of juvenile delinquency and crime.