ABSTRACT
The sociologist who attempted during the 1950’s and 1960’s systematically to develop or test delinquency theory faced popular competition difficult to overcome.
First, some basic data were generally available: 1,500,000-2,000,000 children reporting to the police each year; about 600,000 juvenile court cases annually (traffic matters excluded), involving about 518,000 chilP dren; a nationwide court referral rate of almost 2 per 100 children.
