Survival Orientated Skills–The Disadvantaged Delinquent

Aborigines in Crime Statistics an Interaction between Poverty and Detectors

“…For example a delinquent may desire a job and there be employment available, yet he may lack the skills necessary to obtain an interview, ie how to look up job advertisements, use the telephone or write a letter to make a suitable application and effectively use public transport to keep the appointment. In a study of 205 non-identified adolescents and 221 delinquents Sanson-Fisher et al (1976) found statistically significant differences between the two groups on 48 of 63 questions relating to social orientation skills. Such findings clearly indicate that the delinquent group is disadvantaged and further analysis of the data suggests clear differences between Aborigine and white delinquents.…”

“…In a recent survey of juvenile institutions in Western Australia (Sanson-Fisher et al 1976) it was found that Aboriginals were 38.9~of the sample although they represent approximately 2~of the total population in that State. This paper attempts to examine some of the possible reasons for this massive over representation of the Aboriginal group in official crime statistics and in doing so introduces the concept of the behavioural matrix, a derivative of the labelling theory of detection.…”