Searchlights on Delinquency; The Gang

WTTW (Television station : Chicago, Ill.) · 1957

There is an informal education for crime: the neighborhood gang. Sheriff Lohmans guest is Dr. Leonard Z. Breen, assistant professor of sociology and research at the University of Chicago. Lohman introduces the distinction between the gang and the club: the rebellious, evil gang and the wholesome, constructive club. He interviews a member of a gang as a case study, then Dr. Breen discusses the influence of the gang. Using art work, the Sheriff depicts the gang getting together, the new boy and his possible invitation to join, his invitation to prove his mettle, his participation in gang activity and his aggressive behavior toward a strange boy because of the coercive nature of a gang. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) Searchlights on Delinquency was conceived and developed by the Office of the Sheriff of Cook Country (Chicago) as a means of portraying to the general public information regarding the many myths and false notions concerning delinquency. These episodes are sociological studies of the various kinds of delinquency, their conditions and causes. Sheriff Joseph D. Lohman narrates all the episodes and discusses various phases of delinquency with guest experts on psychology and sociology. Lohman is assisted by Captain Richard Boone of the Juvenile Bureau who interviews delinquents masked for anonymity and gives their case histories. The episodes go further than pointing out what is wrong with the youngsters; they show the whys. The series suggests positive measures for dealing with them rather than the negative qualities of arrest and detention. The series was produced for the National Educational Television and Radio Center by WTTW, Chicago in cooperation with Sheriff Lohmans office. The 13 half-hour episodes that comprise the series were originally recorded on kinescope. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)