The making and unmaking of a YOUTHFUL CRIMINAL - Mack Taylor - September 1973

Mack Taylor

In this article we have asked a former parole officer to talk straight from the shoulder to our teen-age readers and their parents. Johnny's first encounter with the law occurred when he ran away from his foster home at the age of nine. At age 10 he was arrested for "shoplifting" – stealing a sweater from a department store. As each year went by, his crimes became progressively more serious. By age 14 Johnny already had been arrested for burglary, possession of drugs, auto theft, and robbery. He had been counseled and released by the police department, placed on probation, sent to the county junior camp for rehabilitation, and finally after a robbery, was committed by a juvenile court to the Youth Authority. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library