"Crime may be roughly defined as a war against society," said Mr. S. C. Young, Deputy Commissioner of the Shanghai Municipal Police, speaking before the Lecture and Forum audience at the Foreig Y.M.C on Tuesday evening. In a strain) forward and frank manner Mr. Young dealt with crime and its causes in another of the evening forums at the Y.M.C.A. Crime as a means of livelihood does not pay, and sooner or later the person who stoops to crime finds himself in the nds of the law and his freedom moved.
Dealing with the causes of crime. he speaker pointed out that many theories have been advanced, but of hose most important in his experiance Mr, Young placed heredity t, and while many people believe this to be the chief responsible cause, the facts in the case disprove it. There is no doubt, however, that heredity has its effect on mentality and on jhe physical well being of the individual, and, therefore, does play an important part in the creation of criminals and in the transmission of criminal tendencies in the offspring.
Environment was important as a second of the widely advanced causes for the creation of criminal Undoubtedly the social condition under which people live, particularly m congested areas of great cities and under unfavourable conditions, an important factor in the creation of criminal tendencies. And linked with this a third reason of major importance emerges: namely economic problems.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.