3

Now we review the work that the social researcher performs in the various stages of the investigation. As soon as the task is assigned to her, she hastens to make contact with the family, for her presence is most needed while the problem is in one of its phases, since that is the most suitable time for inquiry, investigation, listening, and observation. Before she goes out on this mission — usually accompanied by students of the Lebanese School of Social Training who are under instruction — the social researcher will already have studied the file of the delinquent juvenile which the juvenile judge has sent her, and will have examined her registers, namely the register of prisoners, the register of the convicted, the register of children seen at the police station, the register of children who have appeared before the investigating judge, and the register of those who have returned to crime. Very often she can obtain from these registers useful data that help her in her task.

As soon as she arrives where she is bound — and this often requires many searches through streets and alleys — she must employ a great deal of tact in order to blend into the family circle and win the confidence of its members. She begins by explaining the mission of the institution she represents and the purpose of her visit. At this point the members of the family often hesitate to disclose what they know, so she must reassure them, instill confidence in them, and inform them that she is bound not to mention what she hears or sees, and to keep the secrets of families. There are families whose members will not begin to speak until the visit has been repeated; at last her skill enables her to obtain useful data on the following subjects:

First — the composition of the family:

Is it founded on a legitimate or an illegiti-mate relationship?

The father and mother: Are they divorced or separated? Has one of them married a second time? Has one of them died? What are their qualities and their morals? What is their state of health? Are there infirmities among them? Is one of them addicted to drink or to gambling? What is their conduct? Have they criminal records? What is the

work by which they earn their living? Which of them holds guardianship? What is their upbringing, and what is the upbringing of their child... etc.

The children: their number, their sex, their age, their work, their health, the schools they attend, their dispositions, their conduct, whatever infirmities they have, and whatever criminal records they have... etc.

Other persons: those living in the house.

Second — living conditions:

Does the family live a life of misery and hardship? Or is it comfortably off? What is the father's income, the mother's income, and the children's income? Is any one of them out of work? What are the family's resources and what are its expenses? The drawing up of the daily budget and the individual budget?

Third — the dwelling:

Is it unhealthful? Is it clean? The number of rooms, the sanitary condition, the care and cleanliness of the house, its furniture, its rent... etc.

Fourth — the delinquent juvenile:

It is rare for the researcher to find the child at home on her first visit, for he is either at his school or at his work — if he is not wandering aimlessly as a vagrant — the police, after conducting their investigation, having handed him over to his family against the signing of a pledge. Unfortunately, however, it very often happens that many juveniles have no family in the town where they committed their offense; most often they are neglected children who came to the town by themselves in search of work. In such a case the public prosecutor entrusts them to the delegate of the Child Protection League, who begins by investigating their condition and then tries to find them a shelter or to make it possible for them to return to their families. As for the social researcher conducting the inquiry, when she does not find the child who committed the offense at his family's home, she summons him with his parents to come to her at the League's office, where she can speak in complete freedom with the juvenile alone, and can also talk with his parents. In this interview the researcher observes the child's behavior and his response to his parents' treatment of him; then she tries to deduce from this his dispositions, his conduct, his inclinations, his habits, his friendships, his means of amusement, the things he complains of, and his record — the aim of all this being to arrive at the cause of the crime's commission.