Frances Sleep: Expert and Advocate, 1958


Trend in Juvenile Court Delinquency Cases
and Child Population 10-17 years of age
1940-1958
Juvenile Court Statistics - 1958, pdf page 16

About Frances Sleep

Expert
During 1958, Judge Sleep emerged as an expert on juvenile delinquency, a topic that concerned many Americans at that time. Efforts to understand what historian James Gilbert called “the sudden postwar burst of delinquency and youthful viciousness” took many forms in the United States during the Eisenhower years, from the establishment of a Congressional subcommittee to investigate the influence of comic books on young people to forums in small towns where local criminal justice experts shared their knowledge of what juveniles were doing in their own back yards with interested citizens. (Gilbert, A Cycle of Outrage: America’s Reaction to the Juvenile Delinquent in the 1950s, p. 3)

By its own admission, Juvenile Court Statistics - 1958, a report published by the U.S. Children's Bureau in 1960, did "not measure the full extent" of juvenile delinquency in the nation in 1958, but it did "indicate how frequently" juvenile courts were used to deal with such cases. Describing juvenile courts as an "important community resource" for dealing with delinquency cases, the report revealed that they had handled roughly 470,000 cases in 1958, an increase of seven percent over 1957. Although the increase was lower than in recent years, it nonetheless continued the upward trend that had started ten years earlier. (Juvenile Court Statistics - 1958, pdf page 3, 5)

The report also pointed out that delinquency was "not limited to the large cities as is so often supposed." "On the contrary," the report reads, "the increase in 1958 was much greater in the rural courts than in the urban and semi-urban courts." Conversely, the court statistics confirmed the common perception that delinquency was "primarily a boy's problem." Boys were, in fact, referred to juvenile courts "more than four times as often as girls" during 1958. In addition to the delinquency cases, many juvenile courts also handled traffic offenses involving juveniles, and in 1958, the number of cases reported was 230,000, an increase of 41 percent over 1957. The number of neglect and dependency cases also grew in 1958, increasing by 9 percent over 1957 and totaling 124,000. (Juvenile Court Statistics - 1958, pdf page 5, 6, 9)

The statistics found in Juvenile Court Statistics - 1958 were based on a national sample of roughly 2,000 juvenile courts in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Because Idaho was not among the states that reported data from its juvenile courts, it is difficult to pinpoint the scope of juvenile delinquency in Bonner County. Yet, that two community discussions about the topic were held in Sandpoint during the month of February alone strongly suggests that citizens were concerned.  

In early February, the members of the Current Events department of the Sandpoint Civic Club explored the issue at a discussion titled, “Juveniles in Our Community and Their Problems." Judge Sleep, Sandpoint Chief of Police George Elliot, and Idaho State Police officer P.J. Monaghan served as panelists. At the end of the month, Judge Sleep participated in (and perhaps organized) another discussion of juveniles and their problems. Joining her at the expert's table were Chief of Police Ellliot; Bonner County Sheriff Don Maynard; Don Samuelson, chair of the Bonner County Recreation Board (and future governor of Idaho); Jack Monaghan of the Idaho State Police; and Louis McCracken, "state liquor inspector." (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, February 27, 1958, p. 11)

More than 100 citizens attended the meeting, which was held in the auditorium of the Sandpoint Junior High School. First to speak, according to an article in the February 27 edition of the Sandpoint News-Bulletin, was Chief Elliot who addressed the subject of "car ownership by high school students." After Elliot had expressed his opinion that "cars and education" could not "be made to mix," Sheriff Maynard spoke. Not only did he express his wholehearted support of "the kids of Bonner county," he also provided some evidence, be it anecdotal, of the extent of juvenile delinquency in the community. When Judge Sleep asked Maynard "what he had concluded from his contacts with juveniles in trouble," the sheriff said that "only about three percent of all the kids in the county...ever get into trouble." "Maybe," he added, "that percentage is too high. I guess we've got better kids here than anywhere else in this section of the state. I know this to be a fact." (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, February 27, 1958, p. 11)

In his comments, Officer Monaghan returned to the subject of teens and car ownership, explaining that his "department of law enforcement tells me to work with anything applying to vehicle travel, and that means violation of state, city or county traffic codes." As much as he was personally committed to stopping juvenile crime before it happened, his department, he said, lacked the "manpower...for any rehabilitation work. (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, February 27, 1958, p. 11)

Inspector McCracken offered the attendees a solution to juvenile crime. "All newspapers," he said, "should "print the names of juveniles involved in crimes." "There isn't a parent here tonight," McCracken added, "who would allow his child to go out with another juvenile whose name had appeared in the paper following some sort of a crime against the state. In most of the cases I investigate the first and most important question these juveniles ask is whether or not their names will appear in the paper. These youngsters are never concerned with their parents, but are concerned only with keeping their own names out of the paper." (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, February 27, 1958, p. 11)


After McCracken had spoken, the topic of whether Bonner County should hire a juvenile probation officer came up, and according to the News-Bulletin article, all panel members were "adamant" that it should, and as soon as possible. The panelists also explained that a juvenile officer would screen all juvenile cases and send only the most serious to Judge Sleep's court. As strong as the need appeared to be, Bonner County would not have its own juvenile officer until January 1966. It seems very likely, too, that had it not been for Judge Sleep's persistence in seeking state funds to expand juvenile counseling services in northern Idaho, the position might not have been created as early as it was. (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, February 27, 1958, p. 11)

Youth Camp-out Advocate
The citizens of Bonner County did more than talk about juveniles and their problems; they offered them an alternative to temptation. During the spring of 1958, Judge Sleep and other concerned citizens formed the Idaho Youth Natural Resources Association to administer a "youth camp-out and recreation program" for the boys of the county. Working in cooperation with such state agencies as the departments of Parks and Fish and Game, and much in the same way as the Civilian Conservation Corps of the Great Depression era, the the Association's youth camp-out program provided boys between the ages of 14 and 17 the opportunity to earn a small stipend while working to improve public recreational sites located in the county. (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, May 15, 1958, p. 1)

The first Bonner County youth camp-out took place at the end of June at Round Lake State Park under the direction of Department of Parks official, Lester M. Tovey According to an article in the July 3 edition of the Sandpoint News-Bulletin, the nine boys who participated in the two-day camp cleared brush, pruned tree limbs, and renovated trails. They also they enjoyed the amenities of the park, which included the refreshing waters of Round Lake. The second camp-out, which the Idaho State Forestry Department sponsored, was held in early July at what is now Priest Lake State Park, and in late July, the third took place at Shepherd Lake, under the sponsorship of the Bonner County Sportsmen’s Association. In August, three more camps were held, thanks to the state’s transportation department. 

"From every angle,” the camps were "most successful," according to an article in a 1958 edition of Gem State Peace Officer. Local and state officials were pleased by the quality and quantity of the work done, and the boys were happy to have had the opportunity to earn money while also having fun and making new friends. The teens also appreciated "the time given by the adults," as well as "their interest in setting up the camp-out evening programs.” (Gem State Peace Officer, Vol. 12-2, 1958, p. 28)

“Close cooperation between all departments,” the article explains, “kept the program moving smoothly.” For example, the state forestry department provided transportation for the first three camp-outs, and the state transportation department, for the last three. Bonner County's commissioners ensured that an adult was present at the camps “at all times” and also supplied “hand tools and two large tarps for shelter.” Members of the Idaho Youth Natural Resources Association “prepared and delivered" hot meals for the evening meals. (Gem State Peace Officer, Vol. 12-2, 1958, p. 5) 

"Jobs for Youth" Committee Member
As an advocate of providing work opportunities for youth, it is no surprise that Judge Sleep was a member of the 1958 "Jobs for Youth" committee, which Sandpoint mayor Floyd A. Perks had formed in 1957. The purpose of the committee was to assist teenagers in securing jobs during the summer through the establishment of a Youth Employment Service in the Sandpoint office of the state's employment agency. According to an article in the August 28 edition of the Sandpoint News-Bulletin, the 1958 program was "more successful than the one last year" and would be continued in 1959. (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, August 28, 1958, p. 5)

Director
At a "special meeting" held in late April, Judge Sleep was elected to the board of directors of the Idaho Youth Ranch. Reverend James Crowe and his wife Ruby Carey Crowe founded the ranch in 1952 as a place where "kids could grow and learn." Originally located near Rupert, Caldwell is now the home of the Idaho Youth Ranch.


Judge Sleep with Judge Rulon W. Clark, Salt Lake City, left
and Judge C.L. Woodward, Moscow, Deseret News, May 15, 1958


Idaho Juvenile Judge
In mid-May, Judge Sleep traveled to Provo, Utah to attend the Rocky Mountain Juvenile Court Institute. There, she and other juvenile court judges, as well as probation officers, from throughout the Intermountain region, met for four days to "exchange ideas on juvenile problems," according to an article in the May 15 edition of the Deseret News. Among the matters discussed was Judge Sleep's practice of holding "informal monthly gatherings" with Bonner County juveniles who had been placed on probation. "We have a group discussion in a light-hearted atmosphere," she is quoted as saying in an article in the Deseret News article. Sleep also spoke about Bonner County's youth camp-out program. (Deseret News, May 15, 1958, p. 23)

Vice President
At the end of May, Judge Sleep was selected vice president of the Probation and Juvenile Officers Association of Idaho at a meeting held at the Idaho Industrial Training School in St. Anthony. The meeting, which an article in the June 5 edition of the Sandpoint News-Bulletin described as "one of the important and far-reaching meetings of its kind ever held" in the Inland Northwest, probate judges, social workers, and juvenile court officers discussed a variety of subjects, including possible changes the legislation that governed the disposition of all juvenile cases in Idaho, the Youth Rehabilitation Act; mental illness services, and mandatory drivers' education for youth. (This article lacked a byline, but the author suspects Sleep wrote it.) (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, June 5, 1958, p. 13)



Idaho Probate Judges, June 1958,
McCall, Idaho

Meeting Attendee
In mid-June, Judge Sleep met with the state's other probate judges in McCall at their annual conference. As it had at the Probation and Juvenile Officers Association of Idaho meeting, the state's Youth Rehabilitation Act dominated discussion. An AP article in the June 13 edition of the Kellogg Evening News explains that the judges proposed that the act be revised to give them more "power to impose sterner treatment of juvenile offenders." (Kellogg Evening News, June 13, 1958, p. 5)

Specifically, the judges asked that they be given authority to "jail youngsters for up to 30 days as long" as they were not confined with adults; that "they may allow county prosecuting attorneys to bring youths to trial as adults for either felonies or misdemeanors;" and that they "be allowed to commit minors directly to the Industrial Training School at St. Anthony, instead of going through the State Board of Health." The judges also discussed driving regulations for juveniles and went on to suggest that the minimum age be raised from 14 to 16 and that drivers' training be made mandatory. (Kellogg Evening News, June 13, 1958, p. 5)

Bonner County Probate and Juvenile Judge
In the November general election, a majority of the county's voters returned Judge Sleep to office. “Your heart-warming vote of confidence on my behalf in Tuesday’s election,” she wrote in a note published in the November 6 edition of the News-Bulletin, “is sincerely appreciated. I shall do my utmost to continue to merit your esteem and support.” Sleep signed the note, "Frances Sleep, Probate and Juvenile Judge." (Sandpoint News-Bulletin, November 6, 1958, p. 13)


#####

The image without a caption is from Facts about juvenile delinquency, Children's Bureau, 1955, Google eBook, page 13







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Frances Sleep: Chair and Advisor, 1966 through 1968

Image
  Sandpoint News-Bulletin , November 10, 1966 About Frances Sleep Meeting Chair In mid-November 1966, just days after being re-elected Bonner County’s Probate Judge in the general election, Judge Sleep presided over the annual meeting of the Idaho Conference of Social Welfare in Boise. If accounts of the proceedings in the Idaho Statesman are accurate, Conference President Sleep oversaw a rancorous meeting. First, Idaho Governor Robert E. Smylie insulted a group of Idaho housewives, and then the conferees nearly censured the Idaho Department of Public Assistance and its director.   An account of the Smiley insult incident is in an article in the November 18 edition of the Idaho Statesman . Unfortunately, it so confusing that an exact sequence of events is difficult to determine. The Idaho Conference on Social Welfare, it seems, had invited the governor to speak at its annual meeting – something he had done in the past. In 1966, however, Smylie was unable to appear in-pers...
Read more

Frances Sleep: President-Developer-Commissioner, 1961

Image
Idaho Statesman , January 1961 About Frances Sleep     President, Idaho Press Women According to an article in the Saturday, January 21, 1961, edition of the Idaho Statesman , Judge Sleep had recently arrived in Boise to preside as president at the annual meeting and luncheon of the Idaho Press Women . Before the women got down to business, however, they enjoyed a luncheon at which Betty Penson, the “Statesman’s woman’s editor,” and former Idaho governor C.A. Bottolfsen, spoke. Penson discussed her experiences on a recent trip to Africa, and Bottolfsen – with Idaho’s territorial centennial only two years away – challenged those present to do more to publicize Idaho’s “rich treasury of history.”” ( Idaho Statesman , January 23, 1961, p. 9) Flag-raising ceremony, Camp Pioneer, Priest Lake, July 1961 Idaho Youth Conservation Corps “Developer” In mid-February, a n article in the February 12 edition of the  Idaho Statesman  reports that , a bill "setting up a pilot ...
Read more

My Company Tis of Thee

Image
Update :  Court OK's Hudson's Bay selling trademarks, like iconic stripes, to Canadian Tire , CBC , June 3, 2025 While the Thirteen American Colonies gained their independence from Great Britain in 1776, another English colony in North America could not claim the same until 1846. Located in the upper northwestern corner of North America, the British originally called the colony the Columbia District , and later, the Columbia Department. When the geopolitical ambitions of the young United States stirred at the turn of the 19 th century, its citizens not only claimed the colony as its own but also renamed it. Nineteenth century Americans called the region, the Oregon Country . Relying on diplomacy, it took the United States and Great Britain nearly 40 years to resolve their conflicting claims on the territory. The first formal agreement between the two nations came in 1818 when they agreed to occupy the region jointly. At that time, however, neither the U.S. nor Great Britain wa...
Read more