Out of Step A Study of Young Delinquent Soldiers in Wartime; Their Offences, Their Background and Their Treatment Under an Army Experiment

In the early years of the War the Army was burdened with a great number of troublesome soldiers who would not take to the discipline. They were not only useless as fighting men, but were also likely to be a bad influence on others. Normal methods of punishment were tried repeatedly, to little effect, and as the expanding Army began to run short of manpower new methods were tried to deal with the delinquents. In September 1941 new experimental Special Training Units were established with the aim of converting them into good soldiers through careful individual treatment and retraining. The units aimed to achieve retraining through education and not punishment, and this book, first published in 1952, is a careful analysis of the aims and results of the programme.

Part 1. Special Training 1. An Army Experiment 2. Methods of Training 3. The Results Achieved by ‘Special’ Training Part 2. The Offender 4. A Delinquent Population? 5. The Method of Inquiry 6. The Scope of the Inquiry 7. Physique and Health 8. Diseases and Disorders 9. Intelligence and Attainment 10. Emotional Types 11. Some General Characteristics 12. Illiteracy 13. Educational Backwardness Part 3. The Offender in Conflict with the Army 14. Reactions to Army Life 15. Army Offences Part 4. The Offender’s Background 16. Civilian Employment 17. The Home Town 18. Civilian Troubles 19. Leisure Activities 20. School Days 21. The Family Part 5. Conclusions 22. Tracing the Causes

Joseph Trenaman