The 'Predelinquent' and the Community: Psychiatric Surveillance and Predictive Policing in Interwar Berkeley

Area of Science:

• History of Criminology
• Sociology of Law Enforcement
• Psychiatric Surveillance

Background:

• The Berkeley Police Department, a leader in scientific training, initiated novel predictive policing programs in the 1920s and 1930s.
• These programs targeted 'predelinquent' youth, focusing on early detection of psychological issues believed to precede criminality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how the psychiatric category of 'predelinquency' was used by law enforcement.
• To analyze the community's role in pre-emptive surveillance and correction of at-risk children.
• To understand how 'predelinquency' adapted to local concerns and reinforced community norms.

Main Methods:

• Historical analysis of Berkeley Police Department's programs and community involvement.
• Examination of the psychiatric framework of 'predelinquency' and its application.
• Analysis of how surveillance and correction strategies evolved.

Main Results:

• Law enforcement utilized 'predelinquency' to engage the community in identifying and correcting 'at-risk' youth.
• This psychiatric category facilitated pre-emptive surveillance networks.
• The concept of 'predelinquency' was flexible, adapting to local anxieties and shaping perceptions of threat and improvability.

Conclusions:

• The 'predelinquency' framework enabled community-wide, pre-emptive surveillance by law enforcement.
• This approach reinforced social boundaries by defining 'normative' community members.
• Predictive policing strategies, through psychiatric categorization, influenced social control and community norms.