VANDALISM

[Music] if the pun is the lowest form of humor i guess the practical joke is the oldest you'll agree that most puns aren't very funny the same thing goes for a big percentage of practical jokes it's april fool's day and these boys think they've dreamed up a killer little do they know [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah a real killer very funny practical joke what's the point of all this the point is the handcuffs are just as tight and jail doors just as hard to open whether you do something deliberately or whether you didn't mean to once you've been booked printed and your record is in the police files statistically speaking you're a member of that great brotherhood and sisterhood the juvenile delinquents good intentions aren't enough good sense is a lot more useful yeah but isn't there a difference between having a little fun and being bad everybody wants some fun once in a while for sure he does but there's a difference between good fun and being stupid and careless or smart alec and ignoring other people's right to enjoy life too for instance take a look at these three they don't really need anything the owner of the store has for sale but did you say something about having a little fun [Applause] it's a pretty old gag ethel needs something way in the rear of the store while she keeps the owner busy [Music] the boys steal what they want but that isn't really stealing it isn't no sometime or other every kid wants to swipe something just for the kick of it you know probably something you don't even need oh then that makes it all right eh it's only stealing when you take something you need well you see the owner doesn't know they don't really need what they took he thinks they stole it and since he paid money for his merchandise he wants it back and he wants somebody punished [Music] well he got both his wishes his merchandise and somebody punished and hank al and ethel got something too brand new police records [Music] they've got a lot of company in the juvenile division files these are the records of underage law breakers from just one large city you're talking about these kids if they were criminals well what is a criminal somebody who breaks the law if he does it often enough he's a habitual criminal according to the fbi 15 of all arrests in this country are of boys and girls under 21. every day miners get involved with the law for the first time usually just through thoughtlessness or carelessness or being wild to go a bit highbrow call it anti-social behavior in a typical city a special division of the police department with its own jail makes the first contact with boys being boys but they remain here only a few hours at most depending on the seriousness of the complaint they are either discharged or they are transferred to the juvenile hall under jurisdiction of the juvenile court here the idea is still not punishment but rather to set a boy or girl back on the road to useful citizenship before habit-forming wildness can produce another community burden another hardened habitual criminal probation officers handle every delinquency case is a separate problem like a doctor prescribing treatment they try to restore the kind of attitude that makes a normal right thinking boy or girl if they fail well there are jails all over the country full of failures not only probation officers failures but men and women who failed themselves when they were growing up yeah that's all swell but kids still have to have some fun everybody's a little wild until they grow up then they settle down that's very true but there's a difference between being wild as you put it and being a menace to the community when a boy or girl reaches high school like ben and dave here he's right at the age when he should start learning some of the responsibilities that go along with the privileges in a country like this these boys are both from good homes both with good school records but both as you say a little while and they've just been invited to a halloween party still you can't get into much trouble at a party even a halloween party though some try [Music] first our friends dave and ben spiked the punch [Music] but that's an old stale trick and there isn't enough excitement in it then they let the air out of the tires of a few cars that's pretty tame too but give them credit they're progressing the trouble is everything they get away with makes ben and dave that much bolder now they want to do something really good and remember they're just a little wild ben notices something about the car actually the owner broke the law he left the keys in the car it really isn't up to ben and dave to teach him a lesson but if they decide to do it it'll teach him a real one do what why steal his car so it's happened this isn't small change stuff anymore they've graduated into the big leagues as the police say grand theft auto of course they're thinking to themselves it isn't really stealing they just borrow the car they intend to bring it back to where they found it it's just a halloween joke they're getting bolder too driving a stolen pardon me a borrowed car right into a drive-in stand [Music] men's new idea was that they wouldn't have to pay that even if the carhop took the license number it would be traced not to ben and dave but to the owner of the car another joke well ben and dave don't know it yet but their little joke is about over you see in the meantime the owner has reported his car stolen and it was listed on the hot sheet the patrol car said in a few minutes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] when ben and dave spied the police car they knew they were really in a spot they knew they only borrowed the car but the owner didn't and the police didn't so they've made another mistake trying to get away instead of surrendering now as far as the police are concerned they could be dangerous criminals and the officers will take any measures necessary to get them [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well that's it it started with a halloween joke spiking the party punch and it ends with two boys in jail did you read about it you see this is a true story well that's all it takes you don't have to be bad or some freak known as a delinquent to get into trouble all it takes is stupidity or carelessness or a disregard for other people's rights sure you may get away with irresponsibility and let somebody else carry your load for a while but eventually it's going to catch up with you and being young underage isn't going to be enough of an alibi sometimes you're not in a position to explain that you didn't mean it you know actually we have it pretty special in the country like this but everybody is expected to do his share if he doesn't well society will take care of him eventually whether he's just a wild kid or his older brother or sister the habitual criminal so don't take silly chances with your own future it just isn't worth it [Music] you