BORSTAL SYSTEM.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 91, 18 April 1929, Page 20

BORSTAL SYSTEM.

PRAISED BY N.S.W. MINISTER. ONLY EIGHT PER CENT OF FAILURES. CONTROL WITHOUT HKUI WALLS. i P,v Tolejrrnpli.—Own Correspondent.) DUNEDIN, Wednesday. The Hon. 1). H. Drnmmond, Minister of Education in New South Wales, who came to the Dominion to observe the working of the Borstal system, which has no exact parallel in New South Wales, has inspected the Borstal Institution at Tnverca rgill. "The institution appears to be conducted on lines which arc, in my opinion, calculated to give the best results," said Mr. Druinmond. "The small percentage of failures, namely 8 per cent, strengthens the opinion that it will be difficult to find a more effective way of dealing with delinquent youth. Whether this work should be carried on, as it is in New South Wales to some extent, as an extension of the child welfare work, or whether it should be under prison control, is a matter that can only be determined by experience. As the youthful offenders are not really criminals in the true sense of the word, as indicated by the high percentage of successes from the treatment, it is questionable whether association with prison work is desirable. It is to settle this question in my own mind that I am visiting the New Zealand institutions.

"While in Invercargill I observed with the greatest pleasure that the system had been adopted of permitting inmates to take part in outside sports and competitions and I should like to congratulate Rotarians on the splendid work they are doing in visiting the institute and giving lectures, as I feci thatthis work must be very valuable in the restoration of the self respect of inmates. The co-operation of the Y.M.C.A. is also notable.

"The principal contrast- which strikes one in visiting Invercargill is the gaollike nature of the principal buildings as compared with the almost complete freedom observed on the farm, which is in proximity to the town. The fact that the boys on the farm are quite amenable to control without the aid of high walls and doors raises in one's mind the question whether these rather terrifying structures are really necessary adjuncts to the successful maintenance of the system. Probably if such an institution had to he started off scratch the experience at Invercargill would indicate that a merely nominal wall, or no wall at all, would meet the case."