TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21199, 25 June 1934, Page 9

TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS

TO TM IDI7OB or Sir,—l read with the greatest inter. «t, beina an old prison visitor, an •jwle under this heeding in "The and agree heartily with Mr Lalng. end your corresfjor.W*t signing "Sinaspe." The treatment Criminals in New Zealand is mH;®s3ble: and there ought to be a public •tttcry against it. The cause of the the condition of the criminal, of ofEervce®—ow system

takes no account of any of these; subnormal normal, abnormal, poor, diseased—all such offenders are dumped into prison with the comparatively few that are deliberately inclined to crime: and what is the result? A huge prison population! We are simply disgraced by our prison figures. In an article printed in April of this year, Lieutenant-Colonel Vivian Henderson, late Under-Secretary for State, Home Office, gives the latest figure, for prison population at Home as "below 12,500." Taking out general population as one-twenty-sixth England's, our prison population should be, what? Considerably fewer than 500, should it not? Well, last year it was 1669! What is almost worse is the result of comparing our figures with Australia's. I have recently perused the latest Prisons Keport of each state there, and find that even Victoria and New South Wales have a smaller proportional prison population than New Zealand. Had we only their quota, we should have fewer than 1200 of our people daily in prison: had we South Australia's, we should have fewer than 1000; had we Queensland's, fewer than 450. Moreover, our wretched figure keeps growing. In 1923 it was but 1114, and every year since, except one, has seen a gradual increase. How does this pay us, especially as each prisoner's (net) cost per annum is £B2 16s? What is wrong? This dumping of all offenders alike into prison, to begin with, then the stupid mass treatment given in our prisons—"reformative detention" is only a name, and a misleading one, for there is no reformative treatment, no welfare; worker to examine, study, and repon on the individual offender (with a view to his reclamation) to a proper after-care committee, no scientific appraisement or treatment. When some poor wretch is so hopelessly subnormal that even the intelligence of the average warder admits it. *then he is turned over to the mental hospital authorities, and put into a mental hospital, even though not insane at all. And what can be more cruel than that?

There are a good many more things wrong too, but I must cut -short because I want to emphasise one of the worst of all, in my opinion, and what is—the sticky self-satisfaction of those in authority. The Howard League has at last managed to "bust-up" that unfortunate fable about "trades being taught" at' our Borstals (and more | power and credit to the league); yet, reading recently the report to the League of Nations on a questionnaire about child welfare. I was utterlv disgusted at finding that fable unctuously repeated by our authorities! The selfcomplacent tone of our whole report contrasted most miserably too, with that of every other nation reporting. It made me hot under the collar. Not one word, of course, about our huge general prison population, or the equally disproportionate number sent to Eorstals. instead of being put on decent probation. Our probation again —but I cannot go into that, or you will never print this letter; nor must I say anything more about our Habitual Criminals Act, except that it simply makes outlaws for life. Yet the Minister merely smiles and says how clean Paparua is. instead .of being, as he should be, deeply ashamed at the number of its occupants, and the way they can, and do, teach one another crime. The truth is. that we in New Zealand have never yet gone beyond the idea that prison is a place of punishment by detention. England has. "Reformation and training am playing a larger and larger part in our modern code of prison rules and administration," says Sir Vivian Henderson. Holland has. She has gone all out for reformation and individual understanding, and reduced thereby her prison population by 60 per cent, in the last 30 years. She had the least proportion of murders in Europe last year (after abolishing capital punishment in 18o0); and she has begun to train her judges in psychology and sociology, so that they can check crime the better by understanding the criminal. Poor New Zealandl Sqr far from ■. any -of arlr-this that • she has" hot yet even one home for feebleminded adults, let alone any observation centre or clinic, travelling or otherwise. The £ s. d." cry will always be raised. JTo my knowledge better treatment of the feeble-minded was asked for by official prison visitors right through the good years of last decade; but where is it? That cry strikes me as the purest humbug considering the atrocious extravagance and inefficiency of our present system, against which I fear tn>;t you will never find the authorities crying out. The Howard League does and I hope it will go on. But the wublic should too.—Yours etc t A£ 9k 1 ? prison VISITOR. "' June 22, 1934.