SWEEPING CHANGES IN PENAL LAW

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28362, 22 August 1957, Page 12

SWEEPING CHANGES IN PENAL LAW

Minister Proposes Prison And Probation Reforms

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, August 21. A sweeping’ redefinition of the penal code has been propose! by the Minister of Justice (Mr J. R. Marshall), It provides for extensions of psychological, matrimonial conciliation and probation services; the removal from prisons of certain categories of persons offering no danger to the community and who would repay damage done while remaining members of the community; and a 50 per cent, increase in accommodation for New Zealand’s prison population. Because he is hot satisfied with the research in the fields of delinquency and crime, Mr Marshall has decided to establish a research unit in the Department of Justice.

Mr Marshall proposes to develop the Probation Service to the point where a skilled probation service is available to every Court of law in the Dominion.

Mr Marshall is satisfied that the prison psychological service, working with the psychiatric service, has a positive role to play in the reformation of some prisoners, and that the service should be available to any inmate who could profit by it. The Minister also proposes a considerable extension ' of the matrimonial conciliation service. The frequency with which broken homes feature in the social history of offenders has led him to the conclusion that the State must ■strengthen matrimonial conciliation services in the effort to reduce crime. The direction' and organisation of the service in the main centres will be under an officer of the Probation Service.

The availability of the Probation Service io the i 7 to 21-year age »roup before first offences have been committed, but where tendencies toward offending are becoming apparent, is also proposed. Mr Marshall believes that the experience and guidance of probation officers should be available to parents who are having difficulty in controlling older children. An inter-departmental committee, has been set up to consider the incidence of Maori crime, as a preliminary to finding ways to reduce it. Removal from Prison The Minister has decided that efforts should be made to remove from prisons certain categories of prisoners. These include alcoholics, in whose treatment more emphasis will' be placed on medical considerations, and borderline mental defectives. Although it is not possible at present to set aside a special institution for these groups, it is proposed, as soon as practicable, to give particular attention to the problem of the latter group and to invite the Mental Hygiene Division of the Department of Health to join the Department of Justice in undertaking a more constructive form of penal treatment.

Also to be removed from prisons are young persons and first offenders who are detained pending trial, or who are remanded for sentence.

It is proposed to investigate th* possibility of establishing small remand centres in the major cities to cater for such offenders, as well as maintenance defaulters and ships’ deserters. Mr Marshall believes that there may be more cases than is at present conceded where an alternative to imprisonment may be a better punishment; and that there must be a fresh approach to the problem. He suggests that many cases could be effectively dealt with by leaving the offender in the community to repay the damage that he has done in cases where the offender offers no danger to the community. Prisons* Role The role of prisons and Borstal institutions should be to detain and train those who are too dangerous or persistent in their offending, those who require training away from the community if they are to become adequate and law-abiding citizens, and those who require brief but firm discipline. . . ... The Minister is discussmg with the Minister of Defence (Mr T. L. Macdonald) the possibility of converting a disused Army detention centre for use as a civilian detention centre.

Mr Marshall proposes that more free use will be made of the provisions of the Penal Institution Act, which permits an inmate to be released for a few days before his eventual discharge. The national prison centre at Waikeria will be extended. A minimum security dormitory is being built, and detailed plans are being prepared for a new cell block. Preliminary plans are being made for the building at Waikeria of a new Borstal for 450 inmates. In addition, the prison camps are being extended, and secure workshops will be built at Paparua. These measures will provide for a 50 per cent, increase in the present prison population. (Further reference, Page 14)