Probation Officer Defends Bodgies

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29367, 21 November 1960, Page 2

Probation Officer Defends Bodgies

“There is not much wrong with the so-called bodgies in Cathedral square.” This is the view of Mr J. H. Jeffrey, probation officer in Christchurch, who spoke to a recent meeting of the North Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Women Teachers’ Association.

“A lot of nonsense is talked about them,” he said. “Once you start hanging labels on people, you are getting on to dangerous ground—you are putting them on a sort of pedestal.”

Children needed training at home, by their parents, not by the teacher or the probation officer, he said. “Once you are •too busy’ to attend to them, you sow the seeds of trouble. Once you start building a wall between yourself and your child, 'all is lost.”

People coming out of prison also needed to be accepted by society, said Mr Jeffrey. “Once they get a few knock-backs, they naturally turn back to crime.” Mr Jeffrey, who spent 25 years with the Metropolitan Police Force in London, spoke on some of his experiences. “It gave me an education I could never get from any book,” he said. “Say, officer, where do you carry your gun?” was a question often asked by American tourists. "We don’t need guns,” said Mr

Jeffrey. An inquiry into the shooting of a policeman in the Craig-Bentley case brought the response from policemen that they still did not want to carry arms. London’s Bobbies With his quietness and efficiency, the London bobby was called on when any crisis arose—anything from arranging a funeral to changing a man’s tyre. Mr Jeffrey spent the first 10 years of his service in the Soho and Mayfair districts. *‘l got to know the two. societies very well, and after a while I began to wonder which was which,” he said. His most difficult jobs were with the vice squad, dealing with brothels and clubs. “It takes patience, tolerance, and hours of work,” he said. For the last four years Mr Jeffrey has been in Christchurch, most of this time as probation officer. “There were many things I missed when I arrived,” he said, “especially wasting hours and hours watching television. Here you have more worthwhile things to do.” He does not like New Zealand hotels. “The first time I went into a bar, I thought it was a football match. There were five of us, and we fought our way to the bar, and had 10 drinks each between 20 to six and 6 o’clock.” Drinking Hours “Men with drink are like children with toys—take it away and they will scream. You can’t stop men drinking, but if public ■ houses were open 24 hours a day there would be no more drunkenness than if they were open for one hour.” There was nothing nicer, he said, than to go home for dinner, wash, eat, and if you felt so disposed, take your wife for a quiet and pleasant evening at the pub.