DETENTION CENTRE ‘Readjustment’ replaces punishment

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33263, 28 June 1973, Page 17

DETENTION CENTRE ‘Readjustment’ replaces punishment

If a success rate of 60 to 70 per cent is anything to go by, then the warden of the Bristol Street Periodic Detention Centre, Mr Donald J. MacLeod, has every, reason to describe his work as “very reward-1 ing."

He calculates that percentage of his boys become law-abiding citizens after their time at the centre, and this, to the warm-hearted Scotsman, is the most important thing. Most of the boys attending the Bristol Street centre have been sentenced on charges such as burglary, assault, driving while disqualified, theft, and failure to pay fines. Their ages range from 15 to 20, and the most common sentence is six months — the maximum 12 months.

Once sentenced, a boy is obliged to attend the centre every week-end, from 7 p.m. on Friday until 11 a.m. on Sunday, and on Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. until 9. Perhaps the best indication of the purpose of this sentence comes from the boys themselves, who say that it makes them more mature, and that they learn to take responsibilities. In Mr MacLeod’s opinion, periodic detention is not so much a form of punishment as an attempt at social readjustment — “Six months of periodic supervision and guidance is often all that is required to bring about a degree of social responsibility.” Child delinquents He says that 15 years is very young and most of the youths are child delinquents who will “come right when they mature.” Mr MacLeod is obviously still motivated by the enthusiasm with which he started the centre in 1965, spending his time when the boys are at home making up his “education exercises” (which include subjects such as map reading, drawing, crossword puzzles and essay writing), preparing for the next week-end’s community activity, and organising speakers to address the boys on Wednesday evenings. The subjects of the addresses vary considerably, but among those called upon are a mountaineer, a psychologist, a lawyer, a carpenter, a policeman, and a former Bristol Street boy. It seems the talks have a purpose other than merely to in- i form the youths, for, as one!

of them put it, “it makes you change your attitude ... it makes you respect them.”

Another boy, sentenced for burglary, said: “When you see how these people are trying to make a decent life you think twice about offending'; again.” One youth told me that) ’what he enjoys most about) ■periodic detention is the! iwork he does on Saturdays,) for the aged, the infirm, and; (the disabled. Dual purpose : Usually it is something [like gardening, fencing, minor carpentry, painting or wall washing — work which has the dual purpose of aiding the community and giving the boys a sense of achievement and responsibility. In spite of his Army background (he was at one time commandant of the Services Corrective Establishment, and later head of the New Zealand Military Police), Mr MacLeod sees himself as friend rather than boss of his boys, and this may well explain the number of letters and return visits he receives. Certainly the boys I spoke to verified this with comments such as, “You can talk to him,” “He’s a good listener...” and “He wants to know your opinion.” But it is not all co-opera-tion and harmony according to them. When they first ! arrive they “try to show who’s boss,” and “buck the system,” but they “soon settle down.” One thing a boy will never know is boredom for the timetable is rigorous. Saturday’s routine, for example, begins at 6.30 a.m. with a run around the block and domestic chores in the house before breakfast at 7.30 a.m. and community’ work at . 8 a.m. Tramping trips

Twice a year everyone at the centre (it generally has a full house of 14 boys) sets off for a weekend of tramping and sleeping out in the hills, an event which is popular even with past attenders. But back at the centre, there’s always something to work towards, always something on which to spend the money that accumulates in the committee’s account. Every’ boy is a member of the ’ com-' mittee, and Mr MacLeod, as the only permanent member, is its chairman. The idea is that through participation, members will

learn some aspects of business management, and most of them get a turn as secre-tary-treasurer. Donations, which collect in an audited account, help towards the cost of recreational equipment and sometimes allow for more ambitious tasks such as the building of a 15ft boat with cabin which occupied a number of youths for nine months.

The punishment which Mr MacLeod reserves for the unco-operative consists of four hours extra attendance on a Monday evening—but he says the boys are careful not to get a “Monday night.” They seem to accept the high standard of discipline w’hich is expected of them, and to abide by the principal rule prohibiting any social contact outside the centre.

Obviously the real test is whether a boy offends again, but in the meantime, there’s hope when the parents of one boy can say that their son has "learnt a’ lesson” and that "he has changed for the better.”

Of course, there may be an exception, and the lad who said that he would rather have periodic detention than probation may not be speaking for the majority, but it is clear that periodic detention serves a vital purpose in the community.