PRISON SYSTEMS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1934, Page 15

PRISON SYSTEMS

THE OLD AND THE NEW

ADDRESS BY MR. DALLARD

METHODS IN DOMINION

"Public opinion in regard to prison conditions, is usually ill informed and exaggerated. One view is that it is 'a grim.repressive soul-destroying rolic of barbaric times. Another is that it is a place of comfort and ease where good food, lodging, and even entertainment aro provided frco by a benevolent Government. Neither of these views con■veys a correct impression of the position," said Mr. B. L. Dallard, Undersecretary of. Justice and ControllerGeneral ■of Prisons in an address on "The Development of the Prison System" which lie delivered to the annual meeting of the Wellington Justices' Association. After referring to the gradual development of penological ideas and the enlightening influence of the Italian school of eriminologists, prominent among whom were Beccaria and Lombroso, Mr. Dallard described at length the English.prison system, upon which New Zealand methods were largely based. DOMINION'S PRISON HISTORY. "Dealing with the prison system in the Dominion prior to 1880—in which year control was centralised under Captain Hume, who was brought out from England to reorganise the prison system" of 'the Colony—the records are very meagre,'' said Mr. Dallard. '' The earliest record I have been able to •trace of a prison is in 1838, in the historic • village of Korororeka (now Russell) in. the Bay, of Islands, which then had.a white population of approximately 1000. Difficulties arose there regarding the administration of justice, owing to the "limitation o£ the jurisdiction of1- the Governor of New South Wales. Some form of social control was found to be .necessary. The lawlessness of, some of the beachcombers was such as to infuriate the Natives, and likely to lead:to friction, and an association of citizens was formed which administered justice in a rough and ready, but quite effective fashion. ... "As the Colony developed local gaols were established, but persons found guilty of more serious offences were transported to Tasmania. Some criminals were detained in military barracks, and others in hulks. The last prison hulk at the' Otago ; Heads was not abolished-until less than half a century ago- , '. ' 1' The "first documentary record that I can ,^race of a prison in Wellington is in 1849. From the record it would seem that all,classes of prisoners, including lunatics, were housed together. The prisoners were employed repairing tho public,streets of the city, and generally, ithe conditions were similar to those obtaining in the English local prisons at the time. • • ' THE COMMISSION OF 1868. "Prior to the passing of tho Gaolers Act;' 1858,' the control of prisons and the appointment of gaolers vested in tho Superintendents of the Provinces, but owing to the inconsistencies and irregularity of the treatment of prisoners, and' the fact that the Judges had from time to time reported on the unsatisfactory position, a Royal Commission was set lip in 1868 to inquire into the state of affairs. "The general conclusions of the Commission were that the existing law relating to prisons was unnecessarily complicated, indefinite, and not understood; that illegal practices resulted, and that conditions-varied substantially in different parts of tho colony. The Commission was definitely of the opinion that the law should be consolidated, and control centralised in ono authority. The Commission was of tho opinion that in none of the existing prisons in the colony was any system of punishment carried out which, to any appreciable extent, served tho real ends of the criminal law; that the punishments were neither afflictive nor irksome, neither deterrent nor reformatory; that the existing position tended to corrupt and demoralise; and that the prisons were training schools for the creation and maintenance of erim- ] inal classes; that the conditions in the prisons were entirely unsatisfactory; that there was no provision for the separation of juvenile offenders from other convicts, nor of the separation of men awaiting trial from convicted prisoners. It, was considered that the! habit of permitting prisoner's to work! in the streets was most objectionable, as notorious criminals became the object of morbid curiosity and created an unwholesome familiarity, particularly with the younger members of the public; that the labour was not sufficiently irksome, and tho treadmill crank and shot drill, were advocated; that discipline should be severe—and not relaxed —was particularly stressed, and that as a temporary expedient, the convicts of the worst character and those under longer sentence should be drafted from the various local gaols into hulks. "As a result of this Commission little was done, and matters were allowed more, or less to drift, until in 1878 a special Parliamentary Committee was set up to inquire into the state of the gaols of the-colony. This Committees report, largely confirmed the Commission's findings, stating that little or nothing had been done towards the classification of prisoners. . ... CENTRALISED CONTROL OF PRISONS. "As the outcome of-the Committee's report, tho Government decided to reorganiso the prison system, and centralise control, and arranged to bring Captain Hume from England to carry out this work. Captain Hume was a great' believer in the classification of prisoners, and in his first report advocated separate confinement, and particularly drew attention to the iniquity of sending young children to prison. In his report for 1886 he drew attention to the fact that as many as forty children under tho age of ten years had passed through the prisons during that year. He was a staunch advocate of the use of, the birch rod, was opposed to the educating of prisoners, and did not believe in the granting of any privileges such as the issue'of tobacco. His attitude reflected the attitude of the time in England. At the same time much credit is due to New Zealand's _ first prison administrator. He established tho first tree-planting camp at Waiotapu, and the first road-making camp near Milford. lie also advocated the establishment of prison farms. It was dining his period of office that the First OffpTiflPVß Probation Act was passed. "In 1905 Captain Hume recommended statutory provision for the segregation and indeterminate detention of habitual criminals. The Habitual Criminal Act was passed the following year. In 1020, thf* Offenders Probation Act was passed extending probation to all classes of offenders —it hitherto applied nnly to first offenders —and in 1924 the Prevention of Crime (Borstal TnstituUnns Establishment) Act, following tho English Act, wns passed. In 1028 the Montnl Deficiency Amendment Act wns pnssprl providing for the estaW'shmont of elinicsi-- and for farm colonies . for fpoble-mimletl. PRISON RECEPTIONS DECREASE. "Under the present method of classification we have all youthful offenders, to avoid their contamination with older offenders, sent to the Borstal institutions where they receive treatment ap-1

propriate to their age. It is found that the most hopeful results are to be achieved, by subjecting youths, while their minds are still plastic, to reformative influences, and when it is born in mind only 14 per cent, again appear before the Courts, the results speak for themselves. Old and senile offenders are detained at Wanganui gaol where the conditions aro more suited to their physical and mental condition. Tho more dangerous criminals' and those whoso records show that they cannot with safety to the community be given the liberties afforded at the farms, are detained at Mount Eden: The sexually depraved are segregated ut New Plymouth, where there are special facilities for- supervision, and where the medical officer is a qualified psychiatrist. The more trusted and younger offenders, who are too old for- the Borstal, are sent to the farms and camps where they are employed on useful constructive work under conditions that are healthful and reformative. Tho results generally may be gauged from the fact that there has been a drop in the prison receptions since the immediate pre-war years from 31 per 10,000 of the genoral population to 17 per 10,000 for last year. "The system of useful employment of prisoners is not only reflected in greater enthusiasm on the part of the prisoners in carrying out the work allotted to' them, and ' thereby stimulating habits of industry, but it is reflected in the financial results. The amount earned by the'effective' marshalling of prison labour' last year, • notwithstanding the depression, was £55,000, and to this extent the taxpayer was saved the cost of the upkeep of prisoners.'