PRISON REFORM

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 May 1912, Page 5

PRISON REFORM

TELEGRAMS.

A START WITH CLASSIFICATION

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’WELLINGTON, This Day. “The most pressing need in connection with the prison system of New Zealand,” said the Minister of Justice, (Hon. .1. A. Hamm) to your correspondent to-day,” is a proper system of classification. There aye two ways of securing this. One is to provide new and up-to-date'prison buildings and the other is to make additions and improvements to the.present buildings and set apart certain of them for certain classes of prisoners. Thought the first proposal is no doubt the better, it involves so large an expenditure as to be out of the question and it would take some years to get into working order. We want to utilise our present buildings and get th e best results at the earliest possible moment by adopting the second alternative we hope to have a fairly efficient classification scheme within twelve months at a moderate cost. Most of the necessary alterations can be carried out by the prisoners for the bare cost of materials.” The Minister briefly outlined some of the first essentials in the scheme of utilising the resources at present to Jus band in building up au efficient classification scheme. Steps are being taken to convert the old Addington gaol into a prison for women for the South Island and the women at present at Lyttelton will be transferred. Lyttelton prison is to be utilised for of the more dangerous and hardened class and enable a degree of classification to be carried out.

Only prisoners serving sentences of three months and under will be incarcerated at thg Dunedin gaol while Invercargill is to be made into a firstclass prison. At Auckland it is proposed to divide the exercise yards so that the classification can be carried out more effectually and short sentence ment kept completely out of the way of hardened criminals.