REFORMATIVE DETENTION

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 May 1936, Page 2

REFORMATIVE DETENTION

UNDESIRABLE SENTENCED “This man first came under our notice prior to December, 1935, owing to complaints of residents in the Camerons district. As a result, Plainclothes Constable Clements and myself went out, and found the man living in a house, with another vagabond. Shortly after that, the house was burnt down, and later, accused was brought into Court and received a month’s imprisonment for being an idle and disorderly person. After he served the sentence he went to Barrytown, and got into another house there.. As a result of complaints, the police went out, and he disappeared for some time. About ten weeks ago he returned to Greymouth, and since has been living in the outhouses and stables at the trotting course. For food, he has been cadging off ships. When asked about his living,‘he said that he could not work. This man will not work, and I think that the trouble is that the fear of work gets him down. From a criminal point of view, he is not a desirable person to be at large, and further, for his own safety, as he will possibly be either burnt, or found dead from exposure.” This statement was made in the Magistrate’s Court. Greymouth, to-day, by Detective-Sergeant H. E. Knight, when William Venice Aitken, alias William Venis Foot, 39, described as a labourer, was charged that, on Slay 8, at Greymouth, he was deemed to be a rogue and vagabond within the meaning of the Police Offences Act, 1927, in that he had insufficient lawful visible means of support, and had been previously convicted of being an idle and disorderly person, at Greymouth/on December 10. 1935. Accused pleaded guilty, and. in reply to Mr. H. Morgan, S.M., said that he had nothing to say. „ “You have a very formidable list, said the S.M., addressing accused. “I think I told you that in December last. You have spent a lot of your time in prison for crimes, and have quite a number of convictions for offences similar to that to which you have pleaded guilty this morning., I gave you some leniency when you were before me previously, as you had not been charged for four years prior to that date, to give you an opportunity to get work and try to become a decent citizen. Apparently, you have not done the best you could do, and are still carrying on your idle and disorderly habits, begging and cadging. You have proved yourself to be a most undesirable citizen, ill this community, anyway. It seems to me that the only thing I can do is to send you for a term of imprisonment, and advise you, when the term is up, to get work; at least, not to come back to this district. If you come back here, you will get into further trouble, and it will probably mean another term of imprisonment for you. I see that you have had reformative detention on two previous occasions. You are liable on this charge to a year’s imprisonment. lam going to give you six months’ reformative detention, and 1 hope that it will be the last we shall see of you in Court.”