PRISON SYSTEM

Hokitika Guardian, 24 August 1929, Page 8

PRISON SYSTEM

COMMITTALS DECREASE,

FEWER YOUNG OFFENDERS. A decrease of 299 in the committals 10 prisons and ms.ituuons is- revealed in uie annual report ol the Prisons Department presented to Parliament. The reports stated that the monthly agures to nand since end or the •statistical year snowed that a steady .ucrease 111 committals was being main...iiieu. mere had been a decrease in aie nuhiuers of oifences involving _ inipiTsoniiient'as well as a reduction intne ratio of prisoners to population, ’jhe weekly fluctuations in the' prison population showed that in the early ..inter months ol last year the nunrbei of prisoners was unusually high when unemployment was rather acute. In May, 19126, the number 111 custody was j. 06-1, which was the highest on record lor many years. There had been a satisfactory rallnig-oif in die number 01 young offenders; the number received under was 168, as compared With 2a5 for the previous year.

The sentence of capital punishment was 1101 required to be given elfect to during the year, although in one case the extreme penalty of the law was .pihmuced to life imprisonment. No ..ogg.ngs were administered.

Tne number of committments ol women to prison for drunkenness was jn!v sixteen.

xn regard to the Borstal institutes, die report stated that important steps liad been taken during the year to give fuller e.ieet to the idea of creating an Atmosphere conductive to the development ol self-reliance and sell-re-spect. Up to December 31 last the total number of committments to the Po.nt Halswell institution since its inception .four years ago had been 107, of whom' 64 had been released. Only five ’ had again appeared before the Courts.

T he development of prison industries had been in accordance with the Government's policy that Departments would not unnecessary enter Into comped, ion with private enterprise: The credits for the year amounted to £73,994, representing 45 per cent., of the total cost of administering the prison system. Farm 'revenue, £22,000, conscitu.ed a record. The quarrying industry earned £25,0J0. At Wellington, the Terrace Prison bad been recently vacated and demolished, and the levelling of the site for school purposes was almost completed. A new prison at Mount Crawford was nearing completion, and it would be mainly a trial and remand prison. At present the main activities were confined to constructural works and the formation of an access ( road to the institution. There were minor industIries, such as soapmaking and leadheaded. nail-making, carried on, besides repair shops. . The report mentioned that an important feature of the administration had been the development of the internal production of the Department’s own needs, instead of purchasing the requirements outside. That applied to clothing and equipment. The depart ment was now practically wholly selfsustained in the matter of its requirements, thereby providing an advantage not only in the way of cheaper bread, but also by way of affording a further avenue of employment, and thus teaching a number of prisoners a useful means, of livelihood, which would assist them when released. By means of these internal economies, a considerable saving had been effected. On bread alone an estimated saving of £2300 per annum had been brought about.