REFORM FOR GIRL CRIMINALS

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 248, 19 October 1908, Page 2

REFORM FOR GIRL CRIMINALS

(By Elizabeth S. Chesser, M.8.)

The establishment of the Borstal system for boy offenders has proved one of the most satisfactory prison reforms of recent years. Through its agency large numbers of boy criminals have been rescueel and converted by discipline and training into good citizens, capable of earning an honest living on their discharge. The system is educational rather than punitive. The boys are subjected to strict and severe reformatory measures, but at the same time they are taught self-control, and everything possible is done to put courage, hope, and strength into their hearts. The purpose of the Borstal institution is reformation of the young criminal, and in this great" work of character building, book-learning, physical and moral training, and manual labour have all their part. So far the Borstal system has confined itself to reforming ;the boycriminal ; but the next step will be the extension of these reformatory measures to girls. Therd is real need for reform in our present methods of dealing with girl and young women criminals. There is something wrong with a prison system which compels young and impressionable girls convicted or petty offences to associate with hardened criminals, to .spend hours in solitary confinement in their cells. If reformation of the girl offender is to be accomplished, the first esential is classification and separation of the girls under twenty-one from the adult prisoners. A prison for girls* which would be more properly called an industrial school would have to be established where the principles of the Borstal system could bVapplied to girl criminals.

IDEAL PLAN

The ideal arrangement would be an industrial school built on the cottage plan; so as to separate the.different classes and types, of girl offenders. The cottages would serve the double purpose of providing a home life with careful discipline on the part of the housekeeper in charge; and a school where domestic industries could be practically taught. The girls would have to learn to cook and. wash and iron in the best manner, and to attain to a standard which would ensure them being able to obtain remunerative work on their discharge. A general education in school work and in all branches of housewifery would be the first thing. Then special training in one particular branch of domestic work, such as cooking, dressmaking, or laundry work, or in a suitable trade, would follow. It is well known that thfe skilled person is one exceptionally found in prison. Lack of education and industrial incapacity are the chief causes which operate in the production of criminals. In dealing with the young criminal, therefore, the main thing is to teach and to train. To make honest women of girl offenders we must teach them the nobility of labour, the grandeur of work well performed. The work which converts a useless, ignorant girl into a trained housewife is second to none.

HONEST LIFE

In applying the Borstal system to girls it will be necessary to adopt such methods as will best fit girls for an honest and industrious life when they

leave prison. A good literary school will be a necessary part of the institution. Besides such subjects as reading,, writing, arithmetic, history, and geography, there should be classes m hygiene, elementary physiology, and sick nursing. , . Outdoor work, such as gardening and f armwork, would provide healthful outdoor exercise and a means of suitable physical work for the more refractory or "incorrigible" class of girls. At the Bedford Reformatory for girls and young women, in America, it has been f^und that" regulated outdoor work has afforded the best means of disciplining the type of girl who has an excessive amount of high, animal spirit, or what might be called brute force. Careful classification or grading is an interesting feature of this reformatory also. A girl passes from a higher or lower grade according t<v her behaviour and industry. When she attains to a certain standard she is eligible ' for "probation," or freedom under guidance, and she may leave the institution "on parole." . As the girls are thoroughly trained in domestic work, many of them are j placed as domestic servants in families, and it has been found impossible to meet the demands of the public in this respect. The Introduction of the Borstal system for girls in this country, and the extension or the age limit to twenty-five, would provide the authorities with the opportunity of training our young women prisoners in similar fashion.

USELESS INDUSTRIES

At present prison industries are absolutely useless so far as teaching cooking, sewing, or dressmaking is concerned. The cooking is done on such a large scale, in huge boilers which cannot be compared with the homely saucepan of ordinary life,, that even the few women who assist in the kitchen pass from prison not one bit more serviceable cooks than when they

entered

Nor can it be claimed by the most optimistic that the making of prison clothes is of the least use for teaching dressmaking and tailor work. Prison clothes need riot be hideous, badly made, and ill-fitting, but they certainly are so at present. # What is required is to teach the girls and women to cut and fit dresses and other garments by a simple and practical system, and there is no reason why the prison clothing could not be utilised for the purpose and the selfrespect of the prisoner raised by wearing decent clothes at the same time. Of other trades, lace-making, fine needlework, weaving and basketry are only a few of the industries which could be utilised for educational purposes. That such an institution should be under the management of women goes without saying. It is a fact that girl prisoners have not so far received the consideration that has been given to boys. That there is not a woman on the Board of Commissioners of Prisons may account for the fact that the interests of girls and women prisoners have been neglected in the past. But the girls of to-day will have the training of the men and women of the future. The training and teaching of girls, the reformation of our girl criminals, will do more to prevent crime in the future than is generally realised. The extension of the Borstal system for the benefit of girl offenders will be an important step in the right direction.—Daily Express.