NEW ZEALAND AS A LAWABIDING COMMUNITY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 17 June 1936, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND AS A LAWABIDING COMMUNITY

AN important statement that has possibly not been given the attention it deserves, was made the other day by the-Hon. H. G. R. Mason, Minister of Justice. A correspondent of an Auckland paper had written a letter in the course of which he had said,

“the gaols are full now.” Mr Mason promptly took the matter up effectively by showing that the statement was not only incorrect, but that there had been a remarkable diminution in I New Zealand’s prison population in j the past few years. For instance, the : Auckland prison—which the inhabi- • tants of Mount Eden object to being given the name of that district was crowded seven or eight years ago, and other accommodation had to be provided. The daily average of prisoners there at that time was 470. To-day there are only 220, and it is on recoid that certain works connected with that prison and at others are being seriously delayed by the lack of prison labour. That may upset certain plans, but it reveals an eminently satisfactory position when viewed from the broader aspect. The Minister added that there had been a similar diminution in other prisons in the Dominion. In fact, the prison population of New Zealand had dwindled by more than one-third —from 1645 to 1050. During 1935 the number of prisoners received was 13.7 per 10,000 of population. Twenty-five years ago the corresponding figure was 32.4 per 10,000. In the past fifty years the prison population in relation to general population has never been so low as it is to-day. This fact justified the Minister in saying that, nearly always, he had found that lack of knowledge of the real facts was responsible for any adverse criticism of our prison administration. The system may not be perfect, but the Minister’s statement is reassuring. They indicate, too, that New Zealanders are improving their reputation as a law-abiding community.