ENGLISH PRISON SYSTEM

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 1 May 1937, Page 14

ENGLISH PRISON SYSTEM

REHABILITATION The aims of the English prison system, as stated in the annual report of the Prison Commissioners, were quoted iu the House of Lords by the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, speaking on behalf of the Government, as follows: “It is not to make prisons pleasant, but to construct a system of training such as will fit the prisoner to re-enter the world as a citizen. To this end the first requisite is greater activity of mind and body, and the creation of habits of sustained industry. Longer hours of work are therefore the'first item in our programme. Next comes the removal of any features of unnecessary degradation in prison life and the promotion of self-respect, and education on particular lines calculated to rouse some intelligent interest, and to raise the mind out of a sordid circle of selfish broodings. Finally, we endeavour to awaken some sense of personal responsibility by the gradual and cautious introduction of methods of limited trust.” Commenting on the report, the Marquess said: “Those were the ideals of prison reform in 1922, and 1 believe that the results have proved that those ideals, even though they have not been completely satisfied, are directly rightly. In 1910 the prison population of this country was just under 21,000. At the present moment it is only 10,000. Of all the persons recently received into prison for the first time for serious offences during the years 1930-33, 80.7 per cent., so far as is known, had not returned to priso* a second time up to the end of 1935. Therefore, it does seem that we have made reforms in the right direction of keeping people out of prison and preventing people who have been in prison from being forced back into criminal life.”