TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12027, 25 July 1902, Page 6

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.

REPORT ON AUCKLAND GAOL.

INTERESTING OPINIONS.

COLONIAL-BORN CRIMINALS.

[BY TELEGRAPH. correspondent.]

Wellington', Thursday. The report of Mr. P. E. Severne, gaoler at Auckland, < is of more than usual interest, and contains a, good deal of matter which should claim the attention of those concerned in the elevating- of persons with criminal tendencies. The capacity of the prison staff and the accommodation of the prison have, he says, been severely taxed during the year, owing' to the very large number of prisoners received (1016) and to the abnormal daily average (192.22), which is 26 greater than that of the previous year.

SHORT V. LONG SENTENCES. There can be nothing less deterrent, says Mr. Severne. than short sentences for habitual criminals, drunkards, incorrigible rogues, end vagrants. These people simply laugh at a sentence of two or three months, and.look upon it as a rest to enable them to recruit their health, and make a fresh start on their old careers on their discharge. Mr. Severne does not think that sentences of seven or 14- days, or even two to three months, are adequate punishments; at any rate, such means will never lessen the evil. YOUNG OFFENDERS.

The treatment of young offenders presents much more difficulty than that of the classes previously mentioned, and it is hard to say what course it is best to adopt, not cn'y to punish such offenders, but to deter others from committing similar crimes, for in Mr. Severne's opinion the chief object of punishment is that it shall act as a deterrent to those people who are endowed with criminal propensities, rather than an act of revenge by society upon the wrongdoer, and this is why he advocates severe sentences for those who continually set the law at defiance. Prisoners under 16 years of ago are not often sent to prison in New Zealand, except on remand until they can be sent to an industrial school or otherwise dealt with. The general impression appears to be that when a. young person is sent to prison he or she must inevitably become a hardened criminal, but this is not Mr. Severne's experience. ' No doubt many do return, some again and yet again, but so also do many of those who have been on probation, dismissed with a caution, or ordered to come up for sentence when called on; that is to say, there are certain people who appear destined to become confirmed criminals. The two great factors in bringing about this state of things are drink and gambling, both growing evils, the latter particularly so.

AN UNPLEASANT FACT. Mr. Severne goes on to say:We have the First Offenders' Probation Act, under which the greater number of young offenders are dealt with, often, no doubt, advantageously to themselves, but there is unfortunately another side to the shield, and that is the very great increase of young colonialhorn criminals. We used to pride ourselves that nearly all our criminal population was imported. Can we say so now? I think decidedly not. Out of the 213 prisoners received into this prison during the year charged with felonious crimes, 120 were born in the colony, 92 being of European descent and 28 Maoris. For less serious offences tho number born as above was 256, of whom 14- only were Maoris.

PROBATION: ■ Now the majority of the first offenders among this large number expected to get off on probation without punishment. This shows the hold which the idea of probation has upon the minds of the people who are tempted to do wrong, and how little of a deterrent snob, ideas are likely to be. In fact, by very many the Act is looked upon as one which allows one crime to be committed without punishment, and I am convinced that anyone who has more than a superficial knowledge of the subject, and who has studied it with an open mind, must arrive at the conclusion that this Act is responsible for a large increase of crime amongst youths and servant girls. PRISON OFFICERS. The conduct of the officers of tho prison, with one exception, due more to ill-health than anything else, has been excellent, and much of the successful working of the prison is due to their strict attention to their duties, and the cheerful and intelligent manner in which they have carried out all the instructions. '.'. The officer above alluded to was retired on medical grounds.' - PRISON LABOUR.

/Most of the long-sentenced men have been employed at stone-dressing, of which they have done 10,336 cubio feet, valued at £1092 7s lOd. Others have worked as builders, and although few, if any of them, have ever laid a stone before they have become very expert. Many of both these classes are Maoris, who are most willing and intelligent workers. A gang of 24 men, under four officers, is located at Fort Cautley Prison, North Shore, and is employed on fortification work. In addition to this 75* days' work have been performed at Government House, Supreme Court, police station, and Magistrate's Court. The short-sentence prisoners, as a body, havebeen employed in the quarries. On© sometimes hears the question raised, says Mr. Soverne, that prison labour may unduly compete with freo labour. Every man has an inalienable right to earn his living; and that right is not taken away, but rather made more imperative by his being sent to prison for hard labour, often because he would not work when free. Prisoners are sentenced to do so much hard labour for the public, under laws made by the public, and yet, according to some people, they (prisoners) are not allowed to do work which would benefit the public by reducing the cost to the State of their maintenance. This seems illogical. Every pound earned by prison labour is so much relief to the taxpayer. Then again, suppose every prisoner in New Zealand were released at once, would they not then have to compete with other people and be entitled to earn their bread? In any case the competition with free labour, so far as our prisons are concerned, would-be so trivial as to bo practically nil. The past year has been a remarkable one as regards the average cost per prisoner, which was only £11 4s 3d net. This is chiefly due to the high daily average number of prisoners, viz., 192.22.

A COMMENT. Referring to the remarks of Mr. Seveme concerning the First Offenders' Probation Act, the Inspector of Prisons, in his report, says: "The gaoler of Auckland thinks the Act has rather encouraged persons to imagine they can commit one offence with impunity, and _ undoubtedly thore is forco in that contention, but when, as shown above, it is found that 82.69 per cent, of probationers satisfactorily carry out their probation, while only. 2.4 per cent, abscond, it will be at once admitted that the good work done by the Act far exceeds the risk of harm referred to."