PRISON ADMINISTRATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19460, 16 October 1926, Page 10

PRISON ADMINISTRATION.

.Sir—This week, in connection with a sexual case, His Honor Mr. Justice Herdman. in recommending that tho prisoner shou'd not be sentenced to the prison at New Plymouth, stated: "I am informed that when a young man goes to the New Plymouth prison, bis last state is worse than his first." In other words, that m this class of case the sending of a prisonei to New Plymouth means that the prisoner, if not already a hopeless case, would leave the prison most assuredly a hopeless case. lit is therefore clear that prison administration in this country needs to be overhauled, and big reforms are in the air in the near future. We now have published that Mr. B. L. Dallard has been appointed ControllerGeneral of Prisons and Chief Probation Officer. During this year he has been, in charge of our prison system, and we have the startling statement made by Mr. Justice Herdman as above mentioned. It appears, however, that Mr. Dallard had no experience of prison administration. His qualification appears to be that he was in the Public Service Commissioner's office as an inspector since 1924 If it were not for the serioasness of the position it would be worthy of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. One may as well suggest that the Judges should be appointed from laymen, or that the Sur-geon-General of New Zealand should bo one who is not a medical practitioner. _ It may be suggested, but it is hardly believable, that there is no one connected with the administration of prison system in New Zealand, who has sufficient qualifications to be controller-general. If this is the position then the Government's obvious duty was to obtain" an expert from outside New Zealand who has sufficient knowledge. In fact, it would have been in the interests of this country, nnder the circumstances, if we had obtained the services of a really first-class man in view of the reforms that are mooted, in ordar that we might obtain the advantages of one who has experience of prison administration. J. F W. Dickson.