CHILD PRISONERS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1798, 22 August 1906, Page 73

CHILD PRISONERS

THE MANUFACTURE OF GAOL BIRDS. Most people will,' I think, be startled (writes Mr E. H. Pickersgill, M.P.. in the London " Morning Leader ”) to learn that in the last year for which we have statistics, in England and Wales alone, no fewer than 1191 children under the age of 16 years were sentenced to-im-prisonment, and were actually sent to prison. Moreover, this number was 110 more than the number for the previous year, which, again, was in excess of the number for the year 1900. The question naturally arises—Wliat was the necesshy for, this kind of punishment, and what were the atrocious crimes which these children had committed ? An answer is supplied by the chaplain of Pentonville Prison, who in his last report draws attention to "the Targe number of small boys” sent there for "childish offences/"' such as playing football in the streets. ■lt is difficult to understand the state of mind of magistrates who commit children to prison in these circumstances. The street is practically their only playground, and freaks which if they were committed by children of the well-to-do classes would be laughed off. or even glorified as the not unnatural -outcome of a high spirit, land the poor man’s child, in the dock and the prison cell. But the nation, which is profoundly interested in this matter, cannot afford to look on with indifference. As the chaplain of Pentonville well says, "No boy under 16 is sent to a large London prison without injury to himself and to the community at large.” And the community will not much longer tolerate a condition of things under which children are started out in life with the brand of “gaolbird” on them, sometimes for a mere outbreak of boyish energy for which no outlet is afforded except the streets. The necessity for resorting to imprisonment at all in the case of offenders under the age of 16 years might be enormously reduced, if not altogether eliminated, by the adoption of a plan which is extensively in operation in the United States of America. I refer to what is known as the probation system—that is. the suspension of punishment of offenders, and their provisional discharge under the surveillance of a responsible person. It is applicable and applied to adults, but wherever it has been introduced it has been tried, in the first instance, in the case of children, and it seems specially appropriate to them. The system exists in America tinder a great variety of _ forms, having certain common essentials. It has been described as an attempt to reform an offender outside prison, and, if possible, in his own home, under' the supervision of a special kind of warder —the probation officer. The course adopted m the c-use of a child offender may be described as follows:—The Magistrate hears the ease in a special chiidreu’s court, and if the offence belongs to a class which must by law be treated under the probation system, or if, in the opinion of the Magistrate, the ease is one which is suitable for such treatment,' ho makes an order committing the young scapegrace for a specified period to the custody of one of the probation officers attached to the Court. If the child ha© a suitable home, he will be allowed to return there; but if the home is not suitable,, or if the parent is not a fit person to have the care of the child, he may be board-

ed out, or adopted, or sent to a school, or to a i-eformatory; but, whatever course i© selected, lie will remain for the specified period under the eye and (in a legal sense) in the "custody,” of the probation officer. It will thus be seen bow largely success depends on the character of the probation officer. Tne weakness of the system, as adopted in New York, is the . fact that the juvenile probation is entirely in the hands of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to .Children, and that the duties of probation officers are discharged by the agents of the society, who ..in most cases are simply young clerks, not possessed of any special aptitude for the work. One of the possible dangers of probation is that it should become merely mechanical and clerical. There is a case on record where a probationer reported himself as "doing well,” and the statement was filed, when it afterwards came out that his letter had been written from prison! But that happened a long time ago, Such, a thing could scarcely occur now. for the reporting letter is checked by information obtained from other sources. One officer in Massachusetts, on receipt of a letter of report containing unveracious statements, is in the habit of returning it to the writer with the words "You lie!’ written across it in large letters in blue pencil. It is quaintly added that this practice has been found effective. In London the type of man required to make a good probation officer would probably often be found among the Police Court missionaries or in the ranks of the Salvation Army. An expoliceman is not likely to have the necessary qualifications, for a policeman is accustomed to treat all persons alike; but to the probation officer each child should be a separate, problem, to be dealt with individually. It is, in fact, this personal relation, this human touch, which constitute the essential features of the system. In the slow 7 progress of reform in our prisons we have scarcely yet advanced even to the stage of classification; but it is the special merit of probation that its treatment is individual. Probably the most excellent system of probation in the whole of America is thajfc which is in use in the city of Indianapolis. In that city there is a Judge who gives his whole time to the juvenile Court; there is a chief probation officer; there are two more paid probation officers, a man and a woman; and there is also a large and highly-efficient band of volunteer probation officers. Thus in Indianapolis rarely more than three eases are confided to one person. And, -with so large a body of volunteers to choose from, it is possible to consign a child always to an officer of its own religion, and one likely in other way® to understand it. The spirit of humanity which per' vades the system at its best may be illustrated by a recent incident. A probation officer was asked, "What about the doubtful cases—-how do you decide whether they are worthy of probation?” “By trying them,” was the prompt reply.