THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908. PRISON MANAGEMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14281, 1 August 1908, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908. PRISON MANAGEMENT.

To those .who are interested in prison administration, as every pbiltmthropicmiuded person must bo more or less, ; tho annual report of the Comptrollergenoral of Prisons in New South Wales should appeal as particularly worthy, of study. Prison reform is in tho nature of nu experimental and progressive science, and New South Wales is conspicuous among Australian States by reason of the consistent effort whicli has been made to improve her prison system. This effort is the more entitled to attention because of the considerable measure of success which seems to ha.ve attended it. As a matter of fact, New South Wales h«« for a number of years been ablo to point to a. .steady decrease of gaol population from year to year, a fact which has made her the envy, no doubt, of her immediate neighbours iiml of this country; and this decrease, moreover, lias been accompanied by a pronounced reduction in the cost of prison administration. To exactly what extent these desirable results are due to the reforms instituted by the experienced penologist who controls tho prison system of New South Wales it might be difficult to determine, but there seems every reason to believe that the relationship is to a largo extent one of cause and effect. The reform of j the offswter jg aav eggga&gj fecjjH? in.

the system which owes its present form largely to iho policy which Comptrollergonoral Neitonstein has always kept in view. A lending feature of the system consists in tin's, that tho several larger gaols are graded each for the reception and treatment of a different class of prisoner, the distribution being arranged according to record, character,, ami antecedents. This preveuta contamination and aids reform. A further classification is carried out in each prison, whereby all prisoners under the ago of twenty-five years are strictly separated from those who axe older. Special treatment is accorded these young men, and new regulations came recently into force providing increased facilities for their educational, industrial, and physical training. Towards the end of their sentences efforts am made to bring them into communication with reputable relatives and friends; aud to obtain suitable employment for them. In. Captain Neitenstein's latest annual report we read: "Tho .progressive stage system. under which the prisoners- are treated has now fully developed, and has not .only promoted! good order and industry, but has largely reduced the punishment list. A prisoner practically determines his or her own treatment under this system, and the result 19 that there is little inclination to shirk or to misbehave. Not more than 2 per cent, received pimisliment, and the offences wero for tho most part of a trivial character. There were no floggings, ironings, or other severe forms of punishment, and! dark cells were abolished some years ago." Examining the report to see how the system has emerged from the year's operations, regarded from a gaol population standpoint, we find that the diminution iu the gaol population of New South Wales noticeable for the past few yearsstill continues. A steady decrease in the number of those who in durance vile annually make their maintenance a burden on tho State may well be the aim of every self-respecting Prisons Department, hut not every Prisons Department has as much reason for satisfaction on this point as that of Now South "Wales. For instance, it is another striking fact that thirty years ago, at,the end of 1877, there- were 1542 prisoners in New South Wales, while at the end of last year there were but 1462, notwithstanding an increase of the population, from 643,707 to 1,571,315 duriug that period. But. the recent steady decrease of the gaol population of the State dates from 1895, and from, a total of 2604 at the beginning of that year it has now fallen to 1462, which means a reduction of' nearly .45 per cent, in twelve years despite the large increase of total population in that time. But though he is able to quote statistics such as the foregoing, Comptroller-general Neitenstein is >extremely modest in the extent to which he claims that tho New South Wales prison, system has rendered their production possible. Be remarks: "This satisfactory result is in a large- measure -attributable to our improved educational methods, and to the wholesome tone 1 and morale of the people's social conditions. It is possible, too, that the development of the new system of prison treatment has in some measure assisted in diminishing crime. There can be no doubt as to the deterrent character of. existing methods, and some success has certainly been accomplished in the dire©-' tion of reforming tho offender. There has been a great falling off in the numbers of those returning to gaol, and it , may be that the present prison system has assisted in bringing this about." Reverting once again to the figures quoted, it will be found, if a comparison be made, that at the present time there is not much difference in the proportion which gaol population bears to total population, in New South Wales and New Zealand) respectively. Though while a year ago the advantage rested to a slight degree witibl New Zealand, that advantage will probably have quit* :disappearedi during the past twelve months. That point.can be determined as soon as the New Zealand prisar' statistics for the past year axe available; but the fact, that tie prison population of this country has for some years increased somewhat steadily, and v that it increased! by 10 per cent, in the* year 1906 alone, is not a very hopeful augury. That New Zealand, despite all the advantages of situation which she possesses, cannot make a better showing than New South Wales in this matter provides food ,fW reflection. Lack of space forbids our going into many of the phases of the New South Wales Prisons Report which would well repay study, and constitute it a refreshing contrast to the somewhat sterile pages of the report of the New Zealand Prisons Department. The industrial side of prison life seems to be attended to in a. particularly' systematic manner, and it is evident that progress is still the keynote of the system, since during the past year a ne«- departure was made iu at least two directions—namely, in regard to the treatment of habitual drunkards and of female prisoners. A3 to tho latter, it is proposed to prepare the prisoner for liberty by making the passage from) detention more gradual, sc? that it will represent rather the descent of a ladder than a jump from the gaol walL Nothing could bo more broadly humanitarian than the basis upon which the experiment for the reformation and j assistance of these female prisoners i 9 I framed. It will be partially dependent for its success ou assistance lent by the Prisoners' Aid Association, an organisation of tho work of which. Captain Neitenstein speaks in high terras. On its purely scholastic side again, in so far as tho education of prisoners is concerned, the New South Wales prison system provides interesting subject-matter for the New Zealand student of prison management