THE PRISON SYSTEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23351, 17 November 1937, Page 6

THE PRISON SYSTEM

TO THE EDITOH

Sir, —The 1937 reports on police, prison, and probation show more clearly than ever the need of a thorough overhaul of our penal system. It is true that criticism based year by year upon a comparison of English and New Zealand statistics seems to have affected the courts, because during the past five years there has been a drop of nearly 50 per cent, of "distinct persons imprisoned"—and this without any increase in crime. Our daily average, however, is still far too high. According to the Prisons Report the average is 1005, while in proportion to England, the figure should be 408. Many of our prisoners, moreover, were imprisoned merely for want of money to pay fines, some because of mental deficiency, others because of chronic alcoholism. The English Money Payments Act is sadly needed here, so that there shall be no more imprisonment for poverty. Homes for mental defectives and inebriates, if translated into fact, would have some effect in reducing the prison population. It is satisfactory to leam that at last the lads at Borstal in Invercargill are to have a matron. Psychological reports and family histories should be a sine qua non. It it, not so satisfactory to learn that Borstal receptions last year numbered 132, instead of some 35 which we should have had if we had the same per head of population as England. The probation report reveals that we have but four full-time probation officers, and they untrained, while the vast majority are simply policemen It is no wonder that our courts still trust too little the most hopeful of our penal expedients. Of individual social and scientific diagnosis and treatment we still have no word. There appear to be no self-government experiments among the inmates. After-care, immensely important, is left altogether to voluntary societies and individuals, the State contributing less, it appears, than £2OO a year to them. On the other hand, with fewer prisoners, we find that "salaries and allowances" rose last year by some £IO,OOO, and the " net cost departmental upkeep" by £15,000. Is all really well with our system?—We are, etc., N.Z. Howard League for Penal Reform.