SPIES IN PRISONS

Taranaki Daily News, 6 May 1930, Page 7

SPIES IN PRISONS

“MAKING HIS MARBLE GOOD.” WORK OF PRISONS BOARD. That spying by one prisoner on another takes place in New Zealand prisons was a statement made at the Howard penal Reform League conference at Wellington. The speaker added that in Australia if a py was discovered in th© prison a melee was started in which the offender wasjyicked to death. . A proposal “that the Prisons Board should act only after receiving reports by a properly constituted psychological clinic and local welfare board,” was supported by Mr, F. A. de la. Mare, who said the Prison Board could only obtain information within the prison. The public were not protected by a report of good conduct from the warder, for a bad man outside might be a very good prisoner. From what he had been .told by men who had been in English one. of the troubles in New Zealand prisons was that, all kinds of spying went on. There was no spying in English or Australi -i prisons. . A man in prison here who had a chance of remission was not going to fall foul of the warder, with whom he had to “make his marble good.” He became what prisoners called “a crawler,” and gay© information to the warder. ...He (Mr. de la Mare) was informed that in Australian prisons a man was killed if he did that, for a melee would be created and tho man kicked to death. They could pick a spy pretty quickly, and. a piece of information woiild be passed on to .him which was untrue. When the information came back they knew he was a spy. The consequence- now was that a man dare not spy in an Australian prison. ■ .' . .’

So far as the report bf the ■ warder was concerned, it. could: not ~ tell, th© Prisons Board anything which would justify letting the prisoner .loose, - The fact that remission .was - granted soon went round, the prison, ..and' it created a great sense of injustice 'amongthe other who felt that the man with money or friends had a greater chance of remission than tlie' fiiian. with no friends. That had been ascertained owing to offers which had been made to find work for certain men, and the league had to recognise that there was something in it. A mental defectives’ board and a psychological clinic would guarantee that the man to be liberated 1 was fit for liberation. The league should protest ever time ;it came . together against a prisons board ..which , acted ,as the present board did. He had: no objection to the personnel, but it did not pretend, to make any investigation. Mr. R. M. Laing: It used to. ' .. ’

Miss B. E, Baughan said indeterminate sentences only applied to habitual crim* inals, and she urged strongly , that social investigation was as necessary as scientific investigation. As showing the little time that was given by the Prisons Board to the consideration of cases, she quoted a letter from an ex-prisoner, who said the board attended the prison in the morning, considered the cases of GO men in less than two. hours,'and was. away by 12.30. That was only two minutes to each case. There was an intense feeling, of indignation against the Prisons and its perfunctory operation. : The chairman: It seems to me it ' would be better',to go back to .the old system of remission for good conduct. Miss Baughan:’ If the Prison Board was operating properly it would be the body to protect the public. ’■ .The remit was carried. ■