PENAL REFORM.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 April 1932, Page 6

PENAL REFORM.

Most people will agree with the Minister of Justice, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, that the action of the Penal Reform League in holding its annual conference denotes the keen interest of its members in the important social work they have undertaken. The enthusiasm is the more clearly demonstrated by the fact that delegates to .the conference are paying their own expenses, and have done so in order that the league may have the benefit of experience gained in various parts of the Dominion. Although much progress has been made in prison reform, there is still room for further effort in this direction. As Mr. Cobbe pointed out, the underlying principle of the Dominion’s penal system is the reform as well as the punishment of the criminal. It is also true that the two principles must be co-ordinated if real success is to be obtained. Prison control is no easy task, particularly since the old idea of enforcing discipline by brutality has been abandoned. Control must be firm without being inhuman, and the prisoners must 'be given a chance to win back self-respect as well as to avoid punishment for the breach of regulations not always fully understood. On the whole the system works well in New Zealand, and the percentage of reformations is quite as high as in Great Britain or other countries in which reformative efforts are made consistently. Success in reclaiming those with criminal tendencies, especially among the younger prisoners, seems to depend upon ; classification and grouping more than upon anything else. The extent to which this is possible is largely dependent upon the amount of money available, and it is obvious that until the Dominion’s financial position improves there is no prospect of heavy .expenditure upon prison reform being possible. The health statistics of .the inmates of the ; prisons are quite satisfactory, and the system of allowing small payment for work performed appears to have had a desirable effect upon the amount oi work done and to have made discipline easier to enforce. The operation of the probation system continues to be satisfactory, particularly in those districts in which the chief probation officer is a well trained and efficient individual. Much opportunity for such organisations as the Prison Reform League lies in the aid of discharged prisoners. It is the first few months of liberty that are often the determining influence for good or ill. The right kind of assistance then inajr make all the es-_

pecially at times like the present, when unemployment is rife. Prison reform work carries no public praise or reward except .'the knowledge of help afforded the weak. Disappointments are numerous, but progress Jias been real. In that lies the recompense for all who undertake the work.