PENAL REFORM.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, Issue 17692, 5 July 1927, Page 3

PENAL REFORM.

ACTIAUTIES OF HOWARD LEAGUE PROBLEAI OF THE FEEBLE MINDED.

The branch of the Howard League for Penal Reform has received the following interesting letter from Air C. R. N. Aiackie, (hon. secretary of the Christchurch branch) : “As you are no doubt aware already, crime in England is steadily decreasing. ‘Burglary has decreased snice pre-war days irom 1.960 cases to 1,714; larceny, embezzlement and similar offences from 19,12(5 to 11,759; drunkenness from 51,851 to 11,390’ runs the official report for England last year. In New Zealand crime is increasing. Our Police Report for 1926 shows that the number of serious crimes rose in the year under review from 853 to 1,923, and that prosecutions for drunkenness rose also by 807. One ot tne chief concerns of the Howard League for Penal Reform is the reduction of crime, so that we must, in this country, surely ask ‘Why is crime decreasing in England and increasing in New Zealand?’ The English Prison Commissioners, in the report for 1926, alluded to above, attribute the successful reduction of crime in _ that country mainly to two factors, first the Probation System, now being used there to an increasing extent, and, secondly, (to quote from the report). _ ‘To the operation of the Alental Deficiency Act (1913) by which it is claimed that during the past four years nearly a thousand mental defectives have been withdrawn from tho army of habitual offenders, and placed in (non-Penal) Institutions. It is to this fact that we would especially call your attention by this letter. “Probation is, to some extent, already in use in New Zealand. As you know our League advocates extension of that use, and we may certainly take courage front tho recent genuinely forward movement in the matter on the part of the Department of Justice. But we are'still completely out of date in this Dominion as regards proper care of, and protection of and from, the mentally deficient —better called, for the present purpose, ‘the feeble-minded/ as in New Zealand there is a confusion between terms — many supposing a ‘mfrntally-defectivo’ or ‘deficient’ person to be simply insane, for whose class there does, of course, exist some kind of care in our Alental Hospitals. As for tlio ‘feebleminded’ adult, however, we have not, in this country, even officially recognised their existence. AVo have not attempted to register them, or in any way to protect them from wrong-doing, or from being the victims of wrongdoing. AA'lien they offend against the law, wo treat them as if they were fully responsible and send them, sometimes over and over again, to prison. Our prison visitors have for years protested against this, and told us that many of our so-called criminals are undoubtedly feeble-minded. One highly responsible official has lately said that if all the mental cases (of all kinds) in our prisons were taken out, only about one-half of the prison population would be left —a statement which should surely make us reflect and ( wish to see crime reduced and justice ] done. r

“However, that may he, t is indisputable that large numbers of our oJfcnders who come back to prison again and again, and particularly some of our worst offenders against little children arc feeble-minded, and constitute a very real danger to the community, particular.y as between the terms in prison they reproduce their kind. It should specially be remembered that the unprotected feebleminded is always a likely offender, a ; spreader of disease etc. There is one woman of this type, c ften in prison through drink, who is the mother of ten children —a 1! feeble-minded also! Another, an attractive young woman, alroadv the mother of four children (with "a fifth, illegitimate, coming) regards it as a ‘waste not to be bearing children.’ A youth of the same type gives as his chief ambition the desire to ‘marry and have as many chi’dren as possible’ and he has, in fact, between two terms in gaol succeeded in marrying and becoming the sire of an expected child! A ioeb’e-minded girl, at liberty for only nine months, is bearing a child (father unknown) and so on! These are all actual cuses in the prisons of only one city lately, so that the position is fair’y plain.' AA'lien the cost of crime—court proceedings, etc., is taken into account, surely the usual plea that to look after these people properly would cost too much, can be seen to be fallacious, especially in a country where a farm colony could be provided for the able-bodied to farm and earn their keep, with an infirmary for the senile now often sent to prison as ‘vagrants.’ It is, on the contrary; the continued neglect of them tiiat is proving in every way too expensive. “AVe are happy to learn that the Department of Health has, at last-, sent an official (Dr Grey, of the Alental Hospital Department) to investigate what is being done, in England and the United States for this _ helpless class. He is expected back in June. But the Afmister for Health is naturally anxious to have all possible public interest and support in the matter, and wo would, therefore, suggest to all New Zealand Branches of tho H.L.P.R. that they bring the facts of this letter before thpir members with a view to urging on the Afinisters for Health and Justice, their local Press, members of Parliament (by deputation) and representative citizens, rhe pressing need of national action as regards tho cver'mcreasing problem of the feebleminded.”