The Wanganui Chronicle TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1939. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 1, 3 January 1939, Page 6

The Wanganui Chronicle TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1939. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

'T'HE problem o£ crime and punishment is as old as humanity itself. Immediately society is formed, even though the basis of social relations rests upon common consent, the problem is presented to the community of how to deal with its recalcitrant members. C-inie is, from the community standpoint, not an offence or an infringement of the right of, another citizen, but a breach of those laws which the State requires to be observed by all of its members. . The obvious first step for the maintenance of the rule of taw is to enlist the self-interest of the citizen in support of law and of order. This is done by educating each individual in his sense of self-preservation through mutuality. Where the law is enforced for all, then the individual’s rights and liberties are preserved. The aid given to the commonweal then is in the nature of enlightened self-interest. There are members of society, however, Io whom this indirect self-interest which is served by upholding the law, makes an inadequate appeal. The law for them has to be buttressed by penalties to make it clear that legal infractions do not pay. Penalties undoubtedly form an important part of the machinery of law enforcement. A serious problem arises, however, when a tine proves to be inadequate as a restraining influence upon malefactors, either be%cause they arc unable t<< pay, or because they willingly pay the fine but persist in their wrongdoing. Because a man treasures his personal liberty it has been found that imprisonment acts as a deterrent. Imprisonment is imposed on an offender, not with a view to revenging the wrong which he has committed, but of preserving the obedience to the law of the land. An examination of the lists of convictions, however, reveals the unpleasant fact that criminals committed to gaols arc likely to return to such institutions. For instance, during the year 1936 there were 144 prisoners under 21 years of age, 84 of whom had not been previously convicted, and 60 had been previously convicted. Of the 60, those with one prior conviction numbered 23, those with two numbered 20, with three 5, with four 3, and over four 9. It is those who return to gaol who present the real problem to the reformers. Among the older members of the prison population, the number without previous convictions against them declines as the age rises.- Of the 237 prisoners between 21 and 25 years, 131 had been previously convicted; of the 214 prisoners between 40 and 45 years, 160 had been previously convicted; of the 157 prisoners between 50 and 55 years, 118 had been previously convicted, while of those 79 prisoners between 60 and 65 years, 71 had been previously convicted.

It would appear that for the old criminal the chances of reform diminish with the passing of his years. How comes this to be? Does prison fail to reform him, or does society fail to make a place for him ? It is not an easy matter to solve, for like most social problems it is composite in its nature. In the first instance, the persistent wrongdoer who is not convinced by successive imprisonment that his conduct does not pay, must be mentally weak, or at least anti-social in his outlook. The building up of such a complex usually arises from the absence of good home training. For instance, in the West Indies housing conditions and low wages have resulted in a deterioration of morals, resulting in illegitimacy rising to as high as 65 per cent, of the births. These unwanted children are allowed the freedom of the streets and slums, and there they assimilate anti-social habits. This extreme case probably gives the clue to the cause of the high crime ratio of the people of the United States of America. A high divorce ratio, leading to broken homes, resulting in lack of parental training for children, leads to a high crime ratio. Obviously the damage which is done by the break-up of a home cannot be repaired by the building up of a prison.

Secondly, penal institutions bring together all the anti-social members of society, who educate each other in wrongdoing. In a prison community the man with the most reprehensible crime record is the hero, and in this inverted order of society emulation plays its part just as it does elsewhere, and this is reinforced by the feeling of exclusion from the rest of society. How, then, shall the wrongdoers be dealt with? Some new methods are to be initiated in England, and the experiment will be worth watching.