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with, the assistance of friends and the press many jobs have been procured. Coincident with the lack of employment there has been a difficulty in collecting moneys ordered by the Courts to be refunded by probationers. They have, however, paid during the year £117 Bs. 9d. costs of prosecutions, and £19 3s. for restitution to the victims of their offences. Report on Probationers under the Crimes Amendment Act, 1910. —At the beginning of the year 1929 there were 14 men on the register, 11 men were received on transfer, 9 were transferred to other districts, and 3 completed their term ; 2 men were permitted to leave the country, and 1 was confined to the mental hospital. Otherwise their conduct has been excellent. Firms and individuals have been generous in giving employment to this class of man in the district, and I am pleased to be able to state that up to the present the trust has not been abused, and the men are giving satisfaction and making good. Mr. E. Ching, Probation Officer, Wanganui. I beg to submit my annual report for the year 1929. During the year there has been placed on the register 17 males and 1 female, being 8 males and 1 female less than last year. At the end of the year there were 14 males and 2 females on the register under the Offenders Probation Act. The conduct of the probationers has been very good. Two probationers absconded; one was rearrested and was sentenced to three months for his offence, and the other was an old man of no fixed abode. One committed suicide. It is pleasing to be able to state that the amounts ordered to be paid are paid up well. Of course the payments are slow in many instances, but, taking the fact of unemployment and that many of the probationers have to make a fresh start, there is but little fault to be found. Some of the probationers had trouble in obtaining work for a while, but, thanks to the members of the voluntary probation committee, who have done excellent work, every probationer has been placed. Our thanks are due to these gentlemen, and many others besides, for help in many ways ; they having put themselves to a lot of trouble, loss of time, and other inconvenience to lend a helping hand. Thanks are especially due to Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Boswell Williams for their care and attention to the female probationers. During the year there were placed on the register of those discharged from prison 21 persons, being 11 more than last year. It is pleasing also in their case to be able to say that they have all done well, except one. Two who were on the register at the end of 1928 were arrested for other offences and returned to custody. Miss A. J. Simpson, Probation Officer for Women, Wellington. I beg to submit my third annual report as Probation Officer for Women for the City of Wellington and district, for the year ended 31st March, 1930. Women offenders granted probation at local Courts during the year numbered 29. Four were received under the Crimes Amendment Act, 11 were transferred from other districts, and with the 18 on probation at the end of last year, 62 came directly under my control during the year. Of these, 19 completed probation, 7 were transferred to other districts, 1 left the Dominion, 1 died, and 1, who had been previously granted probation in Auckland, was sentenced to Borstal detention. Girls who fail to appreciate the benefits of probation and who flout the law and the instructions of the Probation Officer require detention in an institution where, under a system of disciplinary supervision, they may be trained to work and their anti-social tendencies checked. The number of girls who fail to respond are, fortunately, few, but it is necessary that it should be understood that probation is not a means by which the defiant law-breaker escapes punishment. The four women offenders who were released under the Crimes Amendment Act have proved very satisfactory probationers. Evidently the term spent under prison discipline had a very salutary effect. They have all respected the terms of their release on parole, proved themselves anxious to work, and those who were placed in situations kept the same position during the whole term of probation. Not so satisfactory are some of the girls granted probation in the local Court. The root of the trouble with the majority of them is that they have never been under proper control, and they do not take kindly to supervision of any kind. They have a low moral standard, an inordinate love of dress, a craving for pleasure and amusement, and, as they are frequently of a lazy, indolent disposition, the call of a mode of living which provides a sufficiency of money for amusements and dress is sometimes too strong for them. In dealing with this class of girl, whether in an institution or on parole, it is of greater importance to teach them how to work and to be useful members of the community than to provide them with means of recreation and amusement. There is an inclination to regard amusements and recreation as playing a very great part in the training of girls, delinquent or otherwise, but to teach the delinquent to work and to understand that her existence practically depends upon her ability to work is of paramount importance. Yet, again, there are girls who after being granted ■ probation never look back. These girls, who so appreciate everything that is done for them, make up for the worry caused by the others, and then one feels it is all worth while. It is gratifying to me when I receive a visit from a mother thanking me for what I have done for her daughter, and it is pleasing, too, when ex-probationers still continue to call and see me.