H.—2OA,

1935. NEW ZEALAND.

PRISONS DEPARTMENT: PRISONS BOARD (ANNUAL REPORT OF) FOR 1934.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Members of the Board. Hon. Mr. Justice Reed, C.B.E. (President); Sir Donald McGavin, Kt., C.M.G., D.8.0., M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. ; D. G. A. Coopee, Esq., 0.8. E. ; Hon. John Alexander, M.L.C., C.M.G.; Theo. G. Geay, Esq., M.8., M.P.C.; Mrs. A. I. Fbaek ; and B. L. Dallakd, Esq., Controller-General of Prisons.

Sir,— 4th September, 1935. I have the honour to forward herewith the report of the Prisons Board for the year 1934. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Justice. J. R. Reed, President.

REPORT OF THE PRISONS BOARD For the Year ended 31st December, 1934. The Board has to report that during the year it visited each of the prisons, prison camps, and Borstal institutions in the Dominion. It dealt with a total of 1,394 cases at fourteen meetings held at the various institutions. The following summary gives details of the cases considered and the decisions arrived at: — Cases dealt with. Board's Decisions, Persons undergoing Borstal detention . . 418 Recommended for release on probation .. 563 Persons sentenced to reformative detention 480 Deferred for further consideration .. 755 Persons sentenced to hard labour .. 400 Petitions declined . . .. .. 45 Habitual criminals .. . . .. 60 Recommended for discharge .. .. 9 Habitual offenders .. .. .. 2 Discharged from probation . . .. 22 Habitual criminals for remission of head Recommended remission of head sentence sentence .. .. .. .. 2 Modification of terms of probation Probationers under Crimes Amendment Act .. .. .. .. 8 Probationers under Offenders Probation Act .. .. .. ..24 1,394 1,394 Comparison of the statistics with those of former reports shows that the percentage of offenders who make good after release remains much the same from year to year, and that the results as a whole should be considered both satisfactory and encouraging. The beneficial effect of the provisions of the Crimes Amendment Act, 1910, which first authorized the reformative detention sentence and established the probationary system for prisoners, is amply demonstrated by the fact that during the whole period from 1911 to 1934 the returns show that out of nearly 3,500 prisoners serving sentences of reformative detention who have been placed on probation on the recommendation of the Prisons Board approximately 26 per cent, only have been reconvicted or failed to comply with the conditions of their license.