H.~20

BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS : EPITOME OF REPORTS OP CONTROLLING OFFICERS. Invercargill Borstal Institution. (Superintendent, Mr. R. W. Arnold.) On Ist January, 1939, there were 100 inmates in custody in the Borstal institution. During the year 97 were received, while 82 were released or otherwise disposed of, leaving thus 115 in custody on 31st December, 1939. Those released from this institution included five transferred to other institutions. There were twenty-two admissions to the Southland Public Hospital during the year. It is to be noted that in practically all cases the inmates were suffering with their various ailments on admission to the institution. Quite a number of boys on arrival-are of poor physique, and for these, generally an average of about half a dozen at any one time, malt and extra milk is proscribed. Of the boys reporting sick, some are put into the institution hospital for attention. Others are permitted to remain in their cubicles, while others are excused duty for the time being. The Matron makes it a practice to keep parents informed of the progress of patients. This entails much work, but it is considered that the contact is particularly valuable. It will probably prove interesting if some general particulars are given to indicate the type of inmate being received in the institution. This will give an idea of the difficulties to be encountered in endeavouring to bring about their reformation. Of the 97 inmates received during the year, only 11 came in as first offenders. Their offences were : 3 breaking, entering, and theft; 3 car conversion; and one each theft, cycle conversion, conversion of horse, indecent assault, and attempted .buggery. The other 86 had all been previously convicted— 29 once ; 34 two, three, and four times ; and the rest on even more occasions. The offences committed in respect of which the inmates were received may be classified as follows • Theft, 39 ; conversion of motor-cars, &c., 27 ; breaking, entering, and theft, 16 ; assault, false pretences' forgery, and various, 15. Bearing in mind the information given above, it will not be difficult to understand that reformation is no easy matter. The truth of the saying " The child is father to the man "is well exemplified in the cases of Borstal boys. There is no doubt that the early years of a boy's life are the most important as regards the moulding of his character, and it is quite obvious that there has been sad neglect in those years. Another factor is that the present-day tendency generally appears to be to allow more latitude to young people than was the case years ago, so that later on repressive measures are usually resented if not openly, then by cunning. It must not be taken that all the boys in the institution are incorrigible. Many turn out quite well, and frequently letters are received from ex-inmates stating that they are making a success of life and expressing thanks for the training received here. On the other hand, some appear to be definitely incorrigible, and during the year a few had to be transferred to other institutions as they were having a bad influence on the others. 6 There were nine escapes in 1939, four in one group, two together, and three singly. Two lads escaped on two occasions. All except two were recaptured without much difficulty. Of the two exceptions one got to Dunedin and the other to Christchurch. Unfortunately, as soon as a boy escapes it is practically a necessity for him to commit other offences—theft of clothing, food, money &c • sometimes the conversion of a motor-car. '' It has always been considered important to improve as far as possible in the limited time available the standard of education of the boys committed to Borstal. To this end, outside teachers are engaged who conduct classes m the evenings. Certain classes are also held by members of the staff. Reports submitted by the outside teachers are quoted hereunder :— (a) General Schooling.—"ln February the general course of classification was carried out and the boys were classified according to their mental ability and past schooling. Those showing a low standard of education were given a special elementary instructional course planned to meet their varying requirements. Ihe English course followed throughout the school covered a wide range graded to meet the standard of the groups, and stimulated an interest in oral and written expression. Letter-writing also occupied a prominent part in the curriculum. " In the upper school, added to the formal grammar was the study of the works of some of the well-known English authors. The general aim was to eliminate the errors of speech and expression in language, together with a socially correct form m written work. In arithmetic the aim was to make the work as concrete and as practical as possible, making the subject interesting and profitable bv the utilization of every-day experiences. Mental work necessarily played a special part in the scheme The course m history covered local history, new topics in New Zealand affairs, proposed sociai legislation, and the elementary principles of citizenship. The seniors studied British history on these development °° nS ° f Empir ® 1 the growth of the Consti tution ; social and industrial the bi£ onSmc y tiSn. UrVey C ° UntrieS ° f th ® WOrld ' ma P" WOTk > an <* newspaper geography formed " The Students' Digest kept the school well informed of current happenings, and appeared to be of special interest to the boys. (b) Economics and Civics.-" The class completed another successful session this year Most of the members displayed great enthusiasm in contributing to the work of the class. This consisted for the mam part in debating, delivering lecturettes, play-reading, and dramatic work A feature of the even. 0 " tW ° debates were held with the Invercargill W.E.A., in which honours were

4