The White Ribbon: FOR GOD AND HOME AND HUMANITY. Monday, July 15 1901. Reform of the Criminal.

White Ribbon, Volume 7, Issue 74, 1 July 1901, Page 7

The White Ribbon: FOR GOD AND HOME AND HUMANITY. Monday, July 15 1901. Reform of the Criminal.

Most people have a vague idea that our prison system is not exactl) perfect. But to a great extent the idea also prevails that Prison Reform is a subject belonging to the domain of the faddist. That it is a question of vital importance to the safety of the community, that there is a pressing necessity for prompt action, has been made clear by the Rev. A. C. Hoggins, of Christ" church, in a pamphlet just published The writer shows that of late years the per-centage of serious crimes in the colony has been growing larger. He points out that, owing to a faulty system, our Prisons are Nurseries of Crime. “ The worst crimes are planned in prison; few comparatively innocent persons can escape the contagion of such places.” So well is this fact known, that judges an agistrates frequently refer to it, and express their dislike to sending first offenders to gaol. The First Offenders Probation Act is an official recognition of the degrading and contaminating influence of prison life. Nor does the punishment of im prisonment fall equitably. To the habitual offender, prison life is not unpleasant, but to the individual whose crime has been the result of sudden temptation, or passing passion, it is

cruel and brutal torture. A prison system that degrades instead of reforming, that fosters crime, that is pleasant to the worst and most hardened criminals, and tortures the comparatively innocent, that debases and brutalises the condemned and

then turns them out to prey again on the community, is so monstrous, so ridiculously, so wickedly stupid as to make its existence a marvel. Nothing but the ignorance, or the culpable apathy of the people prevent it from being swept away and replaced by a rational system designed to reform the criminal, and to keep him in custody until it is safe to release him. And of course the community suffers for its ignorance or apathy. Within the last three or four years no fewer than five terrible crimes have been committed in the district of Canterbury alone by persons who have been debased in our prisons, and who ought not to be at large. So long as our gaols are allowed to remain moral pesthouses, so long will life, chastity, and property be imperilled For our protection it is imperative that we should seek for a more rational method of treating our criminals. One feature of our improved system should be Indeterminate Sentences. We do not dream of discharging the inmates of our Lunatic Asylums unless the Superintendent is satisfi d that it is safe to allow them their liberty. For similar reasons no prisoner should be released until a close and careful observation has convinced those in authority that he has been weaned from his criminal bent. On the other hand, when that happy change has taken place, he should no longer be detained to be a burden on the community. The prisoners should also be classified in a rational manner according to their moral character and their mental I capacity. Their physical, mental, and

moral treatment should be under the direction of experts who have made these matters their special study.

The employment of each prisoner should be specially considered. It should be varied, intelligent, and useful, and should be designed to suggest higher aims, to teach self-respect, and to strengthen self-control. The warders should be selected for their moral worth and their intellectual capacity, and should be as carefully trained for their duties as are hospital nurses. These are brief and imperfect outlines of the methods suggested by

prison reformers in vaiious parts of the world. They are presented afresh in Mr Hoggins’ pamphlet, and we heartily commend its perusal to our readers.