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THE  ENGLISH  PRISON  AND  BORSTAL 

SYSTEMS 


INTERNATIONAL  LIBRARY  OF  SOCIOLOGY 
AND  SOCIAL  RECONSTRUCTION 


Founded  by  :   Dr.  Karl  Mannheim 
Editor  :  W.  J.  H.  Sprott 


Advisory  Board:  SIR  ALEXANDER  CARR-SAUNDERS,  M.A.,  Director  of  the  London  School  of 

Economics;  SIR  FRED  CLARKE,  M.A.  (Oxon),  formerly  Chairman  of  the  Central  Advisory  Council 

for  Education;  LORD  LINDSAY  of  Birker,  C.B.E. 


THE 

ENGLISH  PRISON  AND  BORSTAL 

SYSTEMS 


An  account  of  the  prison  and  Borstal  systems  in  England 
and  Wales  after  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  with  a 
historical    introduction    and    an    examination    of   the 
principles  of  imprisonment  as  a  legal  punishment 

by 

LIONEL  W.  FOX,  C.B.,  M.C. 

Chairman  of  the  Prison  Commission  for  England  and  Wales 


ROUTLEDGE  &  KEGAN  PAUL  LIMITED 

Broadway  House,  68-74  Carter  Lane 

London 


First  published  in  1952 
by  Routledge  &  Kegan  Paul  Limited 
Broadway  House,  68-74  Carter  Lane 

London  E.C.4 

Printed  in  Great  Britain  by 

William  Clowes  and  Sons,  Limited 

London  and  Beccles 


PREFACE 

MY  first  aim  in  preparing  this  book  was  to  describe  and  explaim 
our  prison  and  Borstal  systems  as  they  face  the  tasks  laid  oa 
them  by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act,  1948.  But  since  the  pur- 
poses of  this  Act,  and  the  methods  followed  to  further  them,  can  be 
understood  only  against  their  historical  and  philosophical  background 
I  have  ventured  to  add,  as  Part  I  of  the  book,  a  brief  history  of  thought 
and  practice  in  the  application  of  legal  punishment  and  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  idea  of  imprisonment  as  a  form  of  punishment. 

The  systems  described  are  those  under  the  administration  of  the 
Prison  Commissioners  for  England  and  Wales.  The  systems  of  Scotland 
and  Northern  Ireland  have,  however,  developed  along -parallel  lines 
under  their  separate  administrations,  and  making  due  allowance  for 
differences  in  scale  it  may  be  said  that  principles  and  practice  are  in 
general  similar  throughout  the  United  Kingdom. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  Permanent  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Home  Department  for  permission  to  publish  this  book,  but  it  should 
be  understood  that  while  the  facts  and  figures,  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
the  English  systems,  are  derived  almost  entirely  from  published  official 
documents,  the  responsibility  for  their  accurate  presentation  and  for 
any  inferences  drawn  from  them  rests  solely  with  myself. 

My  grateful  thanks  are  due  to  the  many  colleagues  and  friends  who 
have  kindly  helped  me  with  correction  and  advice.  The  text  itself, 
particularly  in  Part  I,  speaks  on  nearly  every  page  of  my  debt  to  many 
workers  and  thinkers  in  this  wide  field  whose  valuable  publications 
have  enabled  me  to  extend  the  scope  of  this  book  much  beyond  my 
own  experience.  The  Bibliographical  Notes  contain  more  specific 
acknowledgments. 

May  I  in  conclusion  warn  readers  that  while  the  text  represents  the 
situation  as  it  appeared  at  the  beginning  of  1951,  it  is  a  fluid  and 
developing  situation.  Information  received  after  the  completion  of  the 
text  to  the  latest  possible  date  will  be  included  in  Appendix  K. 

L.  W.  F. 
June  1951 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

The  following  notes  refer  only  to  the  principal  works  quoted  or  used  in 
the  text,  and  are  not  intended  to  constitute  a  bibliography  of  the  subject. 
Where  the  name  of  the  author  is  used  alone  for  short  reference  in  the  text, 
it  is  shown  in  brackets  at  the  end  of  the  note. 

The  State  of  the  Prisons,  John  Howard,  1777. 

An  Inquiry  whether  Crime  and  Misery  are  Produced  or  Prevented  by  our 
Present  System  of  Prison  Discipline,  T.  Fowell  Buxton,  1818. 

The  Prison  Chaplain,  Rev.  W.  Clay  (Macmillan),  1861. 
A  memoir  of  the  work  of  the  Rev.  John  Clay,  Chaplain  of  Preston  Prison. 
A  valuable  source-book  of  information  on  early  nineteenth-century  opinion 
and  historical  development.    [Clay.] 

Elizabeth  Fry,  Janet  Whitney  (Guild  Books,  Harrap),  1937.  [Whitney.] 

The  Punishment  and  Prevention  of  Crime,  Sir  E.  du  Cane  (Macmillan),  1885. 
The  first  Chairman  of  the  Prison  Commission  here  describes  and  explains 
the  system  for  which  he  was  responsible  for  over  twenty  years,  [du  Cane.] 

The  English  Prison  System,  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  (Macmillan),  1921. 
Sir  E.  du  Cane's  successor  takes  the  story  up  to  1921.  [Ruggles-Brise.] 

English  Prisons  under  Local  Government,  Sidney  and  Beatrice  Webb  (Long- 
mans), 1922. 

The  standard  history  of  our  prison  system  up  to  1898,  of  which  any 
subsequent  historical  work  must  be  to  some  extent  a  summary.  A  stimu- 
lating preface  by  George  Bernard  Shaw  on  crime,  punishment,  and  prisons 
in  general.  [Webb.] 

English  Prisons  Today,  edited  by  S.  Hobhouse  and  A.  Fenner  Brockway 
(Longmans),  1922. 

The  Report  of  the  Prison  System  Enquiry  Committee  established  in  1919 
by  the  Labour  Research  Department. 

The  Modern  English  Prison,  L.  W.  Fox  (Routledge),  1934. 
An  account  by  the  present  writer,  then  Secretary  of  the  Prison  Commission, 
of  the  English  prisons  and  Borstals  in  1933. 

The  Home  Office,  Sir  E.  Troup  (Putnam),  1925. 

A  short  account  of  the  Home  Office,  its  functions,  and  the  way  it  works 
with  a  history  of  the  development  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State. 
Sir  E.  Troup  was  Permanent  Under-Secretary  of  State  in  the  Home  Office, 
1908-1922.  [Troup.] 

English  Social  History,  G.  M.  Trevelyan  (Longmans,  Green),  1944. 
[Trevelyan.] 

vii 


viii  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

A  History  of  English  Criminal  Law  from  1750,  Vol.  I,  L.  Radzinowicz 
(Stevens),  1948. 

A  detailed  and  definitive  history,  by  the  Asst.  Director  of  the  Department 
of  Criminal  Science  of  Cambridge  University,  which  sets  the  development 
of  English  criminal  law  and  its  administration,  and  of  penal  thought, 
against  a  wide  social  and  political  background.  [Radzinowicz.] 
The  Dilemma  of  Penal  Reform,  H.  Mannheim  (Geo.  Allen  &  Unwin),  1939 
Dr.  Mannheim,  Lecturer  in  Criminology  at  the  London  School  of  Econ- 
omics and  Political  Science,  makes  a  searching  study  of  the  social  and 
economic  aspects  of  penal  reform.  [Mannheim.] 

Penal  Reform,  M.  Griinhut  (Oxford  University  Press),  1948. 

A  comparative  study  of  the  history,  purposes  and  developments  of  penal 
reform  in  Europe  and  America  by  the  Reader  in  Criminology  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford.  [Griinhut.] 

Crime  and  the  Community,  Sir  Leo  Page  (Faber  and  Faber),  1937. 
Sir  Leo  Page  was  a  magistrate  of  long  experience  on  the  Bench  and  as 
Chairman  of  the  Visiting  Committee  of  one  of  H.M.  Prisons.  His  book  is 
a  valuable  contribution  to  contemporary  thought  on  the  problems  of 
legal  punishment,  its  principles,  and  its  application  in  practice.  [Page.] 

Meet  the  Prisoner,  John  A.  F.  Watson  (Cape),  1939. 
Mr.  Watson  is  a  London  Juvenile  Court  magistrate,  and  a  former  Chair- 
man of  the  National  Association  of  Prison  Visitors.  From  his  intimate 
knowledge  of  prisons  and  prisoners  he  gives  a  vivid  account  of  English 
prisons  and  their  problems  at  the  time,  with  particular  reference  to  educa- 
tion, religion,  welfare,  and  the  work  of  Prison  Visitors.  [Watson.] 

Society  and  the  Criminal,  Sir  Norwood  East  (Stationery  Office),  1949. 

Sir  Norwood  East,  a  former  Medical  Commissioner  of  Prisons,  is  Lecturer 
on  Forensic  Psychiatry  at  the  Maudsley  Hospital  (London  University). 
These  collected  essays  deal  authoritatively  with  the  nature  of  criminals, 
criminal  responsibility,  psychopathic  personalities,  and  the  medico-legal 
aspects  of  crime.  [East.] 

Should  Prisoners  Work,  L.  N.  Robinson  (Winston,  Philadelphia),  1931. 
A  study  of  the  prison  labour  problem  in  the  United  States,  with  some 
discussion  of  principles  of  general  application.  [Robinson.] 

The  Clarke  Hall  Lectures,  published  annually  by  the  Clarke  Hall  Fellowship, 
particularly: 

The  Ethics  of  Penal  Action,  (First  Lecture)  by  the  late  Archbishop  Temple. 

[Temple.] 

Is  the  Criminal  to  Blame,  or  Society,  (Fourth  Lecture)  by  Lord  Samuel 

[Samuel.] 

Mental  Health  and  the  Offender,  (Seventh  Lecture)  by  Dr.  J.  R.  Rees. 

[Rees.] 

Criminal  Justice;  Problems  of  Punishment,  (Eighth  Lecture)  by  Lord 

Justice  Birkett.  [Birkett.] 

The  Institutional  Treatment  of  Offenders,  (Ninth  Lecture)  by  Sir  A.  Maxwell. 

f  Maxwell  .1 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  ix 

The  following  books  would  have  been  included  above  had  they  beem 
received  before  my  text  was  complete: 

Arms  of  the  Law,  Margery  Fry  (Gollancz),  1951. 

Pater  son  on  Prisons,  ed.  S.  K.  Ruck  (F.  Muller),    1951.  (The  collected 
papers  of  the  late  Sir  Alexander  Paterson.) 

STATIONERY   OFFICE   PUBLICATIONS 

Making  Citizens  (1945).  A  review  of  the  aims,  methods  and  achievements  of 

the  Approved  Schools  in  England  and  Wales.  Price  Is.  Orf. 
Prisons  and  Borstals  (1950).  Price  2s.  6d. 

A  short  account  of  policy  and  practice  in  the  administration  of  prisons 

and  Borstal  Institutions  in  England  and  Wales,  issued  under  the  authority 

of  the  Home  Office.  Illustrated  by  photographs. 
Reports  of  the  Commissioners  of  Prisons  and  Directors  of  Convict  Prisons. 

Published  annually.  Price  4s. 

Criminal  Statistics,  England  and  Wales.  Published  annually.  Price  usually  3s. 
Report  from  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  Present  State 

of  Discipline  in  Gaols  and  Houses  of  Correction,  1863. 
Report  from  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Prisons,  1895. 
Report  from  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Debtors 

(Imprisonment),  1908. 
Report  from  the  Departmental  Committee  on  the  Treatment  of  Young  Offenders, 

1927.  Price  2s.  6d. 
Report  from  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Persistent  Offenders,   1932. 

Price  Is.  6d. 
Report  from  the  Departmental  Committee  on  the  Employment  of  Prisoners. 

Parti.  1933.  Price  Is.  6d. 

Do.  Part  II.  1935.  Price  Is.  3d. 
Report  from  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Imprisonment  by  Courts  of 

Summary  Jurisdiction  in  Default  of  Payment  of  Fines,  etc.,  1934.  Price 
/   Is.  6d. 
Report  on  the  Psychological  Treatment  of  Crime,  by  W.  Norwood  East  and 

W.  H.  de  B.  Hubert,  1939.  Price  2s.  6d. 
Report  of  a  Committee  to  Review  Punishments  in  Prisons,  Borstal  Institutions, 

Approved  Schools  and  Remand  Homes.  Parts  I  and  II,  Prisons  and  Borstal 

Institutions.  Price  3s.  6d.  (H.M.  Stationery  Office). 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE  page  V 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  vii 

f.  VS/HAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

1.  THE  QUESTION  3 

2.  THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  19 

3.  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  40 

4.  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  57 

II.  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

5.  CENTRAL  ADMINISTRATION  77 

(1)  The  Home  Secretary,  p.  77;  (2)  The  Prison  Commission, 
p.  79 

6.  LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  85 

(1)  Visiting  Committees  and  Boards  of  Visitors,  p.  85; 

(2)  Governors,  Chaplains,  and  Medical  Officers,  p.  87; 

(3)  Other  Staff,  p.  91;  (4)  Whitley  Councils  and  Conditions 
of  Service,  p.  95 

7.  ACCOMMODATION  98 

(1)  Nature  and  Distribution  of  Prison  Buildings,  p.  98; 

(2)  Planning  and  accommodation,  p.  101 ;  (3)  Cells  and  their 
equipment,  p.  104 

III.  THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

8.  THE  PRISON  POPULATION  111 

(1)  Composition,  p.  Ill;  (2)  Characteristics,  p.  115;  (3) 
Size  and  Distribution,  p.  1 18 

9.  CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  128 

(1)  Principles  and  their  application,  p.  128 ;  (2)  Classification, 
p.  140;  (3)  Training,  p.  148 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

10.  SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  page  151 

(1)  General,  p.  158;  (2)  Security,  p.  161;  (3)  Mechanical 
Restraints  and  Removal,  p.  164;  (4)  Remission,  p.  165; 
(5)  Offences  and  Punishments,  p.  166;  (6)  Information  and 
Complaints,  p.  Ill 

11.  WORK  176 

(1)  Principles  and  Problems,  p.  176;  (2)  Provision  and 
Organisation  of  Work,  p.  187;  (3)  Vocational  Training, 
p.  195;  (4)  Incentives  to  Work,  p.  196 

12.  THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  201 

(1)  Religion,  p.  201 ;  (2)  Prison  Visitors,  p.  205;  (3)  Educa- 
tion and  Recreation,  p.  208;  (4)  Social  Relations  and 
Welfare,?.  218 

13.  PHYSICAL  WELFARE  227 

(1)  Personal  hygiene,  p.  221 ;  (2)  Exercise,  p.  229;  (3)  Food, 
p.  231;  (4)  Clothing,  p.  236 

14.  MEDICAL  SERVICES  238 

(1)  The  Body,  p.  238;  (2)  The  Mind,  p.  242 

15.  AFTER-CARE  253 

(1)  Principles  and  Problems,  p.  253;  (2)  Discharged  Pris- 
oners' Aid  Societies,  p.  257;  (3)  The  Central  After-Care 
Association,  p.  265 

16.  RESULTS  273 

(1)  General  Observations,  p.  273;  (2)  Results  of  training, 
p.  275;  (3)  Recidivism,  p.  279 

IV.  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

17.  MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES  285 

(1)   Untried  Prisoners,  p.  285;  (2)  Appellants,  p.  287; 

(3)  Convicted  Prisoners  awaiting  sentence,  etc.,  p.  288; 

(4)  Prisoners  Convicted  of  Sedition,  etc.,  p.  288;  (5)  Civil 
Prisoners,  p.  293;  (6)  Prisoners  under  Sentence  of  Death, 
p.  296 

18.  PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  297 

(1)  The  Problem,  p.  297;  (2)  Corrective  Training,  p.  307; 
(3)  Preventive  Detention,  p.  315 


CONTENTS  xiii 

V.  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

19.  THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER  page  327 

(1)  Before  1908,  p.  327;  (2)  1908  to  1938,  p.  334;  (3)  The 
Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  p.  338 

20.  YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  PRISON  344 

(1)  Their  Numbers  and  Characteristics,  p.  344;  (2)  Treat- 
ment and  Training  of  Young  Prisoners,  p.  346 

21.  THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  352 

(1)  The  Law^352;  (2)  The  Principles,  p.  355;  (3)  The 
Reception  Centres  and  Classification,  p.  359;  (4)  The 
Institutions,  p.  360;  (5)  The  Staff,  p.  363;  (6)  The  Borstal 
Population,  p.  365 

22.  BORSTAL  TRAINING  368 

(1)  Character  training,  p.  368;  (2)  Work,  p.  373;  (3)  Educa- 
tion and  recreation,  p.  378;  (4)  Discipline,  p.  381;  (5) 
General,  p.  390 

23.  RELEASE  AND  AFTER  392 

(1)  Release,  p.  392;  (2)  After-care  and  supervision,  p.  393; 
(3)  Recall,  p.  397;  (4)  Results  of  the  Borstal  system,  p.  398 

APPENDICES 

A.  Extracts  from  Sir  T.  Powell  Buxtorfs  Inquiry,  1818         .          .       402 

B.  Extracts  from  the  Reports  of  the  Inspectors  of  Prisons,  1836      412 

C.  Extracts  from  the  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 

of  Lords  on  Prison  Discipline,  1863         ....       425 

D.  Particulars  of  the  Staff  of  the  English  Prisons  Service.         .       431 

E.  Particulars  of  the  Establishments  in  Use     ....       433 

F.  Proceedings  of  the  XII  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary 

Congress  at  The  Hague,  1950 437 

G.  Extracts   illustrating   Contemporary   International   Opinion 

on  the  Principles  of  Punishment  and  their  Application        .      444 

H.  Summary  of  Stage  System  and  Privileges  ....      452 

I.    Summary  of  the  Recommendations  of  Departmental  Com- 
mittee on  Punishments  in  Prisons  and  Borstals,  1951         .       455 

J.    Diet  Card  Issued  to  Prisoners  ......      457 

K.  Addenda 459 

Index 469 


PART  ONE 
WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 


E.P.B.S. 


Career  ad  terrorem  aedificatur. — Livy,  i.  33. 

Career  ad  conlinendos  homines,  non  ad  puniendos  haberi 
debet. — Justinian,  Digest. 

Parum  est  coercere  improbos  poena  nisi  probos  efficias 
disciplina. — Inscription  in  House  of  Correction  of  St. 
Michael,  Rome.  (cit.  John  Howard,  Stqje  of  the  Prisons, 
1111.) 

May  God  preserve  the  City  of  London,  and  make  this  pjace 
a  terror  to  evil  doers. — Commemorative  inscription  on 
foundation  stone  deposit  of  Holloway  Prison,  1849. 

We  do  not  consider  that  the  moral  reformation  of  the  offender 
holds  the  primary  place  in  the  prison  system. — House  of  Lords 
Committee  of  1863. 

(The  primary  object)  is  deterrence,  through  suffering,  inflicted 
as  a  punishment  for  crime,  and  the  fear  of  a  repetition  of  it. — 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Cockburn,  in  evidence  to  that  Committee. 

Prison  treatment  should  have  as  its  primary  and  concurrent 
objects  deterrence  and  reformation. — Gladstone  Committee 
of  1895. 

You  cannot  train  men  for  freedom  in  a  condition  of  captivity. 
— Sir  Alexander  Paterson,  1932. 

The  purposes  of  training  and  treatment  of  convicted  prisoners 
shall  be  to  establish  in  them  the  will  to  lead  a  good  and  useful 
life  on  discharge,  and  to  fit  them  to  do  so. — Prison  Rules, 
1949,  Rule  6. 


CHAPTER  ONE 
THE  QUESTION 


BETWEEN  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  of  1948  and  the  Prisons  Act 
of  1898,  which  was  the  last  previous  statute  affecting  the  adminis- 
tration of  our  prison  system,  lie  fifty  years.  Through  these  years 
the  system  has  steadily  followed  a  course  which  it  will  be  the  purpose 
of  this  book  to  explain  and  define,  with  a  particular  description  of  the 
methods  by  which  it  is  being  and  will  be  pursued  in  the  light  of  the 
Act  of  1948. 

But  in  this  first  part  we  shall  be  concerned  less  with  means  than  with 
ends.  What  is  done  in  a  prison  can  make  sense  only  in  the  light  of 
some  answer  to  the  question — what  is  prison  for?  And  if  one  can 
hope  today  to  find  that  answer  with  more  certainty  than  was  possible 
before  1948,  it  still  has  to  be  found:  it  is  nowhere  given  to  us  ready- 
made,  authoritative,  and  of  general  acceptance. 

For  this  one  may  offer  explanations,  the  first  particular  to  this 
country,  the  second  of  general  validity. 

The  first,  then,  lies  in  the  nature  of  English  tradition  and  the  structure 
of  English  law.  'It  is  characteristic  of  the  English  genius  for  practical 
affairs  that  we  are  suspicious  of  system  .  .  .  the  English  tend  rather  to 
deal  with  the  situation  confronting  them  and  afterwards  discover  on 
what  principles  they  have  done  so,  and  what  precedent  for  future  action 
they  have  established.'  1  Thus  our  law  is  not  disposed  to  arrange 
itself  in  consistent,  comprehensive,  and  logical  codes:  certainly  neither 
our  prison  system  nor  the  penal  system  of  which  it  forms  part  derives 
from  such  a  code.  Indeed  it  is  not  until  the  Act  of  1948  that  one  can 
hope  to  learn  from  the  law — and  then  largely  by  inference — what  place 
Parliament  has  assigned  to  the  prison  in  its  general  order  of  battle  for 
the  attack  on  crime. 

To  the  modern  development  of  our  prison  system  this  situation  has 
been  of  great  advantage — has  indeed  permitted  it  to  acquire  such  merit 
as  it  may  possess.  In  particular,  flexibility  and  freedom  of  experiment 

i  Temple,  p.  1 . 
3 


4  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

were  assufed  by  the  decision,  in  the  Prison  Act  of  1898,  to  discard 
the  detailed  regulation  of  the  prison  regime  embodied  in  earlier  Acts, 
and  to  leave  this  to  the  subordinate  legislation  of  Statutory  Rules 
made  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  Desirable  change  could  thus  be  made 
without  the  need  for  fresh  legislation  on  each  occasion,  and  legislation 
has  harvested  the  fruit  of  administrative  development.  Sir  Evelyn 
Ruggles-Brise  had  developed  the  Borstal  system  for  some  years  before 
it  received  statutory  recognition :  the  conception  of  'training'  prisoners 
was  well  established  before  the  word  made  its  statutory  debut  in  1948: 
and  when  in  one  historic  handful  of  words  the  Act  of  1948  abolished 
penal  servitude,  hard  labour  and  the  triple  division  of  imprisonment, 
and  so  established,  almost  by  inadvertence,  the  single  sentence  of  un- 
differentiated  imprisonment — the  'peine  unique'  of  classic  crimino- 
logical  controversy — it  did  no  more  than  recognise  de  lege  a  situation 
already  existing  de  facto  through  the  normal  and  logical  development 
of  the  principles  of  1898. 

We  may  therefore  be  grateful  on  the  whole  that,  as  Dr.  Griinhut 
points  out,  'England,  with  her  traditional  system  of  non-codified  law, 
has  been  spared  the  cumbersome  way  of  total  reform' l — even  though 
one  effect  be  the  inevitability  of  cumbersome  explanation.  Another 
effect  will  be  that  when  we  come  to  view  our  prison  system  at  work, 
and  perhaps  find  much  to  call  in  question,  it  can  only  explain  itself 
as  Topsy  did — 'I  never  was  born,  I  just  growed.'  We  shall  not  see  a 
machine  running  to  blueprint  specifications,  but  the  contemporary 
phase  of  a  long  historical  process,  a  vital  organism  claiming  to  be 
judged  not  only  by  what  it  now  is  but  by  what  it  has  been  and  what  it 
is  becoming. 

The  second  explanation  of  our  uncertainties  will  take  longer.  It 
derives  from  the  fact  that  since  a  prison  system  is  part  of  a  penal 
system  it  cannot — to  put  it  no  higher  at  this  stage  of  the  argument — 
be  dissociated  from  the  idea  of  punishment.  And  as  to  the  ends,  the 
means,  or  the  values  of  punishment  it  does  not  appear  either  that 
philosophers  or  psychologists  are  yet  agreed  among  themselves,  or 
that  such  conclusions  as  some  of  them  may  have  reached  necessarily 
commend  themselves  to  the  general  sense  of  the  man  in  the  street. 
With  the  general  ethics  of  punishment  we  cannot  concern  ourselves 
here:  it  is  not  the  easiest  branch  of  metaphysics.  But  when  it  is  brought 
into  relation  with  the  particular  field  of  penal  action  by  society  against 
criminal  offenders,  particular  difficulties  arise,  and  these  we  cannot 
ignore  even  if  in  the  end  we  cannot  resolve  them.  Some  conclusions 
on  them,  if  only  as  a  working  hypothesis,  are  essential  if  an  answer  is 
to  be  given  to  our  question:  yet  it  would  not  be  easy  to  formulate  any 
which  could  with  certainty  be  said  to  be  of  general  acceptance  among 
those  concerned  with  these  matters,  be  they  jurists  or  judges,  penologists 

i  Griinhut,  p.  106. 


THE  QUESTION  5 

or  politicians,1  prison  administrators,  police,  or  just  plain  members  of 
the  public — the  actual  or  potential  victims  of  crime.  And  though  the 
views  of  these  last  may  rarely  become  articulate,  they  are  of  central 
importance;  for  the  prevention  of  crime,  which  is  here  our  concern 
as  a  matter  of  abstract  speculation,  is  for  every  member  of  the  com- 
munity a  matter  of  serious  actuality. 

First,  then,  let  us  consider  what  crime  is. 

'It  is  plain  that  in  every  community  professing  to  be  civilised  there 
must  be  rules  and  regulations  which  the  citizens  must  obey,  and 
standards  of  behaviour  to  which  they  must  conform;  and  those  rules 
and  regulations,  designed  for  the  benefit  of  all,  and  made  by  the 
Parliament  the  citizens  themselves  have  chosen,  must  be  enforced.'  2 
Crime,  in  its  broadest  sense,  is  the  breach  of  such  of  these  rules  as  the 
community  decides  to  enforce  through  its  penal  system.  But  these  may 
range  from  playing  football  in  the  street  to  being  drunk  while  driving 
a  motor-car;  from  hawking  without  a  licence  to  publishing  a  false 
balance-sheet;  from  stealing  an  apple  to  embezzling  millions;  from  a 
minor  assault  to  a  homicide  or  rape.  In  neither  popular  nor  technical 
thought  are  all  these  offences  'criminal' ;  yet  our  concern  is  with  all, 
since,  as  we  shall  see,  all  may  in  the  end  be  the  concern  of  the  prison. 

Apart  from  these  distinctions  of  degree,  opinion  as  to  what  kind  of 
conduct  should  be  deemed  criminal  has  varied  widely  from  time  to 
time  and  from  place  to  place:  few  indeed  are  those  classes  of  offence  of 
which  it  can  be  said  'quod  semper,  quod  ubique,  quod  ab  omnibus  . . .' 
'Even  from  the  point  of  view  of  legal  policy  there  is  hardly  any  uni- 
formity of  opinion  as  to  whether— to  give  only  a  few  examples- 
attempted  suicide,  homosexual  activities,  adultery,  euthanasia,  and 
certain  types  of  abortion  should  or  should  not  be  generally  treated  as 
criminal  offences' 3;  and  where  conduct  of  one  of  these  types  is  treated 
as  an  offence,  there  is  often  a  strong  body  of  opinion  against  con- 
victions, with  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  those  who  hold  that  opinion 
to  consider  the  offenders  as  criminals. 

While  therefore  we  cannot  forget  that  'there  are  in  the  world  a 
considerable  number  of  extremely  wicked  people,  disposed  when 
opportunity  offers  to  get  what  they  want  by  force  or  fraud,  with  com- 
plete indifference  to  the  rights  of  others,  and  in  ways  that  are  incon- 
sistent with  the  existence  of  civilised  society',4  we  must  also  remember 
that  it  is  not  with  those  alone,  nor  mainly,  that  the  penal  system  and 
therefore  the  prisons  are  concerned.  And  in  particular  we  must  avoid 
the  pitfall  of  treating  crime  and  sin  as  synonymous  terms,  and  con- 
fusing the  criminal  law  with  a  code  of  ethics.  It  is  not  through  its 

1  "It  cannot  be  said  that  the  theories  of  criminal  punishment  current  among 
either  our  judges  or  our  legislators  have  assumed  .  .  .  either  a  coherent  or  even  a 
stable  form."    Kenny,  Outlines  of  Criminal  Law,  15th  edition,  1947,  p.  38. 

2  Birkett,  pp.  18,  19.         3  Mannheim,  p.  23.         *  Stephen  J.  cit  Birkett,  p.  24. 


6  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

penal  system  that  society  seeks  to  vindicate  its  moral  basis.  That 
system  has  in  view  a  much  more  limited  and  practical  end,  which  we 
may  see  more  clearly,  so  far  as  concerns  our  own  system,  by  the 
inductive  process  of  asking  what  in  fact  are  the  actions  which  in  this 
country,  at  this  time,  are  treated  as  criminal  offences. 

Of  those  more  serious  offences,  known  to  the  law  as  indictable 
offences,  which  are  usually  referred  to  as  crime,  the  Criminal  Statistics 
list  70,  of  which  in  one  form  or  another  35  are  offences  of  dishonesty 
in  relation  to  property,  and  25  of  violence,  including  sexual  offences, 
against  the  person:  the  remaining  few  include  such  comparatively 
rare  offences  as  perjury,  libel,  attempted  suicide,  and  certain  offences 
against  the  State.  Of  the  persons  guilty  of  these  crimes  who  come  to 
prison,  some  88  per  cent  will  have  committed  offences  against  property 
and  9  per  cent  offences  against  the  person.  From  these  facts  the  effective 
purpose  of  our  penal  system  in  relation  to  serious  crime  might  seem 
to  be  the  protection  of  our  property  and  persons  against  dishonesty 
and  violence. 

But  of  every  100  offenders  convicted  in  1947,  no  less  than  81  had 
committed  non-indictable  offences,  and  ten  years  earlier  the  percentage 
was  90.  These  non-indictable  offences,  though  for  the  most  part  they 
are  rather  of  the  order  of  'breaches  of  regulations',  do  include  certain 
offences,  such  as  assaults  and  offences  against  property  of  a  minor 
nature  and  cruelty  to  or  neglect  of  children,  which  are  more  akin  to 
crime  than  to  such  social  nuisances  as  immoderate  drunkenness,  tact- 
less begging,  and  parking  cars  in  the  wrong  place.  There  has  also 
been,  since  the  late  war,  a  range  of  offences,  which  unfortunately  can- 
not be  isolated  statistically,  deriving  from  economic  controls  and 
restrictions.  These  are,  in  one  sense,  more  clearly  offences  against 
society  than  many  which  excite  greater  public  resentment,  yet  the 
amount  of  odium  attaching  to  them  has  tended  to  vary  with  the 
individual  social  conscience. 

These  considerations  having  suggested  the  need  for  care  in  making 
generalisations  about  criminals  and  crime,  whether  in  relation  to  pre- 
vention or  to  treatment,  we  now  approach  what  Lord  Justice  Birkett 
has  described  as  'the  central  problem  .  .  .  what  is  to  be  done  when  it  is 
proved  that  these  rules  and  regulations  have  been  broken?' l 

The  prevention  of  crime  in  the  widest  sense  calls  for  action  in  many 
fields  outside  that  of  the  penal  system.  To  expect  from  a  penal  system 
that  it  should  by  itself  create  law-abiding  citizens  can  only  be  regarded 
as  a  grotesque  over-estimation  of  its  powers.'  2  Lord  Samuel  has 
isolated  three  causal  factors  of  crime — heredity,  environment,  and 
individual  choice.3  Society  may  seek  to  influence  all  these  through 
education  and  the  work  of  the  Churches,  as  well  as  by  such  remedial 
measures  as  the  care  of  deprived  or  maladjusted  children  and  mentally 
i  Birkett,  p.  19.  2  Mannheim,  p.  19.  3  Samuel,  p.  17. 


THE  QUESTION  7 

subnormal  or  abnormal  persons,  eugenics,  and  improved  housing 
conditions.  But  the  concern  of  penal  law  is  with  the  last  factor  only, 
and  its  operation  is  twofold — directly,  against  those  persons  whose 
reactions  to  influences  pre-disposing  to  crime  produce  a  wrong  choice 
of  action;  indirectly,  against  every  one  subject  to  those  influences — 
for,  as  Lord  Samuel  puts  it,  'the  penal  law  is  itself  one  of  the  elements 
that  help  to  determine  the  choice.'  In  the  more  technical  language  of 
penology,  the  preventive  effect  of  the  penal  system  is  said  to  be  both 
'individual'  and  'general'.  Lord  Justice  Birkett's  'central  problem'  is 
that  of  individual  prevention,  in  that  it  is  concerned  with  the  treatment 
of  the  individual  against  whom  an  offence  has  been  proved,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  treat  this  question  apart  from  the  considerations  arising 
from  general  prevention. 

The  theory  of  general  prevention  is  that  potential  offenders  will  be 
deterred  from  offence  by  the  fear  of  what  will  happen  to  them  if  they 
are  found  out.  If  this  theory  is  to  be  effective  in  practice  it  must  rest 
on  a  general  assumption  that  offenders  will,  on  the  whole,  be  detected, 
brought  to  justice,  and  in  proper  cases  suitably  punished.  'Something 
must  be  done  to  assert  the  power  of  the  law  and  to  make  it  plain  that 
the  law  must  be  observed;  and  any  weakness  here  is  the  greatest  possible 
disservice  to  the  life  of  the  whole  community.  The  punishment  of  the 
offender,  ordained  by  the  law  itself,  must  not  only  be  a  just  punish- 
ment but  it  must  be  recognised  to  be  just,  and  will  vary  with  the  proved 
facts  of  each  particular  case;  but  whatever  is  done  it  is  important 
that  the  law  itself  shall  be  vindicated,  and  disobedience  to  it  never 
merely  condoned.'  l 

Thus  the  action  of  the  courts  in  relation  to  each  individual  offender 
has  a  certain  ambivalence:  it  looks  to  the  effect  on  that  individual, 
who  has  not  been  deterred  from  offence  by  general  prevention 
but  may  be  prevented  from  offending  again;  but  it  looks  also  to  the 
effect  on  all  who  may  be  tempted  to  commit  that  sort  of  offence.  It  is 
this  ambivalence  which  has  led  to  some,  though  not  all,  of  the  diffi- 
culties that  have  arisen  in  relation  to  the  punishment  by  society  of 
individual  offenders. 

Punishment  is  defined  by  the  Oxford  English  Dictionary  as  'to  cause 
an  offender  to  suffer  for  an  offence',  and  legal  punishment  is  defined 
by  Dr.  Griinhut  as  'a  legal  sanction  against  unlawful  acts  committed 
with  a  guilty  mind'.  Given  that  to  cause  suffering  is  an  evil,  unless  it 
can  be  justified  as  the  means  to  a  good  end,  the  problem  posed  has 
been  the  justification  of  the  use  of  evil  as  a  legal  sanction. 

'Punishment,'  said  George  Bernard  Shaw  (speaking  of  legal  punish- 
ment), 'is  a  mistake  and  a  sin.'  2  That  Mr.  Justice  Stephen  meant  to 
express  the  same  view  when  he  said  'the  object  of  criminal  law  is  to 
overcome  evil  with  evil'  should  not  perhaps  be  assumed,  since  he  also 
i  Birkett,  p.  19.  2  Preface  to  Webb,  p.  lii. 


8  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

said,  'The  criminal  law  thus  proceeds  upon  the  principle  that  it  is 
morally  right  to  hate  criminals,  and  ...  I  think  that  the  punishments 
inflicted  on  them  should  be  so  contrived  as  to  give  expression  to  that 
hate  and  to  justify  it.' l  It  may  be  that  Dr.  Grunhut  had  this  view  in 
mind  when  he  wrote,  'Legal  punishment  is  inseparably  linked  with  the 
idea  of  justice.  .  .  .  A  just  punishment  is  more  than  the  overcoming  of 
evil  with  force.  It  is  also  a  spiritual  power  which  may  make  an  appeal 
to  the  moral  personality  of  man.'  2 

For  two  centuries  or  more  this  argument  has  ranged  'about  it  and 
about',  bjjt  it  must  suffice  here  to  give  an  impression  of  the  contem- 
porary climate  of  opinion,  within  which  those  concerned  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  penal  system  must  carry  out  their  work.  The 
different  standpoints  adopted  at  different  stages  of  development  in  this 
country,  and  their  effects  in  practice,  will  be  noticed  in  the  following 
chapters. 

It  is  first  necessary  to  consider  the  present  view  of  those  classic 
justifications  of  punishment  as  an  end  in  itself,  the  doctrines  of  Expia- 
tion and  Retribution.  The  former  suggests  that  it  is  morally  good  and 
necessary  that  an  offender  should  expiate  his  offence  by  a  punishment 
which  adjusts  his  suffering  to  his  sin.  This  view  finds  little  support  today. 
In  so  far  as  it  equates  crime  with  sin,  it  invites  the  reply — even  if  it  be 
so,  why  select  those  sins  which  happen  to  have  been  brought  within 
the  scope  of  penal  law  for  public  vindication  of  this  moral  need?  And 
Archbishop  Temple  expressly  deprecated,  for  himself,  'the  intuition  .  .  . 
that  it  is  good  that  the  wicked  should  suffer'.3  Most  discussions  of  the 
theory  now  conclude  that  the  judgment  of  moral  guilt  is  a  function  of 
religion  rather  than  of  law.  Sir  Leo  Page  and  Dr.  Grunhut  both 
emphasise  the  difficulties  of  a  judge  in  face  of  this  confusion  of  law  and 
morality.  'Be  it  once  accepted  that  expiation  is  a  necessary  constituent 
of  the  punishment  of  an  offender,  then,  whenever  the  courts  of  law 
found  a  defendant  guilty  of  a  legal  offence,  they  would  be  bound  to 
impose  such  a  penalty  as  would  cause  him  pain  and  suffering  . .  .  (and) 
...  to  require  a  judge  to  determine  precisely  the  degree  of  pain  adequate 
to  expiate  moral  guilt  is  patently  impossible.  No  human  judge,  but 
God  alone,  can  read  the  secrets  of  the  heart.'  4  'The  infliction  of  punish- 
ment by  human  judges  with  their  limited  insight  into  character  and 
motives  is  acceptable  only  in  so  far  as  it  is  necessary  for  the  protection 
of  the  community.'  5 

The  doctrine  of  Retribution  calls  for  closer  consideration,  for  it  lies 
closer  to  the  roots  of  common  feeling.  It  has  been  described  by  Arch- 
bishop Temple  and  Dr.  Grunhut  in  almost  identical  terms — 'It  is 
concerned  that  the  evil-doer  should  get  what  he  deserves',6  and  '(Retri- 
bution) implies  the  notion  that  the  offender  has  deserved  his  punish- 

1  Cit.  Birkett,  p.  20.  3  Temple,  p.  28.  5  Grunhut,  p.  3. 

2  Grunhut,  p.  3.  4  page>  p.  68.  «  Temple,  pp.  27,  28. 


THE  QUESTION  9 

ment,  that  it  is  "his  due".' l  This  feeling  is,  as  Professor  Sidgwick 
put  it,  2  'universalised  in  criminal  justice',  and  emphasis  is  added  to  this 
view  by  Lord  Justice  Birkett,  out  of  his  wide  experience  as  both  advo- 
cate and  judge  in  the  criminal  courts,  when  he  says  The  element  of 
retribution  is  always  present,  I  think,  in  the  sentences  imposed  for  the 
more  serious  offences.  The  advocates  of  retribution  insist  that  in  any 
well-ordered  state,  the  citizens  feel  that  when  the  laws  are  broken  it  is 
just  and  proper  that  punishment  shall  overtake  the  wrong-doer.  And 
the  sense  of  satisfaction  that  this  arouses,  it  is  urged,  is  by  no  means 
an  unimportant  consideration.' 3  The  sting  of  this  last  statement  lies 
in  the  tail,  for  the  assumption  of  a  certain  public  sentiment  to  be  satis- 
fied has  had  no  small  influence  on  the  action  of  the  penal  system  in  all 
its  phases.  The  present  Lord  Chief  Justice,  in  an  address  to  the  Magi- 
strates Association,  said  The  public  conscience  will  not  be  satisfied  if 
gross,  violent,  savage,  and  sometimes  bestial  crimes  are  not  punished 
in  a  way  that  will  satisfy  it  .  .  .'  4 

This  dictum  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  was  however  in  terms  of 
limited  application,  and  the  doctrine  of  Retribution  in  the  sense  of 
'what  the  offender  deserves'  must  be  stated  in  wider  terms  for  com- 
plete reconciliation  with  current  thought  and  practice.  What  is  due  to 
the  offender  can  be  no  more  and  no  less  than  a  sentence  which  is  just 
in  the  terms  predicated  by  Lord  Justice  Birkett  (p.  7)  and  Dr.  Griinhut 
(p.  8),  that  is  to  say  a  sentence  which  keeps  in  balance  the  interests  of 
the  community  as  a  whole  and  those  of  the  offender  as  a  member  of  the 
community.  If  such  a  sentence  leads  to  the  infliction  of  pain  and 
suffering  as  punishment,  then  in  so  far  as  that  is  calculated,  no  more 
and  no  less,  both  to  demonstrate  that  the  law  cannot  be  broken  with 
impunity  and  to  prevent  the  offender  from  repeating  the  offence, 
it  is  justified  as  a  means  to  a  good  end  in  that  it  will  promote  his 
moral  welfare,  whereby  the  community  benefits  equally  with  the 
offender. 

Discussions  of  the  doctrine  of  punishment  do  not  always  distinguish 
in  this  sense  between  Expiation  and  Retribution,  and  condemnation  of 
Retribution  as  a  principle  may  often  appear  on  analysis  to  be  rather 
a  condemnation  of  that  'adjustment  of  suffering  to  sin'  which  has  here 
been  brought  under  the  heading  of  Expiation — as  when  Lord  Justice 
Asquith  described  Retribution  as  'a  theory  .  .  .  now  so  discredited  that 
to  attack  it  is  to  flog  a  dead  horse.' 5  It  is  however  sufficiently  clear 
that  the  reaction  against  the  most  extreme  statements  of  the  doctrine 
of  Retribution  has  now  gone  so  far  that  some  would  eliminate  it,  or 
convert  it  into  terms  which  at  least  suggest  that  it  'may  be  more  accur- 
ately described  as  restorative  than  retributive,  since  its  function  is  to 

i  Grunhut,  pp.  3,  4.    *  Cit.  Kenny,  p.  35.    3  p.  23. 
*  Reported  in  The  Magistrate  (July  1948). 
5  The  Listener:  May  11,  1950:  p.  821. 


10  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

repair  the  damaged  order  of  society,  and  since  it  does  not  necessarily 
carry  with  it  the  wish  to  inflict  pain  .  .  .  The  nature  of  the  punishment 
(the  State)  imposes  is  determined  not  by  the  intrinsic  guilt  of  the  offence 
but  by  the  need  to  prevent  its  repetition.  The  motive  for  the  punishment 
which  the  State  inflicts  in  a  Christian  society  is  not  the  demand  for 
retribution,  that  the  guilty  should  be  made  to  pay,  but  the  positive 
impulse  to  restore  the  broken  order  of  society.'  l 

This  position  appears  to  find  support  at  one  point  from  the  Law — 
This  hope  of  preventing  a  repetition  of  an  offence  is  not  only  a  main 
object,  but  the  sole  permissible  object,  of  inflicting  a  criminal  punish- 
ment' 2;  and  at  another  from  the  Church,  in  Archbishop  Temple's 
reference  to  'the  essential  element  in  so-called  retributive  punishment 
.  .  .  the  assertion  of  the  good-will  of  the  community  against  his  (the 
offender's)  evil  will.' 3  To  state  the  position  in  these  terms  implies 
further  that  the  'restoration  of  the  broken  order  of  society',  or  'the 
assertion  of  the  good-will  of  the  community  against  the  offender's  evil 
will',  or  even  the  plain  'vindication  of  the  law'  does  not  necessarily 
require  that  the  action  taken  against  the  offender  should  include  punish- 
ment in  the  sense  of  pain  and  suffering,  so  that  the  tendency  today  is 
to  speak  rather  of  the  'treatment'  than  of  the  'punishment'  of  offenders, 
it  being  always  and  clearly  understood  that  treatment  may  include 
punishment,  and  severe  punishment,  in  a  proper  case.  'We  nowadays 
realise  that  the  basic  vindication  of  the  law  is  that  the  offender  is  put 
within  the  power  of  the  court.  And  the  court  has  the  choice  of  punish- 
ment, that  is  of  treatment .  .  .'  4 

It  would  at  least  appear  to  be  in  the  light  of  such  considerations  that 
legal  punishment  can  today  be  defined  as  'the  action  which  the  court 
sees  wise  to  take  towards  a  person  on  conviction'  5  or  'the  totality  of 
the  legal  consequences  of  a  conviction  for  crime.'  6  Certainly  there  is 
support  for  them  in  the  actual  practice  of  the  courts  in  recent  years. 
In  1947,  633,459  persons  were  dealt  with  by  the  criminal  courts  in 
England  and  Wales.  Of  these  78-9  per  cent  were  fined;  15  per  cent 
were  bound  over,  dismissed,  or  placed  under  supervision  under  the 
Probation  of  Offenders  Act;  and  only  4-7  per  cent  were  sentenced  to 
imprisonment. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  consider  how  far  this  view  of  the  principles  of 
punishment  in  relation  to  individual  prevention  is  affected  by  considera- 
tions arising  from  general  prevention  and  from  the  need  which  has 
been  expressed  to  satisfy  a  demand  of  the  public  conscience  for  severe 

1  The  Times  Literary  Supplement:  April  21,  1950:  leading  article  on  'Retribution'. 

2  Kenny,  Outlines  of  Criminal  Law,  15th  edition,  p.  32. 

3  Temple,  p.  31. 

*  The  Courts  and  Punishment,  Dr.  F.  J.  O.  Coddington :  The  Magistrate,  May-June, 
1950. 

5  Page,  p.  76. 

<5  B.  A.  Wortley,  in  The  Modern  Approach  to  Criminal  Law  (Macmillan),  p.  50. 


THE  QUESTION  11 

retributive  punishment  for  certain  offences  or  9lasses  of  offence.  And 
here  we  are  not  concerned  with  the  special  and  quite  separate  problem 
of  the  persistent  offender. 

The  principle  of  general  prevention  is  that  the  penal  system  should 
have  the  effect  of  deterring  potential  offenders  by  fear  of  what  will 
happen  to  them  if  they  are  found  out.  Therefore  the  court  in  dealing 
with  each  individual  offender  should  consider  the  effect  of  its  sentence 
not  only  on  him  but  on  all  who  may  be  tempted  to  commit  a  like 
offence.  In  considering  the  practical  effects  of  this  principle,  it  seems 
necessary  first  to  answer  the  question — what  is  it  that  the  potential 
offender  fears? 

It  was  the  assumption  that  the  only  answer  to  this  question  was 
'severity  of  punishment'  that  be-devilled  the  penal  systems  of  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  since  it  led  to  the  complete  sub- 
ordination of  the  interests  of  the  individual  to  a  conception  of  the 
interests  of  the  community  which  was  based  not  on  reason  and  experi- 
ence but  on  ignorance  and  fear.  It  was  this  sentiment  which  was  epito- 
mised in  the  pronouncement  of '  the  eighteenth-century  judge,  'You 
are  to  be  hanged  not  because  you  have  stolen  a  sheep  but  in  order  that 
others  may  not  steel  sheep.'  Since  severity  was  the  only  acceptable 
criterion  of  deterrence,  it  followed  that  when  it  failed  in  its  effect — as 
it  invariably  did — the  only  remedy  was  to  call  for  further  severity;  and 
any  attempt  to  break  the  vicious  circle  in  which  the  system  thus  en- 
meshed and  stultified  itself  met  with  the  state  of  mind  exemplified  in 
Lord  Ellenborough's  now  classic  reply  to  Romilly's  attempt  to  remove 
the  death  penalty  for  stealing  5s.  or  more  from  a  shop,  'Your  Lordships 
will  pause  before  you  assent  to  a  measure  so  pregnant  with  danger 
for  the  security  of  property.  The  learned  judges  are  unanimously 
agreed  that  the  expediency  of  justice  and  public  security  require  that 
there  should  not  be  a  remission  of  capital  punishment  in  this  part  of 
the  criminal  law.' 

What  most  contributed  to  defeat  this  system  was  that  it  did  not 
satisfy  the  public  conscience.  'It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  law 
is  enforced  by  ordinary  people.  .  .  .  Drastic  punishment  arouses  in 
many  minds  such  a  sympathy  for  the  accused  that  they  will  have  no 
part  or  lot  in  inflicting  it.'  l  Sir  Leo  Page,  in  illustration  of  this  point, 
tells  us  that  in  1830  a  petition  signed  by  725  bankers  was  presented  in 
Parliament  'praying  that  Parliament  would  not  withhold  from  them 
that  protection  to  their  property  which  they  would  derive  from  a  more 
lenient  law',2  and  that  in  fifteen  years  to  1833  it  was  said  that  555 
perjured  verdicts  were  returned  at  the  Old  Bailey  alone  for  the  single 
offence  of  stealing  from  a  dwelling-house. 

Indeed,  whether  or  no  there  be  scientific  and  statistical  support  for 
the  view  that  'crime  decreases  in  every  country  as  the  pain  inflicted  for 
i  Birkett,  p.  22.  2  Page,  p.  54. 


12  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

it  is  diminished',1  the  plain  lesson  which  students  of  criminal  science 
draw  from  the  history  of  penal  law  is  that  a  policy  of  uniform  deterrent 
severity  has  never  been  effective  for  either  individual  or  general  pre- 
vention. 

On  the  principle  of  punishment  with  general  deterrence  in  view  as 
a  primary  aim,  Archbishop  Temple  had  this  to  say:  'In  the  infliction 
of  a  deterrent  sentence  the  State  is  treating  the  offender  as  a  means  to 
the  good  of  others  rather  than  as  an  end  in  himself;  and  if  this  is  all 
that  the  State  has  in  view  it  will  be  acting  immorally,  for  it  will  be 
contravening  the  fundamental  principle  of  morality  as  expressed  in  the 
Kantian  maxim:  "Treat  humanity,  whether  in  your  own  person  or  in 
others,  always  as  an  end  withal  and  never  only  as  a  means"  ...  the 
moral  relationship  of  the  State  towards  the  offending  member  cannot 
be  exhausted  by  what  has  so  little  of  moral  quality  about  it  as  mere 
deterrence.'  2 

Attention  has  also  been  drawn  to  an  effect  of  undue  emphasis  on 
severity  of  punishment  in  aid  of  general  prevention  which  is  more  than 
a  mere  debating  point.  If  the  principle  is  of  general  validity  and  logically 
applied,  it  would  follow  that  the  commonest  offences  should  attract 
the  greatest  deterrence.  Traffic  offences,  for  example,  should  be  more 
seriously  treated  than  offences  that  are,  comparatively,  rare.  Indeed 
Mr.  Alan  Paton  has  pointed  out  that  in  Sweden,  where  ordinary  crime 
is  not  a  serious  problem  but  traffic  offences  are,  "the  same  community 
that  tolerates  a  humane  and  dispassionate  approach  to  ordinary  crime 
asks  for  sterner  measures  against  dangerous  traffic  offenders.' 3  The 
practical  difficulties  of  pursuing  this  line  of  thought  to  its  logical 
conclusion  are  apparent. 

Contemporary  opinion,  therefore,  while  accepting  that  the  action 
of  the  penal  system  should  be  strong  enough  to  vindicate  the  law,  and 
that  this  action  must  therefore  lead  to  punishment,  and  even  severe 
punishment,  in  proper  cases,  rejects  both  in  principle  and  for  the 
practical  reason  that  it  does  not  work  a  conception  of  general  pre- 
vention which  wholly  subordinates  the  interests  of  the  individual 
offender. 

It  remains  still  to  answer  the  question,  what  then  is  it  that  the 
potential  offender  fears?  4 

An  answer  of  general  acceptance  could  perhaps  be  best  expressed, 
by  adapting  Mr.  Wortley's  definition  of  legal  punishment  (p.  10),  as 
'the  totality  of  the  consequences  of  being  found  out'.  First  in  order 

1  Margaret  Wilson:  The  Crime  of  Punishment,  (Cape)  p.  25. 

2  Temple,  pp.  25,  27. 

3  Freedom  as  a  Reformatory  Instrument  (Penal  Reform  League  of  S.  Africa),  p.  8. 

4  On  the  whole  question  of  the  adequacy  of  the  sanction  of  fear  as  a  safeguard 
against  law-breaking,  see  Arms  of  the  Law  by  Margery  Fry,  Part  II,  'A  Digression 
on  Fear.' 


THE  QUESTION  13 

comes  the  fear  of  being  found  out  in  itself.  As  Lord  Samuel  puts  it, 
'If  every  offence  were  certain  of  detection  it  would  not  be  worth  while 
for  anyone  to  commit  offences';1  and  clearly  the  first  line  of  penal 
defence  is  an  adequate  and  efficient  police.  The  second  is  the  swift  and 
certain  administration  of  justice,  a  point  which  in  this  country  at  this 
time  does  not  require  elaboration,  though  as  we  shall  see  the  lesson  had 
to  be  learned.  Then,  for  the  offender  who  has  been  detected  and  brought 
to  justice,  unless  he  be  already  an  habitue,  there  is  enough  pain  and 
suffering  in  the  shame,  hardship,  and  stigma  which  must  attend  his 
arrest,  his  public  trial,  and  his  conviction  to  carry  in  itself  considerable 
deterrent  force,  even  if  the  chances  of  any  severe  punishment  be  slight. 
And  none  can  feel  sure  that  he  will  not  be  punished,  or  how  he  will  be 
punished:  the  mental  agony  of  fearing  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  may 
be  greater  than  that  of  serving  it.  While  therefore  the  expectation  of 
punishment  must  remain,  'the  essence  of  deterrence  is  found  rather  in 
the  threat  of  the  penalty  than  in  the  execution',2  and  the  conclusion 
would  seem  to  be  that  deterrence,  for  purposes  of  general  prevention, 
is  inherent  in  the  whole  action  of  the  penal  system  and  is  not  required 
to  assume  a  primary  place  in  the  treatment  of  the  individual. 

Notable  confirmation  of  this  change  in  the  attitude  of  informed 
opinion  towards  the  deterrent  function  of  the  penal  system  is  found 
in  the  House  of  Lords  debate  of  23  November  1948,  on  the  motion  of 
the  Archbishop  of  York,  about  the  serious  increase  in  crime  during 
1947  and  1948.  Rightly  anxious  as  Their  Lordships  showed  themselves 
in  face  of  the  grave  facts  before  them,  it  is  remarkable  that,  throughout 
the  debate  in  that  repository  of  a  robust  and  conservative  tradition  in 
penal  affairs,  the  sole  reference  to  deterrence  was  made  by  the  Arch- 
bishop himself — and  that  for  repudiation.  It  was  to  the  strengthening 
of  the  police,  and  to  remedial  measures  outside  the  penal  system,  that 
every  speaker  directed  his  attention. 

We  are  left  therefore,  for  modification  of  the  principle  of  the  just 
sentence  predicated  by  the  argument,  with  one  more  factor — the  need, 
in  particular  cases,  to  'satisfy  the  public  conscience'  by  retributive 
punishment  of  a  severity  beyond  what  is  necessary,  so  far  as  concerns 
the  individual  offender,  to  vindicate  the  law  and  prevent  repetition  of 
the  offence.  To  establish  what  these  cases  are,  it  is  necessary  to  look 
rather  to  practice  than  to  penological  principle,  which  offers  no  clear 
guide.  Recent  discussion  has  dealt  with  three  categories. 

The  first  is  that  which  Sir  Leo  Page  would  appear  to  have  had  in 
mind  when  he  said  The  interests  of  the  individual  are  ruthlessly  and 
necessarily  sacrificed  by  reason  of  the  peculiar  danger  to  the  community 
of  such  crimes.  Salus  populi  suprema  lex.' 3  Such  would  be  treason,  or 
breaches  of  trust  by  policemen  or  public  servants;  and  it  may  be  also 
crimes  against  property  outstanding  in  scale  so  as  to  bring  widespread 
IP.  25.  2  Temple,  p.  23.  '  3  p.  245. 


14  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

ruin  or  threaten  public  confidence  in  financial  institutions,  as  major 
depredations  by  bank  officials  or  the  operations  of  such  historic 
swindlers  as  Jabez  Balfour  and  Horatio  Bottomley.  In  such  cases  the 
argument  can  still  proceed  from  the  principle  of  'balance',  but  the 
scale  is  weighted  more  strongly  in  favour  of  the  general  interest.  It  is 
a  question  rather  of  degree  than  of  kind. 

The  second  category  was  dealt  with  by  Lord  Justice  Asquith  as 
follows : 

'Everyone  has  heard  of  an  "exemplary"  sentence:  and  nearly  every- 
one agrees  that  at  times  such  sentences  are  justified.  But  it  is  not  always 
observed  that  an  exemplary  sentence  is  unjust;  and  unjust  to  the  precise 
extent  that  it  is  exemplary.  Assume  a  particular  crime  is  becoming 
dangerously  frequent.  In  normal  times  the  appropriate  sentence  would 
be,  say,  two  years.  The  judge  awards  three:  he  awards  the  third  year 
entirely  to  deter  others.  This  may  be  expedient;  it  may  even  be  impera- 
tive. But  one  thing  it  is  not:  it  is  not  just.  The  guilt  of  the  man  who 
commits  a  crime  when  it  happens  to  be  on  the  increase  is  no  greater 
than  that  of  another  man  who  commits  the  same  crime  when  it  is  on 
the  wane.  The  truth  is  that  in  such  cases  the  Judge  is  not  administering 
strict  justice  but  choosing  the  lesser  of  two  practical  evils.  He  decides 
that  a  moderate  injustice  to  the  criminal  is  a  lesser  evil  than  the  conse- 
quences to  the  public  of  a  further  rise  in  the  crime- wave.' 1 

The  third  category,  which  includes  those  cases  which  the  Lord 
Chief  Justice  would  appear  to  have  had  in  mind  (p.  9),  comprises  those 
crimes,  usually  associated  with  gross  cruelty  or  violence,  which  are 
likely  to  excite,  at  any  rate  in  the  minds  of  many,  peculiar  repugnance 
and  disgust — likely,  in  short,  to  make  one  'see  red'. 

With  this  category  the  argument  from  principle  is  difficult.  Many  of 
us,  no  doubt,  looking  within  ourselves,  recognise  both  the  repugnance 
and,  when  'exemplary  punishment'  is  meted  out,  the  satisfaction — 
whether  of  conscience  or  of  something  more  elemental.  But  no  doubt 
also  these  effects  are  excited  in  different  sorts  of  people  by  different 
sorts  of  offences:  and  experience  suggests  that  among  such  offences 
are  at  least  some  of  those  on  which  opinion  is  divided  as  to  whether 
they  be  truly  criminal  or  no. 

The  path  of  justice  therefore  may  here  be  beset  with  difficulty. 
The  figure  of  Justice  is  blindfold,  and  may  not  'see  red'.  And  there  is 
no  index  or  measure  of  the  movement  of  public  conscience  in  these 
matters.  One  called  to  sit  in  judgment  may  well,  in  these  circumstances, 
be  in  danger  either  of  reading  his  own  conscience  for  that  of  the  public, 
or  of  finding  it  opposed  to  what  he  believes  to  be  that  of  the  public. 

The  conclusion  must  be  that  in  these  cases,  as  finally  in  all,  justice 

1  Asquith,  L,  J.,  op.  cit.,  p.  821. 


THE  QUESTION  15 

can  only  confide  in  the  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  humanity  of  those 
who  are  called  to  the  hard  duty  of  making  these  decisions. 

Such,  then,  are  the  considerations  in  the  light  of  which  an  answer 
must  be  given  today  to  the  question — why  punishment?  The  next 
question  is — what  punishment? 

The  kinds  of  punishment  which  are,  or  have  been,  at  the  disposal 
of  English  courts  fall  into  six  main  categories,  (1)  death,  (2)  banish- 
ment, (3)  public  shame,  (4)  physical  punishments  (5)  forfeiture  of  pro- 
perty, (6)  deprivation  of  liberty.  Of  these  the  first,  at  the  time  of  writing, 
remains,  though  its  scope  and  indeed  its  retention  at  all  come  under 
more  or  less  continuous  public  inquiry  and  debate.  The  second  ceased 
with  the  abolition  of  transportation  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
third,  in  which  was  included  such  devices  as  the  pillory  and  the  stocks, 
went  rather  earlier.  The  fourth,  since  the  abolition  of  flogging  in  1948, 
has  also  gone.  We  are  left  therefore,  for  offences  not  subject  to  capital 
punishment,  with  the  last  two  categories  only.  Forfeitures  are  now 
limited  to  monetary  penalties  such  as  fines,  damages,  costs,  and  com- 
pensation: but  the  significance  of  'deprivation  of  liberty'  must  be 
extended  to  include  a  range  of  greater  or  less  limitations  of  self- 
determination  such  as  are  implied  in  "binding  over'  and  the  conditions 
of  a  probation  order  (which  may  include  a  condition  of  residence  in  a 
home  or  hostel  or  mental  hospital),  as  well  as  imprisonment,  corrective 
training  for  incipient  persistent  offenders,  and  preventive  detention 
for  those  persistent  offenders  who  must  be  interned  for  long  periods 
for  the  protection  of  society.1 

Having  thus  placed  the  prison  against  its  background,  we  may  now 
knock  on  the  gate  and  directly  put  the  question — what  is  prison  for? 

Let  us  begin  by  asking  what  classes  of  person  are  in  fact  sent  to 
prison.  The  statistics  for  1947  2  show  that  only  about  half  the  people 
received  in  prison  in  that  year  had  been  sentenced  to  imprisonment 
in  the  first  instance  as  a  punishment  for  an  offence,  and  of  these  a  bare 
majority  were  'criminals'  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  word.  Of  the 
remainder,  many  were  there  because  they  could  not  or  would  not  pay 
sums  of  money  adjudged  by  the  courts  to  be  due,  whether  as  fines  or 
otherwise  in  connection  with  offences,  or  as  civil  debts.  The  remainder 
had  been  sent  for  safe-custody  while  on  remand  or  awaiting  trial  or 
sentence,  or  under  certain  of  the  Aliens  Orders.  From  time  to  time,  also, 
there  would  be  some  awaiting  execution  of  the  death  sentence,  while 
others  sentenced  to  corporal  punishment  under  the  law  as  it  then  stood 
would  there  be  flogged. 

Clearly,  then,  whatever  prison  is  for  it  is  not  for  one  clear  and  single 
purpose.  Indeed,  three  main  purposes  can  be  distinguished,  which  may 

*  For  young  offenders  there  is  still  another  range  of  graduated  limitations  of 
liberty. 
2  Annual  Report  of  the  Prison  Commissioners  for  1948. 


16  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

conveniently  be  defined  as  (1)  custodial,  for  the  unconvicted,  (2)  co- 
ercive, for  those  who  can  secure  release  by  paying  what  they  owe,  and 
(3)  correctional,  for  the  convicted. 

The  duties  of  the  prison  as  maid-of-all-work  to  the  penal  system 
will  be  dealt  with  elsewhere.  Our  present  concern  is  only  with  the 
'central  problem',  the  treatment  of  convicted  offenders :  leaving  aside 
the  persistent  offenders,  these  fall  into  two  categories — those  who  have 
been  sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  the  first  instance,  and  those  who, 
having  in  the  first  instance  been  ordered  to  pay  a  fine  or  comply  with 
conditions,  have  failed  to  do  so  and  have  in  consequence  been  sent  to 
prison. 

From  these  facts,  and  from  those  given  on  p.  10  as  to  the  recent 
practice  of  the  courts,  and  from  the  principles  of  legal  punishment, 
two  preliminary  statements  can  be  made.  First,  that  imprisonment  is 
one  of  the  methods  at  the  disposal  of  the  courts  for  the  punishment  of 
convicted  offenders,  though  rarely  used  except  for  the  more  serious 
offences :  it  is  also  used  as  a  sanction  against  the  failure  of  more  usual 
methods.  Second,  that  the  purpose  of  this  as  of  other  punishments  is 
to  prevent  the  offender  from  offending  again.  And  if  these  statements 
seem  to  be  mere  glimpses  of  the  obvious,  they  are  nevertheless  necessary 
because  they  condition  the  answer  to  the  question,  the  root  question 
implicit  from  the  beginning  in  the  words  'prison  reform' — how  is  the 
prison  to  effect  that  purpose? 

The  answers  that  have  been  given  to  that  question  will,  in  effect, 
be  the  subject  of  this  book,  and  at  this  stage  we  shall  approach  it  only 
so  far  as  to  see  what  it  implies,  and  to  outline  certain  preliminary 
considerations  which  will  later  be  established  in  their  historical  develop- 
ment. 

The  first  of  these  is  that  the  use  of  imprisonment  as  a  form  of  punish- 
ment in  itself  is,  in  historical  perspective,  a  comparatively  recent  idea, 
and  that  in  England  it  had  hardly  gained  acceptance  before  it  was  over- 
taken by  the  doubt  whether  after  all  it  was  a  very  good  idea,  so  that 
subsequent  legislation  was  devoted  rather  to  abating  than  developing 
its  use.  It  is  not  therefore  surprising  that  in  this  matter  thought  should 
still  be  tentative,  and  practice  empiric. 

The  second  consideration  concerns  the  nature  and  meaning  of 
imprisonment.  To  sentence  a  person  to  imprisonment  means,  in  itself 
and  at  Common  Law,  no  more  than  to  order  him  for  the  period  stated 
to  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  by  confinement  in  a  lawful  prison.  Whether 
the  prisoner,  while  so  confined,  should  be  treated  in  this  way  or  in  that, 
and  why,  depends  solely  on  such  directions  as  may  from  time  to  time 
be  given  to  the  keepers  of  the  prison  by  statute  or  by  statutory  rule. 
In  so  far  as  the  court  may  be  deemed  to  be  acting  in  knowledge  of  those 
directions,  the  treatment  the  prisoner  will  receive  may  be  said  to  be 
implicit  in  the  sentence,  but  all  that  is  explicit  is  deprivation  of  liberty 


THE  QUESTION  17 

in  the  manner  stated.  By  way  of  illustration,  consider  the  condition 
of  a  convicted  prisoner,  serving  a  sentence,  as  recently  observed  by  the 
present  writer  in  a  continental  prison.  In  an  adequately  furnished  room, 
over  what  looked  like  an  adequate  meal,  he  was  reading  a  newspaper 
at  ease  in  his  own  shirtsleeves.  If  he  cared  to  do  some  work  in  the 
garden,  it  was  welcome,  but  not  expected.  His  sole  obligations  were 
to  stay  there  and  obey  the  rules.  That  is  simple  imprisonment  in  essence 
— though  perhaps  the  provision  of  food  and  bedding  might  be  regarded 
as  a  special  modification:  they  have  not  always  been  held  to  be  of  the 
essence. 

In  the  light  of  these  considerations,  our  question  now  appears  in 
this  form — in  what  ways  should  this  deprivation  of  liberty  be  modified 
so  that  as  a  punishment  it  may  best  serve  its  purpose  of  preventing 
the  offender  from  offending  again? 

We  shall  find  that,  in  the  long-drawn  thread  of  this  still  lively 
argument,  three  strands  recur  by  way  of  answer,  constant  and  inter- 
woven. 

The  first  is  the  simplest,  and  perfect  if  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion 
— prolong  the  deprivation  of  liberty  sine  die,  since  for  so  long  as  the 
offender  is  'taken  out  of  circulation'  he  clearly  cannot  offend  again. 
This  principle,  which  may  be  called  Prevention,  is  seen  in  its  fullest 
action  in  the  'indeterminate  sentence',  or  the  sentence  for  99  years  or 
the  like,  known  to  American  law;  to  a  lesser  degree  in  the  'preventive 
detention'  for  up  to  14  years  of  persistent  offenders  under  English  law; 
and  indeed  in  any  sentence  of  any  length  for  so  long  as  it  lasts.  However, 
expressed  in  this  way  it  is  for  our  present  purpose  a  mere  abstraction: 
in  the  first  place  it  does  not,  in  principle,  require  any  modification  of 
the  custodial  function:  in  the  second  place,  in  the  present  state  of  penal 
law  and  public  conscience  in  this  country,  sentences  are  not  in  practice 
— excepting  always  the  special  case  of  the  persistent  offender — based 
on  this  conception.  The  treatment  of  the  offender  in  prison,  save  in 
exceptional  cases,  must  therefore  be  based  on  the  assumption  that  he 
will  in  a  few  months,  or  years,  be  returned  to  the  community. 

The  second  answer,  which  has  been  called  Deterrence,  suggests 
that  the  treatment  in  prison  should  be  such  that  on  his  return  to  the 
community  the  offender  will  refrain  from  further  offence  through  fear 
of  having  to  repeat  such  an  experience. 

The  third,  which  has  been  called  Reform,  suggests  that  the  protection 
of  society  will  be  not  less  effectively  secured  if  the  offender  returns  to 
it  with  his  mind  set  against  further  offence  not  from  fear,  which  may 
or  may  not  be  an  abiding  restraint,  but  from  an  inner  conviction  which 
will  remain  with  him.  The  treatment  should  therefore  be  designed  to 
this  end. 

A  more  recent  variation  on  these  themes  suggests  that,  whether  the 
offender  on  discharge  has  been  deterred  or  whether  he  has  been 

E.P.B.S. — 2 


18  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

reformed,  in  any  event  the  protection  of  society  will  not  be  served  unless 
he  returns  to  it  not  only  willing  but  able  to  take  a  normal  and  useful 
place :  it  therefore  emphasises  the  need  of  Training. 

Such  then  are  the  three  classic  principles — Prevention,  Deterrence, 
and  Reform.  Under  which  of  these,  or  under  what  combination  of  them, 
could  or  should  we  seek  to  regulate  the  treatment  of  persons  punished 
by  deprivation  of  liberty  in  a  prison?  Or  is  it  possible,  by  an  extension 
of  the  conception  of  Training,  to  effect  a  viable  synthesis? 

That  is  the  question  as  it  faces  us  today. 


CHAPTER  TWO 
THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED 

(1)    BEFORE  JOHN  HOWARD.  THE  QUESTION  DID  NOT  ARISE 

IMPRISONMENT  as  a  punishment  of  first  instance  has  developed, 
as  a  complete  conception,  almost  within  the  time  of  men  now 
living,  but  legal  punishment,  in  the  sense  of  formal  action  by  society 
against  the  law-breaker,  goes  to  the  primitive  roots  of  social  history. 
Banishment  and  vengeance  were  the  earliest  reactions  to  offence,  and 
they  have  never  wholly  ceased  to  work  in  penal  systems.  The  first  goes 
back  very  far:  an  offender  against  tribal  tabu  became  a  danger  to  the 
safety  of  the  tribe,  which  could  be  assured  only  by  his  complete  ex- 
pulsion. This  thread  will  run  through  the  story  as  far  at  least  as  Devil's 
Island  and  Botany  Bay.  The  second  has  undergone  many  mutations: 
social  utility  enforced  some  limitation  of  the  right  of  private  vengeance 
— 'an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth' ;  then  substituted  compensation 
for  physical  vengeance;  and  finally  required  society  to  take  into  its 
own  hands  the  responsibility  of  securing  justice  for  private  wrongs. 
So  came  in  England  the  conception  of  'the  King's  Peace',  under  which 
any  offences  against  private  persons  likely  to  lead  to  reprisals,  and 
therefore  disorder,  were  deemed  to  be  'against  the  Peace  of  our 
Sovereign  Lord  the  King'.  It  is  a  matter  of  continuing  significance  that 
legal  punishment  for  a  crime  against  a  private  person  is  in  origin  a 
substitute  for  that  private  vengeance  which  society  forbids  the  victim. 
The  first  principle  of  justice  enforced  by  the  community  was  com- 
pensation, the  lex  talionis.  Even  banishment  came  to  be  redeemable  by 
the  forfeiture  of  property  instead  of  life.  The  later  medieval  system 
of  corporal  and  defamatory  penalties  was  largely  of  economic  origin 
'because  almost  the  only  worldly  goods  that  had  been  left  to  the  great 
masses  were  their  bodies  and,  perhaps,  their  citizenship'.1  Where  there 
were  prisons,  their  part  was  only  to  hold  offenders  till  the  proper 
punishments  could  be  inflicted,  and  imprisonment  was  not  a  proper 
punishment.  Indeed,  for  a  thousand  years  after  Justinian  had  enunciated 

1  Mannheim,  p.  40. 
19 


20  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

this  principle  (p.  2),  the  penal  law  of  Europe  was  dominated  by  the 
idea  of  the  illegality  of  imprisonment  as  a  punishment. 

The  English,  however,  must  have  their  heresy,  and  in  1275  the 
Statute  of  Westminster  provided  two  years  imprisonment  as  a  legal 
punishment  for  rape — also  their  illogicality,  for  Bracton  had  little 
earlier  'referred  to  prisons  as  places  where  men  waited  to  be  liberated 
or  sentenced  by  judicial  decision'  1  and  stated  that  ''fetters  and  all  such 
things  are  forbidden  by  law,  because  a  prison  is  a  place  of  detention 
and  not  of  punishment'.2  Certainly  when  the  judges  of  the  King's 
High  Court  went  on  circuit  their  commission  was  one  of  'gaol  delivery' ; 
they  went  to  clear  the  gaols,  not  to  fill  them.  It  is  interesting,  however, 
to  note  that  at  a  very  early  stage  the  prison  assumed  the  coercive  as 
well  as  the  custodial  function.  When  forfeitures  came  to  be  made  to 
the  Crown,  prisons  were  found  helpful  in  persuading  the  offender  or 
his  family  to  pay.  'The  word  fine  is  still  reminiscent  of  this  form  of 
"finishing"  a  prison  term.' 3 

In  English  legal  theory  the  gaols,  as  well  as  the  Peace,  were  the  King's, 
and  though  private  prisons  were  kept  by  corporations,  nobles,  or 
bishops  under  franchise,  it  was  only  in  the  common  or  county  gaol  that 
the  Sheriff  as  King's  officer  for  the  county  had  his  authority.  And 
today  it  is  still  the  Sheriff  who  is  charged  with  the  execution  in  prisons 
of  sentence  of  death.  In  1403  we  find  what  is  perhaps  the  first  statutory 
regulation  of  imprisonment,  providing  that  Justices  should  commit 
only  to  the  Common  Gaol.4 

These  gaols  were  not  specially  provided  buildings.  Dr.  Griinhut, 
speaking  of  prisons  in  Europe  generally,  says,  Towers,  gate-houses, 
dungeons,  cellars  of  town-halls  and  market-houses  were  used  as 
prisons.'  5  In  England  the  position  was  no  better,  and  could  hardly 
have  been  worse.  Anything  might  serve,  from  the  cellar  of  an  inn  to 
the  gate-house  of  an  abbey,  and  neither  the  Sheriff  nor  the  local  Justices 
were  effectively  responsible  either  for  the  upkeep  of  the  buildings  or  for 
the  treatment  of  the  prisoners — or  even  indeed  for  their  maintenance, 
saving  a  small  allowance  of  bread  for  convicted  felons.  The  public  or 
private  authorities  or  persons  owning  the  gaols  farmed  them  out  to 
private  keepers  on  a  purely  profit-making  basis. 

Since  this  mediaeval  system  continued,  with  little  significant  change, 
right  through  the  eighteenth  century  and  into  the  nineteenth,  it  will  be 
convenient  to  give  an  impression  of  these  establishments  now,  and 
finish  with  them.  We  will  look  at  them  as  Howard  found  them — the 
gaols  of  Dr.  Johnson's  England — the  England  of  Adam  Smith  and 
Blackstone,  of  Fielding  and  Smollett,  of  Hogarth  and  'The  Beggars' 
Opera',  of  the  Gordon  Riots  and  cheap  gin. 
To  the  common  gaol,  be  it  first  remembered,  all  were  committed 

*  Griinhut,  p.  12.  2  Buxton,  p.  10.  3  Griinhut,  p.  12. 

4  5  H.  IV,  cap.  10.  5  p.  13. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  21 

alike — felons  and  misdemeanants,  convicted  or  unconvicted;  civil 
debtors  (except  where  there  were  separate  Debtors  Prisons);  men, 
women,  and  children.  In  the  smaller  gaols  there  was  no  provision 
whatever  for  separation  of  different  classes  of  prisoners,  and  usually 
little  or  none  for  segregation  of  the  sexes — nor,  where  that  existed, 
would  thev  keeper  require  or  expect  it  to  be  observed.  A  night  room  and 
a  day  room  or  yard  would  serve  for  everybody.  Larger  gaols  built  for 
the  purpose  were  not  essentially  better,  they  only  held  more;  and 
possibly  by  providing  two  or  more  yards  and  wards  enabled  some 
rudimentary  separation.  All  were  usually  unheated,  unfurnished  except 
for  straw,  and  unprovided  with  any  but  the  most  primitive  sanitary 
arrangements. 

The  only  duty  of  the  gaoler  to  the  prisoners  was  to  hold  them,  his 
only  interest  to  make  what  he  could  from  his  duty.  The  economic  basis 
of  the  business  was  the  fee — legal  or  illegal.  A  fee  was  charged  for 
admission,  and  happy  the  gaoler  who  received  a  prisoner  on  several 
commitments,  for  he  could  charge  a  separate  fee  on  each:  another 
was  payable  before  the  prisoner  could  obtain  his  discharge.  Irons  were 
a  fruitful  source  of  fees.  Their  use  was  illegal  in  theory,  but  they  were 
much  cheaper  than  secure  buildings:  useless  then  for  Lord  Chief 
Justice  King  to  'reply  to  those  who  urged  that  irons  were  necessary  for 
safe-custody  that  they  might  build  their  walls  higher'.1  So  fees  were 
charged  both  for  the  hammering  on  and  knocking  off  of  irons,  and 
fastidious  gentlemen  like  Captain  MacHeath  could  select  lighter  or 
better  fitting  irons  for  a  higher  fee. 

On  this  basis  it  was  good  business  to  make  everything  as  pleasant 
as  possible  for  those  who  would  pay,  and  equally  unpleasant  for  those 
who  would  not.  So,  at  a  price,  special  rooms  might  be  hired,  and  special 
meals  provided,  and  of  such  amenities  the  tap  and  the  brothel  were 
not  the  least  lucrative. 

Such  were  the  gaols  of  which  it  was  written  fcthat  disease,  cold, 
famine,  nakedness,  a  contagious  and  polluted  air,  are  not  lawful 
punishments  in  the  hands  of  a  civil  magistrate,  nor  has  he  a  right  to 
poison  or  starve  his  fellow  creature'.2  Poison  indeed,  for  they  were 
forcing  houses  not  only  of  lechery,  debauchery  and  moral  corruption, 
but  of  a  contagious  pestilence.  The  gaol-fever  had  been  known  at  least 
since  1414:  at  Oxford,  in  the  Black  Assizes  of  1577,  'within  five  weeks 
500  persons  died,  among  them  the  Lord  Chief  Baron  and  many  jury- 
men and  witnesses. ...  In  1750  a  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  an  Alderman, 
and  two  Judges  were  among  the  victims.' 3  At  this  time  it  was  computed 
that  every  year  one  quarter  of  the  prisoners  were  thus  destroyed,  and 
none  who  has  read  contemporary  accounts  of  the  conditions  need 
doubt  it. 

1  Buxton,  p.  12. 

2  State  of  Jails  by  W.  Smith,  1776,  cit,  Buxton.  3  Grunhut,  p.  28. 


22  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

The  age  which  fostered  these  conditions  was  one,  as  Dr.  Trevelyan 
tells  us,  'of  the  growth  of  humanitarian  and  philanthropic  feeling  and 
endeavour  ...  a  keener  sensitiveness  to  the  needs  and  sufferings  of 
others  (which)  melted  the  hard  prudence  of  statesmen' ;  an  age  which 
saw  'the  foundation  first  of  Charity  Schools,  then  of  Hospitals  .  .  .  and 
of  Sunday  Schools'.1  Yet  it  is  not  unfair  to  say  that  before  Howard 
began  his  work  in  1773,  no  effective  protest  against  this  national  dis- 
grace was  heard  in  public  life  beyond  the  parliamentary  inquiry  of  1729 
under  General  Oglethorpe,  which  was  forced  by  public  scandal  when 
several  debtors  died  in  the  Fleet  and  Marshalsea  prisons  of  sheer 
brutality  and  negligence:  Dr.  Griinhut  records  no  more  than  a  report 
of  1702  by  the  S.P.C.K.  into  the  conditions  of  certain  London  prisons, 
some  sharp  observations  in  the  works  of  Henry  Fielding,  and  a  sermon 
of  1740  by  Bishop  Butler.  It  is  a  suggestive  field  for  the  student  of  social 
history. 

Fortunately  the  history  of  the  common  gaol  is  not  all  that  the  period 
under  review  has  to  offer  us;  but  before  we  turn  to  a  more  hopeful 
field  let  us  look  first  at  the  contemporary  system  of  criminal  justice. 
This,  until  at  least  1823,  was  so  chaotic  as  to  be  almost  beyond  descrip- 
tion or  understanding.  By  the  time  of  the  Tudors  the  mediaeval  system 
of  penalties  was  giving  way,  for  felonies,  to  the  domination  of  the 
penalty  of  death.  For  misdemeanours  there  were  fines  and  various 
corporal  and  defamatory  punishments.  This  tendency  continued 
through  the  seventeenth  century,  and  by  1688  some  fifty  offences  were 
punishable  by  death.  Then,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  came  such  a 
pouring  panic  of  capital  statutes  that  by  the  end  of  the  century  they 
were  literally  beyond  number:  Dr.  Radzinowicz  concludes  that  they 
probably  exceeded  two  hundred,  and  quotes  Romilly  as  saying,  in  1810, 
that  'there  is  probably  no  other  country  in  the  world  in  which  so  many 
and  so  great  a  variety  of  human  actions  are  punishable  with  loss  of 
life  as  in  England.'  2 

This  was  the  ferocity  of  fear.  As  any  new  offence  gained  prominence, 
it  was  countered  by  a  new  capital  statute:  and  when  there  was  no 
diminution  of  offence  it  must  in  the  nature  of  that  sentiment,  since 
death  was  not  a  sufficient  deterrent,  be  required  to  aggravate  death  by 
torture  and  degradation.  For  some  offences  the  victim  was  dragged  to 
the  scaffold  at  a  horse's  tail,  strangled,  mutilated,  and  disembowelled; 
women  for  others  might  be  burned  alive.  Even  more  ingenious  measures 
were  publicly  propounded  for  diminishing  the  rise  in  crime  by  pro- 
longing the  agony  of  death.  Nor  was  the  horror  mitigated  for  children 
of  tender  years.  On  the  other  hand,  Blackstone  was  able  to  illustrate 
the  increased  humanity  of  his  time  by  pointing  to  the  provision  that 
the  victim  might  be  drawn  to  the  scaffold  on  a  hurdle  and  not  along 
the  ground. 

*  G.  M.  Trevelyan,  English  Social  History,  pp.  336,  347.        2  Radzinowicz,  p.  3. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  23 

The  social  psychology  of  these  conditions  is  of  great  interest,  but 
less  relevant  for  our  purpose  than  those  causes  of  them  which  derived 
from  the  preventive  deficiencies  of  the  penal  system.  These,  as  summed 
up  by  Dr.  Trevelyan,  strikingly  illustrate  the  point  made  in  the  previous 
chapter  that  the  first  lines  of  defence  in  a  penal  system  must  be  an 
adequate  and  efficient  police  and  the  swift  and  certain  administration 
of  justice:  The  effect  of  increased  legal  severity  in  an  age  that  was 
becoming  more  humane,  was  that  juries  often  refused  to  convict  men 
for  minor  offences  that  would  lead  them  to  the  scaffold.  Moreover  it 
was  easy  for  a  criminal,  by  the  help  of  a  clever  lawyer,  to  escape  on 
purely  technical  grounds  from  the  meshes  of  an  antiquated  and  over 
elaborate  procedure.  Out  of  six  thieves  brought  to  trial,  five  might  in 
one  way  or  another  get  off,  while  the  unlucky  one  was  hanged.  It  would 
have  been  more  deterrent  if  they  had  all  six  been  sure  of  a  term  of 
imprisonment.  To  make  matters  worse,  the  chances  of  arrest  were 
small,  for  there  was  no  effective  police  in  the  island,  except  the  'runners' 
of  the  office  which  the  Fielding  brothers,  about  the  middle  of  the 
century,  set  up  in  their  house  in  Bow  Street.'  1  A  second  factor  was  the 
absence  of  any  adequate  alternative  to  the  system,  for  the  gaols  were 
incapable  of  development  into  an  effective  penal  instrument  as  they 
were  then  conceived. 

Fortunately  not  all  of  those  convicted  on  capital  charges  were  exe- 
cuted. Dr.  Radzinowicz,  examining  the  figures  for  London  and  Middle- 
sex for  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  finds  that  out  of  3680 
capitally  convicted  1696  were  executed:  he  also  points  out  that  in  one 
of  those  years,  out  of  97  executions,  only  one  was  for  murder  and 
96  were  for  offences  against  property.  The  curious  complications  of 
'benefit  of  clergy',  with  its  division  of  felonies  into  the  clergyable  and 
the  non-clergyable,  saved  those  who  could  read  the  'neck  verse',  at 
the  cost  of  a  branding,  and  the  Prerogative  of  Mercy  was  available  for 
others.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  either  Clergy  or  Prerogative: 
the  former  stayed  till  1827,  when  the  (death  penalty  was  limited  to 
treason  and  the  felonies  which  had  been  non-clergyable:  the  relevance 
of  the  Prerogative  is  its  use  as  the  instrument  for  bringing  banishment 
back  to  the  penal  system.  Following  the  acquisition  of  territory  in 
America,  the  practice  developed  during  the  seventeenth  century  of 
granting  Crown  Pardons  to  condemned  felons  on  condition  of  their 
agreeing  to  be  'transported  beyond  the  seas',  where  they  provided 
valuable  labour  in  the  plantations.  The  practice  was  placed  on  a 
statutory  basis  in  1679,2  and  in  1717  3  was  more  precisely  regulated, 
7  years  in  the  American  plantations  being  prescribed  for  clergyable 
felonies  and  14  years  for  non-clergyable.  In  1767  4  the  Judges  were 

i  Trevelyan,  pp.  348,  349. 

2  31  Car.  2,  cap.  2.  3  4  Geo.  1,  cap.  11. 

48  Geo.  3,  cap.  15. 


24  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

empowered  to  order  transportation  as  a  sentence,  such  order  having 
the  effect  of  a  conditional  pardon. 

So  we  leave  our  gaols,  for  a  time,  in  the  condition  in  which  they 
were  described  by  a  contemporary  wit — 'An  ante-room,  to  the  New 
World — or  the  next.'  It  was  through  another  channel,  outside  the 
penal  system,  that  the  function  of  correction  was  to  be  introduced  into 
the  prisons. 

The  social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  Tudor  age,  with  its  in- 
crease of  unemployed  and  unemployable,  vagrants  and  'sturdy  beggars', 
led  to  the  institution  of  'a  proper  system  of  Poor  Relief,  based  upon 
compulsory  rates  and  discriminating  between  the  various  classes  of 
the  indigent'.1  Moreover,  the  strong  central  government  of  the  Tudor 
monarchy  saw  to  it  that  this  was  effectively  enforced  through  the  local 
Justices  of  the  Peace,  who  were  given  increasing  powers  not  only  of 
justice  but  of  local  government  administration.  The  system  aimed  to 
provide  not  only  relief  for  the  poor  but  work  for  the  unemployed,  and 
for  the  latter  purpose  Working  Houses  or  Houses  of  Correction  were 
set  up  for  those  classes  who  required  a  measure  of  compulsion  to  get 
them  to  work — especially  such  as  vagabonds,  beggars,  prostitutes,  idle 
apprentices  and  others  who  required  fcto  be  corrected  in  their  habits  by 
laborious  discipline'.  This  situation  has  a  parallel  today  in  the  law  of 
some  Swiss  cantons,  where  both  idleness  and  prostitution  rate  high 
enough  as  social  disorders  to  bring  commital  to  a  penal  establishment. 
The  first  of  these  Houses  was  founded  in  the  former  royal  palace  of 
Bridewell,  given  by  Edward  VI  in  1553,  and  thence  came  the  popular 
name  of  these  institutions  which  lingers  here  and  there  to  this  day. 
In  1 576  2  the  Justices  were  required  to  provide  a  House  of  Correction 
in  every  county. 

The  idea  of  reform  was  implicit  in  these  institutions,  and  at  first  it 
seems  to  have  been  effective.  'Coke  stated,  that  unlike  those  suffering 
from  the  bad  and  even  deteriorating  effects  of  the  common  gaol,  people 
commited  to  the  Working  House  come  out  better.' 3  Certainly  they 
tried  to  live  up  to  their  name,  and  the  essence  of  the  discipline  was 
hard  and  useful  industrial  work,  from  the  proceeds  of  which  the 
inmates  were  paid  wages  for  their  maintenance.  But  the  idea  of  deter- 
rence was  also  implicit,  and  quickly  rose  to  parity  and  then  predomin- 
ance. Bridewells  soon  came  to  be  more  an  arm  of  the  penal  than  of  the 
poor  law,  and  the  practice  grew  of  committing  to  them  all  sorts  of 
minor  offenders.  Industry  as  a  training  gave  way  to  hard  work  as  a 
deterrent,  and  in  1609  Justices  were  authorised  by  statute  4  to  institute 
'hard  labour'  in  the  Bridewells  as  a  purely  penal  measure. 

The  similarity  of  the  continental  trend  is  of  interest.  The  first  House 
of  Correction  was  the  Rasp  Huis  at  Amsterdam  of  1595,  and  the  idea 

1  Trevelyan,  p.  113.  3  Griinhut,  p.  16. 

2  18  Eliz.,  cap.  3.  4  7  J.  \t  cap.  4. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  25 

spread  across  Europe.  It  was,  as  in  England,  an  idea  at  first  of  reform  by 
hard  work,  with  wages,  education,  and  religious  instruction.  The  whole 
tendency  of  the  new  foundation  was  fundamentally  opposed  to  con- 
temporary criminal  law.  It  did  not  involve  an  exclusion  from  society 
by  death,  mutilation,  and  branding  with  permanent  degradation.  The 
ultimate  aim  was  to  lead  the  prisoner  back  into  society.  As  to  the 
results,  contemporary  writers  are  full  of  praise.' 1  But  in  Europe  too 
committal  to  the  Rasp  House  became  a  purely  penal  measure,  and 
during  the  eighteenth  century  developed  all  the  characteristics  not  only 
of  deterrence  but  of  defamation.  Some  eighteenth-century  prints  2  of 
the  Amsterdam  Rasphuis  show  groups  of  half-naked  prisoners  rasping 
huge  logs  with  desperate  energy;  close  by,  bound  to  an  elegant  Ionic 
column,  is  one  who  undergoes  violent  chastisement.  Groups  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  watch  with  a  detached  air.3 

Yet  fresh  ideas  developed  which  had  a  continuing  life.  In  the  House 
of  Correction  at  Ghent,  before  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were 
to  be  found  the  elements  of  a  modern  prison  system.  And  in  1703,  in 
the  House  of  Correction  of  St.  Michael  in  Rome,  there  was  founded 
the  first  separate  reformatory  for  young  delinquents  and  for  what  today 
we  should  call  'beyond  control'  or  'care  and  protection'  cases.  It  was 
here  that  Howard  found  the  famous  inscription  'Parum  est  coercere 
improbos  poena  nisi  probos  efficias  disciplina.' 

In  England  the  remaining  history  of  the  Bridewell  is  unhappy  and 
short.  Early  in  the  seventeenth  century  it  became  the  practice  to  establish 
them  alongside  the  gaols:  in  1719  the  practice  of  committing  to  them 
minor  offenders  was  given  statutory  sanction:  4  during  the  eighteenth 
century  the  two  classes  of  institution  became  almost  completely 
assimilated,  being  commonly  under  the  same  roof  and  the  same  keeper, 
and  in  1823  5  this  position  was  recognised  by  law,  and  the  Justices  were 
given  a  definite  responsibility  for  the  whole  of  the  'united  or  contiguous 
buildings':  in  1865  the  distinction  between  gaol  and  Bridewell,  long 
lost  in  practice,  was  finally  abolished  in  law.6 

(2)    HOWARD  AND  AFTER.  THE  MOVEMENT  FOR  REFORM 

Although  it  was  the  peculiar  merit  of  John  Howard  to  focus  atten- 
tion on  the  scandal  of  the  prisons,  his  work  was  but  one  aspect — 
though  for  our  purpose  the  most  important — of  a  European  movement 
for  the  reform  of  penal  systems  which  was  characteristic  of  the  Age  of 
Enlightenment.  A  few  philosophers  isolated  principles  of  enduring 
value;  a  few  more  men  of  good  will,  under  their  inspiration,  fought  for 

1  Griinhut,  p.  18. 

2  Formerly  in  the  office  of  the  Penal  and  Penitentiary  Commission  at  Bern. 

3  See  Appendix  K.  540.  iv,  cap.  64. 

4  6  G.  i,  cap.  19.  6  See  Appendix  K. 


26  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

improvement;  but  effective  action  was  blanketed  by  administrative 
inadequacy  and  legal  and  political  reaction. 

In  France  the  movement  of  thought  had  started  with  Voltaire  and 
Montesquieu,  but  it  was  the  publication  in  Italy  in  1764  of  Beccaria's 
essay  'On  Crimes  and  Punishments'  which  stirred  the  penal  systems  of 
Europe  and  laid  the  foundations  of  criminal  science.  This  potent  work 
stated  most  of  the  principles  that  have  come  to  be  accepted  as  the 
basis  of  thought  on  legal  punishment — that  the  sole  justifiable  purpose 
of  such  punishment  was  the  protection  of  society  by  the  prevention  of 
crime;  that  for  this  purpose  the  principle  of  uniform  maximum  severity, 
particularly  by  capital  punishment,  was  not  only  wrong  but  ineffective; 
and  that  milder  punishments  proportioned  to  the  offences,  but  inflicted 
with  promptness  and  certainty,  would  be  more  effective  in  preventing 
crime  than  haphazard  severity. 

In  England,  under  the  influence  of  Beccaria  and  the  leadership  of 
Eden,  Romilly,  and  Blackstone,  the  attack  was  pressed  incessantly  but 
fruitlessly  for  half  a  century.  But  the  main  battleground  was  the  legal 
system  itself,  and  the  main  issue  the  rationalisation  of  the  use  of  capital 
punishment.  Howard,  in  association  with  this  group,  fought  mainly 
on  what  seemed  then  the  secondary  issue  of  the  state  of  the  prisons, 
though  we  may  now  see  that  neglect  of  the  question  of  "secondary 
punishments'  was  a  strong  reason  for  failure  in  the  main  field. 

John  Howard  was  a  very  English  character.  A  nonconformist  land- 
owner of  humane  and  progressive  views,  with  a  developed  social 
conscience,  he  was  led  into  his  life  work  simply  by  doing  his  public 
duty  as  he  saw  it  with  conscience  and  a  single  mind.  When  in*1773  he 
became  High  Sheriff  of  Bedfordshire  'he  did  what  none  of  his  prede- 
cessors had  tried  before;  he  inspected  the  prisons  of  his  county'.1 
What  he  saw  struck  him  so  forcibly  that  he  thought  it  well  to  see  some 
other  prisons,  and  before  his  sense  of  duty  was  satisfied  he  had  visited 
most  English  prisons  and  many  in  Europe.  In  1777  he  published  his 
conclusions  in  The  State  of  the  Prisons  in  England  and  Wales  with  some 
Preliminary  Observations,  and  an  Account  of  some  foreign  Prisons'.  A 
second  volume  followed  in  1789,  and  in  1790  he  died  of  the  plague 
in  the  Ukraine  while  investigating  hospital  conditions  in  the  Middle 
East.  As  Bentham  said  later,  'he  died  a  martyr  after  living  an  apostle'. 

Howard's  work  and  abiding  influence  were  not  limited  to  the  ascer- 
tainment and  exposure  of  evil :  he  proposed  remedies,  and  influenced 
others  to  work  for  them.  He  was  concerned  not  only  with  the  elementary 
material  decencies  and  necessities,  but  with  spiritual  values:  he  wished 
to  bring  back  the  forgotten  notion  that  Houses  of  Correction  should 
correct — 'parum  est  coercere  improbos  poena  nisi  probos  efficias 
disciplina'.  Prisons  should  be  sanitary  and  secure;  the  sexes  should  be 
effectively  separated;  the  keeper  should  be  a  paid  and  responsible  servant 

i  Griinhut,  p.  32. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  27 

of  the  Justices;  and  the  Justices  themselves  should  exercise  effective 
supervision.  But  above  all  physical  and  moral  corruption  should  be 
prevented  by  the  provision  of  separate  cells  for  sleeping;  moral  im- 
provement should  be  sought  through  the  influence  of  religion  by  the 
appointment  of  Chaplains;  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  prisoners 
should  be  provided  with  useful  work  by  day  in  proper  workshops. 
Between  1774  and  1791,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  Eden  and  Black- 
stone  and  the  personal  prestige  of  Howard  with  Parliament,  a  well- 
intentioned  group  of  Acts  was  passed  in  which  most  of  these  ideas 
were  embodied. 

But  though  informed  opinion  had  moved,  the  machinery  of  ad- 
ministration was  powerless  to  enforce  it  against  the  inertia  of  general 
opinion.  The  Acts  were  permissive,  not  mandatory,  and  their  enforce- 
ment rested  with  the  local  Justices:  the  central  government  had  no 
means  even  of  knowing  whether  recommendations  of  Parliament  were 
being  followed  or  not.  Some  of  the  better  Magistrates,  personally 
influenced  by  Howard,  were  able  to  get  some  improvement  in  their 
counties,  but  local  authorities  were  not  generally  disposed  to  increase 
the  rates  for  the  benefit  of  prisoners:  in  the  year  of  Waterloo  the 
Aldermen  of  the  City  of  London,  in  whose  prisons  a  debtor  had 
recently  died  of  starvation,  and  two  women  prisoners  were  shortly 
to  be  found  with  only  a  rug  to  hide  their  joint  nakedness,  declared  that 
'their  prisoners  had  all  they  ought  to  have,  unless  gentlemen  thought 
they  should  be  indulged  with  Turkey  carpets'  ! — perhaps  the  first  public 
protest  of  common  sense  against  the  fc  pampering  of  prisoners '.  And  so, 
although  the  increasing  menace  of  the  gaol-fever  forced  some  improve- 
ment of  sanitation,  the  prisons  in  general,  twenty  years  after  Howard's 
death,  were  very  much  as  he  found  them  when  he  first  began  his  tour 
in  1773. 

Let  us  see  how  they  looked  to  another  inquiring  missionary,  Thomas 
Powell  Buxton,  in  the  years  after  Waterloo — the  age  of  an  England, 
after  the  victories  of  Nelson  and  Wellington,  at  her  brilliant  best — the 
England  of  Wordsworth,  Shelley,  and  Keats,  of  Cobbett,  Jane  Austen, 
and  Sir  Walter  Scott,  of  the  flower  of  English  architecture  and  English 
art.  In  Appendix  A  are  given  extracts  from  Buxton's  An  Inquiry  whether 
Crime  and  Misery  are  produced  or  prevented  by  our  present  System  of 
Prison  Discipline,  illustrated  by  Descriptions  of  (ten  prisons  at  home  and 
abroad)  and  the  Proceedings  of  the  Ladies  Committee  at  Newgate. 
It  is  dreadful  reading.  Its  effect  cannot  be  better  summarised  than  by 
Buxton  himself  in  his  Preliminary  Observations  (p.  19):  'In  short,  by 
the  greatest  possible  degree  of  misery,  you  produce  the  greatest  possible 
degree  of  wickedness;  .  .  .  receiving  (the  prisoner)  because  he  is  too 
bad  for  society,  you  return  him  to  the  world  impaired  in  health, 
debased  in  intellect,  and  corrupted  in  principles.' 

i  Clay,  p.  91. 


28  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

Yet  we  should  remember  that,  after  the  long  years  of  the  Napoleonic 
Wars,  England  had  no  more  than  in  our  own  day  'saved  herself  by  her 
exertions'  without  paying  the  price.  It  was  moreover  an  age  of  serious 
economic  disorder  and  rapid  social  change.  Increasing  population  and 
growing  industrialisation  brought  with  them  slum-towns,  unemploy- 
ment, and  serious  distress.  The  growing  demands  of  the  new  proletariat 
were  at  odds  with  the  natural  anti- Jacobin  sentiment  of  the  time. 
Crime  was  increasing  and  the  prisons  were  overfull.  The  age  of  the 
Luddites  and  Peterloo  was  not  propitious  for  reform  of  the  penal 
system.  Twice  in  our  own  time  we  have  seen  that  prisons  after  a  war 
have  low  priority  as  a  charge  on  public  purse  and  conscience;  their 
consequent  condition  lays  them  open  to  attack,  and  their  reaction 
may  carry  them  a  long  bound  forward.  So,  in  degree,  it  fell  out  after 
Waterloo. 

Those  who  now  took  up  the  work  of  Howard  were  a  remarkable 
group.  Centred  on  the  great  Quaker  banking  families — Gurneys,  Bar- 
clays, Frys,  and  Hoares — they  had  the  urge  of  their  religion  to  do 
practical  good,  the  wealth  to  furnish  it,  and  the  social  standing  to  make 
themselves  felt  in  high  places.  Among  these  Elizabeth  Fry,  nee  Gurney, 
was  not  only  pre-eminent  in  her  time  Jbut  still  keeps  her  place,  com- 
parable with  that  of  Florence  Nightingale,  among  the  greatest  English- 
women. 

Mrs.  Fry's  first  visits  to  the  women's  side  of  Newgate — then  a  new 
prison,  and  so  providing  a  separate  side  for  women — were  made  at 
the  suggestion  of  her  brothers-in-law,  Samuel  Hoare  and  Thomas 
Powell  Buxton,  the  founders,  in  1816,  of  the  Society  for  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Prison  Discipline.1  She  found  it,  says  Buxton,  fcin  a  situation 
which  no  language  can  describe'  2;  she  visited  the  sick,  and  helped 
the  mothers  with  their  children,  but  it  was  not  till  1816  that  she  was 
moved  to  grapple  in  earnest  with  the  problems  of  a  place  of  which  a 
contemporary  wrote  that  'of  all  the  seats  of  woe  on  this  side  Hell,  few, 
I  suppose,  exceed  or  equal  Newgate'.3  Now  that  she  saw  that  some- 
thing must  be  done,  she  did  not,  being  a  woman  and  Elizabeth  Fry, 
write  a  book  about  it,  but  went  into  the  prison  and  did  it.  Sheriffs, 
Governor,  and  prisoners  alike  were  brought  under  the  spell  of  her 
simple  goodness  and  practical  single-minded  determination,  and  with 
the  help  of  a  Ladies  Committee  of  her  Quaker  friends  she  had,  within 
a  few  months,  brought  into  this  bedlam  of  harridans  the  calm  and 
industrious  order  of  a  cloister.  As  the  fame  of  her  miracle  spread,  she 
visited  other  prisons  to  set  up  Ladies  Committees,  and  in  1818  was 

1  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Howard  League,  virtually  the  lineal  descendant  of  this 
Society,  still  numbers  among  its  officers  a  Fry,  a  Powell  Buxton,  and  a  Samuel 
Hoare  (Lord  Templewood). 

2  For  the  language  in  which  he  nevertheless  attempted  to  describe  it,  see  extracts 
in  Appendix  A. 

3  Whitney,  p.  142. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  29 

called  as  an  expert  witness  before  a  Committee  of  Parliament,  'the 
first  woman  other  than  a  queen  to  be  called  into  the  councils  of  the 
government  in  an  official  manner  to  advise  on  matters  of  public 
concern'.1  Her  fame  preceded  her  visits  to  the  prisons  of  Europe,  and 
before  her  death  in  1845  she  was  a  regular  correspondent  of  kings  and 
princes  in  matters  of  prison  reform. 

What  was  her  secret?  It  is  worth  while  to  know  it,  for  Mrs.  Fry  was 
more  than  an  historical  episode — she  was  the  prophet,  a  hundred 
years  before  her  time,  of  our  present  system.  All  that  she  asked  of 
Parliament  for  her  women  in  1818  was  granted  by  Parliament — in 
1948.  It  may  be  found  in  the  Statutory  Rules  made  under  the  Criminal. 
Justice  Act.  She  started  from  the  principle  that  'punishment  is  not  for 
revenge,  but  to  lessen  crime  and  reform  the  criminal'.  For  accommoda- 
tion she  required  a  separate  building  for  women,  under  the  care  of 
women,  providing  separate  cells  by  night  with  proper  workshops  and 
common  rooms  by  day.  For  training,  plenty  of  useful  work,  careful 
religious  instruction,  a  library,  and  attention  to  education.  So  far, 
perhaps,  as  principles,  nothing  very  striking  or  fresh:  but  her  special 
contribution  was  to  show  conclusively  that  they  worked,  and  this 
carried  conviction  even  in  her  own  time.  In  1818  the  Grand  Jury  of 
the  City  of  London  said  'that  if  the  principles  which  govern  her  regula- 
tions were  adopted  towards  the  males,  as  well  as  the  females,  it  would 
be  the  means  of  converting  a  prison  into  a  school  of  reform:  and  instead 
of  sending  criminals  back  into  the  world  hardened  in  vice  and  depravity, 
they  would  be  restored  to  it  repentant,  and  probably  become  useful 
members  of  society'.2  But  the  question  remained,  what  made  her 
principles  work?  Here  the  report  of  the  Parliamentary  committee  went 
to  the  root  of  the  matter.  'The  benevolent  exertions  of  Mrs.  Fry  and 
her  friends  have  indeed  etc.,  etc.  But  much  must  be  ascribed  to  un- 
remitting personal  attention  and  influence.' 3 

Unremitting  personal  attention  and  influence — there  lay  her  secret. 
This  was  a  method  not  easily  transmitted  in  her  time  and  the  years  to 
come,  and  it  was  not  until,  more  than  a  hundred  years  after,  it  was 
again  both  preached  and  practised  that  her  work  took  root  in  our 
prison  system.  How  did  she  exercise  that  influence?  Her  simple  rules 
may  be  seen  in  Appendix  A.  First,  she  believed  that  'prisoners  should 
be  treated  as  human  beings  with  human  feelings';  second,  that  their 
willing  co-operation  should  be  sought;  and  third,  that  they  should 
learn  responsibility  through  a  measure  of  self-government.  And  the 
result?  'I  have  never/  she  told  the  Committee,  'punished  a  woman 
during  the  whole  time,  or  even  proposed  a  punishment  to  them;  and 
yet  I  think  it  is  impossible,  in  a  well-regulated  house,  to  have  rules 
more  strictly  attended  to.'  4  Each  element  of  this  method  also  finds 

1  Whitney,  p.  164.  3  Whitney,  p.  168. 

2  Whitney,  p.  160.  *  Whitney,  p.  166. 


30  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

its  place  in  the  new  Statutory  Rules,  and  the  Governor  of  a  women's 
prison,  in  her  Annual  Report  for  1948,  repeated  in  similar  words  the 
exact  sense  of  Mrs.  Fry's  statement  of  the  result.  Eppur  si  muove. 

But  these  'benevolent  exertions'  were  concerned  with  the  lot  of 
people  in  prison,  not  with  the  function  of  the  prison  in  the  penal  sys- 
tem, though  this  question  was  already  being  canvassed  in  other  con- 
nections which  we  shall  consider  in  the  next  section.  Mrs.  Fry's 
Newgate  was  still  fcno  more  than  an  ante-room',  and  her  women  for  all 
her  care  would  pass  to  the  transports  or  the  scaffold.  Indeed  much  of 
the  Ladies'  time  was  spent  in  calming  and  comforting  unhappy  girls 
about  to  be  hanged  for  stealing  a  floor-cloth  or  a  few  shillings,  and  in 
dealing  with  the  'transports'.  With  these  they  first  took  charge  of  the 
removal  from  the  prison  to  the  docks.  This  had  been  a  horrible  business ; 
first  a  hysterical  struggle  as  the  turnkeys  fought  to  iron  the  crazed  and 
half-drunken  women,  then  a  popular  procession  in  closely  guarded 
open  wagons.  Now  it  took  place  quietly,  in  closed  hackney  coaches, 
with  Quaker  ladies  instead  of  chains  for  control.  Then  they  organised 
the  ships,  and  brought  to  them  also  the  order,  decency,  and  industry  of 
Newgate.  And  in  time  Mrs.  Fry's  influence  reached  out  to  New  South 
Wales  itself — but  that  is  another  story.1 

(3)    SECONDARY  PUNISHMENTS.  DEATH  OR  .   .   .  ? 

During  the  period  covered  by  the  preceding  section,  the  parliamentary 
battle  for  reform  of  the  whole  penal  system  had  been  joined.  The  great 
increase  in  crimes  of  violence,  and  the  ineffectiveness  of  the  system  in 
face  of  it,  forced  the  House  of  Commons  to  appoint  Committees  in 
1750  and  1770:  on  each  occasion  a  rationalisation  and  reduction  of 
the  capital  statutes  was  recommended  by  the  Commons  but  defeated 
by  the  Lords.  The  Committee  of  1750  went  further,  and  made  a  series 
of  far-sighted  suggestions  covering  the  improvement  of  social  conditions 
predisposing  to  crime,  a  more  efficient  police  system,  a  better  admini- 
stration of  criminal  justice,  and  the  removal  of  defects  in  the  Houses  of 
Correction.  But  nothing  could  be  done,  and  there  the  matter  rested 
until,  under  the  leadership  of  Sir  Samuel  Romilly,  the  ten  year  battle 
was  joined  which  ended,  soon  after  his  death,  with  the  appointment  of 
another  Committee  in  1819.  The  leadership  had  now  passed  to  Powell 
Buxton  and  James  Mackintosh,  and  although  they  were  again  checked 
by  the  Lords,  they  did  succeed  in  changing  the  climate  of  opinion  and 
preparing  the  way  for  the  radical  changes  effected  by  Peel  when  he 
became  Home  Secretary  in  1821. 

Simultaneously,  the  problem  of  'secondary  punishments'  was  being 
forced  on  the  reluctant  attention  of  Parliament  through  the  'divers 

1  For  the  story  of  Sarah  Martin,  a  humble  follower  of  the  methods  of  Mrs.  Fry 
at  Yarmouth,  see  Appendix  B. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  31 

difficulties  and  inconveniences'  to  which  the  system  of  transportation 
had  become  subject  during  the  War  of  Independence  in  America.  Bills 
were  passed  to  meet  the  situation  in  1775  and  1779,  but  general  opinion 
still  inclined  to  the  simple  view  that  the  best  thing  to  do  with  convicted 
felons  was  to  get  rid  of  them,  one  way  or  another,  and  forget  about 
them.  It  was  therefore  with  relief  that  the  Government  was  able,  in 
1787,  to  resume  transportation  to  the  new  continent  conveniently  dis- 
covered by  Captain  Cook.  But  though  the  Acts  of  1775  and  1779  had 
little  or  no  immediate  effect,  they  gave  a  fresh  turn  to  thought  and 
practice  on  the  function  of  correction,  as  distinct  from  custody,  in 
prisons,  and  deserve  to  be  noticed  in  some  detail. 

The  first  Act  provided  for  convicted  felons  not  transported  to  be  set 
to  hard  labour  for  various  terms,  in  dredging  the  river  Thames  or 
"other  such  laborious  services'.  They  might  be  confined  in  the  hulks — 
transports,  as  it  were,  in  suspense  ! — or  in  'any  proper  place  of  con- 
finement', and  Justices  were  required  to  prepare  their  Houses  of  Cor- 
rection for  the  setting  of  convicts  to  hard  labour.  These  were  temporary 
arrangements,  and  the  permanent  scheme  appeared  in  the  Act  of  1779.2 
This  'Hard  Labour  Bill'  provided  for  the  building  of  two  Penitentiaries 
in  which  convicts  were  to  be  imprisoned  and  set  to  hard  labour,  viz. 
"Labour  of  the  hardest  and  most  servile  kind,  in  which  drudgery  is 
chiefly  required  .  .  .  such  as  treading  in  a  wheel  or  drawing  in  a  cap- 
stern  for  turning  a  mill  or  other  machine,  sawing  stone,  etc.,  etc.,  or 
any  other  hard  and  laborious  service',  with  "other  less  laborious  em- 
ployment' according  to  age  and  sex  for  those  unfitted  for  the  heavier 
work.  The  penitentiary  buildings  were  to  provide  for  the  separation  of 
the  sexes,  separate  cells,  an  infirmary  and  a  Chapel :  but  in  fact,  Captain 
Cook  intervening,  they  were  never  built. 

Meanwhile  there  had  been  another  influential  intervention.  Jeremy 
Bentham,  under  the  influence  of  Beccaria,  had  led  the  Utilitarians  into 
the  battle  for  penal  reform,  and  was  now  moved  by  the  Hard  Labour 
Bill  to  devote  to  the  question  of  prisons  the  gifts  of  his  brilliant  mind. 
On  themes  of  the  school  of  Howard  he  elaborated  endless  variations, 
many  extremely  sensible,  many  less  so :  but  above  all  he  fought  for  the 
principle  of  useful  work  as  against  sterile  hard  labour.  It  was  un- 
fortunate that  his  fertility  in  over-ingenious  notions  and  curious 
mechanical  contrivances  led  him  to  canalise  his  "efforts  towards  his 
novel  plan  for  a  penitentiary,  which  he  called  a  panopticon.  He 
developed  this  to  a  point  at  which  Parliament  actually  agreed,  in  1794, 
to  take  it  up  under  his  direction,  and  a  site  for  it  was  bought  on  Mill- 
bank.  But  again  time  passed;  nothing  was  done;  Parliament  thought 
again — perhaps  wisely;  and  when  in  1812  another  Act  was  passed  for 
the  building  of  a  penitentiary  it  was  not  to  be  Bentham's.  The  new 
building  was  started  in  1816  on  the  site  bought  for  the  panopticon,  and 
1  See  Appendix  K.  2  19  Geo.  Ill  cap.  74. 


32  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

by  two  curious  exchanges  on  Thames  side  between  the  fine  arts  and 
crime,  Scotland  Yard  now  rises  from  the  foundations  of  an  opera 
house,  while  the  Tate  Gallery  replaces  our  first  penitentiary.  Some 
structural  remains  of  Millbank  penitentiary  may  still  be  seen,  and  the 
gravestone  of  one  of  its  governors  is  still  legible  in  St.  John's  church- 
yard nearby. 

Bentham's  brilliant  irruption  into  the  field  of  secondary  punishments 
left  little  of  practical  effect  behind.  Indeed  the  whole  period  is  one  of 
false  starts  and  fumbling  uncertainty.  But  there  were  three  new  ideas  in 
the  field — punitive  hard  labour,  the  hulks,  and  (in  posse)  the  peni- 
tentiary, of  which  the  important  feature  was  that  it  was  a  Government 
and  not  a  local  affair.  The  idea  of  hard  labour  made  little  impact  on 
the  local  prisons.  An  Act  of  1791  required  Justices  to  make  Rules  for 
Hard  Labour  on  the  lines  of  the  Hard  Labour  Act  of  1779,  but  their 
prisons  were  quite  unfit  for  the  prolonged  detention  of  large  numbers 
of  convicts,  and  they  were  not  prepared  to  go  to  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  making  them  so.  Since  the  Government  could  not  shelve  on  to  the 
local  authorities  its  responsibility  for  convicts,  these  until  they  could 
be  transported  were  kept  in  the  hulks  down  the  Thames  or  wherever 
else  they  could  be  employed  in  dredging  or  public  works. 

The  time,  in  short,  was  not  yet  ripe  in  England  for  serious  considera- 
tion of  imprisonment  as  a  method  of  legal  punishment,  and  it  was  not 
until  1823,  as  one  part  of  Peel's  reforms,  that  an  effective  start  was 
made.  It  was  in  that  year  also  that  Parliament  learned  of  the  New 
World  having  been  brought  in  to  redress  the  balance  of  the  Old,  and 
since  the  effects  of  this  beneficent  process  were  nowhere  more  marked 
than  in  our  prison  system,  it  is  across  the  Atlantic  that  we  must  look 
for  the  opening  of  the  next  act. 

(4)    THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED.  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  SYSTEMS 

Long  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  Quaker  state  of 
Pennsylvania,  anticipating  the  course  of  penal  reform  by  over  100 
years,  had  abolished  both  whipping  and  (except  for  murder)  hanging, 
and  had  substituted  as  the  punishment  for  felony  as  well  as  mis- 
demeanour imprisonment  on  the  model  of  the  best  Houses  of  Correc- 
tion. But  this  experiment  did  not  survive  the  death  of  William  Penn  in 
1718,  and  it  was  not  till  after  1776  that  the  Quakers,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Howard,  again  took  up  the  cause  of  penal  reform.  Once  again 
murder  alone  was  made  capital,  and  the  prison  was  made  the  prime 
instrument  of  legal  punishment. 

This  time,  however,  the  system  was  different.  Taking  perhaps  too 
much  account  of  the  value  Howard  placed  on  the  separate  cell,  and  too 
little  of  the  rest  of  his  doctrine,  it  was  based  on  solitary  confinement 
in  its  most  absolute  form.  This  practice  was  intended  to  promote 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  33 

"that  calm  contemplation  which  brings  repentance",  and  reminded  the 
visitors  of  fasting  and  abstinence  among  certain  religious  sects.  Appar- 
ently this  group  were  not  allowed  either  to  work  or  to  receive  visitors. 
Prisoners  convicted  of  minor  offences,  and  felons  after  the  expiration 
of  the  solitary  stage  of  their  confinement,  worked  in  association  .... 
Disciplinary  punishment  consisted  in  transferring  the  prisoner  to 
solitary  confinement.'  l  A  variation  of  this  Solitary  System,  under 
which  prisoners  might  be  removed  from  their  cells,  provided  they  were 
kept  strictly  separate,  was  known  as  the  Separate  System:  this  in  its 
perfection  provided  rows  of  enclosures  like  large  pig-sties,  but  with 
high  walls,  in  which  each  prisoner  took  separate  exercise,  turned  the 
Chapel  into  a  honeycomb  of  separate  cubicles  from  which  only  the 
chaplain  and  the  altar  were  visible,  and  even  provided  the  prisoners 
with  masks. 

But  the  fertility  of  thought  and  experiment  which  has  in  different 
periods  distinguished  the  penal  systems  of  the  United  States  was 
already  active.  The  beneficent  effects  of  the  Pennsylvania  System  were 
not  everywhere  taken  for  granted,  and  Boston  was  soon  in  the  field 
with  a  school  of  thought  different  from  that  of  Philadelphia,  and  closer 
to  the  views  of  Bentham  and  Howard.  This  was  based  on  the  Separate 
System  for  sleeping,  but  provided  workshops  for  useful  employment 
by  day,  and  starting  from  New  England  and  New  York  spread  con- 
siderably. Many  prisons  were  built  on  this  model,  including  the  historic 
Sing-Sing  and  Auburn  (1819),  and  from  the  strict  rule  of  silence  enforced 
at  the  latter  this  system  was  known  sometimes  as  the  Silent  System 
and  sometimes  as  the  Auburn  System. 

This  rapid  building  of  great  new  prisons  gave  the  United  States  a 
lead  in  prison  construction  which  they  have  never  lost,  and  in  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  as  today,  there  was  a  regular  flow 
of  European  visitors  to  inspect  and  report  on  new  systems  and  new 
model  prisons — among  which,  to  the  comfort  and  encouragement  of 
Bentham,  there  was  even  a  version  of  his  Panopticon.2  The  impact  on 
European  thought  and  practice  was  considerable,  and  may  still  be 
traced:  within  recent  years  the  writer  has  visited  continental  prisons 
which  still  retain  the  apparatus  of  the  Separate  System,  (including  the 
'preaux'  or  separate  exercise  pens  and  the  chapel  cubicles),  and  others 
which  were  introduced  as  representing  'le  syst£me  Auburn'.  The 
monthly  Bulletin  of  the  Belgian  prison  service  for  February  1949 
reported  that,  during  1948,  'furent  ordonnees  progressivement  la 
suppression  des  stalles  individuelles  dans  les  chapelles  et  la  demolition 
des  preaux  cellulaires,  autres  vestiges  des  temps  oil  la  discipline  rigide 
des  Quakers  etait  en  honneur'. 

In  England,  effective  progress  in  penal  reform  began  with  the 

1  Griinhut,  p.  46. 

2  Another  version  of  the  Panopticon  still  exists  at  Breda,  Holland. 
E.P.B.S. — 3 


34  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

historic  tenure  (1821-27)  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Home  Department  by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  'who  of  all  Home  Secretaries  has 
left  the  deepest  impress  on  the  laws  and  institutions  of  the  country'.1 
Peel  was  neither  a  missionary  nor  an  innovator,  but  an  able  and 
energetic  administrator  with  a  strong  sense  of  the  politically  practicable. 
Having  taken  stock  of  those  ideas  concerning  penal  reform  which 
seemed  to  him  right  and  practicable,  from  the  Committee  of  1750 
through  Howard  and  Bentham  to  Romilly  and  Mackintosh,  he  pro- 
ceeded systematically  to  put  them  into  effect,  with  all  the  authority  of 
the  government,  in  a  series  of  statutes  which  cleared  broad  avenues 
through  the  mediaeval  chaos  of  the  penal  system.  The  capital  statutes 
were  consolidated  and  reduced  in  number;  benefit  of  clergy  was 
abolished  (1827)  and  transportation  or  imprisonment  up  to  two 
years  prescribed  as  penalties  for  the  felonies  which,  broadly, 
had  been  clergyable;  the  scale  of  punishments  for  many  minor 
offences  was  reduced;  the  administration  of  justice  was  overhauled 
to  make  for  greater  certainty  and  speed;  and  in  1829  the  Metro- 
politan Police  was  established  on  substantially  its  present  basis, 
to  become  a  model  shortly  followed  by  all  the  county  and  borough 
forces. 

It  was  a  necessary  part  of  this  comprehensive  plan  that  the  prisons 
should  be  put  in  a  state  to  become  an  effective  instrument  of  secondary 
punishment,  and  the  Gaol  Act  of  1823,2  'the  first  measure  of  general 
prison  reform  to  be  framed  and  enacted  on  the  responsibility  of  the 
national  executive'  3  made  a  well-concerted  attack  on  most  of  the 
major  evils  of  the  system  as  Peel  found  it.  It  consolidated  the  twenty- 
three  pre-existing  statutes  on  the  subject  of  gaols  and  houses  of  cor- 
rection, took  the  first  step  towards  assimilating  these  institutions,  and 
'for  the  first  time  it  made  it  peremptorily  the  duty  of  Justices  to  organise 
their  prisons  on  a  prescribed  plan,  and  to  furnish  quarterly  reports  to 
the  Home  Secretary  upon  every  department  of  their  prison  administra- 
tion. They  were  expressly  required  to  adopt,  as  the  basis,  Howard's 
four  principles  of  the  adoption  of  sufficient  secure  and  sanitary  accom- 
modation for  all  prisoners,  the  transformation  of  the  gaoler  or  master 
from  an  independent  profit-maker  into  the  salaried  servant  of  the  local 
authority,  the  subjection  of  all  criminals  to  a  reformatory  regimen,  and 
the  systematic  inspection  of  every  part  of  the  prison  by  visiting 
justices.' 4  The  nature  of  the  reformatory  regimen,  however,  was  some- 
thing of  a  compromise  between  the  religious  and  the  utilitarian  schools, 
for  while  provision  was  made  both  for  religious  and  for  educational 
instruction,  the  principle  of  separate  confinement  was  specifically 
rejected  and  its  place  was  taken  by  the  Benthamite  idea  of  classified 
association  in  five  groups,  viz.  debtors  (or,  in  the  bridewells,  vagrants), 

1  Troup,  p.  22.  3  Troup,  p.  115. 

2  4  Geo.  IV,  cap.  64.  4  Webb,  p.  74. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  35 

unconvicted  felons,  unconvicted  misdemeanants,  convicted  felons,  and 
convicted  misdemeanants.  Each  group  was  to  be  associated  in  pro- 
ductive employment,  from  the  profits  of  which  the  prisoners  were  to 
be  maintained.  All  the  worst  abuses  of  the  old  system  were  now  swept 
away,  including  irons  and  chains,  fees,  taps,  unauthorised  punishments, 
and  the  supervision  of  women  by  men,  and  the  Act  prescribed  a  Code 
of  Rules  of  which  many  survive,  in  whole  or  in  part,  to  this  day. 

ft  was  no  fault  of  this  admirable  statute  or  its  sponsors  that  the 
constitution  lacked  the  machinery  to  secure  its  enforcement:  indeed, 
the  major  problem  throughout  this  period  was  not  so  much  to  decide 
what  should  be  done  as  to  bring  the  various  Benches  and  Corporations 
to  do  what  was  decided,  or,  indeed,  to  do  anything  at  all.  Nevertheless, 
although  in  a  large  number  of  counties  and  most  of  the  small-town 
and  franchise  gaols  the  Act  was  only  enforced  partially,  or  not  at  all, 
it  did  act  as  a  tremendous  stimulus  to  the  more  progressive,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  the  more  important  prisons  were  rebuilt  under 
its  influence. 

But  though  the  Gaol  Act  laid  the  foundations  of  the  elementary 
physical  and  moral  decencies  for  which  Howard  had  fought,  as  a  solu- 
tion of  the  question  of  how  the  prisons  were  to  carry  out  their  new 
functions  it  was  a  dead  end.  Three  years  later  Peel  himself  felt  deep 
anxiety  about  the  state  of  secondary  punishments.  In  a  remarkable 
letter  of  March  24,  1826,  to  Sydney  Smith  of  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
he  wrote : 

'I  admit  the  inefficiency  of  transportation  to  Botany  Bay,  but  the 
whole  subject  of  what  is  called  secondary  punishment  is  full  of  diffi- 
culty; ...  I  can  hardly  devise  anything  as  secondary  punishment  in 
addition  to  what  we  have  at  present.  We  have  the  convict  ships.  .  .  . 
There  is  a  limit  to  this,  for  without  regular  employment  found  for  the 
convicts,  it  is  worse  even  than  transportation Solitary  imprison- 
ment sounds  well  in  theory,  but  it  has  in  a  peculiar  degree  the  evil  that 
is  common  to  all  punishment,  it  varies  in  its  severity  according  to  the 
disposition  of  the  culprit.  ...  To  some  intellects  its  consequences  are 
indifferent,  to  others  they  are  fatal.  .  .  .  Public  exposure  by  labour 
on  the  highways,  with  badges  of  disgrace,  and  chains,  and  all  the 
necessary  precautions  against  escape,  would  revolt,  and  very  naturally, 
I  think,  public  opinion  in  this  country.  ...  As  for  long  terms  of  im- 
prisonment without  hard  labour,  we  have  them  at  present,  for  we  have 
the  Penitentiary  with  room  for  800  penitents.  When  they  lived  well, 
their  lot  in  the  winter  season  was  thought  by  people  outside  to  be 
rather  an  enviable  one.  .  .  .  We  reduced  their  food  .  .  .  there  arose  a 
malignant  and  contagious  disorder  which  at  the  time  emptied  the 
prison,  either  through  the  death  or  removal  of  its  inmates.  The  present 
occupants  are  therefore  again  living  too  comfortably,  I  fear,  for 


36  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

penance. ...  I  despair  of  any  remedy  but  that  which  I  wish  I  could  hope 
for — a  great  reduction  in  the  amount  of  crime.' l 

Well  might  Peel  cry  for  a  decrease  in  crime,  for  in  the  period  of  his 
Home  Secretaryship  'commitments  in  England  and  Wales  (excluding 
London  and  Middlesex)  showed  an  increase  of  86  per  cent  over  the 
period  1811-1817.'  2  So  it  happened  that,  as  news  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Auburn  began  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and  the  Battle  of  the  Systems  was 
joined,  the  issues  were  to  some  extent  obscured  by  a  growing  reaction 
against  the  mitigations  of  the  penal  system,  and  the  question  about 
prisons — the  'reformed  prisons',  as  they  were  called,  was  more  often 
whether  they  were  sufficiently  deterrent  than  whether  they  were 
sufficiently  reformative. 

The  condition  of  the  county  prisons  in  the  'Thirties  was  confused. 
A  few  had  been  rebuilt,  from  the  time  of  Howard,  on  the  separate  cell 
system,  following  the  lead  set  in  1792  by  Sir  George  Onesiphorous 
Paul  at  Gloucester,  which  'appears  to  have  been  the  fountain-head  of 
information  on  silence  and  solitude'.3  But  to  most  Justices  this  seemed 
an  expensive  concession  to  cranky  reformist  ideas,  and  the  Benthamite 
idea  of  'reform  by  industry'  had  proved  more  attractive.  The  prisons 
in  these  counties  had  become  busy  workshops,  profitable  not  only  to 
the  county  but  to  the  prisoners,  who  were  often  able  to  repay  the  cost 
of  their  maintenance  and  have  something  over  for  themselves.  But 
many  prisons  were  still  in  the  old  state  of  idle  and  corrupt  disorder. 
Into  this  confusion  had  infiltrated  first  the  idea  of  punitive  hard  labour 
by  treadwheel  or  crank,  and  later  that  of  the  Silent  System:  this  gained 
some  popularity,  since  it  suited  the  construction  of  prisons  rebuilt  on 
the  classification  system  of  1823  and  permitted  the  continuance  of 
industry.  Even  the  treadwheel,  since  it  could  be  made  to  'turn  a  mill 
or  other  engine',  might  be  adapted  to  profitable  use  by  letting  out  the 
man-power  to  the  local  miller  for  grinding  corn,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  prisoners  could  be  kept  in  separate  compartments  as  they  toiled  at 
their  dreary  task. 

Meanwhile  those  who  saw  that  the  basic  evils  of  the  prisons  could 
only  be  removed  by  the  separate  cell  system  continued  to  press  their 
view,  while  those  who  called  for  greater  deterrence  in  the  face  of  the 
crime  wave  pressed  for  the  enforcement  of  strict  hard  labour,  meaning 
the  use  of  the  treadwheel  or  crank  not  only  in  silence  and  separation, 
but  for  no  useful  purpose,  since  in  this  view  labour,  to  be  fully  deter- 
rent, should  be  not  only  monotonous  and  severe  but  quite  useless,  this 
being  more  likely  to  'plague  the  prisoner'.  Employment  in  useful  and 
interesting  work,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to  be  positively  encouraging 
crime. 

i  Radzinowicz,  p.  572.  2  Radzinowicz,  p.  588. 

3  Report  of  the  Inspector  for  the  S.W.  District,  1836  (see  p.  37). 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  37 

The  only  hope  of  clearing  this  confusion  of  both  principles  and  prac- 
tice was  a  strong  lead  from  the  central  government  backed  by  adequate 
powers  to  enforce  its  views  on  the  local  authorities;  and  the  Home 
Office  as  Peel  had  left  it  was  gradually  putting  itself  into  a  position  to 
give  that  lead  and  secure  those  powers.  The  Act  of  1823,  in  addition  to 
prescribing  Rules,  had  required  Justices  to  make  quarterly  reports  to 
the  Home  Secretary  on  their  enforcement,  though  he  had  no  power  to 
do  anything  but  receive  them.  In  the  general  agitation  of  the  Thirties 
about  the  state  of  the  penal  system  this  aspect  of  the  problem  received 
special  attention,  and  as  the  matter  fell  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Reformed 
Parliament,  and  a  Whig  ministry  'dominated  by  two  leading  assump- 
tions .  .  .  namely  .  .  .  uniformity  of  administration  .  .  .  and  the  im- 
possibility of  attaining  that  uniformity  without  a  large  increase  in  the 
activity  of  the  central  government',1  it  was  dealt  with  at  once  by  a 
method  that  was  to  have  immediate  and  continuing  effect.  The  Home 
Secretary  was,  by  an  Act  of  1835,  empowered  to  appoint  persons  to 
inspect  prisons  on  his  behalf  and  to  report  to  him,  and  by  the  same 
Act  Justices  were  required  to  make  Rules  for  the  government  of  their 
prisons  and  to  submit  them  to  the  Home  Secretary.  By  a  later  Act  of 
1844  the  Home  Secretary  was  also  empowered  to  appoint  a  Surveyor- 
General  of  prisons,  to  advise  the  Home  Office  and  the  local  authorities 
on  all  matters  concerning  the  construction  of  prisons. 

The  inspectors  appointed  under  the  Act  included  some  able,  active, 
and  zealous  men,  whose  reports  2  were  not  only  factual  accounts  of 
what  they  saw,  but  reasoned  analyses  of  the  problems  presented  with 
suggestions  for  their  solution.  They  acted  and  thought  independently, 
each  reporting  to  the  Secretary  of  State  on  his  own  District,  but  the 
most  influential  seem  to  have  been  the  Rev.  Whitworth  Russell  and 
William  Crawford,  the  Inspectors  of  the  Home  District.  These  two, 
with  the  later  collaboration  of  Col.  Jebb,  R.E.,  the  first  Surveyor- 
General  of  prisons,  were  convinced  by  their  study  and  experience  of 
the  Separate  System  both  in  the  United  States  and  in  England  that  it 
must  be  wholly  and  quickly  adopted  if  the  prisons  were  to  be  effective 
for  any  purpose  at  all,  and  by  their  recognised  expertise  and  the  publica- 
tion of  their  reports  they  played  a  considerable  part  in  influencing 
official  and  parliamentary  opinion. 

Meanwhile  the  Home  Office  had  been  forced  by  circumstances  to 
become  constructively  active.  It  was  in  fact  developing  a  prison  system 
of  its  own,  in  which  the  Separate  System  was  positively  demonstrated. 
The  Home  Secretary  was  already  responsible  for  the  General  Peniten- 
tiary at  Millbank,  which  had  been  completed  in  1821,  and  was  used 
for  convicts  who  were  awaiting  transportation  or  were  not  to  be 
transported,  though  most  of  these  were  still  in  the  hulks.  This  building 
was  based  on  the  separate  cell  system,  with  a  curious  plan,  akin  to  that 
1  Webb,  p.  110.  2  Extracts  in  Appendix  B. 


38  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

of  the  admired  Maison  de  Force  at  Ghent,  of  six  pentagonal  blocks 
radiating  from  a  central  space.  Further  development  of  central  prisons 
followed  a  general  attack  on  the  whole  of  the  government's  arrange- 
ments for  dealing  with  convicts,  not  only  because  they  were  alleged  to 
fail  in  deterrent  effect,  but  because  of  revelations  of  the  revolting 
conditions  which  prevailed  in  the  hulks,  and  of  alarming  reports  from 
the  penal  settlements.  The  general  dissatisfaction  was  strongly  ex- 
pressed in  the  report  of  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  1837,  which 
condemned  the  whole  system.  The  government  made  a  considerable 
effort  to  put  it  on  a  proper  basis:  the  period  spent  abroad  was  divided 
into  the  Probation  Period,  during  which  the  convicts  were  employed 
in  gangs  on  public  works;  the  Probation  Pass  Period,  during  which 
they  might  be  assigned  to  private  employment ;  then  the  Ticket-of- Leave. 
For  selected  convicts  believed  to  be  susceptible  to  reform  a  preliminary 
period  was  added,  not  exceeding  18  months,  of  separate  confinement 
in  a  penitentiary,  according  to  their  conduct  in  which  was  decided  the 
stage  into  which  they  would  pass  in  Australia.  Millbank  being  inade- 
quate, the  government,  in  1842,  built  a  large  prison  at  Pentonville,  not 
only  to  serve  as  a  penitentiary  for  convicts,  but  to  provide  local 
authorities  with  a  "model  prison'  in  which  they  could  see  how  the 
Separate  System  ought  to  work  in  proper  conditions.1  It  served  this 
latter  purpose  so  well  that  'in  six  years  after  Pentonville  was  built  54 
new  prisons  were  built  after  its  model,  affording  11,000  separate  cells'.2 
The  architect  of  Pentonville  was  Major  J.  Jebb,  R.E.,3  whose  achieve- 
ment in  practice  as  in  precept  was  so  enduring  that  of  him  if  of  any  it 
may  still  be  said  'si  monumentum  requiris,  circumspice' :  Pentonville, 
after  being  closed  for  some  years  and  badly  damaged  by  bombs  in  the 
late  war,  was  reopened  shortly  after  its  centenary  and  is  again  one  of 
the  principal  prisons  of  London,  while  its  immediate  successors  are 
still,  with  few  exceptions,  the  only  walled  prisons  available  to  fulfil 
the  purposes  of  the  Act  of  1948. 

The  success  of  the  Pentonville  experiment  enabled  the  Government, 
when  (in  1846)  it  became  necessary  for  the  time  being  to  suspend 
transportation,  to  formulate  a  definite  system  for  the  treatment  of 
convicts  without  transportation  to  penal  settlements.  The  first  15-18 
months  of  the  sentence  were  to  be  spent  in  separate  confinement,  with 
hard  labour,  in  Millbank  or  Pentonville,  or  in  cells  rented  by  the 
Government  in  the  county  gaols:  then  followed  a  period  of  employment 
in  association  on  public  works,  for  which  the  convict  was  removed  to  a 
'Public  Works  Prison'  at  such  harbours  as  Portland  or  Chatham,  or 
(in  the  earlier  stages)  Gibraltar  or  Bermuda:  some  of  these  prisons 
were,  in  fact,  the  old  hulks,4  but  large  prisons  of  the  cellular  type  were 

1  See  Appendix  K.  2  Du  Cane,  p.  56. 

3  Later,  as  Colonel  Jebb,  C.B.,  Surveyor-General  of  Prisons. 

4  The  last  hulk  in  this  country  was  destroyed  in  1857. 


THE  QUESTION  IS  POSED  39 

built  at  Portland  (1848),  Dartmoor  (1850),  and  Chatham  (1856),  while 
in  1853  Brixton  Prison  was  taken  over  for  the  reception  of  the  female 
convicts. 

As  one  consequence  of  this  central  activity  the  'beginning  of  the  end' 
of  the  Battle  of  the  Systems  on  the  local  prison  front  was  signalled  by 
the  Act  of  1839,1  which  repealed  so  much  of  the  Act  of  1823  as  related 
to  classification,  and  substituted  permission  for  the  Justices  to  adopt 
the  Separate  System.  But  for  some  years  to  come  the  adoption  of 
separate  confinement  and  the  purely  penal  conception  of  hard  labour 
was  neither  complete  nor  undisputed.  Different  authorities  continued 
to  take  their  own  line,  and  the  dispute  boiled  up  again  in  the  late 
'Forties  with  a  violent  press  campaign  against  the  separate  system  and 
'reformatory  discipline'  generally:  this  resulted  in  1850  in  another 
Parliamentary  Committee,  which,  while  supporting  the  separate  sys- 
tem, gave  general  satisfaction  by  coming  out  strongly  in  favour  of  hard 
labour  in  individual  separation,  with  crank  or  treadwheel,  instead  of 
"useful  industry'.  The  day  of  the  Silent  System  was  now  nearly  over:  a 
return  made  to  Parliament  in  1856  showed  that  fcin  about  one-third  of 
the  prisons  in  England  the  (separate)  system  was  fully  carried  out;  in 
another  third  partially ;  while  the  rest  were  either  on  the  Silent  System 
or  in  the  old  disorderly  state'.2 

So  by  ntid-century  the  outlines  of  the  situation  to  be  faced  were 
sufficiently  clear.  Governments  could  no  longer  rely  on  the  gallows  and 
the  transports  to  remove  its  responsibility  for  convicted  felons.  Im- 
prisonment had  ceased  to  be  a  'secondary  punishment' :  it  was  the  one 
potentially  effective  instrument  at  the  disposal  of  the  penal  system. 
The  adhesions  of  the  moribund  transportation  system  must  be  cut 
away,  and  in  the  prisons  under  central  control  there  must  be  created  an 
actually  effective  system  of  imprisonment  based  on  self-supporting 
principles:  within  such  a  system  must  be  incorporated  the  local  prisons, 
and  administrative  machinery  devised  adequate  to  pursue  and  sustain 
these  purposes.  The  new  system  would  be  based  on  the  prison  with 
separate  cells — that  was  already  clear.  What  was  not  yet  clear  was 
what  answer  should  be  given  to  the  question — what  is  the  prison  for? 
Deterrence?  Reform?  Both?  And  whatever  it§  expressed  ends,  by  what 
means  should  it  seek  them? 

1  2  and  3  Vic.,  cap.  56.  2  Clay,  p.  264. 


CHAPTER  THREE 
THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS 

(1)    THE  FIRST  ANSWER  (1865) 

THE  first  stage  of  the  new  dispensation  was  the  Act  of  1850,1 
which  enabled  the  Secretary  of  State  to  appoint  Directors  of 
Convict  Prisons  in  whom  would  vest  the  powers  and  duties  of 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Hulks,  and  of  the  various  bodies  which  had 
been  created  to  manage  Millbank,  Pentonville,  and  Parkhurst 2  prisons. 
So,  with  the  now  well-established  Inspectors,  there  was  at  the  Home 
Office  a  permanent  body  of  administrators  who  directly  controlled  a 
vital  part  of  the  prison  system  and  indirectly  exercised  a  considerable 
influence  over  the  rest.  Their  first  Chairman  was  the  Surveyor-General, 
soon  to  be  Sir  Joshua  Jebb.  The  establishments  for  which  they  assumed 
responsibility  were: 3 

Prisons  for  separate  confinement — Millbank  and  Pentonville. 

Cells  for  separate  confinement  rented  in  eight  local  prisons. 

Prisons  for  public  works — Portland  and  Dartmoor.4 

Prison  for  Juveniles — Parkhurst. 

Hulks — two  at  Woolwich,  two  at  Portsmouth. 

Invalid  Depots — one  hulk  and  Shornclif  Barracks. 

The  system  in  force  consisted  of  'three  probationary  periods  of 
discipline,  viz. : 

1st.   Twelve  months  separate  confinement. 
2nd.  Labour  in  association  on  public  works. 
3rd.  A  ticket-of-leave  in  one  of  the  colonies.' 

1  13  and  14  Vic.  cap.  39. 

2  Established  1839  as  a  prison  for  juvenile  convicts:  see  Chapter  19. 

3  Report  on  the  Discipline  and  Management  of  the  Convict  Prisons,  1850,  p.  2. 

4  The  'old  war  prisons  on  Dartmoor*  were  appointed  to  be  a  prison  for  male 
offenders  under  sentence  of  transportation  by  the  Secretary  of  State's  warrant  of 
24  Oct.  1850,  and  their  conversion  by  convict  labour  from  Millbank  was  started 
at  once. 

40 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  41 

Colonel  Jebb  set  about  his  work  with  the  practical  spirit  and  con- 
structive energy  to  be  expected  of  an  engineer.  'It  has  been  well  re- 
marked/ he  said,  'that  whatever  is  found  to  be  practically  right  is 
not  theoretically  wrong.'  The  first  thing  was* to  get  rid  of  the  hulks: 
among  other  good  reasons,  he  evidently  disliked  hearing  from  brother 
officers  of  his  convicts  'dragging  their  chains  about  the  ordnance  depots 
and  dockyards  seeing  how  little  they  could  do'.  His  report  for  1850 
advises  new  prisons  to  replace  the  hulks  at  Portsmouth  and  Woolwich: 
in  1851  he  reported  that  the  new  convict  prison  at  Portsmouth  was 
nearly  completed,  and  urged  a  start  at  Woolwich.  One  is  lost,  in  these 
lean  years,  in  admiration  and  envy  of  the  formidable  energy  and 
resources  which  could  thus  produce  great  new  prisons  at  the  rate  of 
one  every  year  or  so.  Portland  was  first  envisaged  in  the  summer  of 
1847,  and  by  1849  accommodated  840  prisoners  and  the  necessary 
staff.  The  conversion  of  Dartmoor,  started  in  October  1850,  had  pro- 
vided for  1017  prisoners  by  November  1851.  And  in  this  uprush  there 
was  no  instability:  indeed  these  prisons  show  all  too  well  the  qualities 
of  'rocky  solidity  and  indeterminate  duration'  observed  by  Dr.  Johnson 
in  Durham  Cathedral,  and  the  persistence  of  the  latter  quality  in  such 
buildings  as  Dartmoor  gives  rise  to  mixed  feelings  in  those  who  have 
to  use  them  today. 

In  building  a  system  of  treatment  for  their  prisoners  the  Directors 
were  less  assured.  They  had  to  take  over  the  stock  of  ideas  current  at 
the  time,  and  do  their  best  with  them  within  the  limits  imposed  by  close 
political  control  and  persisting  confusion  of  public  opinion  on  basic 
principles.  From  the  practice  of  imprisonment  at  home  they  inherited 
only  the  sterile  ideas  of  separate  confinement  and  punitive  hard  labour. 
From  the  transportation  system  however,  scandalous  and  ineffective 
as  it  had  proved  itself,  they  were  able  to  take  certain  seminal  ideas 
which  were  to  have  a  potent  influence  on  the  future.  These  were,  the 
release  before  the  expiration  of  sentence  of  well-conducted  convicts 
on  ticket-of-leave;  the  valuable  use  of  prison  labour  on  public  works; 
and  the  system  of  'progressive  stages',  which  gave  to  prisoners  the 
stimulus  of  hope  and  interest  by  allowing  them,  through  good  conduct 
and  industry,  to  make  quicker  progress  towards  the  goal  of  ticket-of- 
leave. 

Though  these  ideas  had  been  much  developed  at  home  in  the  course 
of  adapting  the  transportation  system  to  domestic  use,  they  owed  much 
also  to  pioneers  in  the  penal  settlements  abroad,  and  particularly  to 
Captain  Alexander  Maconochie,  who  in  1840  became  Superintendent 
of  the  punitive  settlement  on  Norfolk  Island.  This  remarkable  man 
not  only  developed  the  'marks  system'  of  registering  progress  in  conduct 
and  industry,  but  showed  in  his  general  attitude  to  a  painful  and  difficult 
task  much  of  the  spirit  of  Elizabeth  Fry.  'I  sought  generally,'  he  said, 
'by  every  means  to  recover  the  men's  self-respect,  to  gain  his  own 


42  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

goodwill  towards  his  reform,  to  visit  moral  offences  severely,  but  to 
reduce  the  number  of  those  that  were  purely  contraventional,  to  miti- 
gate the  penalties  attached  to  these,  and  then  gradually  to  awaken 
better  and  more  enlightened  feelings  among  both  officers  and  men.' 1 

It  is  a  little  saddening  to  follow  the  early  attempts  of  the  Directors 
to  come  to  terms  with  these  quite  different  sets  of  ideas.  In  spite  of 
grave  doubts  as  to  whether  it  was  theoretically  deterrent,  they  could 
feel  no  doubt  that  their  public  works  system  was  practically  right. 
Their  enthusiasm  for  useful  employment  on  valuable  work,  and  for 
progressive  'classes'  with  good-conduct  badges  and  increasing  monetary 
gratuities,  shines  through  their  early  reports.  Portland  represents  'a 
new  era  in  the  moral  and  industrial  training  of  convicts',  and  watching 
the  cheerful  energy  of  the  gangs  hauling  blocks  of  Portland  stone  to 
build  the  great  new  harbour,  they  "have  seldom  seen  a  greater  amount 
of  willingness  and  industry  displayed  by  men  whose  livelihood  depended 
on  their  exertions' — sentiments  which  in  the  years  since  the  late  war 
have  been  repeated  by  many  employers  of  prison  labour  in  most  of  the 
counties  of  England. 

Their  views  on  t\e  selection  and  conduct  of  staff  were  also  singularly 
just,  and  were  expressed  2  in  words  which  could  hardly  be  bettered 
today  and  may  still  be  found  in  use  both  at  home  and  overseas.3 
'In  a  system  of  discipline  in  which  the  reformation  of  the  offender  is  a 
leading  principle,  it  would  on  all  accounts  be  desirable  to  employ  an 
officer  who  was  under  the  influence  of  religious  principle,  and  of  strictly 
moral  character.'  'It  is  the  duty  of  all  officers  to  treat  the  prisoners  with 
kindness  and  humanity,  and  to  listen  patiently  to,  and  report,  their 
complaints  or  grievances,  being  firm,  at  the  same  time,  in  maintaining 
order  and  discipline,  and  enforcing  complete  observance  of  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  establishment.  The  great  object  of  reclaiming 
the  criminal  should  always  be  kept  in  view  by  every  officer  in  the  prison, 
and  they  should  strive  to  acquire  a  moral  influence  over  the  prisoners, 
by  performing  their  duties  conscientiously,  but  without  harshness. 
They  should  especially  try  to  raise  the  prisoners'  mind  to  a  proper 
feeling  of  moral  obligation  by  the  example  of  their  own  uniform  regard 
to  truth  and  integrity  even  in  the  smallest  matters.  Such  conduct  will,  in 
most  cases,  excite  the  respect  and  confidence  of  prisoners,  and  will 
make  the  duties  of  the  officers  more  satisfactory  to  themselves,  and 
more  useful  to  the  Public.' 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  these  expressions,  it  may  be  in  an  unguarded 

1  Maconochie,  Norfolk  Island,  p.  6,  cit.  Grunhut,  p.  79. 

2  In  their  Report  dated  16/3/50,  pp.  27  and  49. 

3  Cf.  New  Zealand  Prison  Regulation  25,  which  reads: 

"The  great  object  of  reclaiming  the  criminal  should  always  be  kept  in  view  by  all 
officers,  and  they  should  strive  to  acquire  a  moral  influence  over  the  prisoners.  .  .  . 
They  should  especially  try  to  raise  the  prisoners'  minds  to  a  proper  feeling  of  moral 
obligation.' 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  43 

moment,  Col.  Jebb  and  his  colleagues  left  no  doubt  as  to  what  in  their 
minds  was  the  'great  object'  and  'leading  principle'  of  the  system  they 
were  required  to  administer. 

It  is  therefore  right  to  assume  that  they  were  sincere  in  their  belief 
that  the  'high  moral  tone  and  good  discipline'  among  the  prisoners  on 
public  works  would  have  been  unattainable  without  the  preliminary 
period  of  separate  confinement  and  hard  labour  in  the  penitentiaries  or 
county  gaols,  and  one  must  simply  accept  the  fact  that  Col.  Jebb  could 
return  from  Portland  harbour  to  devote  himself  to  calculating  the 
number  of  revolutions  per  hour  that  a  prisoner  might  reasonably  be 
expected  to  perform  on  a  crank,  to  the  practical  perfection  of  that 
machine,  and  to  expressing  the  view  that  'my  own  impression  is  that 
the  generality  of  prisoners  would  have  a  greater  distaste  for  the  labour 
if  it  were  not  applied  to  any  useful  purpose'.1 

The  system  of  separate  confinement  they  accepted  without  question 
in  principle,  but  they  were  earnestly  concerned  with  its  application  in 
practice.  In  the  light  of  medical  evidence  as  to  the  increasing  incidence  of 
insanity  and  tuberculosis,  they  advised  that  the  normal  maximum  of 
18  months  was  too  long,  and  that  it  should  be  suitably  varied  to  indi- 
vidual needs  so  as  to  give  an  average  of  not  more  than  12  months. 
They  also  applied  a  practical  mitigation:  the  separate  exercise  pens  or 
"airing  yards'  at  Pentonville  were  cleared  away,  and  to  allow  of  "brisk 
exercise'  there  were  laid  down  in  their  place  a  series  of  concentric 
circular  paths,  such  as  may  still  be  seen  as  a  principal  feature  of  the 
grounds  of  all  our  prisons.  The  use  of  caps  with  visors  to  'prevent 
recognition'  was  still  thought  desirable,  and  the  view  of  the  Chaplain 
of  Pentonville  was  accepted  that  the  use  of  separate  cubicles  in  Chapel 
was  'not  oppressive  to  the  mind  to  any  perceptible  degree',  though  the 
prevalence  of  punishments  for  defacing  or  knocking  holes  in  these 
might  have  seemed  to  raise  a  question. 

During  their  Pentonville  stage  the  education  of  the  convicts  was 
treated  very  seriously:  perhaps  too  seriously,  for  while  the  Chaplain 
felt  that  'to  confer  the  advantages  of  a  superior  education  on  convicts 
was  wrong  in  principle',  he  was  convinced  that  every  convict  should 
be  taught  to  read  so  that  they  might  acquaint  themselves  with  the 
truths  of  religion.  Yet  if  that  were  done,  it  would  certainly  be  necessary, 
he  felt,  to  do  something  'to  meet  the  most  pernicious  efforts  continually 
being  put  forth  by  authors  and  publishers  ...  to  the  detestable  purpose 
of  mere  money  gain,  neutralising  the  benefits  of  education  to  the  lower 
classes,  and  poisoning  the  sources  of  their  temporal  as  well  as  their 
eternal  happiness'.  These  doubts,  as  appears  from  the  Addenda  to  his 
Report,2  were  particularly  occasioned  by  'professed  works  of  fiction 
...  of  the  "Jack  Sheppard"  school  .  .  .  issued  from  the  London  press 
to  be  continued  in  weekly  numbers  at  a  penny  and  three-halfpence 
i  Report  for  1850,  p.  59.  2  For  the  year  1852,  p.  30. 


44  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

each*.  The  'evil  tendency  of  those  writings'  is  strikingly  illustrated  by 
the  case  of  J.  A.,  aged  18,  who  'first  began  to  read  these  bad  books; 
and  from  them  to  the  beer-shop;  from  these  to  the  concert-room;  and 
from  these  to  the  dancing  school,  which  finally  brought  me  within  these 
walls'. 

While  the  new  Directors  were  acquiring  this  valuable  experience, 
the  government  was  fighting  a  stubborn  rear-guard  action  in  defence 
of  the  moribund  transportation  system.  In  Australia  the  'Eastern 
Colonies'  after  1846  refused  absolutely  to  receive  any  more  convicts 
in  any  shape  or  form;  a  project  for  a  penal  settlement  in  North  Australia 
broke  down,  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  forcibly  resisted  an  attempt 
to  plant  convicts  on  its  shores ;  there  remained  therefore  only  the  small 
settlement  in  Western  Australia,  a  struggling  colony  which  welcomed 
labour  of  any  sort.  In  these  difficulties  it  became  necessary  to  devise  a 
system  under  which  not  only  would  the  whole  of  the  sentence  be  served 
in  England,  but  the  convicts  would  be  released  in  England.  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  sentence  of  Penal  Servitude,  which  by  the  Apt  of  1853  1 
was  substituted  for  sentences  of  transportation  of  less  than  14  years. 
The  sentences  legalised  were  related  to,  but  shorter  than,  those  of 
transportation,  with  a  minimum  of  three  years  and  no  remission;  but 
this  caused  considerable  resentment  among  the  convicts,  and  in  1857 
a  second  Penal  Servitude  Act  2  restored  the  correspondence  with  the 
lengths  of  transportation  sentences  together  with  remission  on  a 
'ticket',  though  this  was  now  called  a  'licence  to  be  at  large'.  By  this 
Act  also  penal  servitude  was  legalised  for  any  crime  punishable  by 
transportation.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  until  the  end  of  the  system 
in  1948  the  lengths  of  penal  servitude  sentences  passed  by  the  Courts 
were  still  conditioned  by  the  transportation  tradition,  tending  to  be  of 
3,  5,  7,  10,  or  14  years.  Interesting,  too,  that  no  sooner  was  the  system 
well  established  than  the  then  Chairman  of  Directors  pointed  out  that 
it  was  unnecessary  to  distinguish  between  penal  servitude  an4  imprison- 
ment 'now  that  they  are  both  carried  out  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  it 
is  misleading,  for  both  classes  of  prisoner  are  undergoing  "imprison- 
ment", and  are  equally  in  a  condition  of  "penal  servitude".'  3 

The  system  as  it  stood  after  the  Act  of  1857  consisted  of  three 
distinct  parts:  (1)  separate  confinement  for  9  months  in  Pentonville  or 
one  of  the  local  prisons;  (2)  associated  labour  in  a  Public  Works  prison: 
this  part  of  the  sentence  was  divided  into  three  equal  'progressive 
stages',  carrying  increasing  privileges  and  gratuities,  so  that  the  convict 
might  have  a  definite  stimulus  to  work  hard  and  behave  well;  (3) 
release  on  *  licence  *  to  be  at  large  for  the  remainder  of  the  sentence, 
the  period  of  licence  varying  with  the  length  of  the  sentence.  For  some 

i  16  and  17  Vic.  cap.  99.  2  20  and  21  Vic.  cap.  3. 

3  An  Account  of  Penal  Servitude',  Sir  E.  du  Cane;  printed  at  H.M,  Convict  Prison 
Millbank,  1882. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  45 

years  small  numbers  of  convicts  continued  to  be  removed  overseas 
after  their  period  of  separate  confinement,  either  to  Bermuda  or  Gib- 
raltar or  the  still  receptive  colony  of  W.  Australia.  But  eventually,  'in 
deference  mainly  to  the  repeated  and  urgent  wishes  of  the  eastern 
colonies',  this  last  line  of  defence  was  abandoned  and  transportation 
finally  ceased  in  1867. 

It  is  of  more  than  historical  interest  to  note  here  the  concurrent 
development  of  penal  servitude  in  Ireland,  under  the  influence  of  Sir 
Walter  Crofton,  Chairman  of  the  Irish  Directors  of  Convict  Prisons, 
who  appears  to  have  applied  the  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  the  trans- 
portation system  not  only  with  greater  completeness  but  with  greater 
faith  and  imagination  than  his  English  contemporaries.  In  the  Irish 
system  there  was  equally  an  initial  9  months  of  separate  confinement, 
followed  by  a  period  on  public  works  with  progressive  stages.  The 
interesting  feature  was  the  interpolation,  between  'public  works'  and 
'licence',  of  an  'intermediate  stage'  corresponding  to  some  extent 
with  the  Probation  Pass  stage  of  a  transportation  sentence.  This  is 
described  by  Dr.  Griinhut  (p.  84)  as  follows — 'This  "filter  between 
prison  and  the  community"  was  the  main  characteristic  of  the  Irish 
system.  The  idea  was  that  employment  of  convicts  "under  circum- 
stances of  exposure  to  the  ordinary  temptations  and  trials  of  the  world 
where  the  reality  and  sincerity  of  their  reformation  may  be  fairly  and 
publicly  tested,  will  present  the  most  favourable  chances  for  their 
gradual  absorption  into  the  body  of  the  community".  Therefore  pris- 
oners worked  without  supervision  or  went  to  work  unattended.  There 
were  no  disciplinary  measures,  but  the  possibility  of  recommitment  to 
a  former  stage.  The  work  was  similar  to  what  the  prisoner  would 
probably  do  at  large;  agricultural  work,  carpentry,  etc.  There  was  a 
special  technical  education.'  Special  attention  was  also  paid  to  the 
supervision  and  after-care  of  convicts  on  release,  and  the  whole  system 
was  evidently  based  on  a  belief  that  imprisonment  not  only  could  be 
'reformatory'  but  should  be  so.1  Dr.  Griinhut  traces  the  considerable 
influence  of  'the  Irish  system'  on  the  continent,2  but  our  more  immediate 
interest  is  to  note  the  resemblances,  particularly  in  the  'intermediate 
stage',  between  this  system  and  the  new  system  of  Preventive  Detention 
for  persistent  offenders  introduced  in  England  by  the  Rules  made 
under  the  Criminal  Justice  Act,  1948  (see  Chapter  18). 

Having  progressed  so  far  with  its  central  system  for  convicts,  the 

1  But  it  must  also  be  noted  that  even  Sir  W.  Crofton  attached  great  importance 
to  the  preliminary  period  of  'stringent  punishment'  for  the  sake  of  simple  deterrence, 
irrespective  of  what  he  agreed  were  its  'degrading  effects':  cf.  his  evidence  before  the 
Committee  of  1863  quoted  in  Appendix  C.  See  also  Appendix  K. 

2  Ruggles-Brise  however  rightly  points  out  (p.  29)  that  'the  idea  of  progressive 
reformatory  discipline'  in  itself  was  of  English  origin,  and  was  introduced  into 
Ireland  by  Jebb  himself. 


46  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

government  still  had  to  face  the  problem  of  the  uncoordinated  locaj 
prisons,  and,  being  no  longer  able  to  rid  itself  of  responsibility  for  its 
prisoners  by  getting  rid  of  them,  to  settle  some  principles  on  which 
imprisonment  as  a  system  should  operate.  This  function  fell  to  a 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  of  1863,  which  met,  as  Sir  E.  du 
Cane  recalls  (p.  155)  under  the  influence  of  fcan  increase  of  crime, 
marked  by  an  outbreak  of  a  practice  of  garrotting',  which  was  attributed 
by  public  opinion  inter  alia  to  the  release  of  *a  flood  of  criminals'  in 
this  country  under  the  new  penal  servitude  system.  Thus  this  historic 
Committee,  whose  views  are  summarised  in  Appendix  C  as  a  landmark 
in  the  movement  of  opinion  on  penal  questions,  took  within  its  scope 
both  the  penal  servitude  system  and  the  condition  of  the  ordinary 
prisons.  The  answers  it  gave  to  the  questions  it  asked  itself  were  clear, 
and  their  effects  were  conclusive  for  a  generation. 

In  the  view  of  the  Committee  the  object  of  imprisonment  was  deter- 
rence— 'hard  labour,  hard  fare,  and  a  hard  bed'  were  the  proper 
elements  of  a  prison  regime,  and  the  foundations  of  such  a  system 
must  be  separate  confinement  and  the  crank.  In  this  view  they  had  the 
undoubted  support  of  a  considerable  body  of  public  opinion,  including, 
it  would  seem,  the  Church,  since  Archbishop  Whately  had  pronounced 
that  'we  cannot  admit  that  the  reformation  of  the  convict  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  punishment;  it  may  be  joined  incidentally,  but  cannot 
necessarily  belong  to  a  penal  system' ;  and  including  certainly  the  Bench, 
which  in  1847  had  definitely  declared  "reform  and  imprisonment  to  be 
a  contradiction  in  terms  and  utterly  irreconcilable.  They  expressed  a 
doubt  as  to  the  possibility  of  such  a  system  of  imprisonment  as  would 
reform  the  offender,  and  yet  leave  the  dread  of  imprisonment  un- 
impaired.' 1  Similar  views  on  behalf  of  the  Judges  were  again  placed 
before  the  Committee  through  the  redoubtable  Lord  Chief  Justice 
Cockburn,  and  are  printed  in  Appendix  C.  Under  such  influences  as 
these,  and  in  the  face  of  public  alarm  over  the  increase  of  violent  crime, 
it  would  have  required  a  committee  of  very  different  constitution  to 
reach  any  other  conclusions. 

They  also  handled  the  penal  servitude  system  rather  roughly,  calling 
for  an  increase  in  the  minimum  sentence  from  3  to  5  years,  a  severe 
supervision  of  convicts  released  on  licence,  and  a  tightening  up  of  the 
disciplinary  system.  To  this  end  they  advocated  a  considerable  remission 
of  the  sentence  to  be  earned  by  industry,  with  the  introduction  of  Cap- 
tain Maconochie's  'marks  system'  for  its  measurement,  a  reduction  in 
the  rate  of  gratuities,  and  arrangements  for  greater  speed  and  certainty 
in  the  infliction  of  flogging  for  serious  offences.  Effect  was  given  to  these 
proposals  by  the  Act  of  1864,2  and  by  subsequent  administrative 
arrangements. 

To  the  principles  advocated  by  the  Committee  for  the  conduct  of  the 
1  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  89.  2  27  and  28  Vic.  cap.  47. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  47 

ordinary  prisons  Parliament  gave  approval  by  the  important  Prison 
Act  of  1865,1  which  revised  and  consolidated  previous  Acts,  amal- 
gamated the  Gaols  and  Houses  of  Correction  into  what  were  hence- 
forth to  be  known  as  'Local  Prisons'  as  distinct  from  'Convict  Prisons', 
and  took  the  first  definite  and  peremptory  steps  to  secure  uniform  com- 
pliance by  all  the  Justices.  The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  not  permissive 
but  mandatory,  and  effect  was  given  to  them  by  a  detailed  code  of 
regulations  which  were  enacted  as  a  schedule  to  the  Act  and  given  the 
force  of  law.  Every  prison  was  henceforth  to  provide  separate  cells  for 
the  confinement  of  all  its  prisoners,  and  for  the  first  time  precise 
definition  was  given  to  the  term  'imprisonment  with  hard  labour'.  For 
at  least  3  months  of  his  sentence  the  offender  serving  a  sentence  'with 
hard  labour'  was  to  be  kept  to  First-Class  Hard  Labour,  which  included 
the  heavier  forms  of  exercise  (treadwheel,  crank,  shot  drill,  etc.)  duly 
set  out  in  detail;  but  thereafter  he  might,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Justices, 
be  employed  on  Second-Class  Hard  Labour,  which  was  defined  as 
'such  other  description  of  bodily  labour  as  might  £e  appointed  by  the 
Justices".  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  liability  of  the  County  to 
maintain  all  criminal  prisoners  having  been  established,  prisoners  not 
sentenced  to  hard  labour  were  now  required  to  work  without  pay,2 
but  there  was  still  so  much  delicacy  about  forcing  them  to  work,  that 
they  might  not  be  punished  for  neglect  of  work  save  by  alteration  of 
diet. 

The  foundations  of  a  coherent  and  uniform  system  of  imprisonment 
had  now  been  laid.  Principles  and  practice  had  been  firmly  settled  and 
prescribed  in  detail:  what  still  lacked  was  the  means  of  enforcing  them 
in  the  local  prisons.  The  Act  of  1865  had  stripped  the  local  authorities 
of  almost  the  last  vestige  of  discretion  in  the  management  of  their 
prisons,  and  gave  the  Secretary  of  State  power  to  enforce  compliance 
by  withholding  the  Grant  in  Aid  from  recalcitrant  prison  authorities. 
But  even  this  was  not  enough.  Although  it  had  one  desirable  result  in 
securing  the  closing  of  a  large  number  of  the  smaller  prisons,  there 
were  still  too  many  local  prisons :  they  were  already  expensive,  and  to 
put  them  all  into  a  state  to  comply  with  the  law  and  satisfy  the  Inspectors 
was  not  only  in  many  cases  a  waste  of  money,  but  would  have  imposed  an 
intolerable  burden  on  the  county  rates.  Further,  there  was  still  a 
lamentable  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  methods  of  enforcing  the  statutory 
code. 

It  was  at  this  stage  that  kthe  General  Election  of  1874  brought  into 
power  a  government  pledged  not  to  increase  but  actually  to  relieve  the 
burden  of  rates  upon  the  rural  districts' ; 3  the  opportunity  seemed  a 

1  28  and  29  Vic.  cap.  126. 

2  The  Act  of  1782  had  provided  that  they  should  on  discharge  receive  half  the 
profits  of  their  labour. 

3  Webb,  p.  198. 


48  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

fitting  one  to  revive  a  proposal  already  made  by  the  Committee  of 
1850,  but  never  seriously  entertained,  to  transfer  the  whole  administra- 
tion of  local  prisons  to  a  central  Board;  and  in  1877  Parliament  took 
the  plunge. 

By  the  Prison  Act  of  that  year  x  the  ownership  and  control  of  all 
local  prisons,  with  all  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Justices  relative 
thereto,  were  vested  in  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  cost  of  their 
maintenance  was  transferred  to  public  funds.  Their  general  super- 
intendence, subject  to  the  control  of  the  Home  Secretary,  was  vested 
in  a  board  of  Prison  Commissioners,  assisted  by  Inspectors  appointed 
by  the  Home  Secretary,  and  a  departmental  staff.  The  rule-making 
power  of  Justices  having  passed  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  a  new  code 
of  rules  was  issued  in  1878,  and  as  from  the  1st  April  of  that  year  all 
the  local  prisons  came  for  the  first  time  under  one  central  control  and 
a  single  code  of  rules.  The  first  Chairman  of  the  Commissioners  was 
Sir  Edmund  du  Cane,  R.E.,  who  had  succeeded  Sir  Joshua  Jebb  as 
Surveyor-General  and  Chairman  of  Directors  of  Convict  Prisons:  in 
effect  therefore  the  whole  of  the  prisons,  convict  and  local,  were  now 
brought  under  one  administration. 

So  by  1878  ,when  the  new  Prison  Act  came  into  force,  the  nineteenth 
century  had  given  its  first  answer  to  our  question:  it  was  the  answer  of 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Cockburn — the  primary  object  is  deterrence,  both 
general  and  individual,  to  be  realised  through  'suffering,  inflicted  as  a 
punishment  for  crime,  and  the  fear  of  a  repetition  of  it'.  If  as  a  by- 
product of  this  process  the  reformation  of  the  offender  is  achieved,  so 
much  the  better;  if  not,  no  matter — it  is  hardly  to  be  expected.  The 
government  had  its  directive,  its  detailed  operation  orders,  and,  for 
the  first  time,  full  power  and  resources.  And  for  nearly  twenty  years 
the  new  machine  was  allowed  to  run  without  further  parliamentary 
interference. 

(2)    THE  SECOND  ANSWER  (1895) 

Colonel  Sir  Edmund  F.  du  Cane,  K.C.B.,  R.E.,  Chairman  of  the 
Prison  Commissioners,  Chairman  of  the  Directors  of  Convict  Prisons, 
Surveyor-General  of  Prisons,  and  Inspector-General  of  Military 
Prisons,  was  without  doubt,  in  1878,  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 
As  a  soldier,  he  would  wish  his  orders  to  be  clear,  and  he  found  them 
so:  The  objects  which  the  Prisons  Act  1877,  was  intended  to  secure 
were  two,  viz.  the  application  to  all  prisoners,  wherever  confined,  of  a 
uniform  system  of  punishment,  devised  to  effect  in  the  best  method 
that  which  is  the  great  object  of  punishment,  viz.  the  repression  of  crime; 
and  economy  in  the  expenses  of  prisons.'  2  He  would  wish  them  to  be 
firm,  and  they  were.  Under  the  Act  of  1877  the  Secretary  of  State 
i  40  and  41  Vic.  cap.  21.  2  DU  Cane,  p.  99. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  49 

could  make  rules  for  the  governance  of  prisons  in  detail,  but  the 
essentials  were  immutably  fixed  by  the  Statutory  Code  of  the  Act  of 
1865.  He  would  prefer  to  find  himself  in  agreement  with  them,  and  he 
did  so.  In  the  first  chapter  of  The  Punishment  and  Prevention  of  Crime' 
he  fully  argues  the  view  that  while  penal  methods  'must  be  founded  on 
a  combination  of  penal  and  reformatory  elements  in  their  due  pro- 
portions', the  penal  element  (except  with  younger  criminals)  'should 
have  the  first  place — both  on  account  of  its  effect  on  themselves  and  its 
influence  in  deterring  others',  and  that  while  sight  should  never  be  lost 
of  the  desirability  of  'reformatory  elements'  these  could  only  be  intro- 
duced so  far  as  they  were  compatible  with  the  needs  of  deterrence. 
And  the  penal  element  must,  as  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  had  said,  be 
one  of  evident  severity:  'if  you  are  going  to  punish,  you  must  find 
something  that  does  punish,  and  is  disagreeable'.1 

In  this  strong  position,  he  was  able  with  an  undivided  mind  to 
devote  his  great  abilities  as  an  administrator  and  an  engineer  to  what 
he  rightly  saw  as  the  first  necessity  of  his  task — the  production  of  order 
out  of  chaos.  Ruling  both  his  Boards,  as  Sir  Edward  Troup  tells  us, 
'with  a  rod  of  iron',  he  set  himself  to  secure  strict  economy,  sound 
administration,  and  rigid  uniformity,  and  his  success  here  was  a  rock 
on  which  his  successors  could  confidently  build  as  they  would.  Of  113 
local  prisons  taken  over,  38  were  closed  forthwith,  and  by  1894  only 
56  were  still  open. 

In  the  system  of  treatment  of  prisoners  in  local  prisons  which  the 
Commissioners  proceeded  to  develop,  they  relied  for  deterrent  effect 
mainly  on  'the  punishment  of  hard,  dull,  useless,  uninteresting,  mono- 
tonous labour'  2  with  rigid  enforcement  of  separate  confinement  and 
the  rule  of  silence — these  latter  being  still  regarded  as  the  necessary 
basis  of  the  'reformatory  influences'.  The  theory  was  that  the  more 
deterrent  part  of  the  sentence  should  come  first,  and  accordingly 
prisoners  sentenced  to  Hard  Labour  were  placed  on  'penal  labour' 
(standardised  as  so  many  revolutions  per  diem  on  the  treadwheel)  for 
at  least  the  first 3  month  of  the  sentence.  Thereafter  a  prisoner  by  good 
conduct  might,  as  a  reward,  earn  the  'privilege'  of  being  placed  on 
'useful'  labour,  which  the  Commissioners  regarded  as  'one  of  the 
principal  reformatory  influences  in  the  prison  system'.4  This  'useful 
labour'  (the  Second-Class  Hard  Labour  of  the  Act  of  1865)  was,  how- 
ever, limited  to  such  processes  as  could  be  carried  out  in  cellular  con- 
finement, and  it  would  seem  that,  except  for  prisoners  in  the  later 
stages  of  long  sentences  who  might  be  brought  out  to  work  in  the 

1  Evidence  before  Departmental  Committee  on  Prisons,  1895,  Q.  10832. 

2  Du  Cane,  p.  175. 

3  The  minimum  period  of  three  'months  on  First-Class  Hard  Labour  had  been 
reduced  to  one  month  by  the  Act  of  1877. 

4  Evidence  before  Departmental  Committee  on  Prisons,  1895,  p.  617. 

E.P.B.S.- 


50  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

domestic  services  about  the  prison,  separate  confinement  (except  at 
exercise  and  chapel)  was  rigidly  enforced  throughout  the  sentence. 
Prisoners  not  sentenced  to  hard  labour  were  placed  on  'useful  labour' 
from  the  beginning. 

This  advancement  from  'penal  labour'  to  'useful  labour'  formed  the 
initial  stage  of  the  contribution  of  this  period  to  the  development  of 
the  Progressive  Stage  System  of  'managing  the  prisoners  by  appealing 
to  their  better  qualities'  instead  of  'governing  by  mere  fear  of  punish- 
ment', which  had  for  some  time  been  in  use  in  the  convict  prisons.  This 
is  described  by  Sir  E.  du  Cane  as  follows : 

The  principle  on  which  this  system  is  founded  is  that  of  setting 
before  prisoners  the  advantages  of  good  conduct  and  industry  by 
enabling  them  to  gain  certain  privileges  or  modifications  of  the  penal 
character  of  the  sentence  by  the  exertion  of  these  qualities.  Com- 
mencing with  severe  penal  labour — hard  fare  and  a  hard  bed — he  can 
gradually  advance  to  more  interesting  employment,  somewhat  more 
material  comfort,  full  use  of  library  books,  privilege  of  communication 
by  letter  and  word  with  his  friends,  finally  the  advantage  of  a  moderate 
sum  of  money  to  start  again  on  his  discharge,  so  that  he  may  not  have 
the  temptation  or  the  excuse  that  want  of  means  might  afford  for  falling 
again  into  crime.  His  daily  progress  towards  these  objects  is  recorded 
by  the  award  of  marks,  and  any  failure  in  industry  or  conduct  is  in  the 
same  way  visited  on  him  by  forfeiture  of  marks  and  consequent  post- 
ponement or  diminution  of  the  prescribed  privileges.' 

It  is,  however,  sufficiently  clear  that  this  progress  was  achieved  by 
emphasising  rather  the  rigours  of  the  earlier  stages  than  the  comfort 
of  the  later  stages.  In  the  first  stage  no  mattress  was  allowed,  and  no 
books  of  any  sort;  in  the  second  and  third  stages  school  books  were 
allowed  and  a  mattress  on  certain  nights ;  it  was  not  till  the  fourth  and 
last  stage  that  the  full  'material  comfort'  of  a  mattress  every  night  was 
achieved,  with  the  'full  use  of  library  books  and  privilege  of  com- 
munication with  friends'.  In  retrospect,  the  value  of  this  system  as  a 
'reformatory  influence',  replacing  the  'mere  fear  of  punishment',  seems 
open  to  question. 

Apart  from  separation  and  such  habits  of  industry  as  a  prisoner 
with  a  long  enough  sentence  might  form  from  employment  on  useful 
labour,  the  only  other  reformatory  influences  to  which  any  importance 
was  attached  were  'religious  instruction' — the  value  of  which  Sir 
Godfrey  Lushington  l  put  down  as  'very  little  indeed' — and  'literary 
education',  which  Sir  E.  du  Cane  confessed  had  'not  the  reformatory 
influence  on  prisoners  which  was  once  expected  of  it'.2  Nevertheless  it 

1  Permanent  Under  Secretary  of  State  of  the  Home  Office;  in  his  evidence  before 
the  Departmental  Committee  on  Prisons,  1895,  Q.  11480. 

2  Du  Cane,  p.  79. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  51 

is  clear  that  devoted  work  was  done  by  many  Chaplains,  and  there  was 
a  useful  educational  organisation:  if  its  efforts  were  limited  to  element- 
ary instruction  in  the  'three  RY  it  must  be  remembered  that  such 
instruction,  at  a  time  when  public  elementary  education  was  in  its 
infancy,  was  the  only  form  of  education  possible  for  the  large  majority 
of  the  prison  population — and  it  was  perhaps  too  much  to  expect  any 
'reformatory  influence'  from  even  Standard  III  of  the  National  Society's 
Reading  Book. 

And  so,  in  the  English  prison  system,  the  lights  that  had  been  lit  in 
Newgate  by  Elizabeth  Fry,  on  Norfolk  Island  by  Captain  Maconochie, 
and  at  Portland  by  Colonel  Jebb,  went  out:  for  twenty  years  our  prisons 
presented  the  pattern  of  deterrence  by  severity  of  punishment,  uni- 
formly, rigidly,  and  efficiently  applied.  For  death  itself  the  system  had 
substituted  a  living  death.  It  became  legendary,  as  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles- 
Brise  tells  us,  even  in  Russia.  When,  in  the  course  of  time,  this  view 
prevailed,  criticism  centred  on  the  Chairman  of  the  Prison  Commission. 
This  was  unjust.  Sir  E.  du  Cane  was  a  public  servant,  and  with  less 
freedom  of  action  than  his  successors.  Parliament,  the  Judges,  and  the 
public  had  called  for  such  a  system,  and  he  provided  it:  he  was  even 
required,  so  hard  was  it  so  satisfy  the  more  convinced  exponents  of 
deterrence,  to  defend  it  against  the  charge  of  'exaggerated  senti- 
mentality'. That  he  was  able  to  do  his  duty  as  he  saw  it  without  com- 
punction might  merit  the  question  of  posterity,  but  not  of  his  own 
time. 

Fortunately  the  lights  had  not  gone  out  all  over  Europe.  The  ideas 
of  'reformatory  discipline'  and  'progressive  stages',  developed  in 
England  and  transmitted  through  Ireland,  had  aroused  great  interest 
and  fertile  experiment  in  several  continental  systems,  and  were  now 
to  form  the  basis  of  a  fresh  impulse  in  the  United  States,  then  in  the 
flush  of  social  reconstruction  after  the  Civil  War.  The  two  great  names 
in  this  American  movement  were  E.  C.  Wines  and  Z.  R.  Brockway. 
To  Dr.  Wines  is  due  not  only  much  of  the  strong  impulse  in  his  own 
country,  but  the  foundation  of  the  international  movement  repre- 
sented by  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary  Commission  at 
Berne.1  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise,  for  many  years  President  of  the  Com- 
mission, describes  how  'in  1870,  a  joint  resolution  of  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  that  a  conference  on  prison  questions  might  usefully  be  held, 
and  that  London  would  be  the  most  suitable  place  for  holding  it,  led 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  appoint  a  special  committee  to 
organise  the  proceedings.  Dr.  Wines  was  selected  for  the  duty.'  2 
The  first  International  Prison  Congress  was  accordingly  held  in  London 
in  1872,  as  a  result  of  which  a  permanent  organisation  was  established 

1  Appendix  K. 

2  Prison  Reform  At  Home  and  Abroad,  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise;  Macmillan,  1924; 
p.  18. 


52  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

at  Geneva,  and  a  system  of  Quinquennial  Congresses  inaugurated,  to 
be  held  in  the  capitals  of  the  different  states-members,  which  with 
interruptions  by  two  World  Wars  has  continued  ever  since.1 

The  difference  between  the  spirit  of  the  London  Congress  of  1872 
and  that  of  the  system  of  their  English  hosts  is  shown  by  'what  they 
described  as  the  leading  principles  which  should  lie  at  the  root  of  a 
sound  prison  system: 

1.  That  though  fundamentally  the  protection  of  society  is  the  object 
for  which  penal  codes  exist,  such  protection  is  not  only  consistent 
with,  but  absolutely  demands  that  the  moral  regeneration  of  the  prisoner 
should  be  the  primary  aim  of  prison  discipline,  and  that  for  this  purpose 
Hope  must  always  be  a  more  powerful  agent  than  Fear. 

2.  That  in  the  treatment  of  criminals,  anything  that  inflicts  un- 
necessary pain  or  humiliation  should  be  abolished;  that  the  true  prin- 
ciple is  to  make  a  prisoner  depend  on  his  own  exertions,  and  to  gain 
the  will  of  the  convict  by  showing  that  he  will  profit  by  such  exertion. 

3.  That  unsuitable  indulgence  is  as  pernicious  as  undue  severity. 

4.  That  religion,  education,  labour,  must  be  the  basis  of  any  good 
system,  to  the  working  of  which  a  capable,  highly  trained,  and  well-paid 
staff  is  essential. 

5.  Lastly,  that  it  is  in  preventive  work,  ragged  schools,  and  all  the 
institutions  for  saving  young  life,  th^t  the  battle  against  crime  is  to  be 
won,  and  that  the  influence  of  women  devoted  to  such  work  is  of  the 
highest  importance.'  2 

In  this  spirit  may  be  traced  the  influence  of  the  first  American 
National  Prison  Congress  held  at  Cincinnati  in  1870,  from  which 
emerged  the  celebrated  'Declaration  of  Principles'  which  still  holds  a 
reverend  place  in  the  literature  of  penal  reform,  together  with  the 
novel  idea  of  the  Reformatory.  This  type  of  institution  was  to  provide, 
on  the  basis  of  the  'indeterminate  sentence',  for  the  purely  reformatory 
treatment  of  young  persons  between  the  ages  of  16  and  30,  and  its  first 
example  was  the  famous  New  York  State  Reformatory  at  Elmira 
opened  under  the  charge  of  Z.  R.  Brockway  in  1877.  The  spirit  of 
Cincinnati',  Dr.  Griinhut  tells  us,  'died  with  the  first  generation  of 
humanitarian  reformers.'  But  not  altogether;  as  the  torch  had  passed 
to  America  from  England,  so  it  was  to  pass  from  Elmira  back  again, 
for  it  was  here  that  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  learned  much  that  encouraged 
him  to  found  his  Borstal  system  in  England. 

But  the  published  evidence  does  not  suggest  that  the  coming  up- 
heaval of  the  English  system  resulted  from  any  wide  uprising  of  re- 
formers inspired  by  liberal  ideas  from  abroad:  it  is  rather  more  sug- 
gestive of  a  'palace  revolution.'  In  1892  Sir  E.  du  Cane,  old  and  in 
failing  health,  had  come  after  over  twenty  years  of  undisputed  sway 

1  The  last  Congress  was  held  at  The  Hague,  in  August  1950. 

2  Prison  Reform  At  Home  and  Abroad;  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise;  p.  32. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  53 

to  be  'regarded  as  the  embodiment  of  bureaucratic  despotism  and 
arrogance . . .  absorbing  all  matters  great  and  small  into  his  own  hands. 
His  word  was  law/  l  In  that  year  the  Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Matthews, 
'wished  on  to  him'  as  a  Prison  Commissioner  Mr.  (later  Sir  Evelyn) 
Ruggles-Brise,  a  civil  servant  who  had  for  the  past  ten  years  been  the 
valued  and  influential  Private  Secretary  to  a  succession  of  Home 
Secretaries.  Sir  Evelyn  made  it  clear  in  his  autobiography  2  that  his 
new  position  was  difficult:  he  was  required  to  take  a  nominal  respon- 
sibility for  a  system  of  which  he  did  not  approve  under  a  chief  who,  the 
first  time  he  tried  to  assert  himself,  'as  far  as  I  remember  never  spoke 
to  me  again'.  In  this  position  Sir  E.  du  Cane,  doing  what  he  must  do, 
brought  down  his  whole  system.  A  certain  Dr.  Morrison,  after  ten 
years'  experience  as  a  prison  Chaplain,  was  no  longer  able  to  contain 
himself:  he  wrote  an  article  in  the  press  criticising  the  prison  system, 
and  Sir  Edmund  at  once  dismissed  him.  Dr.  Morrison  then  opened  a 
press  campaign  which  elicited  so  much  latent  dislike  of  the  system  and 
its  administration  that  a  point  was  reached  when  'in  magazines  and  in 
the  newspapers,  a  sweeping  indictment  had  been  laid  against  the  whole 
of  the  prison  administration.  In  brief,  not  only  were  the  principles  of 
prison  treatment  as  prescribed  by  the  Prison  Acts  criticised,  but  the 
prison  authority  itself,  and  the  constitution  of  that  authority,  were  held 
to  be  responsible  for  many  grave  evils  which  were  alleged  to  exist.'  3 
In  1894  the  Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Asquith,  for  this  or  other  reasons,  set 
up  a  Departmental  Committee  with  limited  terms  of  reference  under 
the  chairmanship  of  his  Under  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  H.  J.  Gladstone 
(later  Lord  Gladstone),  and  in  1895  this  Committee  presented  the 
Report  which  remains  the  foundation  stone  of  the  contemporary  prison 
system. 

The  Gladstone  Committee  was  both  courageous  and  radical:  its 
terms  of  reference  had  been  carefully  drawn  so  as  to  exclude  from  its 
consideration  both  the  principles  of  1865  and  the  methods  of  administra- 
tion of  the  Commissioners.  This  limitation,'  they  said,  'we  found  it 
impossible  to  make.'  Certainly  they  acquitted  the  administration  of 
many  of  the  charges  brought  against  it;  they  emphasised  the  success 
with  which  it  had  achieved  the  objects  for  which  it  was  set  up;  and 
pointed  out — a  truth  of  permanent  validity — that  while  'it  is  easy  to 
find  fault,  to  form  ideal  views,  and  to  enunciate  lofty  speculations  as 
if  they  were  principles  arrived  at  by  experience',  yet  'nothing  is  more 
common  than  to  find  persons  whose  attention  has  been  attracted  only 
to  some  disadvantage  in  the  system  finally  decided  on  discussing  it 
without  being  aware  that  any  alternative  would  produce  still  greater 

1  Private  autobiography  of  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  quoted  in  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles- 
Brise,  Shane  Leslie  (John  Murray  1938),  pp.  85  and  86. 

2  Quoted  in  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise,  op.  cit. 

3  Report  of  the  Gladstone  Committee,  para.  5. 


54  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

evils';  but  on  the  central  questions  their  findings  amounted  to  an 
indictment  of  the  whole  ideology  of  the  du  Cane  regime. 

Their  fundamental  conclusion  was  that  'the  prisoners  have  been 
treated  too  much  as  a  hopeless  or  worthless  element  of  the  community, 
and  the  moral  as  well  as  the  legal  responsibility  of  the  prison  authorities 
has  been  held  to  cease  when  they  pass  outside  the  prison  gates'.  In 
the  Committee's  view  it  was  the  duty  of  the  administration  to  emphasise 
all  those  elements  of  prison  life  which  -might  make  for  the  reclamation 
of  the  prisoner,  and  mitigate  whatever  elements  made  for  degradation 
and  deterioration. 

They  condemned  the  one  unquestionable  achievement  of  the  ad- 
ministration— so  far  as  it  had  concerned  itself  with  prisoners  and  not 
with  prisons — uniformity  of  treatment.  To  Sir  Edmund  du  Cane  a 
prisoner  was  a  prisoner,  and  practically  nothing  else' ;  x  but  'we  think,' 
said  the  Committee,  'that  the  system  should  be  made  more  elastic, 
more  capable  of  being  adapted  to  the  special  cases  of  individual 
prisoners;  that  prison  discipline  and  treatment  should  be  more  effectu- 
ally designed  to  maintain,  stimulate,  or  awaken  the  higher  suscepti- 
bilities of  prisoners,  to  develop  their  moral  instincts,  to  train  them  in 
orderly  and  industrial  habits,  and,  whenever  possible,  to  turn  them  out 
of  prison  better  men  and  women  physically  and  morally  than  when 
they  came  in." 

This  emphasis  on  reclamation,  they  believed,  was  not  incompatible 
with  the  maintenance  of  the  deterrent  aspect  of  imprisonment,  and 
they  were  at  pains  to  shatter  the  belief  that  the  pursuit  of  deterrence  as 
an  end  in  itself  had  even  achieved  its  own  ends.  The  diminution  in  the 
average  prison  population  which  had  been  so  triumphantly  adduced 
as  a  proof  of  the  success  of  the  du  Cane  regime  was  shown  to  be  almost 
entirely  accounted  for  by  a  reduction  in  the  average  length  of  sentence 
awarded.  .  .  .  The  recidivism  2  was  as  great  as  ever.'  3 

It  is  a  feature  of  this  Report  that  many  of  its  most  pregnant  observa- 
tions are  scattered  obiter,  e.g. : 

'Since  1865  the  main  principles  of  prison  treatment  have  not  been 
altered,  except  in  detail  and  in  so  far  as  they  may  have  been  affected 
by  the  radical  change  in  the  administration  effected  by  the  Act  of  1877. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  generally  that  neither  those  principles,  nor  the 
administrative  system  laid  down  by  the  Acts  of  1865  and  1877,  have 
been  brought  into  question  until  the  present  inquiry  was  instituted.' 

'We  do  not  consider  that  it  is  right  to  lay  the  burden  of  all  the  short- 
comings of  the  prison  system  on  the  central  prison  authorities  who 
have  carried  into  effect  under  successive  Secretaries  of  State  the  Acts 
approved  by  Parliament;  who  have  loyally  and  substantially  carried 

1  Webb,  p.  204. 

2  The  habit  of  relapsing  into  crime  (O.E.D.).  3  Webb,  p.  222. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  55 

out  the  various  recommendations  made  from  time  to  time  by  Com- 
missions and  Committees;  and  who,  as  administrators,  have  achieved 
in  point  of  organization,  discipline,  order,  and  economy,  a  striking 
administrative  success.' 

'The  difficulty  of  laying  down  principles  of  treatment  is  greatly  en- 
hanced by  the  fact  that  while  sentences  may  roughly  speaking  be  the 
measure  of  particular  offences,  they  are  not  the  measure  of  the  charac- 
ters of  the  offenders ;  and  it  is  this  fact  which  makes  a  system  of  prison 
classification,  which  shall  be  at  once  just,  convenient,  and  workable,  so 
difficult  to  arrive  at/ 

'While  scientific  and  more  particularly  medical  observation  and 
experience  are  of  the  most  essential  value  in  guiding  opinion  on  the 
whole  subject,  it  would  be  a  loss  of  time  to  search  for  a  perfect  system 
in  learned  but  conflicting  theories,  when  so  much  can  be  done  by  the 
recognition  of  the  plain  fact  that  the  great  majority  of  prisoners  are 
ordinary  men  and  women  amenable,  more  or  less,  to  all  those  influences 
which  affect  persons  outside.' 

wBut  under  this  orderly  equality  there  exist  the  most  striking  in- 
equalities. The  hardened  criminal  bears  the  discipline  without  much 
trouble.  Others  are  brutalised  by  it.  Others  suffer  acutely  and  perhaps 
are  permanently  weakened  by  it  in  mind  and  body.  What  is  a  temporary 
inconvenience  to  the  grown  criminal,  may  be  to  lads  and  younger  men 
a  bitter  disgrace  from  which  they  never  recover  to  their  dying  day.  It 
is  impossible  to  administer  to  each  man  a  relatively  exact  amount  of 
punishment.  But  yet  it  is  these  very  inequalities  which  often  must 
produce  that  bitterness  and  recklessness  which  lead  on  to  habitual 
crime.' 

'It  is  certain  that  the  ages  when  the  majority  of  habitual  criminals 
are  made  lies  between  16  and  21.  It  appears  to  us  that  the  most  deter- 
mined effort  should  be  made  to  lay  hold  of  these  incipient  criminals 
and  to  prevent  them  by  strong  restraint  and  rational  treatment  from 
recruiting  the  habitual  class.  It  is  remarkable  that  previous  inquiries 
have  almost  altogether  overlooked  this  all  important  matter.  The 
habitual  criminals  can  only  be  effectually  put  down  in  one  way,  and 
that  is  by  cutting  off  the  supply.' 

And  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  'we  start  from  the  principle  that 
prison  treatment  should  have  as  its  primary  and  concurrent  objects 
deterrence  and  reformation'. 

To  these  ends  they  condemned  unproductive  penal  labour  abso- 
lutely, and  recommended  the  employment  of  all  prisoners  on  useful 
industrial  work.  They  even  laid  hands  on  the  separate  system,  's 
aside  the  old-fashioned  idea  that  separate  confinement  was 


56  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

the  ground  that  it  enables  a  prisoner  to  meditate  on  his  misdeeds'  and 
'held  that  association  for  industrial  labour  under  proper  conditions 
could  be  productive  of  no  harm,  and  this  view  was  supported  by  the 
fact  that  association  for  work  on  a  large  scale  had  always  been  the 
practice  at  Convict  Prisons'.1  In  short,  they  held  that  separate  confine- 
ment (except,  of  course,  by  night)  was  simply  a  deterrent  instrument 
which  they  clearly  viewed  with  grave  mistrust,  in  the  light  of  the  known 
facts  as  to  its  effect  on  the  physical  and  mental  condition  of  prisoners ; 
but  they  did  not  feel  able  to  condemn  it  absolutely,  contenting  them- 
selves with  the  hope  that  it  would  prove  possible  to  reduce  the  periods. 
The  'Rule  of  Silence'  received  equal  condemnation. 

In  one  sense,  this  second  answer  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  to  our 
question  can  be  thought  of  as  final.  Within  the  classical  line  of  thought 
running  from  Beccaria  through  Howard,  Bentham,  and  Elizabeth  Fry 
it  leaves  little  more  to  be  said  as  to  principles  and  ends.  For  fifty  years 
it  has  held  its  place,  comparable  with  that  of  the  Cincinatti  Principles 
in  America,  as  the  scriptural  sanction  of  the  English  prison  system. 
Like  other  scriptures,  it  is  a  mine  where  each  may  find  what  he  will: 
but  though  its  principles  may  call  for  reinterpretation,  its  methods 
for  re-adaptation,  the  basis  of  its  gospel  has  not  been  put  to  question. 
Much  that  has  been  done  in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  novel  as  it 
seemed  at  the  time,  is  no  more  than  a  late  working  out  of  suggestions 
in  this  Report.  Indeed,  to  the  task  of  making  'better  men  and  women' 
there  can  be  no  finality,  and  the  story  of  the  next  fifty  years  will  be  one 
of  means  rather  than  ends.  Even  the  entirely  new  thought  and  method 
latterly  introduced  by  the  development  of  psychiatric  medicine  can 
but  be  another  means  to  the  same  end,  unless  by  a  full  turn  of  the 
Erewhonian  wheel  it  removes  this  problem  altogether  from  the  purview 
of  the  penal  system. 

i  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  137. 


CHAPTER  FOUR 
THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS 

(1)    THE  PRISON  ACT  1898  AND  ITS  ADMINISTRATION  TO   1921 

SHORTLY  after  the  publication  of  the  Gladstone  Report  Sir  Edmund 
du  Cane,  having  reached  the  age  of  superannuation,  retired,  and 
for  twenty-seven  years  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise  ruled  in  his 
place.  In  this  long  course  of  time  the  $ew  Chairman,  an  Amurath  to 
Amurath  succeeding,  established  a  personal  position  which  makes  it 
as  natural  to  speak  of  the  'Ruggles-Brise  regime'  as  of  the  'du  Cane 
regime'  which  preceded  it.  His  mandate  from  Mr.  Asquith  was  'that 
the  views  of  the  Committee  should,  as  far  as  practicable,  be  carried 
into  execution', 1  and  that  mandate  has  descended,  implicitly  or  ex- 
plicitly, through  successive  Home  Secretaries  to  successive  Chairmen 
to  this  day.  The  words  deserve  a  moment's  study:  the  Home  Secretary 
spoke  not  of  the  'recommendations'  of  the  Committee  but  of  its 
'views',  and  these,  as  we  have  seen,  were  diverse  and  radical;  and  in 
'as  far  as  practicable'  is  implicit  the  whole  slow  process  of  development 
over  fifty  years.  The  action  possible  to  each  generation  is  conditioned 
by  the  climate  of  opinion  of  its  time  and  by  the  physical  and  financial 
resources  at  its  disposal,  as  well  as  by  the  courage  and  faith  of  those 
called  to  'carry  into  execution'  views  that  could  lead  us  still  further 
than  we  have  yet  thought  to  go. 

Meanwhile  the  new  administration,  still  cumbered  about  with  'the 
stage-properties  of  the  Victorian  melodrama',2  set  to  work  with  the 
instruments  to  its  hands.  These  were  the  Prison  Act  1898  3  and  the 
Statutory  Rules  of  1899,  which,  with  the  unrepealed  portions  of  the 
acts  of  1865  and  1877,  formed  the  substantial  legal  basis  of  the  adminis- 
tration (other  than  for  young  offenders  and  habitual  criminals)  until 
the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948. 

Not  the  least  important  provisions  of  the  Act  of  1898  were  those 
which  repealed  the  statutory  regulations  of  1865,  and  left  the  whole  of 

1  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  77. 

2  Sir  Samuel  Hoare,  in  the  debate  on  the  Criminal  Justice  Bill,  1938. 

3  61  and  62  Vic.  cap.  41. 

57 


58  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

the  detailed  regulation  of  the  system  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  who 
was  given  power  to  make  all  rules  necessary  for  the  government  of 
both  local  and  convict  prisons.  The  code  of  rules  made  in  1899,  with 
such  amendments  as  from  time  to  time  proved  necessary,  remained  in 
force  until  1933,  when  a  consolidated  and  simplified  code  was  sub- 
stituted with  certain  revisions  of  detail  to  bring  it  into  line  with  more 
recent  developments.  This  code,  with  occasional  amendments,  remained 
in  force  until  1949.1  The  value  of  this  more  elastic  procedure,  which 
made  it  possible  for  changes  to  be  effected  without  fresh  legislation  on 
each  occasion,  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  under  it  the  natural  develop- 
ment of  fifty  years  was  able  to  proceed  without  further  intervention  by 
Parliament. 

This  removal  of  detailed  control  from  the  parliamentary  sphere  was 
also  facilitated  by  the  adoption  as  a  normal  instrument  of  the  Depart- 
mental Committee  appointed  by  the  Home  Secretary,  following  the 
model  of  the  Gladstone  Committee,  in  place  of  the  Parliamentary 
Committees  which  had  so  often  sat  during  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth 
centuries.  These  Committees  have  been  appointed  as  occasion  required 
to  examine  and  report  on  specific  problems  (as  the  treatment  of  young 
offenders  or  persistent  offenders,  the  employment  of  prisoners,  and 
punishments  in  prisons  and  Borstals),  and  may  have  the  advantage  of 
including  experts  in  the  matters  under  consideration,  with  M.Ps., 
officials,  and  members  of  the  general  public.  Subsequent  legislation, 
or  changes  in  administrative  practice,  have  commonly  been  based  on 
the  Reports  of  these  Committees,  which  form  a  valuable  part  of  the 
literature  of  our  penal  system. 

The  more  important  changes  of  principle  introduced  by  the  Act 
into  the  prison  system,  and  their  subsequent  history,  were  as  follows: 

Classification — The  Gladstone  Committee  had  pointed  out  that 
'no  adequate  attempt  had  yet  been  made  to  secure  a  sound  system  of 
classification  in  local  prisons',  and  the  Commissioners  had  responded 
by  introducing  into  the  Local  Prisons  the  Star  Class  system  started  in 
the  Convict  Prisons  in  1879,  thus  providing  for  'the  complete  separation 
of  first  offenders  from  habitual  criminals'.2  Later,  they  placed  young 
prisoners  between  16  and  21  in  a  separate  Juvenile  Adult  Class.  For 
the  purposes  of  classification  alone,  therefore,  the  provision  by  the  Act 
of  1898  of  the  Triple  Division  of  Offenders,  under  which  the  Court 
might  order  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  without  hard  labour  to  be 
served  in  the  First,  Second,  or  Third  Division,  was  scarcely  necessary. 
As  the  Commissioners  said,  'The  principle  here  given  expression  to  is 
very  far-reaching,  and,  as  far  as  we  are  aware,  is  in  advance  of  the 

1  Rules  for  the  government  of  prisons  are  now  made  under  the  Act  of  1948,  the 
Rules  now  in  force  dating  from  1949.    Rules  must  lie  in  draft  on  the  Table  of  the 
House  of  Commons  for  forty  days  before  they  are  made. 

2  Annual  Report  1899-1900,  paras.  3  and  34. 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  59 

penal  systems  in  force  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  By  it  is  destroyed, 
in  emphatic  language,  the  theory  that  had  prevailed  largely  hitherto, 
and  had  found  expression  in  divers  reports,  viz.,  that  the  duty  of 
classification  is  a  matter  for  prison  officials,  and  not  for  the  Court  of 
Law  having  the  individual  offender  and  all  the  circumstances  of  his 
case  fully  detailed  before  it.  It  is  obvious  what  an  enormous  responsi- 
bility is  thus  thrown  upon  Courts  of  Law,  and,  as  we  stated  in  our  last 
year's  report,  the  degree  of  success  which  this  new  departure  may  attain 
must  depend  on  the  extent  and  manner  in  which  Courts  of  Law  realise 
and  act  upon  this  responsibility.' l 

It  appears  from  the  Commissioners'  Reports  that  this  system  was 
doomed  to  failure  from  the  outset,  largely  because  the  Courts  found  it 
difficult  to  refrain  from  passing  sentences  'with  hard  labour'  even  when 
in  later  years  this  form  of  sentence  had  ceased  to  have  any  significance. 
In  1910  the  Commissioners  reported  that  'the  exercise  of  this  power  is 
becoming  rarer  still,  until  we  are  almost  forced  to  realise  that  the 
classification  aimed  at  by  the  prison  reformer  will  not  be  attained  by 
relying  on  the  discretionary  power  of  the  Courts  of  Law'.2  This  position 
remained  virtually  unchanged,  and  by  the  Act  of  1948  the  Triple  Divi- 
sion was  abolished.  All  measures  for  classification  and  for  the  individ- 
ualisation  of  punishment  are  thus  left  to  the  prison  administration. 

Hard  Labour — First-Class  Hard  Labour  was  abolished,  and  all 
prisoners  were  from  the  beginning  of  their  sentences  to  be  employed 
on  'useful  industrial  labour'.  The  unfortunate  hedging  of  the  Gladstone 
Committee  on  this  question  was,  however,  reflected  in  the  curious 
provision  of  the  Rules  that  a  prisoner  sentenced  to  hard  labour  'shall 
for  28  days  be  employed  in  strict  separation  on  hard  bodily  or  hard 
manual  labour  .  .  .  after  that  period  he  shall,  provided  his  conduct 
and  industry  are  good,  be  employed  on  labour  of  a  less  hard  description, 
in  association  if  practicable'. 

This  clinging  to  the  shadow  of  'hard  labour'  and  'separate  confine- 
ment' long  after  the  substance  had  escaped  them  led  the  Commissioners 
into  a  somewhat  illogical  position,  later  set  out  by  their  successors  as 
follows: 

'The  practical  difficulties  raised  by  the  requirements  (1)  that  work 
shall  be  productive,  (2)  that  for  the  first  month  the  work  shall  be  "hard 
bodily  or  hard  manual  labour",  and  (3)  that  subsequently  it  shall  be 
labour  of  "a  less  hard  description"  are  obvious.  To  find  various  useful 
employments  suitable  for  various  types  of  prisoners  is  a  standing 
difficulty  of  prison  administration,  and  it  was  a  baffling  problem  to 
find  for  every  prisoner  sentenced  to  hard  labour  two  kinds  of  work — 
one  harder  than  the  other  but  nevertheless  of  such  a  character  that  it 
could  be  carried  on  for  a  month  by  a  prisoner  confined  to  a  cell. 

i  Annual  Report  1899-1900,  para.  4.          2  Annual  Report  1909-1910,  para.  42. 


60  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

'Moreover,  the  conception  that  a  prisoner  who  behaves  and  works 
well  shall  be  rewarded  by  being  allowed  to  work  less  hard  is  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  conception  that  the  period  of  imprisonment  is  to  be 
utilised  as  a  period  of  training.  If  training  is  effective,  a  prisoner 
should  in  the  second  month  of  his  sentence  be  working  harder,  i.e. 
with  more  aptitude  and  more  concentration,  than  in  the  first  month. 

'Oakum  picking  was  originally  the  task  for  the  first  month  of  a 
man's  hard  labour  sentence,  but  when  this  work  was  given  up,  little 
could  be  done  to  render  effective  the  distinction  in  the  Rule  between 
"hard  bodily  or  hard  manual  labour,"  and  "labour  of  a  less  hard 
description,"  and  the  distinctive  character  of  a  hard  labour  sentence 
lay — not  in  the  nature  of  the  prisoner's  work — but  in  the  fact  that  for 
the  preliminary  part  of  his  sentence  he  was  liable  to  be  kept  in  separate 
confinement,  i.e.  to  be  employed  in  his  cell  and  not  in  an  associated 
working  party.'  l 

In  fact,  what  this  provision  did  was  to  ensure  that  for  28  days  a 
hard-labour  prisoner  worked  less  hard  than  an  ordinary  prisoner,  and 
the  restriction  to  prisoners  so  sentenced  of  the  vestige  of  separate 
confinement  that  was  retained  was  presumably  intended  simply  to 
preserve  in  another  way  the  aspect  of  greater  deterrence  implied  in 
sentences  to  hard  labour. 

Except  for  these  hard  labour  prisoners  during  the  first  28  days  of 
their  sentences,  all  work  during  the  day  was  hencefortli  done  in  associa- 
tion in  workshops  or  outdoor  parties.  The  Separate  System  from  now 
onwards  meant  only  separate  cells  for  sleeping  and  meals,  all  other 
activities  being  in  associated  parties  under  strict  supervision  and  the 
Rule  of  Silence:  in  effect,  the  Silent  System  had  again  come  into  favour, 
though  with  the  modification  that  absolute  silence  was  less  rigidly 
required,  and  'the  privilege  of  talking'  recommended  by  the  Gladstone 
Committee  might  be  earned  by  long-sentence  prisoners  in  their  later 
stages. 

The  construction  of  sufficient  and  suitable  workshops  for  this  new 
obligation  was  a  long  task,  which  after  the  First  World  War  had  scarcely 
been  brought  to  completion  for  the  much  smaller  numbers  of  prisoners 
for  whom  work  had  then  to  be  found.  Today,  when  the  numbers 
are  again  comparable  with  those  of  the  Ruggles-Brise  regime,  the 
shortage  is  again  noticeable  and  many  additional  shops  have  been  and 
are  being  erected. 

To  complete  the  story  of  hard  labour,  separate  confinement  was 
abolished  when,  in  the  course  of  the  First  World  War,  it  became 
necessary  in  the  public  interest  for  hard  labour  prisoners  to  work  as 
hard  as  others;  in  1945  the  last  vestige  of  special  treatment — deprivation 
of  mattress  for  the  first  fourteen  days — was  removed  by  an  amendment 

i  Annual  Report  1930,  p.  23. 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  61 

of  the  Rules;  and  by  the  Act  of  1948  this  form  of  sentence  was  finally 
abolished. 

Remission  of  Sentence — A  further  important  change  authorised  by 
the  Act  was  that  provision  might  be  made  by  the  Rules  for  enabling  a 
local  prisoner  to  earn  by  special  industry  and  good  conduct  a  remission 
of  a  portion  of  his  imprisonment,  and  that  on  his  discharge  his  sentence 
should  be  deemed  to  have  expired.  The  Rules  fixed  the  maximum 
period  of  remission  to  be  earned  at  one-sixth  of  the  sentence,  and  the 
system  of  awarding  daily  marks  for  industry,  already  operating  in 
connection  with  the  Progressive  Stage  System,  was  applied  also  to  the 
earning  of  remission.  The  Commissioners  were  immediately  impressed 
by  the  beneficial  effects  on  conduct  and  industry  of  this  measure,  which 
remains  to  the  present  time  one  of  the  basic  sanctions  of  prison 
discipline. 

Corporal  Punishment — The  use  of  corporal  punishment  for  offences 
against  prison  discipline  was  limited  to  the  offences  of  mutiny,  incite- 
ment to  mutiny,  and  gross  personal  violence  to  an  officer  of  the  prison. 
Its  award  was  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  This  is 
substantially  the  position  today  (see  Chapter  10). 

The  legislative  way  was  now  wide  open  to  the  realisation  of  a  prison 
system  in  which  deterrence  and  reform  should  be  primary  and  con- 
current objects.  Yet  when  in  1921  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  retired,  having 
reached  the  age  of  superannuation,  there  was  a  discouraging  repetition 
of  the  story  of  1895:  the  end  of  his  long  rule,  like  that  of  Sir  E.  du 
Cane,  was  marked  by  the  publication  of  a  Report  which  condemned  it 
unsparingly,  and  on  strikingly  similar  grounds.  The  administration  was 
criticised  as  autocratic  and  irresponsible,  rigid,  and  remote;  the  treat- 
ment of  prisoners  as  founded  on  'retributory  and  deterrent  factors,  to 
the  exclusion  of  truly  preventive  and  educational  principles'. l 

On  this  occasion,  however,  the  enquiry  was  neither  parliamentary 
nor  official,  but  a  reversion  to  the  tradition  of  Howard  and  Powell 
Buxton.  A  general  dissatisfaction  with  the  conditions  of  the  prisons 
among  those  interested  in  their  reform,  among  whom  the  Howard 
Association  2  had  been  prominent,  was  intensified  by  the  first-hand 
experience  of  imprisonment  gained  during  the  First  World  War  by 
some  hundreds  of  conscientious  objectors  and  others  drawn  from 
social  groups  outside  the  normal  catchment  area  of  the  prisons.  In 
these  circumstances,  since  'there  had  been  no  systematic  enquiry  since 
the  Departmental  Committee  of  1894-5,  and  .  .  .  there  seemed  to  be 
at  the  time  no  prospect  of  any  Government  enquiry',3  in  January  1919 
the  Labour  Research  Department  set  up  a  Prison  System  Enquiry 

1  English  Prisons  Today,  chapters  III  and  IV. 

2  Shortly,  by  marriage  with  the  Penal  Reform  League,  to  become  the  Howard 
League. 

3  English  Prisons  Today,  Foreword. 


62  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

Committee.  Naturally  the  Committee  received  no  official  support,  but 
making  all  reservations  that  must  be  made  in  respect  of  an  enquiry 
conducted  in  these  circumstances,  with  no  direct  official  evidence  or 
information  and  no  direct  access  to  the  prisons,  their  Report  is  an 
important  document  in  our  knowledge  of  the  system  with  which  it 
deals. 

The  broad  conclusions  of  this  Committee  were  that,  making  every 
allowance  for  the  slow  and  cautious  development  by  the  Commissioners 
of  certain  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Gladstone  Committee,  the 
principles  and  effects  of  their  regime  were  scarcely  distinguishable  from 
those  of  the  du  Cane  regime.  In  its  detailed  practice  the  treatment  of 
the  prisoners  was  held  to  be  'humiliating  and  dehumanising',  and 
'the  effects  of  imprisonment  are  of  the  nature  of  a  progressive  weakening 
of  the  mental  powers  and  of  a  deterioration  of  character  in  a  way  which 
renders  the  prisoner  less  fit  for  useful  social  life,  more  predisposed  to 
crime,  and  in  consequence  more  liable  to  reconviction'  (p.  561).  This, 
so  far  as  it  may  have  been  justified,  was  lamentably  far  from  'stimulating 
the  higher  susceptibilities  of  the  prisoners'  and  sending  them  out  of 
prison  'better  men  and  women,  physically  and  morally,  than  when  they 
came  in'. 

It  is  evidently  important,  if  this  sweeping  indictment  of  25  years' 
untrammelled  implementation  of  the  Gladstone  Report  was  justified,  to 
establish  why  this  was  so.  And  that  there  was  substantial  justification 
for  the  broad  conclusions  reached  may  be  deduced  not  only  from  the 
Commissioners'  own  Reports  but  from  the  actions  of  their  immediate 
successors.  We  have  already  noted  that  the  system  in  the  local  prisons 
was  still  dominated  by  nineteenth-century  conceptions  of  the  value  of 
'separate  confinement'  and  the  'rule  of  silence',  and  much  else  remained 
unchanged,  including  the  personal  humiliation  of  cropped  heads  and 
drab  and  shapeless  dress  besprinkled  with  broad  arrows.  It  is  difficult 
to  find  evidence  of  any  positive  elements  making  for  reform  or  rehabili- 
tation. Much  stress  is  laid  on  the  work  of  the  Chaplains  and  the 
influences  of  religion,  but  those  influences  had  long  been  active  in  our 
prisons.  The  methods  of  education  appear  to  have  been  very  little  in 
advance  of  those  of  the  du  Cane  regime,  and  the  privileges  to  be  earned 
under  the  stage  system  were  still  little  more  than  a  slow  increase  in  the 
number  of  letters  and  visits  permitted  and  in  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  library  books.  Nor  was  there  any  notable  change  of  principle  or 
practice  in  the  convict  prisons. 

Yet  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise  was  a  humane  and  high-minded 
administrator,  well  versed  in  the  literature  of  penology,  and  as  President 
of  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary  Commission  for  many  years 
he  well  knew  what  could  be  done  and  what  was  done  in  the  penal 
systems  of  the  world.  He  brought  to  life  many  of  the  major  recom- 
mendations of  the  Gladstone  Report :  in  particular,  his  foundation  of 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  63 

the  Borstal  system  l  of  treating  young  offenders  on  the  lines  sug- 
gested by  the  Committee  has  passed  into  honourable  history.  He  also, 
after  the  Prevention  of  Crime  Act  1908,  started  the  novel  system  of 
preventive  detention  for  habitual  criminals ;  2  and  he  was  active  in 
forwarding  many  of  the  measures  for  keeping  offenders  out  of  prison 
altogether  which  are  discussed  in  the  following  section.  Why,  then,  did 
such  a  man  so  far  fail  to  realise  the  spirit  of  the  principles  handed 
to  him  as  terms  of  reference  on  his  appointment? 

The  answer  is  sufficiently  clear  from  his  own  pronouncements, 
which  suggest  that  he  never  really  accepted  the  possibility  of  a  system 
of  treatment  in  which  reform  would  hold  a  primary  and  concurrent 
place  with  deterrence.  Indeed  at  the  International  Congress  of  Washing- 
ton in  1910  he  was  reported  to  have  'shelled  and  shattered'  the  American 
delegates  for  having  'swung  too  violently  away  from  the  classical 
traditions  of  punishment',  and  to  have  pronounced  that  'In  Europe 
we  place  the  constituent  elements  of  punishment  in  the  following 
order:  Retributory,  deterrent,  and  reformatory.  Possibly  in  the  United 
States  this  last  named  method  is  placed  first  in  importance.' 3  Nor  was 
this  thunder-bolt  discharged  only  for  the  occasion.  He  repeats  it  with 
equal  emphasis  in  his  Annual  Reports,  and  indeed  in  one  statement 
of  the  theme  goes  back  almost  to  the  position  of  1865:  'Our  constant 
effort  is  to  hold  the  balance  between  what  is  necessary  as  punishment 
. . .  from  a  penal  and  deterrent  point  of  view,  and  what  can  be  conceded, 
consistently  with  this,  in  the  way  of  humanising  and  reforming 
influences.'  4 

And  this  is  to  say  no  more  than  that  Sir  Evelyn  was  not  in  advance 
of  the  norm  of  penological  thought  on  these  questions  in  his  time,  at 
least  in  Europe.  It  would  have  been  more  than  difficult  for  him,  at 
any  rate  prior  to  1910,  to  follow  the  heretic  Americans  so  far  from  the 
'classical  tradition'  as  to  put  reformation  first,  though  his  own  order 
does  appear  to  depart  a  little  in  emphasis  from  his  terms  of  reference. 
In  the  England  of  his  time  the  doctrine  of  general  deterrence  was  still 
too  deeply  engrained  in  the  texture  of  penal  thought  and  prison  tradi- 
tion for  it  to  be  possible  to  envisage  a  treatment  of  prisoners  not 
definitely  directed  to  deterrence  by  fear,  and  the  Gladstone  Committee 
itself  was  constrained  here  and  there  to  rather  obvious  hedging  in  the 
need  to  accommodate  its  wish  to  'turn  out  better  men  and  women'  with 
the  necessities  of  deterrence.  All  official  authority,  Parliament,  Church, 
and  Bench,  h.ad  denied  the  compatibility  of  deterrence  with  reform, 
and  none  in  more  memorable  and  disturbing  words  than  Sir  Godfrey 
Lushington,  who  said  in  his  evidence  before  the  Committee  'I  regard 
as  unfavourable  to  reformation  the  status  of  a  prisoner  throughout  his 
whole  career;  the  crushing  of  self-respect,  the  starving  of  all  moral 

1  See  Chapter  21.  3  Shane-Leslie,  op.  cit.,  p.  163. 

2  See  Chapter  18.  *  Annual  Report  1911-12,  p.  27. 


64  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

instinct  he  may  possess,  the  absence  of  all  opportunity  to  do  and  receive 
a  kindness,  the  continual  association  with  none  but  criminals,  and  that 
only  as  a  separate  item  among  other  items  also  separate;  the  forced 
labour  and  the  denial  of  liberty.  I  believe  the  true  mode  of  reforming  a 
man  or  restoring  him  to  society  is  exactly  in  the  opposite  direction  of 
all  these.  But  of  course  this  is  a  mere  idea;  it  is  quite  impracticable  in  a 
prison.  In  fact  the  unfavourable  features  I  have  mentioned  are  insepar- 
able from  prison  life.' 

On  any  view  of  the  functions  of  a  prison  which  it  would  have  been 
possible  for  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  at  that  time  to  carry  into  effect,  we 
may  now  see  that  Sir  Godfrey's  'mere  idea'  was  quite  impracticable. 
In  order  to  justify  the  innate  confidence  of  the  Committee  that  the 
reconciliation  of  deterrence  and  reform  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners 
was  possible,  a  re-interpretation  of  the  deterrent  function  of  a  prison 
was  necessary  which  the  Committee  itself  was  not  ready  to  make.  And 
Sir  Godfrey's  uncomfortable  words  have  remained  and  must  remain 
in  the  minds  of  all  concerned  with  prison  administration.  Nearly 
thirty  years  later  Sidney  and  Beatrice  Webb  said,  'We  suspect  that  it 
passes  the  wit  of  man  to  contrive  a  prison  which  shall  not  be  gravely 
injurious  to  the  minds  of  the  vast  majority  of  the  prisoners,  if  not  also 
to  their  bodies.  So  far  as  can  be  seen  at  present  the  most  practical  and 
the  most  hopeful  of  prison  reforms  is  to  keep  people  out  of  prison 
altogether.' 1  And  in  our  own  time  the  problem  has  been  well  stated 
by  James  V.  Bennett,  Director  of  the  Federal  Prisons  of  the  U.S.A. 
— 'Our  basic  problem  is  how  to  use  imprisonment,  which  is  inherently 
a  symbol  of  punishment,  to  achieve  a  purpose  almost  completely 
antithetical  to  punishment — rehabilitation.'  2 

Yet  we  may  wonder  whether  the  prison  administration,  at  any  rate 
after  1910,  might  not  have  been  encouraged  to  go  further  and  faster 
along  the  road  if  a  young  and  ardent  Home  Secretary  had  been  less 
transient  in  that  office.  In  the  year  in  which  Sir  Evelyn  was  shattering 
the  surprised  penologists  of  Washington,  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  said 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  'The  mood  and  temper  of  the  public 
with  regard  to  the  treatment  of  crime  and  criminals  is  one  of  the  most 
unfailing  tests  of  the  civilisation  of  any  country.  A  calm,  dispassionate 
recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  accused,  and  even  of  the  convicted, 
criminal  against  the  State — a  constant  heart-searching  by  all  charged 
with  the  duty  of  punishment — a  desire  and  eagerness  to  rehabilitate  in 
the  world  of  industry  those  who  have  paid  their  due  in  the  hard  coinage 
of  punishment :  tireless  efforts  towards  the  discovery  of  curative  and 
regenerative  processes:  unfailing  faith  that  there  is  a  treasure,  if  you 
can  only  find  it,  in  the  heart  of  every  man.  These  are  the  symbols, 
which,  in  the  treatment  of  crime  and  criminal,  mark  and  measure  the 
stored-up  strength  of  a  nation,  and  are  sign  and  proof  of  the  living 
1  Webb,  p.  248.  2  Federal  Prisons  Report  1947,  p.  4. 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  65 

virtue  in  it.' 1  That  'constant  heart-searching',  that  'unfailing  faith', 
were  to  come  into  our  prison  administration,  but  it  required  the  up- 
heaval of  the  First  World  War  to  release  the  fresh  climate  of  opinion 
in  which  they  could  do  their  work. 

(2)    THE  ABATEMENT  OF  IMPRISONMENT 

It  may  be  that  in  the  early  years  of  this  century  a  pessimistic  view  of 
the  social  value  of  imprisonment,  derived  from  long  experience  of  the 
du  Cane  regime,  tended  to  act  as  a  brake  on  progress  in  prison  treat- 
ment; but  it  certainly  brought  a  long  way  towards  realisation  the 
Webbs'  'most  practical  of  all  prison  reforms,  to  keep  people  out  of 
prison  altogether'.  Nor  has  the  passage  of  time  changed  that  view.  In 
1947  Sir  Alexander  Maxwell,  recently  retired  from  the  office  of  Perma- 
nent Under  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Home  Office,  said,  The  first  of 
the  Home  Office  functions  in  relation  to  prisons  is  to  keep  as  many 
people  as  possible  out  of  them',2  and  in  1948  Mr.  Claud  Mullins, 
recently  retired  after  fifteen  years'  service  as  a  Metropolitan  Magistrate, 
said,  4A  tradition  is  growing  up  that  nobody  should  receive  a  sentence 
to  prison  unless  all  other  sentences  are  impracticable."  3 

The  legislative  course  followed  before  the  First  World  War  to  make 
that  tradition  possible  may  seem,  in  retrospect,  to  have  been  the  most 
significant  contribution  of  those  years  to  practical  penology.  They  were 
marked  by  a  remarkable  series  of  statutes  seeking  to  keep  out  of  prison 
large  classes  of  offenders  for  whom  imprisonment  is  neither  suitable 
nor  necessary,  and  to  provide  better  ways  of  dealing  with  them.  First 
came  the  Probation  of  Offenders  Act  1907,  followed  in  1908  by  the 
Children  Act  and  the  Prevention  of  Crime  Act.  Of  these  two  the  first 
established  juvenile  courts  for  offenders  under  16  (later  17)  and  pro- 
vided better  methods  both  for  dealing  with  child  offenders  and  for 
preventing  them  from  becoming  offenders:  the  second  sought  to 
remove  from  the  normal  prison  system  on  the  one  hand  young  people 
under  21  who  ought  not  to  be  subject  to  it,  and  on  the  other  habitual 
criminals  who  were  neither  reformed  nor  deterred  by  it.  The  Mental 
Deficiency  Act  1913  kept  out  of,  or  removed  from,  the  prisons  a  large 
number  of  unfortunates  for  whom  imprisonment  was  indefensible. 
And  finally,  a  provision  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1914  required 
magistrates  to  allow  time  for  the  payment  of  fines  unless  there  were 
good  reasons  for  not  doing  so.  'As  a  consequence  partly  of  this  change 
in  the  law  and  partly  of  a  decrease  in  drunkenness,  the  number  of 
persons  sent  to  prison  in  default  of  payment  of  fines  fell  from  85,000  in 

1  Cit.  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  4. 

2  Second  Annual  Lecture  in  Criminal  Science  delivered  to  the  Department  of 
.Criminal  Science,  Cambridge  University,  Stevens,  p.  17. 

3  Fifteen  Years  Hard  Labour,  Claud  Mullins  (Gollancz),  p.  100. 
E.P.B.S. — 5 


66  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

1910  to  15,000  in  1921.'  *  The  numbers  of  committals  in  default  of 
payments  of  fines  were  further  reduced  by  the  Money  Payments  Act 
1935,  which  required  magistrates  to  make  enquiries  as  to  means  before 
committing  to  prison  an  offender  who  had  not  paid  his  fine.  In  the 
five  years  1937-41  the  average  number  of  committals  in  default  was 
6054,  and  in  1947  it  had  fallen  to  2952. 

The  effect  of  all  these  measures,  and  of  the  resulting  'tradition',  has 
been  shown  on  p.  10.  The  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  is,  in  its  broad 
effect,  a  summing  up  of  all  these  tendencies :  in  so  far  as  it  could  be 
described  at  all  as  a  'prison  reform  Act',  it  would  be  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  Webbs  would  have  had  us  use  those  words.  It  supplements 
and  improves  the  existing  powers  and  methods  of  dealing  with  con- 
victed offenders  by  fine  or  by  one  of  the  procedures  under  the  Probation 
Acts;  it  makes  further  provision  for  dealing  with  offenders  of  unsound 
mind  other  than  by  imprisonment;  it  still  further  restricts  the  imprison- 
ment of  young  people  under  21  and  provides  alternative  methods 
of  dealing  with  them  outside  the  prison  system;  and  it  facilitates  the 
use  of  Borstal  training  for  young  people.  Except  in  its  provisions  for 
the  treatment  of  persistent  offenders,  it  is  above  all  an  Act  for  keeping 
people  out  of  prison. 

(3)    THE  CONCEPTION  OF  TRAINING 

The  history  of  English  prison  administration  from  the  inception  of 
the  Prison  Commission  in  1878  seems  to  fall  almost  too  neatly  into 
three  periods  of  similar  length  divided  by  years  of  war,  each,  under 
the  influence  of  one  dominating  personality,  offering  its  answer  to  our 
question  through  the  reinterpretation  of  one  dominating  principle. 
Historical  analogies  may  be  as  misleading  as  historical  periods,  but 
it  is  tempting  to  see  the  growth  of  our  English  way  of  treating  prisoners 
as  we  see  that  of  our  English  style  of  Gothic  architecture:  Leyhill 
prison  is  as  little  like  Dartmoor  as  Lincoln  cathedral  is  like  Durham, 
but  each  later  building  derives  from  the  continuous  organic  develop- 
ment of  a  principle  already  latent  in  the  earlier,  and  through  similar 
periods  of  'style'.  First,  the  old  style,  the  powerful  and  perdurable 
Norman  of  du  Cane,  ending  with  the  South  African  War;  second  the 
Transitional  style  of  Ruggles-Brise,  with  the  structural  features  modify- 
ing though  the  feeling  of  the  older  style  tends  to  persist;  and  the  third, 
after  the  First  World  War,  the  'Early  English'  of  Alexander  Paterson, 
releasing  the  true  spirit  of  the  structure  in  a  'first  fine  careless  rapture' 
of  seminal  ideas  which  his  successors  may  not  hope  to  recapture,  but 
can  strive  to  bring  to  full  fruition,  working  out  all  their  implications  in  a 
manner  which  may  come,  in  the  course  of  history,  to  be  regarded  as  a 
'Second  English'  style  in  its  own  right.  Nor  will  the  visitor  informed 
with  the  spirit  of  this  analogy  be  surprised,  in  looking  at  a  building 
1  Sir  A.  Maxwell,  op.  tit.,  p.  8. 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  67 

which  the  guide-book  tells  him  is  Second  English,  to  find  here  and  there 
a  feature  of  earlier  style,  or  even  what  he  suspects  to  be  an  original 
Norman  wall.  He  may  reflect,  too,  on  the  similarity  of  the  problem 
which  each  system,  penal  and  architectural,  was  engaged  in  working 
out — a  problem  essentially  of  balance,  of  reconciling  in  one  harmonious 
structure  two  principles  apparently  opposed — deterrence  and  reform, 
stability  and  light. 

And  now  to  return  to  historical  fact.  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  retired  in 
1921,  though  at  the  special  request  of  the  Secretary  of  State  he  remained 
as  British  delegate  to  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary  Com- 
mission, of  which  body  he  had  become  President  in  1910,  so  that  he 
might  preside  over  the  forthcoming  London  Congress  of  1925.  His 
successor  was  Mr.  M.  L.  Waller,  afterwards  Sir  Maurice  Waller,  C.B. 
Here  again  history  repeated  itself,  since  Mr.  Waller,  like  his  predecessor, 
had  been  Private  Secretary  to  the  Home  Secretary  before  becoming  a 
Prison  Commissioner  in  1910.  At  about  the  same  time,  Mr.  Alexander 
Paterson,  M.C.  (later  Sir  Alexander  Paterson)  was  appointed  to  be  a 
Prison  Commissioner.  This  appointment  was  remarkable  in  that  it  was 
the  first  from  outside  the  Prison  Service  or  the  Home  Office,  and  it  was 
destined  to  have  remarkable  results — results  such  as  might  have  followed, 
had  there  been  Prison  Commissioners  in  her  time,  the  appointment  of 
Elizabeth  Fry.  To  say  that  for  the  next  twenty-five  years  Paterson  was 
the  mainspring  and  inspiration  of  the  changes  that  revitalised  our 
prison  and  Borstal  systems,  and  breathed  life  into  the  honoured 
formulae  of  the  Gladstone  Report,  is  in  no  way  to  derogate  from  the 
contributions  of  the  distinguished  Chairmen  under  whom  he  served 
between  the  two  wars,  particularly  that  of  Sir  Maurice  Waller,  under 
whose  leadership  till  his  untimely  retirement  in  1928  most  of  the  major 
steps  had  been  taken  or  projected.  Paterson  himself  neither  became 
nor  sought  to  become  Chairman :  in  his  own  words,  he  was  'a  missionary, 
not  an  administrator'. 

The  first  Annual  Report  over  the  signatures  of  Waller  and  Paterson, 
for  the  year  1921,  showed  that  they  had  not  wasted  time.  Gusts  of 
fresh  air  begin  to  blow  through  the  pages.  The  convict  crop  and  the 
broad  arrows  had  gone;  a  substantial  breach  had  been  made  in  the  Rule 
of  Silence;  new  cell  furniture  and  new  clothing  were  being  planned; 
arrangements  were  being  made  for  suitable  prisoners  to  receive  visits 
from  their  friends  at  tables  in  a  room;  and  'prison  visitors'  were  being 
introduced  for  men,  as  had  long  been  done  for  women,  to  visit  them 
regularly  in  their  cells  in  the  evenings.  The  activities  of  voluntary 
workers  from  the  outside  world,  long  valued  for  their  help  in  providing 
lectures  and  concerts,  were  also  being  extended  in  other  directions, 
particularly  in  the  teaching  of  handicrafts  and  gymnastics. 

And  already  the  Commissioners  were  finding  it  necessary  to  reply 
to  the  criticism  that  the  prisoners  were  being  'pampered'.  Tampering' 


68  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

they  said  'is  not  the  object,  nor  is  it  the  result.  It  is  our  duty,  as  custo- 
dians of  those  who  are  for  a  time  forcibly  separated  from  life  in  the 
civic  community,  to  restore  them  to  it  at  least  as  fit  as  when  we  received 
them.  To  this  end  we  should  feed  and  exercise  their  minds  as  well  as 
their  bodies;  else  we  shall  return  them  to  the  stern  competition  outside 
torpid  in  mind  and  nerve,  and  quite  unfit  to  take  their  part.  It  is  there- 
fore reasonable  that  we  should  make  it  our  aim  to  balance  the  hour  of 
physical  exercise  each  day  with  an  hour  of  mental  exercise  each  evening; 
to  provide  brain  food  in  the  form  of  books  and  social  intercourse  as 
regularly  as  we  issue  wholesome  food  for  the  body.' 

In  the  1922  Report  further  important  changes  were  recorded.  'Last 
summer  we  received  authority  from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  suspend, 
as  an  experiment,  the  period  of  separate  confinement  which  had  hitherto 
been  in  force  at  the  beginning  of  every  convict's  sentence.  This  separate 
confinement  used  to  be  carried  out  partly  in  the  local  prison  at  the 
place  of  conviction  before  transfer,  and  partly  in  the  convict  prison 
after  transfer.  The  old  idea  with  regard  to  separate  confinement  was 
(a)  to  prevent  contamination,  and  (b)  to  give  the  man  a  quiet  period 
in  which  to  review  his  past  life  and  his  present  position,  and  make 
better  resolutions  for  the  future.  Our  opinion  was,  on  the  contrary, 
that  a  man  brooding  alone  in  his  cell  became  morose  and  vindictive. 
Abolition  was,  therefore,  tried,  the  Governors  of  local  prisons  being 
merely  authorised  to  keep  a  man  working  in  his  cell  for  the  first  day  or 
two,  if  he  should  be  received  in  so  violent  a  frame  of  mind  as  to  make 
it  necessary  in  the  interests  of  discipline.  The  reports  which  were 
received  after  six  months'  trial  were  satisfactory.  Governors  reported 
that  they  were  in  favour  of  this  step,  and  that  discipline  was  equally 
maintained;  while  Medical  Officers  gave  definite  opinions  that  the  men 
were  better  in  physical  and  mental  health.  The  Secretary  of  State  has 
authorised  us  to  continue  this  plan  pending  the  necessary  revision  of 
the  statutory  rules.  At  the  same  time,  the  Boards  of  Visitors  at  Convict 
Prisons  were  requested  not  to  impose  separate  confinement  as  part  of 
a  punishment.  Separate  confinement  is  now  being  regarded  as  in  the 
nature  of  a  restraint,  only  to  be  used  when  necessary  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  discipline.' 

4We  are  aiming  at  a  minimum  of  eight  hours'  associated  work  for 
all  prisoners.  This  has  so  far  been  attained  only  at  some  of  the  local 
prisons,  but  at  the  others  the  period  is,  at  any  rate,  seven  to  seven  and 
a  half  hours  per  day.  Compared  with  the  veiy  short  periods  which 
were  being  worked  by  the  associated  parties  only  a  year  or  two  ago, 
this  does  represent  a  satisfactory  advance.' 

In  that  year  also,  in  co-operation  with  the  Adult  Education  Com- 
mittee of  the  Board  of  Education,  a  start  was  made  with  organising 
an  adult  education  system  throughout  the  local  prisons.  This  scheme 
was  based  on  voluntary  teachers,  and  at  each  prison  there  was 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  69 

appointed  an  Educational  Adviser  to  the  Governor  to  help  both  in 
procuring  the  teachers  and  framing  the  schemes:  the  Adviser  himself 
was  also  a  volunteer,  the  list  for  1922  including  Professors  from  the 
Universities,  Headmasters,  and  Directors  of  Education.  Under  these 
arrangements  it  became  possible  at  last  to  view  the  education  of 
prisoners  in  a  more  liberal  spirit  than  that  of  the  Chaplain  of  Penton- 
ville  (see  p.  43),  and  we  read  in  the  1922  Report  that  'while  more  simple 
elementary  teaching  was  still  required,  the  need  for  education  on  a 
broader  basis,  suitable  for  backward  adults,  was  even  more  urgent. 
The  teaching  in  simple  subjects  which  is  given  to  normal  children  is 
not  wholly  suitable  for  adults,  whatever  their  degree  of  ignorance. 
They  find  it  difficult  to  concentrate  their  attention  upon  it,  and,  while 
it  remains  necessary  that  their  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  should 
be  brought  up  to  a  certain  minimum  standard,  even  these  ends  can  be 
better  attained  through  the  medium  of  subjects  of  general  interest.' 
And  again  in  1924  that  'the  great  point  is  to  arouse  mental  activity, 
and  to  give  some  kind  of  healthy  mental  outlook;  and  to  this  end  the 
personality  of  the  teacher  is  more  important  than  the  choice  of  subject. 
Subjects  requiring  real  mental  effort  are  to  be  preferred  to  those  which 
merely  impart  information.'  This  enlightened  scheme  soon  spread  to  all 
prisons,  regular  annual  meetings  of  Educational  Advisers  and  teachers 
were  held  at  the  Prison  Commission,  and  it  remained  a  vital  part  of 
the  system  until  the  late  war.  A  little  later  the  Prison  Visitors  also 
organised  a  National  Association  of  Prison  Visitors,  which  held 
annual  meetings  in  the  same  way. 

Other  significant  changes  recorded  in  1922  were  the  introduction  of 
regular  shaving;  arrangements  for  Star  Class  and  Second  Division 
prisoners  to  dine  together  in  association;  'honour  parties'  of  prisoners 
trusted  to  work  together  without  continuous  supervision;  and,  in  the 
Chapels,  the  removal  of  the  officers  from  raised  seats  facing  the  con- 
gregation to  the  back  and  sides  where  'they  take  part  in  the  service  as 
ordinary  members  of  the  congregation'. 

In  the  following  years  was  initiated  the  idea  of  'classification  of 
prisons'  as  a  necessary  step  in  the  use  of  classification  to  secure  the 
positive  results  of  better  training  rather  than  the  mere  negative  of 
mitigating  'contamination'.  The  first  steps  in  establishing  what  has 
become  known  as  the  Wakefield  System  were  recorded  in  1923,  and 
were  followed  by  the  setting  apart  of  Wormwood  Scrubs  as  a  prison 
for  Star  Class  prisoners  only. 

The  two  further  developments  of  major  significance  between  the 
wars  were  the  establishment  of  'open'  institutions,  first  for  Borstal 
boys  at  Lowdham  Grange  in  1930,  then  for  selected  prisoners  from 
Wakefield  at  New  Hall  Camp  in  1936;  and  the  institution  from  1929 
of  'earnings  schemes'  of  small  cash  payments  related  to  effort  in  order 
to  stimulate  industry  among  the  prisoners. 


70  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

These  details  are  here  briefly  recorded  simply  to  show  the  scope  and 
speed  of  the  attack:  their  practical  significance  will  be  considered  as 
we  come  to  consider  the  structure  and  working  of  the  system  as  it  stands 
today,  since  the  elements  of  that  system  are  all  implicit  in  the  work  of 
these  few  years.  Our  present  purpose  is  rather  to  assess  their  total 
effect  in  relation  to  the  question,  'What  is  prison  for?' 

The  Commissioners  for  their  part  saw  quite  clearly  what  they  meant 
to  do  and  why,  and  in  their  Reports  for  1924  and  1925  set  it  out  equally 
clearly  in  these  words: 

'The  Object  in  View — We  are  dealing  with  persons  who  have  to  return 
to  the  life  of  a  free  community  after  a  period  which  is  seldom  very 
long,  and,  in  most  cases,  is  only  a  few  weeks  ahead.  Our  object,  there- 
fore, must  be  to  restore  them  to  ordinary  standards  of  citizenship,  so 
far  as  this  can  be  achieved  in  the  time  at  our  disposal.  If  this  is  not 
done,  society  will  only  have  been  protected  during  the  brief  period  of 
their  sojourn  in  prison,  and  on  leaving  its  doors  they  will  again  become 
nuisances,  and  some  of  them  dangers.  The  means  to  be  employed  are 
reasonably  long  hours  of  hard  and  steady  work,  which,  in  the  case  of 
the  longer  sentences,  should  if  possible  give  some  useful  industrial 
training;  and,  after  the  day's  work  is  over,  education  of  a  kind  suitable 
for  backward  adults.  Self-respect  has  to  be  promoted;  the  influence, 
both  spiritual  and  secular,  of  people  of  strong  character  and  personality, 
prison  officials  and  voluntary  workers,  must  be  brought  to  bear;  and 
also,  so  far  as  prison  conditions  admit,  such  measures  of  trust  as  will 
arouse  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility.  The  prisoner's  daily  round 
should  make  as  much  demand  as  possible  on  the  activities  of  both  mind 
and  body;  the  whole  being  a  coherent  scheme  of  training.  Every 
development  of  prison  methods  forms  part  of  this  scheme,  and  is 
directed  to  this  end.' 

'It  is  the  policy  of  the  administration  to  carry  out  its  duty  of  protecting 
society  by  training  offenders,  as  far  as  possible,  for  citizenship;  and 
every  change  in  the  prison  system  is  directed  to  that  end.  Prisons  exist 
to  protect  society,  and  they  can  only  give  efficient  protection  in  one  of 
two  ways,  either  (a)  by  removing  the  anti-social  person  from  the  com- 
munity altogether  or  for  a  very  long  period;  or  (b)  by  bringing  about 
some  change  in  him.  Any  general  application  of  the  first  method  would 
not  be  supported  by  public  opinion.  The  prison  administration  must 
therefore  do  its  utmost  to  apply  the  second;  that  is  to  say,  to  restore 
the  man  who  has  been  imprisoned  to  ordinary  standards  of  citizenship, 
so  far  as  this  can  be  done  within  the  limits  of  his  sentence.  Unless  some 
use  can  be  made  of  the  period  of  imprisonment  to  change  the  anti- 
social outlook  of  the  offender  and  to  bring  him  into  a  more  healthy 
frame  of  mind  towards  his  fellow  citizens,  he  will,  on  leaving  the  prison 
gates  after  a  few  weeks  or  months,  again  become  a  danger,  or  at  any 
rate  a  nuisance.  He  may,  indeed,  be  worse    than  before,  if  the  only 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  71 

result  has  been  to  add  a  vindictive  desire  for  revenge  on  society  to  the 
selfish  carelessness  of  the  rights  of  others  which  he  brought  into  prison 
with  him.  The  change  can  be,  and  is,  effected  in  a  good  many  cases  by 
vigorous  industrial,  mental,  and  moral  training,  pursued  on  considered 
lines  by  officers,  teachers,  and  prison  visitors  of  character  and  person- 
ality. The  effect  of  such  training,  properly  conducted,  is  to  induce  self- 
respect,  to  lessen  self-conceit  (characteristic  of  many  prisoners  on  first 
reception)  and  to  arouse  some  sense  of  personal  responsibility.  Failures 
there  are,  and  always  will  be,  but  the  records  of  successes  justify  the 
system  and  the  efforts  of  those  who  work  to  carry  it  out,' 

Perhaps  the  most  notable  feature  of  these  statements,  in  the  light  of 
what  had  gone  before,  was  not  so  much  what  was  said  as  what  was  not 
said.  For  the  first  time,  we  find  no  anxious  balancing  of  how  much, 
without  undue  derogation  from  deterrence,  can  safely  be  conceded  to 
reform:  in  fact  we  find  no  mention  whatever  of  either.  What  we  do  find 
is  that  'every  development  of  prison  methods'  is  directed  towards  'a 
coherent  scheme  of  training'. 

It  is  not  to  be  assumed  from  these  statements  that,  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  formed  them,  neither  deterrence  nor  reform  was  henceforth 
an  object  of  prison  treatment,  but  rather  that  a  more  realistic  approach 
to  the  problem  of  reconciling  them  within  a  system  intended  to  'turn 
out  better  men  and  women'  would  suggest  that,  if  less  attention  were 
paid  to  words  and  more  to  facts,  more  might  in  practice  be  achieved. 
This  approach  calls  for  a  somewhat  radical  revaluation,  in  the  light  of 
practical  experience,  of  these  two  well-worn  coins  of  penological 
currency. 

To  take  deterrence  first,  we  have  already  seen  l  that  for  general 
deterrence,  viz.  the  preventive  effect  of  the  penal  system  on  the  potential 
offender  at  large,  contemporary  thought  relies  not  on  the  punitive 
treatment  of  the  individual  offender  but  on  'the  totality  of  the  conse- 
quences of  being  found  out' — general  prevention  is  inherent  in  the  whole 
action  of  the  penal  system.  Equally,  individual  deterrence  is  not  to  be 
sought  by  devising  deliberately  punitive  measures  as  part  of  the  treat- 
ment of  the  individual  in  prison,  and  that  for  two  reasons.  It  is  unlikely 
that  men  or  women  will  become  better,  either  physically,  mentally,  or 
morally,  if  the  regime  to  which  they  are  subjected  is  seeking  simul- 
taneously to  punish,  humiliate,  and  hurt  them.  And  even  for  those 
prisoners  who  are  in  any  event  unlikely  to  become  better,  there  is 
sufficient  evidence  that  such  methods  are  most  likely  to  make  them 
worse.  The  deterrent  effect  of  imprisonment  on  the  individual  is  there- 
fore held  to  rest  not  on  any  specific  features  of  his  treatment  in  prison 
but  on  the  fact  of  being  in  prison,  and  all  that  is  inevitably  inherent  in 
that  condition— the  subjection  of  the  prisoner  to  forced  labour  and 
disciplinary  control,  separation  from  home  and  the  normal  human 

1  Chapter  1,  pp.  10-13. 


72  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

associations  of  life,  deprivation  of  most  of  its  amenities  and  comforts, 
and  absolute  loss  of  personal  liberty.  In  short,  the  offender  comes  to 
prison  'as  a  punishment,  not  for  punishment.' l 

The  concept  ofj  'reform'  is  less  easy  to  evaluate.  If  reform  can  be 
defined  as  the  substitution  of  a  will  to  do  right  for  a  will  to  do  wrong, 
we  have  to  face  the  fact  that  for  many  prisoners  the  problem  does  not 
arise  in  that  form  at  all:  there  never  was  for  them  a  settled  will  to  do 
wrong — all  too  often  there  was  no  will  at  all,  just  social  inadequacy  in 
one  form  or  another,  physical  or  mental.  Some  again,  who  could  not 
be  classed  as  socially  inadequate,  may  well  have  reached  at  least  that 
necessary  condition  precedent  to  reform,  the  humility  of  repentance, 
before  ever  their  sentence  begins.  Others,  and  today  they  are  many, 
have  no  personal  standards  by  which  they  can  measure  right  and 
wrong. 

It  is  in  fact  no  more  practical  to  seek  a  prison  system  which  will 
'reform'  all  those  subjected  to  it  than  one  which  will  'deter'  them. 
Reform  is  not  some  specific  which  can  be  prescribed  either  from  the 
prayer-book  or  the  pharmacopoeia.  It  must  come  from  something 
inside  the  man.  All  the  prison  can  do  is  to  provide  the  sort  of  conditions 
in  which  that  something  can  be  reached  by  the  right  personal  influences, 
for  this  is  of  all  things  one  for  a  rather  delicate  and  practised  personal 
approach.  Some  will  be  reached  by  the  message  of  the  Gospel,  others 
by  a  friendly  hint,  a  sympathetic  touch.  For  one  it  may  be  necessary  to 
prick  a  bladder  of  self-conceit,  for  another  carefully  and  patiently  to 
build  or  rebuild  his  self-respect.  For  some  the  mere  withdrawal  for  a 
time  from  the  circumstances  leading  to  the  offence  will  serve,  for  others 
complete  re-education  is  required.  There  are  many  whose  rehabilitation 
can  be  effected  by  the  removal  of  some  mental  disability  by  psychiatric 
treatment,  or  of  some  physical  defect  by  surgery.  Indeed  the  subtlety 
of  variety  may  almost  equal  the  number  of  individuals  concerned. 

The  conception  of  'training'  therefore  seeks  to  provide  a  background 
of  conditions  favourable  to  reform,  and  where  necessary  and  possible 
to  foster  this  delicate  and  very  personal  growth  by  personal  influences 
rather  than  by  specific  features  of  treatment  labelled  'reformative'. 
Then,  leaving  deterrence  to  speak  for  itself,  it  concentrates  on  the 
social  rehabilitation  of  the  prisoner,  so  as  to  remove  as  many  obstacles 
as  possible  to  the  maintenance,  after  discharge  from  prison,  of  such 
will  to  do  right  as  may  have  become  established  or  incipient  therein. 
Whether  a  prisoner  has  been  reformed  or  whether  he  has  been  deterred 
by  his  experience,  or  even  if  the  effect  has  been  quite  negative,  the  pro- 
tection of  society  is  not  well  served  if  he  comes  back  to  it  unfitted  rather 
than  fitted  to  lead  a  normal  life  and  earn  an  honest  living,  or  as  an 
embittered  man  with  a  score  against  society  that  he  means  to  pay  off. 
It  has  been  said,  and  well  said,  that  it  is  easy  to  imprison  a  man — 

1  Alexander  Paterson. 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  ANSWERS  73 

the  difficulty  is  to  release  him;  and  again,  that  the  true  test  of  a  prison 
system  is  what  happens  to  the  prisoner  when  he  comes  out;  and  yet 
again,  that  it  is  on  release  that  the  prisoner  faces  the  hardest  part  of  his 
punishment.  All  this  means  that  whatever  is  done  in  prison  may  be 
wasted  unless  the  hard  transition  to  normal  life  is  eased  and  guided  by 
a  humane  and  efficient  system  of  after-care:  this  subject  will  be  dealt 
with  in  a  separate  chapter,  but  it  must  be  said  here  that  it  forms  an 
essential  part  of  the  whole  system. 

Such  then  are  the  principles  underlying  the  contemporary  system  of 
prison  treatment,  as  they  were  conceived  by  Sir  Maurice  Waller  and 
Sir  Alexander  Paterson,  and  as  they  have  a  quarter  of  a  century  later 
been  recognised  and  established  by  Parliament  in  the  Criminal  Justice 
Act  1948,  which  provides  that  rules  shall  be  made  for  'the  training  of 
prisoners',  and  sets  in  the  forefront  of  those  rules  the  statement  that 
The  purposes  of  training  and  treatment  of  convicted  prisoners  shall  be 
to  establish  in  them  the  will  to  lead  a  good  and  useful  life  on  discharge, 
and  to  fit  them  to  do  so'. 

It  is  fitting  that,  before  passing  to  examination  of  the  present  system, 
something  should  be  said  of  Alexander  Paterson,  to  whom  especially  it 
owes  what  merit  it  may  have.  After  his  death  in  1947  Sir  Alexander 
Maxwell  wrote: 

'Alexander  Paterson  will  be  affectionately  remembered  in  the  Home 
Office  and  the  Prison  Service  as  an  honoured  leader  who  won  loyalty 
and  devotion  not  only  by  his  intellectual  gifts,  his  zest  and  driving 
energy,  his  humanity  and  sympathetic  understanding  of  men  and 
women  of  all  types,  his  wisdom,  wit  and  humour,  but  by  his  ever-present 
sense  of  life's  high  ends.  The  many  activities  of  his  crowded  official 
career  were  lifted  above  the  common  level  by  the  intensity  of  his  faith 
and  vision.  A  practical  idealist,  whose  grasp  of  reality  was  as  firm  as  his 
aspirations  were  lofty,  he  was  as  fertile  of  constructive  ideas  as  he  was 
powerful  to  kindle  enthusiasm.  To  his  imagination  and  inventive  force 
we  owe  almost  all  the  schemes  of  penal  reform  which  have  been  devel- 
oped in  this  country  in  the  last  twenty-five  years.' 

Nor  was  his  influence  confined  to  England — 

'His  labours  in  the  international  field  were  untiring.  He  had  known 
and  made  himself  known  in  the  penal  systems  of  most  of  the  countries 
of  Europe  and  North  America,  and  carried  out  many  missions  of 
inspection  and  advice  in  the  prisons  of  Africa  and  Asia  on  behalf  of  our 
Colonial  Office.  During  the  late  war,  he  also  visited  and  advised  on 
internment  camps  for  aliens  in  Great  Britain  and  in  Canada.  One  may 
well  ask  whether  any  one  man  has  had  a  knowledge  at  once  so  deep 
and  so  wide  of  the  condition  of  man  in  captivity.  As  British  delegate 
to  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary  Commission  for  over 


74  WHAT  IS  PRISON  FOR? 

twenty  years,  he  was  always  in  the  van  of  the  fight  for  humane  values 
in  our  penal  systems,  whether  in  the  preparation  of  the  Standard 
Minimum  Rules  for  the  League  of  Nations,  in  the  fight  against  Nazi 
ideology  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin  in  1935,  or  in  the  last  resolution 
which  he  placed  before  us  in  1946,  condemning  the  outrage  of  the 
concentration  camps.' x 

,  Out  of  all  his  rich  contribution  to  the  revolution  in  the  spirit  of  our 
prison  and  Borstal  systems,  perhaps  that  part  which  above  all  bore  the 
stamp  of  Paterson's  personality  was  his  insistence  that  it  is  through 
men  and  not  through  buildings  or  regulations  that  this  work  must  be 
done;  his  flair  for  finding  the  right  men  to  do  it;  and  his  ability  to 
inspire  them  with  his  own  faith. 

1  Obituary  notice  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  I.P.P.C. 


PART  TWO 
ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 


CHAPTER  FIVE 
CENTRAL  ADMINISTRATION 


(1)    THE  HOME  SECRETARY 

IN  other  countries  it  is  usual  to  find  the  'penitentiary  administration' 
in  the  Ministry  of  Justice.  Since  England  has  no  such  Minister, 
it  is  natural  that  our  administration  should  come  under  the  Home 
Secretary,  who  'takes  a  part  in  the  administration  of  criminal  justice, 
so  great  that  for  some  of  its  purposes  he  might  be  described  as  the 
Minister  of  Justice'.1  If  that  were  not  enough,  he  is  also  the  King's 
adviser  on  the  exercise  of  the  Prerogative  of  Mercy,  and  is  especially 
responsible  for  the  keeping  of  the  King's  Peace,  which  brings  into  the 
Home  Office  all  matters  concerning  police  and  public  order;  and  finally, 
'he  is  charged  with  all  the  home  affairs  of  England  and  Wales  except 
those  .  .  .  which  are  assigned  to  other  and  newer  departments'.2  It 
would  therefore  have  been  difficult,  one  way  and  another,  for  the 
administration  of  prisons  and  kindred  institutions  to  have  fallen  any- 
where but  the  Home  Office,  where  it  keeps  company  with  the  depart- 
ments responsible  for  the  probation  service  and  for  the  approved 
schools  for  children  and  young  persons  who  come  before  the  Courts. 
But  while  the  Home  Secretary  is  the  Minister  responsible  to  Parlia- 
ment for  the  prevention  of  crime  and  the  treatment  of  offenders  in 
general,  his  powers  and  duties  in  relation  to  prisons  and  any  other 
institutions  to  which  by  statute  the  Prisons  Acts  or  parts  of  them  apply 
(e.g.  Borstals,  Remand  Centres,  and  Detention  Centres)  do  not  depend 
on  the  Prerogative  or  inherent  powers  of  his  office.  They  are  statutory 
powers  and  duties  under  the  Prisons  Acts  1865-98  or  the  Criminal 
Justice  Act  1948.  All  such  institutions  are  vested  in  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  he  makes  the  Statutory  Rules  for  their  governance,  appoints 
their  Boards  of  Visitors,3  and  appoints  all  those  officers  of  prisons  and 
Borstals  who  are  described  by  statute  as  'superior  officers',  viz.  Gover- 
nors, Chaplains,  and  Medical  Officers:  the  dismissal  or  reduction  in 

1  Troup,  p.  73.  2  Troup,  p.  1. 

3  Where  applicable:  see  p.  85. 

77 


78  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

rank  of  a  prison  officer  on  disciplinary  grounds  also  requires  his 
approval. 

In  carrying  out  these  statutory  duties  the  Home  Secretary  receives 
the  advice  of  the  Prison  Commissioners,  in  whom  is  vested,  subject  to 
his  general  control,  the  superintendence,  control,  and  inspection  of 
institutions  to  which  the  Prisons  Acts  apply.  The  nature,  composition, 
and  organisation  of  the  Prison  Commission  are  described  in  the  follow- 
ing section  of  this  chapter.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  here  that,  subject  to 
submission  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  questions  of  policy  of  major 
interest,  or  of  particular  cases  which  have  aroused  or  may  arouse  public 
or  political  interest,  or  of  such  matters  as  by  statute  are  reserved  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  (e.g.  those  aforementioned,  or  the  confirmation 
of  awards  of  corporal  punishment  on  prisoners)  the  work  of  the  Prison 
Commission  is  self-contained,  and  they  are  primarily  responsible  for 
both  the  formulation  and  the  application  of  policy.  Their  work  is 
however  necessarily  carried  out  in  close  co-operation  with  other 
departments  of  the  Home  Office  concerned  with  the  prevention  of 
crime  and  the  treatment  of  offenders,  and  with  the  Principal  Establish- 
ment Officer,  the  Legal  Adviser,  the  Statistical  Adviser,  and  the  Public 
Relations  Officer. 

Since  1944,  the  Home  Secretary  has  had  the  assistance  of  an  Advisory 
Council  on  the  Treatment  of  Offenders.  The  membership  includes 
magistrates  and  others  with  special  knowledge  or  experience  in  the 
work  of  the  Courts,  the  police,  and  the  treatment  of  offenders,  together 
with  men  and  women  of  various  experience  outside  the  specialised 
field.  The  Chairman  since  its  inception  has  been  Mr.  Justice  Birkett,1 
and  the  Vice-Chairman  the  Permanent  Under  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Home  Department.  The  Council  meets  several  times  a  year,  and 
considers  and  reports  on  questions  referred  to  it  by  the  Home  Secretary 
or  raised  by  its  own  members,  a  considerable  amount  of  work  being 
done  by  sub-committees  between  the  meetings  of  the  Council.  The 
Council  also  acts  as  the  National  Working  Group  in  this  field  for  the 
Economic  and  Social  Council  of  the  United  Nations,  and  as  the 
National  Committee  of  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary 
Commission : 2  for  these  purposes  it  may  appoint  sub-committees 
on  such  questions  as  are  referred  to  it,  with  power  to  co-opt  members 
from  outside  the  Council,  e.g.  appropriate  members  of  the  Home 
Office  or  Prison  Commission  staff,  academic  experts,  or  representatives 
of  the  Magistrates  Association.  The  meetings  of  the  Council  are  held 
in  private,  and  its  proceedings  are  normally  not  published. 

1  Mr.  Justice  Birkett  retired  in  December  1950,  on  becoming  a  Lord  Justice  of 
Appeal,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Granville  Ram,  Chairman  of  the  Hertfordshire 
Quarter  Sessions. 

2  See  Appendix  K. 


CENTRAL  ADMINISTRATION  79 

(2)    THE  PRISON  COMMISSION 

The  constitution  of  the  Prison  Commission  is,  in  the  Civil  Service 
of  today,  something  of  a  curiosity,  and  its  organisation  and  relations 
with  the  Home  Office  may  more  easily  be  appreciated  by  experience 
than  by  explanation.  Prior  to  the  Prisons  Act  1877,  local  prisons  were  a 
local  service  administered  on  much  the  same  principles  as  today  still 
govern  the  administration  of  other  such  public  services,  e.g.  the  Police, 
the  convict  prisons  being  in  a  special  relation  to  the  Home  Office  akin 
to  that  of  the  Metropolitan  Police.  When  Parliament  decided  to  adopt 
for  this  service  the  principle  of  centralised  ownership  and  control, 
there  was  no  Civil  Service  such  as  we  know  today  to  take  over  its 
management,  and  the  establishment  of  statutory  Commissioners  em- 
ploying their  own  staff  was  still  the  normal  expedient  of  the  time  as  it 
had  been  when  the  Metropolitan  Police  was  set  up  in  1829. 

The  Prisons  Board  as  thus  established  is  a  body  corporate,  with  a 
common  seal  and  power  to  hold  land,  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  it  may  under  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  exercise 
powers  of  compulsory  purchase.  The  Commissioners,  whose  numbers 
may  not  exceed  five,  are  appointed  by  the  Crown  under  the  Sign 
Manual  and  are  full-time  pensionable  civil  servants. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Board  is  appointed  by  the  Home  Secretary. 
Since  the  time  of  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise,  Chairmen  have  been  drawn  from 
experienced  administrators  of  the  Home  Office  staff:  Maurice  Waller 
and  his  successor  Alexander  Maxwell  had  both  been  Private  Secretaries 
to  the  Home  Secretary,  and  Harold  Scott  and  C.  D.  Carew  Robinson, 
who  followed,  had  each  been  in  charge  of  the  Criminal  Division  of 
the  Home  Office,  which  dealt  inter  alia  with  prisoners  and  prisons. 
The  present  Chairman  was  transferred  from  an  administrative  post  in 
that  Division  to  be  Secretary  of  the  Prison  Commission  (1925-34), 
and  served  at  New  Scotland  Yard  before  receiving  his  present 
appointment  in  1942.  The  composition  of  the  Board  has  varied  through 
the  years  in  both  numbers  and  qualifications,  including  at  different 
times  administrators  of  the  Home  Office  staff,  men  with  experience  as 
Governors  of  prisons  or  Borstals,  medical  men  from  the  Prison  Medical 
Service  and  in  the  one  case  of  Sir  A.  Paterson  a  man  whose  experience 
lay  in  social  and  educational  work  outside  the  service. 

Following  the  passage  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act,  there  was  a 
considerable  change  in  the  responsibilities,  status  and  composition  of 
the  Board.  In  the  preparation  of  the  Bill,  it  had  been  contemplated 
that  the  arrangements  of  1877  should  be  revised,  and  that  the  Prison 
Commission  should  be  abolished  so  as  to  allow  of  a  reorganisation  on 
different  lines  of  all  the  departments  of  the  Home  Office  concerned 
with  the  treatment  of  offenders.  Parliament  however  preferred  to  retain 
the  Prison  Commission,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  decided  to  place 


80  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

under  their  control  the  new  types  of  establishment,  known  as  Remand 
Centres  and  Detention  Centres,  to  be  set  up  under  the  Act  for  the 
treatment  of  young  offenders. 

In  consequence  of  this  enlargement  of  the  responsibilities  of  the 
Commissioners,  it  was  further  decided  that  their  organisation  should  be 
strengthened  on  the  administrative  side  and  that  they  should  in  future 
be  responsible  direct  to  the  Secretary  of  State  through  the  Permanent 
Under  Secretary  of  State,  and  not  as  hitherto  through  the  Criminal 
Division  of  the  Home  Office.  One  of  the  steps  taken  to  this  end  was 
the  enlargement  of  the  Board  to  include  the  Establishment  Officer  and 
the  Woman  Director  in  addition  to  the  five  Commissioners,  who  are  at 
present  the  Chairman,  the  Deputy  Chairman,  the  Secretary,  and  two 
Commissioners  who  respectively  direct  the  Prisons  and  the  Borstals 
(including  Remand  and  Detention  Centres).  The  collective  responsi- 
bility of  the  Prisons  Board  to  the  Secretary  of  State  is,  under  this 
arrangement,  shared  by  its  seven  de  facto  members  and  not  only  by 
the  five  Commissioners  who  constitute  the  Board  de  lege. 

The  Board  is  assisted  by  four  specialist  Directors,  with  the  necessary 
professional  or  technical  qualifications,  for  Education  and  Welfare,1 
Medical  Services,2  Industries,  and  Works;  and  the  Directors  of  Prisons 
and  Borstals  are  assisted  by  five  Assistant  Commissioners  who  are  also 
Inspectors  under  the  Prisons  Acts  and  as  such  appointed  by  the  Home 
Secretary,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Commissioners,  from  among 
the  best  qualified  Governors. 

Each  of  the  three  Assistant  Commissioners  on  the  prisons  side  is 
responsible  for  the  general  control  and  regular  inspection  of  the  group 
of  prisons  allotted  to  him:  it  is  his  duty  to  interpret  the  policy  and 
views  of  the  Commissioners  to  the  Governors,  to  see  that  they  are 
carried  out,  and  to  keep  the  Commissioners  in  touch  with  the  views 
and  difficulties  of  the  Governors  and  their  staffs.  After  each  visit  to  a 
prison  an  Assistant  Commissioner  makes  a  written  report  which  is  seen 
by  all  the  Commissioners  and  any  other  officers  of  the  Department 
concerned.  The  duties  on  the  Borstal  side  are  similar,  but  also  include 
the  planning  and  development  of  Remand  and  Detention  Centres. 

The  women's  prisons  and  girls'  Borstals  are  inspected  and  controlled 
by  the  woman  Director. 

The  Head  Office  staff  also  includes  the  Chaplain  Inspector,  who 
assists  and  advises  the  Commissioners  in  all  matters  relating  to  the 
Chaplains  and  their  spiritual  work,  the  chapels  and  their  equipment, 
and  questions  concerning  religion  in  general.  He  spends  much  of  his 
time  visiting  the  Chaplains  to  help  and  advise  them. 

The  two  Commissioners  known  as  the  Director  of  Prisons  Admin- 
istration and  the  Director  of  Borstals  Administration  visit  all  their 

1  Appendix  K. 

2  There  are  also  an  Assistant  Director  of  Medical  Services  and  a  Chief  Psychologist. 


CENTRAL  ADMINISTRATION  81 

prisons  or  Borstals  at  least  once  a  year  and  more  frequently  where 
necessary,  while  the  Chairman  and  other  members  of  the  Board  visit 
as  often  as  their  closer  concern  with  office  administration  permits. 
Thus  the  Board  as  a  whole  is  in  reasonably  close  and  constant  touch, 
directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  actual  work  in  the  field,  and  great  im- 
portance is  attached  to  the  maintenance  of  this  personal  contact 
between  the  centre  and  the  periphery.  These  contacts  by  visit  are  most 
valuably  supplemented  by  annual  conferences,  at  which  prison  Gover- 
nors and  their  Assistant  Governors,  Borstal  Governors  and  their 
Assistant  Governors,  Chaplains,  and  Medical  Officers  meet  (in  their 
respective  groups  at  separate  times)  to  discuss  questions  of  general 
professional  interest  among  themselves  and  with  the  Commissioners, 
who  also  keep  in  touch  with  the  work  of  the  Visiting  Committees  and 
Boards  of  Visitors,  and  of  the  National  Association  of  Prison  Visitors, 
by  attending  the  annual  meetings  organised  in  London  by  these  bodies.1 
Consultation  with  the  subordinate  staff  is  maintained  through  the 
Whitley  Council  (see  p.  95),  and  occasionally  ad  hoc  meetings  are 
arranged  for  the  discussion  of  particular  topics  at  which  all  grades 
may  be  represented.  Other  methods  used  to  bring  the  staff  at  the  prisons 
and  Borstals  into  consultation  in  the  formulation  of  policy  are  the 
'working  party'  to  prepare  proposals  on  particular  subjects,  or  the 
method  of  consultation  through  representative  panels.  This  interesting 
device,  which  is  capable  of  further  development,  has  been  used  as 
follows :  the  questions  on  which  the  views  of  the  staff  are  desired  are 
put  to  the  Governor  of  each  establishment,  who  is  asked  to  arrange 
meetings  of  all  grades  at  his  establishment  to  discuss  them  and  submit 
their  views.  Panels  of  five  representatives  of  each  of  the  grades  of 
Governor,  Chaplain,  Medical  Officer,  and  Chief  Officer  then  meet 
and  receive  the  reports  of  their  grades,  synthesise  them,  and  submit  a 
report  to  the  Commissioners:  for  the  staff  below  the  rank  of  Chief 
Officer  the  report  is  prepared  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Prison 
Officers'  Association  (see  p.  95). 

Within  the  Prison  Commission  there  is  a  regular  Monthly  Conference 
of  the  Board  with  all  the  Directors  and  Assistant  Commissioners  and 
such  other  senior  officers  as  may  be  required  for  particular  topics. 

While  therefore  it  is  unlikely  that  the  charges  of  'remoteness'  and 
'autocracy'  levelled  against  earlier  administrations  would  again  be 
raised,  the  system  of  uniform  and  centralised  administration  initiated 
by  Sir  E.  du  Cane  still  remains  the  basis  of  management  today.  Structur- 
ally, so  to  speak,  the  system  is  the  same  in  all  establishments,  and  is 
based  on  a  volume  of  Standing  Orders  of  formidable  size  and  remark- 
able scope.  But  different  types  of  establishment  develop  their  own 
variations,  and  especially  in  the  Borstals  and  Training  Prisons  Governors 

1  The  former  meetings  are  now  organised  by  the  Prisons  and  Borstals  Committee 
of  the  Magistrates  Association. 


82  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

have  a  good  deal  of  latitude,  except  in  matters  of  business  manage- 
ment, to  develop  their  establishments  along  their  own  lines.  Even  in 
the  local  prisons,  though  in  general  these  are,  save  for  size,  'much  of  a 
muchness',  there  is  scope  for  initiative  and  experiment  within  the 
general  framework  of  the  Statutory  Rules  and  the  policy  laid  down  by 
the  Commissioners. 

To  return  to  the  Commissioners'  office,  this  is  organised  as  a  separate 
and  self-sufficient  Department;  its  funds  are  provided  by  a  separate 
Parliamentary  Vote  for  which  the  Chairman  accounts  to  the  Public 
Accounts  Committee  of  Parliament,  and  it  deals  direct  with  the  Treasury 
on  matters  of  finance,  establishments,  and  supply.  Formerly  located  in 
the  main  Home  Office  building  in  Whitehall,  it  is  now,  after  some  years 
of  peregrination,  settled  l  within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  vestiges  of 
Millbank  Penitentiary.  Apart  from  the  higher  direction  already 
described,  it  employs  at  its  Head  Office  some  270  persons  of  the 
administrative,  professional,  executive,  clerical,  technical,  and  minor 
grades.  These  are  organised  as  follows. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Department  (an  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Administrative  Class)  is  responsible  for  presenting  material  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Board,  for  carrying  into  effect  its  decisions  and 
for  what  may  be  called  its  external  relations — legal,  public  and  parlia- 
mentary. He  is  directly  assisted  by  a  group  of  administrative  and 
executive  officers  known  as  the  Secretariat. 

The  Establishment  Officer  (also  an  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Ad- 
ministrative Class)  controls  the  Establishment  Branch,  which  is 
responsible  for  the  organisation  and  staffing  of  the  Head  Office  and 
the  prisons  and  Borstals :  the  departmental  Registry  is  also  under  his 
control. 

The  Finance  Officer  controls  the  Finance  Branch,  whose  functions 
are  implied  in  its  name. 

The  Director  of  Industries  is  assisted  by  a  small  staff  of  technical 
officers  at  the  Head  Office,  and  controls  the  work  in  the  prisons  and 
-Borstals  through  travelling  area  Supervisors  and  resident  Industrial 
Managers.  In  close  relation  with  him  is  the  Controller  of  Stores  and 
Manufactures,  whose  branch  is  responsible  for  the  placing  of  contracts 
for  supply  of  raw  materials,  etc.,  and  generally  for  all  stores,  clothing, 
furnishing  and  victualling.  Specialists  included  in  this  organisation 
include  a  Supervisor  of  Farms  and  Gardens,  Vocational  Training 
Officers  and  a  full-time  Catering  Adviser  who  deals  with  dietary 
questions,  meal  service,  kitchen  equipment  and  the  training  of  cooks. 

The  Director  of  Works,  with  his  Deputy  Director,  controls  all  the 
architectural,  engineering,  estate  management  and  other  technical  and 
specialist  staffs  required  for  the  management  and  maintenance  of  the 

1  At  Horseferry  House,  Dean  Ryle  St.,  Westminster,  S.W.I. 


CENTRAL  ADMINISTRATION  83 

considerable  lands  and  buildings  vested  in  the  Commissioners,  and  for 
the  design  and  erection  of  new  buildings.1 

Such  is  the  organisation  charged  not  only  with  the  safe-custody  of 
over  20,000  men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  from  every  level  of  society, 
but  with  their  housing,  feeding,  clothing  and  doctoring;  their  industrial 
employment;  their  education  and  religious  and  moral  training;  their 
social  welfare  during  and  after  their  sentences;  the  legal  questions 
arising  from  their  various  states  as  prisoners;  and  the  grievances  and 
complaints,  reasonable  or  unreasonable,  which  may  be  expected  to 
arise  from  men  and  women  in  their  condition  and  from  their  relatives, 
friends,  and  legal  advisers.  To  this  is  to  be  added  the  responsibility 
for  recruiting,  training,  managing,  clothing  and  housing  the  staff 
required  to  these  ends  in  the  prisons  and  Borstals,  which  number  some 
6,000  men  and  women  in  about  100  different  grades.  And  since  it  is  by 
the  quality  of  its  staff  that  the  system  stands,  this  last  task  is  not  the 
least. 

The  scope  of  this  work  is  a  world  in  little,  and  the  motto  of  the 
Prison  Commissioners  must  be  'humani  nihil  a  me  alienum',  for  there 
are  few  aspects  of  life  and  conduct  on  which  they  may  not  be  required 
to  form  a  view  in  the  course  of  a  day's  work.  Nor  is  their  view  bounded 
by  the  establishments  in  England  and  Wales  for  which  they  are  legally 
responsible.  They  act  in  close  co-operation  with  the  Scottish  admin- 
istration in  Edinburgh,  and  their  woman  Director  and  Director  of 
Industries  respectively  visit,  once  a  year,  the  women's  establishments 
and  industrial  arrangements  in  Scotland  and  report  to  the  Scottish 
Home  Department.  They  are  represented  on  the  Treatment  of  Offenders 
Sub-Committee  of  the  Colonial  Office,  and  in  this  way,  and  by  furnish- 
ing officers  of  various  grades  to  the  Colonial  Prison  Service  and 
providing  courses  of  instruction  in  the  Home  Service  for  Colonial 
officers,  they  help  to  create  and  maintain  standards  in  prisons  and 
Borstals  throughout  the  Empire.  In  the  wider  international  field  they 
provide  the  first  delegate  of  H.M.  Government  to  the  International 
Penal  and  Penitentiary  Commission  and  assist  in  collaboration  with 
the  Social  Defence  Section  of  the  United  Nations  Secretariat.2 

A  word,  in  conclusion,  on  publicity.  Whether  or  not  there  was 
justification  for  the  Webbs,  in  1922,  to  have  described  the  prisons  of 
this  country  as  'a  silent  world,  shrouded,  so  far  as  the  public  is  con- 
cerned, in  almost  complete  darkness',3  or  for  the  Labour  Research 
Department  Enquiry  to  have  levelled  against  the  administration  of  the 
day  the  charge  of  'undue  secrecy',  it  must  be  said  flatly  that  when  such 
assertions  are  made  today  they  are  made  without  reference  to  the 
facts. 

1  Major  new  building  schemes  are  undertaken  by  the  Ministry  of  Works  from 
preliminary  plans  prepared  by  the  Director. 

2  Appendix  K.  3  Webb,  p.  235, 


84          ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

As  publicity  in  this  sense  official  publications  can  be  said  to  have  a 
limited  value,  but  for  those  who  wish  to  read  them  there  are  two: 
the  Commissioners  are  required  by  statute  to  present  an  annual  report 1 
to  the  Secretary  of  State  which  is  laid  before  Parliament,  and  this 
provides  in  addition  to  complete  statistics  of  the  prison  and  Borstal 
populations  and  their  characteristics  a  reasonably  full  account  of  the 
major  activities  of  the  administration  in  the  preceding  year:  in  addition 
the  Stationery  Office  publishes,  for  public  sale,  an  illustrated  pamphlet 
issued  on  the  authority  of  the  Home  Secretary  giving  a  short  account 
for  the  general  reader  of  what  is  being  done  in  the  prisons  and  Borstals, 
and  why.2 

What  is  said  or  not  said  in  official  publications  is  open  to  check  not 
only  by  the  hundreds  of  voluntary  workers  who  co-operate  in  the  work 
of  the  staff,  by  the  Boards  of  Visitors  and  Visiting  Committees  and  the 
magistrates  who  visit  the  prisons  privately,  but  by  a  great  number  of 
non-official  visitors  from  at  home  and  abroad — research  workers, 
social  science  and  other  students,3  penologists,  indeed  anyone  with  a 
serious  and  responsible  interest  in  the  work  or  in  related  fields. 

As  regards  newspaper  publicity,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  an 
editor  of  a  responsible  newspaper  or  journal  could  be  found  to  say 
that  access  to  prisons  or  Borstals  for  this  purpose  had  been  unreason- 
ably refused  to  his  representative  on  proper  application  to  the  Press 
Officer  at  the  Home  Office:  the  number  of  newspaper  articles,  including 
illustrated  articles,  which  have  been  published  in  the  last  few  years  as 
a  result  of  facilities  granted  in  this  way  is  certainly  considerable. 
Moreover,  Governors  have  standing  instructions  to  report  at  once  to 
the  Press  Officer  any  incident  likely  to  be  of  public  interest,  so  that  a 
notice  may  be  sent  to  the  Press  Association,  and  when  the  terms  of  the 
notice  are  settled,  Governors  are  authorised  to  communicate  it  to  the 
local  Press. 

Nor  have  other  methods  been  neglected:  film  companies  have  been 
allowed  to  acquire  correct  local  colour  for  commercial  films,  and  an 
official  film  of  prison  life  (Tour  Men  in  Prison')  has  been  prepared  by 
the  Central  Office  of  Information  for  private  showing  to  audiences  of 
magistrates  and  others  concerned  with  the  administration  of  criminal 
justice.  From  time  to  time  members  of  the  staff  have  spoken  of  their 
work  in  radio  programmes,  and  the  B.B.C.  have  made  in  one  of  the 
prisons  a  feature  for  broadcasting. 

1  Published  by  H.M.  Stationery  Office,  Kingsway,  W.C.2,  from  whom,  or  through 
any  bookseller,  it  may  be  obtained  at  a  charge  of  (at  present)  4y. 

2  Prisons  and  Borstals  (1950).    Price  2s.  6d. 

3  Research  workers  and  selected  students  have  not  only  visited  establishments  but 
lived  and  worked  in  them. 


CHAPTER  SIX 
LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION 

(1)    VISITING  COMMITTEES  AND  BOARDS  OF  VISITORS 

BEFORE  the  local  prisons  were  transferred  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
by  the  Act  of  1877,  they  were  administered  by  the  Justices 
in  Quarter  Sessions,  acting  through  the  Visiting  Justices  whom 
they  appointed,  and  the  Act  reserved  certain  of  the  powers  of  these 
Visiting  Justices  to  new  bodies  called  Visiting  Committees.  The  Com- 
mittees were  to  be  appointed  annually  by  the  Benches  committing  to 
the  prisons,  their  composition,  method  of  appointment,  powers  and 
duties  being  prescribed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Statutory  Rules. 
For  convict  prisons,  and  later  for  Borstal  institutions,  which  were 
under  central  control  and  to  which  the  courts  did  not  commit  direct, 
similar  bodies  were  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  from  among 
suitable  local  people,  including  a  proportion  of  magistrates. 

However  this  experiment  in  dual  control  may  have  appealed  in  1877 
to  Sir  E.  du  Cane,  it  has  come  to  be  accepted  as  a  necessary  and 
advantageous  part  of  the  administrative  system  of  today,  and  was  re- 
enacted  by  the  Act  of  1948  and  the  Rules  of  1949  with  very  little  change. 
The  bodies  appointed  for  local  prisons  to  which  the  courts  commit 
direct  are  still  called  Visiting  Committees,  while  those  appointed  by 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  other  prisons,  and  for  Borstals,  are  called 
Boards  of  Visitors.  For  simplicity,  'Visiting  Committee'  will  hereafter 
be  used  to  refer  to  both  bodies,  except  where  the  context  otherwise 
indicates. 

The  powers  and  duties  prescribed  by  the  Rules  for  Visiting  Com- 
mittees fall  into  three  main  groups.  First,  they  are  an  independent 
and  non-official  body  with  a  right  to  enter  the  prison  or  Borstal  at 
any  time  and  to  see  any  prisoner  or  inmate.  Any  prisoner  or  inmate 
may  apply  to  see  them,  or  any  of  their  number  who  may  be  visiting, 
to  make  a  complaint  or  application.  This  is  a  valuable  safeguard  for  the 
prisoner  against  harshness  or  oppression  by  authority. 

The  Rules  require  that  'A  Committee  shall  meet  at  the  prison  once  a 

85 


86  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

month  to  discharge  its  functions  under  these  Rules  or,  if  the  Committee 
resolves  that,  for  reasons  specified  in  the  resolution,  less  frequent 
meetings  are  sufficient,  not  less  than  eight  times  in  twelve  months', 
and  that  'Members  of  a  Visiting  Committee  and  of  a  Board  of  Visitors 
shall  pay  frequent  visits  to  the  prisons  for  which  they  are  appointed, 
and  (a)  at  least  one  member  of  a  Visiting  Committee  shall  visit  the 
prison  once  in  each  week;  (b)  at  least  one  member  of  a  Board  of  Visitors 
shall  visit  the  prison  once  between  each  meeting  of  the  Board  and  the 
next  meeting'. 

Second,  the  Visiting  Committee  is  the  superior  authority  for  the 
maintenance  of  discipline  in  the  establishment.  The  Governor  can  deal 
only  with  minor  offences  against  the  rules :  more  serious  offences  must 
come  before  the  Visiting  Committee.  In  particular,  any  offence  in  a 
prison  for  which  corporal  punishment  may  be  imposed  must  be  dealt 
with  by  the  Visiting  Committee. 

Third,  they  are  charged  with  a  general  oversight  of  the  management 
of  the  prisons  and  Borstals,  and  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  on  the 
way  in  which  the  statutes  and  Statutory  Rules  are  applied  by  the  Gover- 
nors and  their  staffs.  This  is  done  by  means  of  a  formal  Annual  Report, 
though  this  does  not  preclude  interim  representations  on  particular 
matters  where  necessary. 

In  Borstal  Institutions  and  for  Preventive  Detention  prisoners  the 
Boards  of  Visitors  have  the  further  function  of  advising  the  Commis- 
sioners as  to  the  date  of  release  of  the  inmates  or  prisoners. 

The  Magistrates  Association  has  established  a  Prisons  and  Borstals 
Committee  composed  of  members  of  Visiting  Committees.  This  Com- 
mittee arranges  an  annual  conference  in  London  of  all  members  of 
Visiting  Committees  who  are  able  to  attend.  The  conference  is  usually 
opened  by  the  Secretary  of  State  and  attended  by  representatives  of  the 
Prison  Commissioners,  who  are  invited  to  take  part  in  discussion  of 
the  resolutions  placed  before  the  Conference. 

In  their  Annual  Report  for  1947,  p.  11,  the  Commissioners  said  of 
this  system: 

'It  makes  for  public  confidence  in  the  administration  of  discipline; 
it  creates  local  sympathy  and  interest  in  the  work  going  on  inside  the 
walls;  it  spreads  necessary  knowledge  among  magistrates  of  what  is 
the  actual  result  of  the  sentences  they  pass  in  court;  and  it  places  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Home  Secretary  and  the  Prison  Commissioners 
knowledge  and  ideas  about  the  working  of  the  system  from  experienced 
public  men  and  women  who  see  it  with  a  fresher  eye  than  those  who 
are  immersed  in  its  daily  work.  These  ideas  may  be  conveyed  either  in 
informal  talks  at  the  prisons,  where  the  Commissioners  are  always 
happy  to  meet  Visiting  Magistrates,  or  through  the  discussions  at  the 
Annual  Conferences,  or  in  their  Annual  Reports/ 


LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  87 

(2)    GOVERNORS,  CHAPLAINS  AND  MEDICAL  OFFICERS 

These  three  grades  are,  by  a  provision  of  the  Act  of  1877,  known  as 
'superior  officers',  the  remainder  of  the  staff  as  'subordinate  officers'. 
Apart  from  hierarchical  and  functional  differences,  the  statutory 
significance  of  this  not  very  happy  nomenclature  is  that  the  former 
are  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  latter  by  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners. With  the  growth  of  years  in  variety  of  work  in  the  prisons 
and  Borstals,  this  distinction  has  come  at  times  to  be  rather  blurred 
at  the  edges,  though  the  appointment  of  these  three  superior  grades  by 
the  Secretary  of  State  remains  clear-cut. 

If  the  English  prison  and  Borstal  systems  of  today  have  any  merits, 
they  derive  above  all  from  the  belief  that  what  counts  for  most  in  them 
is  not  buildings  or  systems,  but  men.  'A  school  is  a  teacher  with  a 
building  round  him,  not  a  building  with  a  teacher  inside.'  So  for  some 
thirty  years  past  the  first  care  of  the  administration  has  been  the 
selection  and  training  of  staff,  and  though  with  the  increasing  complica- 
tion of  the  work  much  remains  to  be  done  for  training,  this  care  has 
provided  a  staff  with  a  tone  and  tradition,  and  a  professional  compet- 
ence, that  are  constantly  remarked  with  admiration  by  experienced 
administrators  from  abroad. 

Governors 

In  any  type  of  penal  establishment  the  Governor  is  the  keystone  of 
the  arch.  Within  his  own  prison,  he  is  in  much  the  same  position  as  the 
captain  of  a  ship — supreme  in  an  isolated  community,  responsible  for 
the  efficiency  and  welfare  of  his  crew  as  well  as  for  the  safe  arrival  of 
his  passengers  at  their  journey's  end.  The  time  is  long  past  when  the 
post  of  prison  Governor  was  a  suitable  niche  for  the  retired  officer  with 
the  reputation  of  'a  good  disciplinarian'.  The  command  of  a  large 
prison  today  calls  not  only  for  a  vocation  for  such  work  but  for  special 
personal  qualities  and  adequate  educational  and  administrative 
qualifications.  Quite  apart  from  the  control  and  training  of  his  prisoners, 
and  the  leadership  of  his  staff,  the  Governor  is  responsible  for  extensive 
and  various  buildings  and  machinery;  for  large  industrial  and,  maybe, 
agricultural  activities;  for  close  co-operation  with  the  courts  and  the 
police  and  the  machinery  of  justice  in  general;  for  enlisting  voluntary 
workers  in  different  fields  and  seeing  that  they  work  harmoniously 
with  his  administration  and  with  each  other;  for  keeping  on  good  terms 
with  the  local  authorities  who  run  the  prison  library  and  evening 
education;  and  often  enough — too  often  for  those  who  do  not  enjoy 
hearing  themselves  talk — for  'selling'  his  job  in  private  to  the  more 
important  visitors  to  the  prison  and  in  public  at  a  variety  of  local 
meetings  and  functions. 

The   duties  of  the  Governor,   as  the  responsible  head  of  each 


88  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

establishment,  are  defined  by  the  Rules,  and  supplemented  by  more 
detailed  instructions  in  Standing  Orders.  Governors  are  divided  into  three 
classes,  according  to  the  size  and  responsibility  of  their  establishments, 
and  are  assisted  in  all  Borstals  and  the  larger  prisons  by  Assistant 
Governors,  who  are  deemed  to  be  Governors  for  the  purposes  of  the 
Prisons  Act  1877  and  are  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  Assistant 
Governors  are  divided  into  two  classes:  those  in  Class  I  act  as  Deputy 
Governors  or  in  junior  posts  of  special  responsibility,  such  as  the 
charge  of  an  outlying  camp :  those  in  Class  II  act  as  Housemasters  in 
Borstals,  or  in  similar  posts  in  Training  Prisons,  or  as  assistants  to  the 
Principal  of  the  staff  Training  School,  and  generally  as  required.  The 
grades  and  titles  for  women  follow  exactly  those  for  men. 

Appointments  are  no  longer  made  to  governorships  direct:  all 
candidates  start  as  Assistant  Governors  II,  except  that  Chief  Officers 
who  are  promoted  may  pass  direct  to  the  grade  of  Assistant  Governor  I. 
Thus  all  governors  will  have  learned  the  elements  of  the  work  in  the 
junior  grades  before  succeeding  to  the  command  of  prisons  or  Borstals. 
Since  the  late  war  the  Commissioners,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  have  followed  the  principle  that  vacancies  in  the 
ranks  of  Assistant  Governors  should  be  filled  by  promotion  from  within 
the  service  to  the  extent  that  suitably  qualified  candidates  are  forth- 
coming. There  are  two  channels  for  this  purpose,  the  first  being  the 
promotion  of  selected  Chief  Officers  already  mentioned.  The  second  is 
through  a  special  machinery  devised  to  bring  forward  young  officers 
with  the  necessary  personal  qualifications  early  in  their  careers.  Each 
year  the  Civil  Service  Commissioners  hold  a  qualifying  examination, 
which  is  a  simple  test  of  literacy  and  intelligence,  for  which  any  estab- 
lished officer  with  over  two  years  service  may  apply.  A  given  number 
of  those  who  qualify  are  then  seen  by  a  selection  board  of  representa- 
tives of  the  Civil  Service  and  Prison  Commissions,  which  has  before  it 
the  reports  of  a  'week-end  test' l  as  well  as  reports  from  Governors 
and  Assistant  Commissioners  who  know  the  candidates.  The  board 
selects  up  to  twelve  candidates  for  a  six-month  Staff  Course  at  the 
Imperial  Training  School  at  Wakefield,  which  in  conjunction  with 
Leeds  University  provides  a  general  educational  course  with  a  slant 
towards  the  future  work  of  a  potential  governor — its  purpose  however 
is  not  so  much  to  give  a  professional  training  as  to  test  the  capacity  of 
minds  and  personalities  to  develop  and  respond  to  such  a  training.  It 
is  rewarding  to  find  how  men  whose  social  and  educational  oppor- 
tunities may  have  been  narrow  will  broaden  and  burgeon  under  these 
influences.  At  the  end  of  the  course  the  selection  board  again  sees  the 
candidates,  with  the  reports  of  the  Wakefield  staff  before  it,  and  marks 
them  as  either  qualified  or  not  qualified  for  the  rank  of  Assistant 
Governor.  The  'Qs'  receive  promotion  as  vacancies  occur;  for  the 
1  Held  at  the  Imperial  Training  School,  Wakefield. 


LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  89 

'NQs'  it  is  'as  you  were',  so  far  at  least  as  concerns  immediate 
promotion. 

The  results  of  the  four  Staff  Courses  held  since  the  war  have  been, 
for  reason^  which  it  may  be  hoped  are  transitory,  disappointing,  only 
14  men  and  2  women  having  been  selected  through  this  channel.  It  is  no 
part  of  the  intention  that  the  high  standards  required  for  a  Governor 
should  be  relaxed.  But  it  remains  true  that  any  young  man  who  enters 
the  service  as  a  prison  officer,  if  he  can  reach  those  standards,  can 
become  a  Governor. 

Thus  in  recent  years  the  majority  of  vacancies  for  Assistant  Governor 
have  been  filled  by  direct  entry  through  open  competition,  which  is 
equally  open  to  any  member  of  the  service.1  Since  Governors,  like  all 
established  members  of  the  prison  service,  are  permanent  pensionable 
civil  servants,  the  competition  is  held  by  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
missioners. After  public  advertisement  a  selection  board  of  representa- 
tives of  the  Civil  Service  and  Prison  Commissions  sees  the  'short  list' 
and  the  selected  candidates  are  recommended  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  appointment.  No  special  qualifications  are  required  as  a  sine  qua 
non,  but  an  adequate  educational  background,  some  vocation  for  the 
work,  a  knowledge  of  the  lives  and  background  of  those  sections  of 
the  community  from  which  delinquents  mainly  derive,  a  promise  of 
some  administrative  capacity — all  these  will  help,  if  the  candidate  is  the 
right  sort  of  person  in  himself,  a  person  of  sincerity,  integrity,  humanity 
and  goodwill,  with  at  any  rate  one  foot  firmly  on  the  ground. 

Assistant  Governors  are  appointed  on  probation  for  two  years,  the 
first  few  months  being  spent  in  a  prison  or  Borstal  on  a  syllabus  of 
training  before  joining  for  duty:  at  some  time  during  his  first  year  he 
also  attends  a  short  'background'  course  at  the  Imperial  Training 
School.  Owing  to  the  higher  proportion  of  Borstal  housemaster  posts, 
the  chances  are  that  an  Assistant  Governor  will  start  in  this  way,  as 
did  the  majority  of  the  Assistant  Commissioners  now  serving  and  one 
of  the  Commissioners.  There  is  a  complete  fluidity  of  promotion  be- 
tween prisons  and  Borstals,  though  those  who  show  a  decided  vocation 
for  one  side  rather  than  the  other  will  usually  stay  where  they  are  best 
fitted. 

Chaplains 

The  Chaplain  must  by  statute  be  a  priest  of  the  Established  Church, 
but  by  the  Prison  Ministers  Act  1863,  provision  is  made  for  spiritual 
ministration  to  prisoners  who  are  not  members  of  that  Church  by 
Prisoij  Ministers,  who  are  appointed  by  the  Prison  Commissioners  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  in  the  case  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  or  of  the  governing  body  in  the  case  of  one 
of  the  Protestant  Free  Churches.  There  are  at  every  establishment  a 

1  Some  prison  officers  have  in  fact  become  Assistant  Governors  in  this  way 


90  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

Roman  Catholic  Priest  and  a  Nonconformist  Minister,  and  Ministers 
of  other  denominations  are  appointed  or  specially  called  in  as  occasion 
arises.  Prison  Ministers  are  appointed  on  a  part-time  basis  and  may  be 
remunerated  either  by  fixed  salaries  or  by  fees  fixed  on  a  capitation 
basis,  according  to  the  numbers  of  their  congregations. 

The  duties  of  the  Chaplain  in  the  majority  of  establishments  are 
performed  by  local  clergymen  appointed  on  a  part-time  basis  at  a 
remuneration  appropriate  to  the  size  of  the  prison.  At  the  larger 
establishments  where  a  full-time  post  is  necessary  the  Chaplains  are 
appointed  for  seven  years  in  the  first  instance,  and  are  not  usually 
retained  for  longer,  this  being  the  period  at  the  end  of  which  they 
become  entitled  to  a  small  superannuation  gratuity.  The  reason  for 
this  is  that  the  Commissioners  attach  great  importance  to  the  work  of 
Chaplains:  they  believe  therefore  that  a  Chaplain  should  always  be 
at  his  best,  and  that  a  man  who  spends  too  many  years  in  the  highly 
specialised,  difficult,  and  often  discouraging  work  of  a  penal  establish- 
ment tends  to  lose  that  spiritual  zest,  that  freshness  of  touch,  which  is 
essential  in  what  must  always  be  uphill  work,  however  rewarding. 
They  have  therefore  reached  an  agreement  with  the  Bishops,  through 
the  good  offices  and  with  the  cordial  approval  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  under  which  the  Bishop  of  a  candidate's  diocese  is  con- 
sulted as  to  and  approves  his  appointment  to  prison  work,  and  agrees 
to  take  him  back  into  the  diocese  in  due  course.  The  arrangement  also 
provides  for  the  Chaplains  to  keep  in  touch  with  their  Deanery  and 
Diocese. 

In  the  appointment  of  Chaplains  selections  are  made  by  a  Board 
on  which  the  Prison  Commissioners  are  assisted  by  a  Bishop. 

Medical  Officers 

Although  the  Prisons  Medical  Service  is  a  separate  service,  under  the 
control  of  the  Director  of  Medical  Services  in  the  Prison  Commission, 
its  full-time  Medical  Officers  form  part  of  the  general  class  of  Govern- 
ment Medical  Officers,  their  conditions  of  service  being  the  same  and 
their  recruitment  being  through  the  competitions  for  this  class  held  by 
the  Civil  Service  Commissioners.  When  there  are  vacancies  for  Prison 
Medical  Officers,  the  Director  of  Medical  Services  attends  the  selection 
board.  Experienced  practitioners  are  required,  preferably  with  know- 
ledge of  and  experience  in  psychological  medicine.  A  proportion  of 
these  officers  "have  the  rank  of  Principal  Medical  Officer:  they  are 
employed  at  the  prisons  with  the  heaviest  medical  responsibilities,  and 
have  certain  advisory  and  supervisory  functions  over  the  medical  work 
of  other  prisons  and  Borstals  in  their  'group'.  Establishments  where  the 
numbers  are  not  high  enough  to  justify  a  full-time  officer  are  served  by 
local  practitioners  on  a  part-time  basis.  At  the  largest  prisons  there 
may  be  two  or  even  three  full-time  doctors,  though  unfortunately  the 


LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  91 

shortage  of  doctors  since  the  late  war  has  been  such  that  many  of  these 
posts  have  remained  unfilled. 

The  duties  of  the  medical  officers,  and  the  arrangements  for  consulta- 
tive and  specialist  services,  and  co-operation  with  the  National  Health 
Service  and  civil  hospitals  and  clinics,  are  dealt  with  in  Chapter  14. 

(3)    OTHER  STAFF 

The  'subordinate'  officers  engaged  in  the  control  and  supervision 
of  prisoners,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  in  their  instruction,  have  for 
over  thirty  years  been  officially  styled  Prison  Officers,  though  the  Press 
and  the  public  are  still  disposed  to  call  them  Warders  or  Wardresses. 
The  change  of  name  in  1919  coincided  with  and  symbolised  a  change  of 
spirit — warder  suggests  the  turnkey  and  the  guard,  officer  the  leader. 
However,  to  the  prisoner  he  remains  the  'screw'. 

They  are  divided,  men  and  women,  into  three  grades,  Chief  Officer, 
Principal  Officer,  and  Officer.  The  Chief  Officer  is  the  head  of  the 
subordinate  staff,  and  where  there  is  no  Assistant  Governor  he  takes 
charge  in  the  absence  of  the  Governor:  taking  account  of  annual  leave, 
sick  leave  and  absence  at  Assizes  and  Sessions,  this  may  be  for  a  sub- 
stantial portion  of  the  year.  These  officers  are  therefore  carefully 
selected  men  of  high  responsibilities  and  corresponding  qualities.  At 
the  larger  establishments  they  are  Class  I,  with  second  Chief  Officers 
of  Class  II  in  the  largest;  at  the  smaller  establishments  they  are  Class  II. 
The  position  of  women  Chief  Officers  corresponds  with  that  of  men  in 
the  two  large  separate  establishments  for  women,  but  in  the  small 
women's  wings  of  mixed  prisons  it  is  rather  different:  there  the  woman 
in  charge  is  a  Chief  Officer  under  the  male  Governor  of  the  whole 
establishment,  and  her  rank  derives  rather  from  her  special  responsi- 
bility under  the  Rules  than  from  the  size  of  her  charge,  which  is  often 
quite  small.  In  the  largest  of  these  women's  wings,  at  Manchester,  the 
woman  in  charge  is  a  Deputy  Governor  with  a  Chief  Officer  under  her. 

Principal  Officers  in  prisons  are  in  charge  of  wings  of  the  prison,  or 
in  specially  responsible  posts.  They  also  take  charge  of  the  dock  and 
arrangements  for  the  custody  of  prisoners  at  Assizes  and  Sessions. 
In  many  prisons  too  a  senior  Principal  Officer  is  required  to  act  as 
Chief  Officer  while  the  Chief  is  away  or  acting  for  the  Governor.  Many 
of  the  more  responsible  specialist  posts,  such  as  Instructors  or  Cooks, 
are  also  graded  as  Principals.  In  Borstals  these  supervisory  functions 
are  not  required  to  the  same  extent,  and  the  role  of  the  Principal  Officer 
is  rather  to  act  as  assistant  to  the  Housemaster  in  the  general  running 
of  the  House. 

The  basic  grade  of  Prison  Officer  covers  a  wide  variety  of  work.  In 
an  ordinary  local  prison  much  of  this  is  of  necessity  of  a  routine  nature ; 
prisoners  must  be  unlocked  in  their  cells  and  locked  up  again  at  the 


92  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

regular  times;  meals  served;  workshops,  exercises  and  associations 
supervised;  applications  collected;  numbers  checked;  cells  and  kits 
examined — all  this  forms  the  framework  of  the  daily  round.  But  there 
is  also  a  variety  of  specialised  work,  such  as  librarian,  gymnastic  instruc- 
tor, cooking,  instructing  in  trades,  and  hospital  work — all  of  which  carry 
additional  pay — for  which  officers  who  acquire  the  necessary  qualifica- 
tions are  eligible.  There  are  also  'staff'  jobs  such  as  charge  of  the  gate 
or  stores,  or  Chief  Officer's  clerk,  which  are  coveted  for  a  change  of 
work,  and  escorts  to  courts  or  to  other  prisons  give  a  change  of  air, 
as  does  the  charge  of  parties  working  away  from  the  prison  on  farms 
or  elsewhere. 

In  the  regional  training  prisons,  as  will  be  seen  when  we  come  to 
describe  them,  the  work  of  the  officer  tends  to  be  less  of  a  routine  and 
purely  supervisory  kind,  in  the  open  prisons  still  less,  and  in  the 
Borstals  scarcely  at  all.  In  the  central  prisons  for  'long-timers'  it  has  a 
special  character  of  its  own.  There  is  also  all  the  difference  in  the  world 
between  life  in  a  big  London  prison  and  life  in  a  small  country  prison. 
One  way  and  another,  therefore,  in  the  course  of  ten  years  service,  a 
prison  officer  may  see  more  change  than  the  nature  of  the  job  might 
suggest. 

The  established  prison  officials  do  not  do  night  duty,  except  that 
one  of  them  remains  on  duty  as  Orderly  Officer  till  the  prison  is  finally 
locked  up,  and  then  sleeps  in  the  prison  so  as  to  be  available  in  case  of 
emergency,  while  another  'sleeps  in'  at  the  gate.  The  night-patrols  are 
specially  recruited  for  their  duty.  Stoking  and  other  such  industrial 
work  is  done  by  regular  workmen  under  normal  Trade  Union  rates 
and  conditions  for  the  job. 

The  Works  Staff,  who  are  responsible  under  the  Director  of  Works 
and  his  staff  for  all  constructional,  engineering  and  maintenance  work 
in  the  prisons,  the  officers'  quarters,  farm  buildings  and  other  adjuncts, 
form  a  separate  branch  of  the  subordinate  staff.  They  are  recruited  on 
the  basis  of  their  trade  experience  as  'Trade  Assistants',  and  after  the 
normal  training  of  a  prison  officer — since  they  must  take  charge  of 
prisoners — pass  straight  to  their  work.  They  may  later  pass  by  examina- 
tion into  the  ranks  of  the  Engineers  II,  and  by  a  further  examination 
to  Engineer  I  or  Foreman  of  Works.  This  is  a  highly  skilled  and  quali- 
fied technical  service,  which  must  be  prepared  to  face  a  wider  variety 
of  constructional,  mechanical,  electrical  and  civil  engineering  problems 
than  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  who  call  themselves  in  any  sense  engineers. 
They  carry  out  practically  all  their  work  with  prison  or  Borstal  labour 
which  they  must  train  themselves,  though  for  special  jobs  skilled  local 
workmen  may  also  be  engaged  as  necessary. 

In  addition  to  these  main  bodies,  there  are  other  specialist  officers 
in  control  of  prisoners,  mainly  on  the  industrial  side.  For  a  number  of 
trades  however  Civilian  Instructors  skilled  in  that  trade  are  recruited, 


LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  93 

as  also  for  the  Vocational  Training  Classes:  for  these  posts  Prison  Officers 
with  the  necessary  qualifications  may  apply.  The  farms  and  gardens  are 
under  the  control  of  Farm  Bailiffs  and  Farm  Instructors,  with  a 
sufficient  number  of  skilled  agricultural  workers  to  supplement  and 
instruct  the  prison  or  Borstal  labour. 

On  a  somewhat  separate  basis  is  the  'business'  staff  of  the  establish- 
ment, under  the  Steward,  who  is  responsible  to  the  Governor  for  the 
cash  and  accounts,  the  stores  and  manufactures,  victualling  and  the 
general  office  work  of  the  establishment.  These  responsible  posts 
are  filled  by  members  of  the  Executive  Class  of  the  Civil  Service 
— Senior  Executive  Officers  in  the  largest,  Higher  Executive  Officers  in 
the  majority,  and  Executive  Officers  with  an  allowance  in  the  remainder. 
The  Stewards  are  assisted  by  Executive  and  Clerical  Officers  of  appro- 
priate ranks  and  numbers.  These  two  classes  are  interchangeable  with 
their  colleagues  at  the  Head  Office,  the  whole  service  being  treated  as 
one  for  promotion  purposes. 

Since  the  basic  grade  of  prison  officer  forms  the  foundation  of  the 
service,  great  care  has  for  long  been  taken  with  their  selection  and 
training.  At  the  time  of  writing,  however,  conditions  are  very  different 
from  those  of  the  days  before  the  war.  Then  it  was  necessary  only  to 
replace  the  normal  wastage  of  something  more  than  100  a  year,  and 
there  was  usually  a  long  waiting  list  of  applicants  of  whom  a  high 
proportion  were  ex-N.C.Os.  of  the  Regular  Forces.  After  preliminary 
sifting  formalities  the  final  selection  was  made  by  a  Commissioner  or 
Assistant  Commissioner  by  personal  interview,  and  the  chosen  went  to 
the  Imperial  Training  School  at  Wakefield  for  an  8  weeks'  course:  this 
served  two  purposes,  a  general  grounding  in  the  work,  and  a  testing  of 
suitability  for  the  service,  concluding  with  a  final  examination  by  a 
Commissioner.  The  successful  were  posted  to  prisons  as  probationers 
for  2  months'  further  training  in  practical  routine,  and  if  still  found 
satisfactory  after  12  months'  probation  were  then  posted  for  duty. 

After  six  years  suspension  of  recruiting  during  the  war,  the  prison 
service  was  faced  in  1946  with  a  formidable  staff  deficit  at  a  time  when 
recruiting  was  limited  by  Government  direction  of  man-power:  indeed 
in  1945  and  1946  the  pressure  of  an  increasing  prison  population  on  the 
seriously  diminished  and  over-taxed  staff  had  strained  the  machine 
almost  to  breaking  point.  The  steps  taken  to  meet  this  situation  were 
described  by  the  Commissioners  in  their  Annual  Report  for  1946  as 
follows: 

'It  was  provisionally  estimated  that,  in  order  to  bring  the  numbers 
of  staff  up  to  the  level  necessary  to  put  all  establishments  on  to  a  shift- 
system  covering  the  full  day,  as  before  the  war,  it  would  be  necessary, 
in  relation  to  the  increased  population  and  larger  number  of  establish- 
ments, to  recruit  some  1700  additional  men  officers  and  170  additional 


94  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

women  officers.  This  was  a  formidable  undertaking,  which  required 
as  a  first  step  the  building  up  of  an  adequate  staff  in  the  Establishment 
Branch  to  deal  with  the  volume  of  work  entailed.  It  was  further  compli- 
cated by  the  housing  situation,  which  made  it  virtually  impossible  to 
post  the  majority  of  recruits  to  any  station  except  one  close  to  any 
home  they  might  have. 

It  was  clear  that,  if  anything  like  these  numbers  were  to  be  recruited 
and  trained  in  any  reasonable  time,  the  pre-war  system  of  posting 
selected  candidates  direct  to  the  Imperial  Training  School  at  Wakefield 
for  two  months'  training  would  have  to  be  suspended. 

'In  place  of  this  system  it  was  decided  to  continue  to  enlist  recruits  in 
the  first  instance  as  Auxiliary  Officers  at  the  establishment  nearest 
their  homes,  and  to  give  them  three  months'  practical  training  at  the 
place  of  joining.  This  training  was  to  follow  a  prescribed  syllabus  at 
the  end  of  which  a  recommendation  would  be  made  by  a  board  of 
senior  officers  of  the  establishment  as  to  whether  the  candidate  was 
suitable  for  permanent  employment  as  a  Prison  or  Borstal  Officer. 
Candidates  so  recommended  and  approved  by  the  Commissioners  were 
then  to  be  sent  for  a  two  weeks'  course  of  special  training  and  testing 
at  the  Imperial  Training  School  at  Wakefield,  at  the  end  of  which 
successful  candidates  would  be  posted  to  their  prisons  as  established 
officers  on  12  months'  probation. 

The  function  of  the  Training  School  in  this  scheme  was  to  provide 
a  short  period  more  of  testing  than  of  training,  and  a  study  was  there- 
fore made  of  the  novel  methods  introduced  during  the  war  by  the  War 
Office  Selection  Boards  and  subsequently  adopted  in  the  'country- 
house  test*  by  the  Civil  Service  Commissioners.  Some  of  these  methods 
were  applied,  and  in  addition,  the  candidates  were  given  instruction  in 
the  background  and  principles  of  their  work.  For  the  first  time  also 
women  were  included  with  men  at  Wakefield,  an  innovation  which  has 
been  entirely  successful  and  much  appreciated  by  the  women's  staff. 

'It  is  interesting  to  record  here  that  with  the  opening  of  this  system 
the  present  buildings  of  the  Imperial  Training  School,  which  were  not 
completed  till  the  end  of  1939,  were  used  for  the  first  time  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  built.  Accordingly,  on  5th  April  1946,  a 
formal  opening  ceremony  was  held,  at  which  a  large  and  representative 
gathering  was  addressed  by  the  Home  Secretary,  the  Rt.  Hon.  J. 
Chuter  Ede,  M.P.  The  buildings  were  erected  by  prison  labour  to  the 
plans  and  under  the  direction  of  the  present  Director  of  Works.' 

This  system  still  continues,  though  the  Wakefield  period  was  later 
extended  to  3  weeks  and  may  shortly  be  increased  to  5  weeks. 

Although  recruiting  proceeded  at  a  gratifying  rate,  the  numbers  in 
the  basic  grade  for  men  increasing  from  1610  on  1st  January  1947  to 
2784  on  31st  December  1950,  the  prison  and  Borstal  populations 


LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  95 

increased  ever  more  steeply,  and  it  became  necessary  to  open  many 
more  establishments.  At  the  time  of  writing,  therefore,  the  staff  is  still 
no  more  than  adequate  to  man  the  prisons  properly  on  a  single-shift 
system,  and  the  possibility  constantly  recedes  of  returning  generally  to  a 
two-shift  system,  which  would  make  possible  a  full  working  day  for  the 
prisoners  and  a  full  scale  of  evening  activities.  If  recruiting  remains 
satisfactory  during  1951,  however,  it  will  be  possible  to  effect  improve- 
ments at  some  of  the  special  training  prisons. 

This  long-standing  condition  of  staff  shortage  has  also  restricted  the 
possibilities  of  improving  the  professional  training  of  officers :  as  soon 
as  'circumstances  permit,  the  Commissioners  would  wish  both  to 
lengthen  the  preliminary  training  and  to  introduce  courses  of  more 
advanced  training  for  senior  officers  of  the  basic  grade. 

The  Executive  and  Clerical  Classes  receive  the  training  provided 
under  the  normal  Civil  Service  training  programmes,  which  are 
controlled  by  a  Training  Officer  at  the  Head  Office. 

(4)    WHITLEY  COUNCILS  AND  CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE 

Members  of  the  staffs  of  all  grades  partake,  through  the  appropriate 
representative  staff  Associations,  in  the  Whitley  Council 1  machinery 
which  was  set  up  for  the  Civil  Service  in  1919. 

For  the  subordinate  staff  there  is  a  separate  Departmental  Whitley 
Council  for  the  Prison  Service,  on  which  all  grades  are  represented 
through  the  Prison  Officers'  Association.  The  constitution  follows  the 
model  constitution  prescribed  by  the  National  Whitley  Council,  and 
meetings  are  held  once  or  twice  a  year. 

The  Prison  Officers'  Association  is  a  registered  Trade  Union  with  a 
full  time  General  Secretary  and  Assistant  General  Secretary,  who  are 
not  members  of  the  service.  It  also  has  the  services  as  Advisers  of 
Mr.  W.  J.  Brown  and  Mr.  L.  C.  White,  the  former  and  present  General 
Secretaries  of  the  Civil  Service  Clerical  Association.  These  gentlemen, 
by  an  extra-constitutional  arrangement  personal  to  themselves,  attend 
meetings  of  the  Council,  where  their  expert  knowledge  of  Civil  Service 
affairs  has  often  been  advantageous  to  its  working.  The  Prison  Officers' 
Association  has  a  branch  in  each  local  establishment,  with  a  Chairman, 
Secretary  and  Committee,  with  whom  Governors  are  empowered  to 
consult  on  questions  affecting  the  local  conditions  of  service  of  the 
staff,  and  who  may  submit  to  the  Governor  resolutions  concerning 
those  conditions.  These  local  matters  ought  to  be  and  usually  are  settled 
locally,  but  failing  agreement  may  be  referred  to  the  Commissioners, 

i  The  Whitley  Council  is  an  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  Civil  Service  of  Joint 
Industrial  Councils,  with  Official  Side  and  Staff  Side  representing  employers  and 
employees.  It  is  named  after  Mr.  Speaker  J.  H.  Whitley,  from  whose  proposals  it 
originated. 


96  ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

and  if  the  staff  are  still  not  satisfied  they  may  ask  their  central  Executive 
Committee  to  pursue  the  matter.  The  Association  owns  and  publishes 
an  organ  called  The  Prison  Officers'  Magazine." 

The  Whitley  Council  has  in  general  worked  to  the  advantage  of  the 
service  as  a  harmonious  and  effective  instrument  of  negotiation,  both 
centrally  and  locally.  On  occasion  Joint  Sub-committees  have  dealt 
with  special  subjects,  such  as  housing  and  uniform,  and  produced 
agreed  recommendations.  A  great  deal  of  business  is  also  carried  out  by 
correspondence  or  discussion  between  the  Establishment  Officer  and 
the  General  Secretary. 

Failing  agreement  on  the  Whitley  Council,  all  the  representative 
associations  have  access  to  the  Civil  Service  Arbitration  Tribunal  on 
such  matters  and  for  such  grades  as  come  within  the  Civil  Service 
Arbitration  Agreement.  The  Prison  Officers'  Association  have  fre- 
quently succeeded  in  improving  their  pay  or  conditions  of  service 
through  this  medium. 

These  conditions  of  service  are  designed  to  compensate  for  some  of  the 
disadvantages  of  prison  life.  To  those  who  may  find  confinement  in 
the  somewhat  unnatural  atmosphere  of  a  prison,  with  its  need  for 
constant  alertness,  a  mental  or  physical  strain,  the  reasonable  working 
hours  (84  in  the  fortnight)  and  long  leave  (18  working  days  rising  after 
10  years  to  21,  plus  9  days  for  public  holidays) 1  will  be  of  advantage, 
as  will  the  special  superannuation  arrangements  which  allow  retirement 
on  pension  at  55  instead  of  60,  with  full  pension  after  30  years'  service 
instead  of  after  40  years. 

The  cash  value  of  the  emoluments  must  be  taken  as  a  whole  to 
obtain  its  real  comparative  value  with  other  employments:  it  includes 
free  unfurnished  quarters  or  an  allowance  in  lieu,  and  free  uniform  and 
boots  or  an  allowance  in  lieu:  both  these  emoluments  are  pensionable. 
Taking  the  value  of  these  emoluments  together  with  the  weekly  pay, 
the  minimum  earnings  of  a  man  in  the  basic  grade  are  approximately 
147s.  per  week  at  entry,  178s.  6d.  after  7  years,  183s.  after  15  years,  and 
187s.  6d.  after  20  years;  of  a  woman  133s.  5d.9  159s.  8rf.,  163s.  5d.9  and 
167s.  2d. 

To  be  added  to  this  minimum,  apart  from  overtime  earnings  which 
are  substantial  in  total,  is  a  number  of  special  allowances  of  various 
incidence:  apart  from  special  duty  allowances  (trade  instructors,  cooks, 
hospital,  etc.)  these  include  an  allowance  of  4s.  6d.  a  week  for  all 
officers  employed  in  Borstals,  and  allowances  payable  at  certain  remote 
establishments  for  'inconvenience  of  locality'  which  range  from  2s.  6d. 
to  15s. 

Promotion  tends  to  be  slow:  in  1950  the  average  length  of  service  of 
officers  promoted  to  Principal  Officers  was  17  years  and  8  months,  and 
of  Principal  Officers  to  Chief,  8  years. 

1  For  women  21  days,  rising  after  10  years  to  24. 


LOCAL  ADMINISTRATION  97 

All  grades  of  the  subordinate  staff  in  the  prisons  from  Chief  Officer 
downwards  wear  uniform,  excepting  women  Chief  Officers  and  the 
Foremen  of  Works,  All  Borstal  staffs  wear  plain  clothes,  and  receive 
an  allowance  of  £24  a  year  in  lieu  of  uniform.  The  uniform  is  of  navy 
blue,  not  unlike  the  police  except  that  the  buttons  are  gilt  and  a  gilt 
HMP  is  worn  on  the  shoulder  straps:  and  like  the  police,  it  is  in  process 
of  changing  over  from  a  high  closed  collar  to  an  open-necked  jacket 
with  collar  and  tie.  Men  wear  a  flat  peaked  cap  with  a  gilt  metal  badge. 
Principal  Officers  wear  a  black  cord  epaulette,  and  Chief  Officers  a  gilt 
one.  Women  wear  a  navy  blue  jacket  and  skirt  with  shoulder-badges, 
and  a  blue  felt  hat  and  badge. 

Prison  Officers  are  civil  servants,  and  as  such  their  recruitment  is 
under  Civil  Service  Commission  control  and  subject  to  the  issue  by 
the  Civil  Service  Commissioners  of  a  Certificate  of  Qualification, 
which  requires  preliminary  medical  and  educational  tests.  Their  con- 
ditions of  service  also  follow  Civil  Service  practice.  But  in  some  respects 
they  are  more  closely  comparable  with  two  other  services  outside  the 
Civil  Service  which  come  under  Home  Office  control — the  Police  and 
Fire  Services:  not  only  do  they  wear  uniform  but  they  are  subject  to 
a  statutory  Code  of  Discipline.  The  Prison  Rules  require  the  Prison 
Commissioners  to  formulate  such  a  code  with  the  approval  of  the 
Secretary  of  State.  The  present  code,  which  was  drafted  by  the  Com- 
missioners in  consultation  with  the  Staff  Side  of  the  Whitley  Council, 
is  analogous  to  those  in  force  for  the  Police  and  Fire  Services,  and  sets 
out  clearly  not  only  what  acts  constitute  an  offence  against  discipline, 
and  what  awards  may  be  made  in  respect  of  them  and  by  what  author- 
ity, but  also  the  procedure  for  dealing  with  such  offences  and  the  rights 
and  safeguards  of  an  accused  officer.  The  dismissal  of  an  Officer  or  his 
reduction  in  rank  requires  the  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Details  of  the  grades,  numbers  and  pay  of  all  ranks  of  the  service 
are  given  in  Appendix  D. 


E.P.B.S. — 7 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 
ACCOMMODATION 

(1)    NATURE  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  PRISON  BUILDINGS 

A  least  it  may  be  said  for  the  subject-matter  of  this  chapter  that 
it  is  more  fluid,  novel  and  various  than  it  could  ever  have  been 
before  or  will,  in  all  probability,  ever  be  again.  There  have  been 
in  the  history  of  the  Prison  Commission  two  periods  of  contraction, 
the  first  after  1877  when  du  Cane  reduced  from  113  to  56  the  local 
prisons  handed  over  to  him  under  the  Act;  the  second  after  the  First 
World  War,  when  29  more  were  closed  as  local  prisons,  though  3  of 
these  were  turned  by  the  Commissioners  to  other  uses.  Of  the  remainder, 
18  were  discontinued  and  disposed  of,  the  others  were  kept  in  reserve. 

So  there  was  never,  before  the  present  time,  any  shortage  of  cellular 
accommodation:  never  therefore  any  necessity  for  new  building  such 
as,  before  the  First  World  War,  might  have  been  occasioned  by  new 
ideas  of  prison  treatment,  or  after  it  might  have  prevailed  against  the 
recurrent  drives  for  economy  in  public  expenditure.  Between  the  wars, 
the  economic  shadow  of  the  first  war  hung  over  all  such  possibilities; 
when  this  began  to  lift,  and  at  long  last  a  'new  Holloway'  was  actually 
on  the  drawing-board,  it  was  lost  in  the  deepening  shadow  of  the 
second.  So  it  comes  that  in  England  there  is  only  one  prison  building 
of  the  twentieth  century,  the  former  preventive  detention  prison  built 
at  Camp  Hill  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  after  the  Act  of  1908.  Equally  there  is 
only  one  Borstal  which  was  built  as  such — Lowdham  Grange:  and  this 
was  made  possible  only  because  it  was  built  over  a  long  period  of  years 
almost  entirely  by  Borstal  labour — in  fact  the  last  house  was  opened 
in  1949,  and  there  are  more  buildings  to  come.  To  see  a  modern  prison 
in  Great  Britain,  one  must  cross  the  Border  to  Edinburgh. 

The  years  immediately  following  the  Second  World  War  provided 
for  the  first  time  a  period  of  expansion,  and  again  in  conditions  which, 
though  they  called  for  immediate  action  on  a  wide  scale,  ruled  out  all 
possibility  of  new  building  for  some  years  ahead. 

In  the  autumn  of  1945,  after  the  close  of  hostilities,  the  Commis- 

98 


ACCOMMODATION  99 

sioners,  with  all  their  spare  prisons  in  other  hands  and  several  cell- 
blocks  destroyed  by  bombing,  found  that  to  meet  their  immediate 
requirements  they  needed  'at  least  six  more  Borstals  and  five  more 
prisons  more  or  less  simultaneously'.1  In  the  course  of  1946  they 
acquired  in  new  premises  one  Reception  Centre  and  four  Borstals  for 
boys,  one  Borstal  for  girls,  one  prison  for  men,  and  one  for  women: 
the  closed  prisons  at  Pentonville,  Northallerton,  Reading,  and  Canter- 
bury were  also  recovered  and  taken  into  use,  and  the  two  remaining 
prisons  at  Portsmouth  and  Preston  followed  later — this  exhausted  the 
cellular  accommodation  available  in  the  country.2  In  1947  and  1948 
two  'satellite  camps'  and  an  additional  prison  were  opened.  In  1949, 
as  the  population  continued  to  grow,  another  satellite  camp  and  two  more 
prisons  were  opened,  and  the  small  portion  of  Hull  prison  which  had 
not  been  damaged  was  taken  into  use  for  a  working  party  of  prisoners. 
In  1950  the  population  was  still  higher,  and  two  new  Borstals  were 
opened  to  release  cellular  buildings  for  prison  purposes :  at  the  end  of 
the  year  one  more  open  prison  was  taken  into  use. 

So  in  the  space  of  five  years  the  number  of  prisons  and  Borstals 
in  use  had  grown  from  39  to  59  (plus  four  satellite  camps),  and  one 
more  is  in  course  of  adaptation.  Of  this  swift  accretion  only  seven 
were  in  prison  buildings :  the  'modern  English  prison' — or  Borstal — may 
be  found  in  an  American  army  hospital,  an  Elizabethan  house,  a 
Land  Army  hostel,  a  nobleman's  country  seat,  a  R.A.F.  airfield,  a 
Victorian  fort  or — across  the  Border — in  a  mediaeval  castle. 

As  1951  opens,  history  repeats  itself.  Notwithstanding  the  economic 
conditions,  the  Commissioners  had  in  1950  secured  agreement  in  prin- 
ciple to  initiate  a  substantial  new  building  programme,  to  include  three 
prisons  for  men,  two  boys'  Borstals,  and  two  small  Borstals  for  girls 
to  replace  Aylesbury.  Sites  were  being  sought,  and  with  eager  anticipa- 
tion preliminary  plans  had  been  prepared,  at  last,  for  a  prison  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  contemporary  prison  system.  The  present  international 
situation,  with  the  diversion  of  the  nation's  resources  once  more  to 
re-armament,  is  scarcely  favourable  to  any  early  fruition  of  such  plans. 

So  it  is  that  the  structural  basis  of  our  system  is  still  the  local  prison 
of  the  post-Pentonville  era  and  the  convict  prison  of  Sir  Joshua  Jebb. 
The  brutally  limited  space  within  the  twenty-foot  walls  of  these  ancient 
buildings,  except  where  occasionally  a  little  land  could  be  bought 
outside,  must  still  confine  and  cramp  the  multifarious  activities  of 
today.  For  one  thing  however  thanks  are  due  to  our  predecessors  and 
to  the  conditions  in  which  our  prison  system  grew:  we  are  not  cum- 
bered with  the  very  large  prison.  In  only  three  prisons  does  the  accom- 
modation approach  or  exceed  1 ,000,  and  it  is  only  in  the  London  prisons, 

1  Annual  Report  for  1945,  p.  5. 

2  Excepting  one  very  small  prison  in  use  as  a  military  prison,  and  the  war-damaged 
ruins  at  Hull. 


100         ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

and  at  times  of  exceptional  pressure,  that  a  population  of  1,000  or  more 
is  likely  to  be  reached.  Even  in  the  peak  population  pressure  of  1949, 
when  additional  huts  were  in  use  for  sleeping  and  in  most  prisons  some 
prisoners  were  sleeping  three  in  a  cell,  only  twelve  prisons  exceeded  a 
population  of  500. 

Such  is  the  general  situation  as  to  buildings  in  use.  To  turn  now  to 
their  numbers  and  distribution,  it  should  first  be  noted  that  the  con- 
centration of  local  prisons  after  the  First  World  War  put  an  end  to  the 
traditional  idea  of  the  'county  gaol',  to  which  were  committed  all 
prisoners  from  the  Assizes  and  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  county  and 
from  its  Petty  Sessional  Courts.  A  prisoner  sentenced  to  imprisonment, 
or  committed  to  prison  on  remand  or  to  await  trial,  may  be  lawfully 
confined  in  any  prison  to  which  the  Prisons  Acts  apply,  and  must  be 
committed  by  the  Courts  to  such  prisons  as  the  Secretary  of  State  may 
from  time  to  time  direct.  So  all  prisoners,  convicted  or  unconvicted, 
are  received  in  the  first  instance  into  the  nearest  of  twenty-five  local 
prisons :  there  is  nothing  in  the  English  system  corresponding  with  the 
wide  distribution  of  small  'gaols'  of  American  practice  or  'district 
prisons'  of  continental  European  practice.  While  this  might  seem  to 
have  disadvantages  for  visitors  to  untried  prisoners,  little  or  nothing 
is  heard  of  these  in  practice,  and  the  prisoner  certainly  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  better  conditions  of  the  larger  prisons  under  central 
control:  on  the  other  hand,  with  such  large  'committal  areas'  the 
cost  of  escorting  prisoners  and  the  drain  on  man-power  are  unduly 
high.  This  is  particularly  marked  in  the  case  of  women,  since  the  very 
small  numbers  call  for  only  six  local  women's  prisons :  one  of  these  is 
no  more  than  a  small  depot  for  untried  women,  while  Holloway  prison 
in  London,  on  the  other  hand,  collects  from  all  the  south-eastern 
counties  of  England  from  the  Solent  to  the  Wash. 

In  addition  to  the  twenty-five  local  prisons  which  receive  direct 
confmittals  there  are  five  others  used  for  special  purposes,  mainly  for 
th^  segregation  of  local  prisoners  of  the  Star  Class l  and  civil  prisoners. 

In  the  next  tier  above  the  local  prisons  come  the  regional  prisons: 
their  functions  and  characteristics  will  be  described  in  Chapter  9,  but 
it  may  be  said  here  that  they  include  four  regional  training  prisons  for 
men  at  Wakefield  (part),  Maidstone,  Sudbury,  and  the  Verne  (Port- 
land); one  for  women,  at  Askham  Grange  (Yorks)  in  the  north  and 
one  in  preparation  at  Hill  Hall  (Essex)  in  the  south;  a  separate  prison 
for  young  prisoners  at  Lewes;  and  an  allocation  centre  at  Reading  for 
corrective  training. 

The  central  prisons  for  long-term  prisoners  (over  3  years)  are  as 
follows:  for  men  of  the  Ordinary  Class,1  Parkhurst  and  Dartmoor,2  of 
the  Star  Class,  Wakefield  (part)  and  Ley  hill:  for  women  of  the  Ordinary 
Class,  Holloway,  of  the  Star  Class,  Aytesbury.  Long-term  young 

i  These  classifications  are  explained  on  p.  1 16.  2  See  Appendix  K. 


ACCOMMODATION  101 

prisoners  are  in  a  separate  block  at  Wakefield.  Of  these  establishments 
Parkhurst  and  Dartmoor  are  former  convict  prisons :  the  first,  situated 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  originated  as  a  convict  prison  for  young  'transports' 
in  1838,  while  the  second  needs  no  further  introduction.  Both  have 
considerable  areas  of  land  outside  the  walls,  affording  healthy  out-door 
work  in  agriculture,  forestry  or  land  reclamation.  Wakefield  has  long 
had  a  famous  name  in  prison  history,  first  as  the  House  of  Correction 
for  the  West  Riding,  then  for  many  advanced  experiments  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  a  hundred  years  later,  reopened 
after  a  long  rest,  as  the  starting  place  of  the  new  methods  of  Waller 
and  Paterson  in  prison  training.  It  is  also  known  to  every  officer  in 
the  English  service  and  to  many  in  prisons  and  Borstals  overseas  as  the 
home  of  the  Imperial  Training  School  for  prison  officers.  It  is  a  large 
walled  prison,  with  plenty  of  intra-mural  space,  containing  what  are 
really  three  establishments  in  one — a  central  prison  in  two  wings  for 
long-term  Stars,  a  regional  training  prison  in  two  other  wings,  and  the 
long-term  young  prisoners  in  a  separate  block. 

Some  miles  out  of  Wakefield,  on  a  high  space  cleared  from  the  woods, 
stands  a  curious  little  cabin:  it  is  built  of  the  discarded  doors  of  prison 
cells.  This,  the  first  building  of  New  Hall  Camp,  symbolises  the  start  of 
the  open  prison  system  in  England.  The  camp  still  takes  up  to  100  men 
from  the  'training  side'  of  Wakefield.  Its  direct  descendant  at  Leyhill, 
in  Gloucestershire,  was  opened  some  ten  years  later  in  an  ex-American 
Army  hospital  in  the  grounds  of  Tortworth  Court.  The  adjoining 
mansion  has  been  adapted  for  use  as  a  regional  training  prison. 

The  handful  of  long-term  Star  women  are  in  a  wing  of  the  walled 
prison  at  Aylesbury,  which  gives  them  space  in  a  pleasantly  rural  air 
with  gardens.  The  Ordinaries  are  less  well  placed  at  Holloway,  a  large 
London  prison  of  the  classic  nineteenth-century  castellated  style,  said  to 
be  inspired  by  Warwick  Castle,  which  has  of  unhappy  necessity  become 
an  'omnium  gatherum'  of  women  prisoners  of  any  and  every  kind: 
the  dissolution  of  this  anachronism  has  for  too  long  been  regarded  as  a 
first  priority. 

The  prisons  for  corrective  training  are,  for  men,  Chelmsford,  Camp 
Hill,  Nottingham,  two  wings  of  Liverpool,  a  wing  of  Durham,  and  two 
wings  of  Wormwood  Scrubs :  for  women,  inevitably,  a  wing  of  Holloway. 
For  preventive  detention,  a  part  of  Parkhurst  for  men,  and  for  women 
a  part  of  Holloway. 

Such  is  the  outline  of  the  pattern:  details  of  planning  and  equipment 
will  be  filled  in  in  the  following  section;  of  function  in  the  appropriate 
chapters.  A  detailed  list  of  all  establishments  is  given  in  Appendix  E. 

(2)    PLANNING  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

Excepting  the  former  convict  prisons,  all  English  cellular  prisons, 
including  those  now  serving  other  than  local  purposes,  are  the  county 


102         ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

gaols  of  mid-nineteenth  century  built  under  the  influence  of  Pentonville. 
They  follow,  with  minor  variations,  some  form  of  the  radial  plan  by 
which  two  or  more  wings,  according  to  size,  radiate  from  a  centre  like 
spokes  from  the  hub  of  a  wheel :  in  some  there  is  a  separate  block  which 
was  formerly  the  'female  prison',  in  others  this  was — or  is — one  of  the 
spokes.  This  plan  had  the  advantages  of  economy  of  supervision,  since 
all  could  be  controlled  from  the  centre,  and  elasticity,  since  spokes 
could  be  added  or  lengthened :  on  the  other  hand  the  space  in  the  angles 
cannot  be  well  used,  and  for  modern  requirements  in  classification  the 
inevitable  mixing  at  the  centre  prevents  complete  segregation.  The  con- 
vict prisons  were  built  in  separate  blocks,  with  or  without  a  connecting 
corridor. 

The  cell  blocks  or  halls  are  from  two  to  five  storeys  high  according  to 
the  size  and  general  planning  of  the  prison.  On  the  ground  floor  the 
cell-doors  give  on  to  a  central  corridor  usually  16  ft.  in  width,  which 
reaches  to  and  is  lighted  from  the  roof.  On  the  upper  floors,  or  landings, 
the  cells  open  on  to  railed  galleries  about  3  ft.  wide,  supported  on  wall 
brackets.  The  well  between  the  galleries  is  bridged  at  intervals,  and  the 
bridges  serve  also  as  landings  for  open  stair-flights  from  floor  to  floor. 
At  the  gallery-level  above  the  ground  floor  wire  netting  is  stretched 
across  the  well,  to  check  the  fall  of  anyone  who  by  accident  or  design 
drops  over  the  gallery  railings.  The  interior  walls  are  lime- washed  to 
within  four  feet  of  ground  level,  where  a  line  of  green  paint  borders  a 
cream-painted  dado,  giving  a  clean  and  light  interior  effect. 
.  To  this  nucleus  of  cell-blocks  the  administrative  and  auxiliary 
buildings  are  attached  in  various  ways.  The  offices  and  stores  commonly 
form  a  'spoke'  through  which  lies  the  entrance  to  the  prison  proper. 
For  convenience  of  service  and  administration  the  kitchen  and  bakery 
and  the  chapel  will  be  close  to  the  centre:  the  laundry  will  usually  be 
attached  to  the  hall  that  is  (or  was)  set  aside  for  women.  The  hospital 
arrangements  are  described  in  Chapter  Fourteen.  In  a  separate  building 
towards  the  Gate  is  the  'Reception',  where  prisoners  on  arrival  are 
received,  examined,  bathed,  fitted  out  with  prison  clothing  and  detained 
till  they  have  been  passed  medically  fit  for  admission  to  the  main 
prison.  The  stores  for  prison  clothing  and  for  prisoners'  private  clothing 
will  usually  be  connected  with  this  block.  The  general  bath-house  may 
be  here  or  elsewhere. 

Although  it  would  seem  that  the  local  prisons  were  usually  built 
outside  the  county  towns,  the  towns  have  long  since  caught  up  with 
most  of  them  and  have  closed  around  the  prison  walls.  In  the  exceptions, 
it  has  been  possible  to  buy  some  adjoining  land  which  serves  as  a  lung, 
with  market  gardens  and  perhaps  a  football  pitch.  Otherwise,  the 
activities  of  the  prison  of  today  must  all  be  worked  somehow  into  the 
limited  space  within  the  walls,  much  of  which  since  1898  has  increas- 
ingly been  taken  up  by  the  provision  of  workshops,  which  had  not  been 


ACCOMMODATION  103 

required  for  prisons  built  to  enforce  the  separate  system.  Since  the  late 
war  alone,  to  provide  for  the  higher  prison  population  and  new  in- 
dustries requiring  more  space,  38  industrial  workshops  have  been 
provided,  and  a  number  of  shops  for  vocational  training.  More  space 
too  is  required  today  for  exercise;  grounds  must  be  provided  where 
possible  for  physical  training,  as  well  as  for  the  concentric  exercise 
rings,  which  since  the  war  have  been  increased  in  width  to  allow 
prisoners  to  walk  t\Vo  or  three  abreast  instead  of  in  silent  single  file. 
In  some  prisons  there  is  still  sufficient  space  for  small  vegetable  gardens, 
and  everywhere  any  cultivable  patch  is  brightened  with  flowers. 

It  is  evident  that  these  buildings,  meant  to  serve  a  system  of  punitive 
repression,  strict  separation,  silence  and  the  discipline  of  the  tread- 
mill, will  be  ill  adapted  to  the  different  purposes  of  today.  Mr.  Herbert 
Morrison,  when  he  was  Home  Secretary,  emulated  the  elder  Cato's 
'delenda  est  Carthago'  in  his  constantly  expressed  wish  that  all  English 
prisons  could  be  blown  up.  And  there  were  times  during  his  term  of 
office  when  it  seemed  that  his  wish  might  be  gratified.  In  the  light  of  the 
post-war  economic  situation  it  now  seems  well  that  it  was  not:  for  a 
long  time  to  come  Pentonville  and  its  whole  grim  brood  will  still  have 
to  serve. 

But  one  need  not  therefore  despair.  If  the  prison  population  fell  so 
as  to  give  a  little  elbow  room,  and  funds  could  be  made  available  not 
indeed  to  replace  but  to  remodel  these  buildings,  something  worth 
while  might  yet  be  done.  Experiment  has  already  shown  that  it  is  poss- 
ible to  convert  a  standard  cell  into  a  not  displeasing  little  room,  and  the 
provision  of  up-to-date  sanitary  annexes  of  adequate  size  on  each 
remodelled  landing  would  remove  one  of  the  most  distressing  features 
of  the  cell-blocks  as  they  are.  Priority  should  then  be  given  to  the 
building  of  new  blocks  for  visiting  rooms,  with  pleasant  waiting  rooms 
for  the  visitors,  for  these  arrangements  rank  only  after  the  sanitation 
among  the  major  eyesores  of  a  prison. 

The  next  need  would  be  to  gut  a  cell-block  to  provide  on  one  floor 
dining  and  common  rooms,  and  on  the  floor  above  a  large  assembly 
room  and  some  class-rooms.  It  would  not  then  be  necessary  for  eating 
and  every  associated  activity  to  take  place  on  the  narrow  floors  of  the 
cell-blocks,  as  also  classes  except  where  two  or  three  cells  can  be 
knocked  together  to  make  one  small  room,  nor  would  a  screen  need 
to  be  drawn  across  the  altar  while  the  Chapel  served  for  a  concert  or 
a  film-show. 

Of  the  standard  local  prison  there  are  of  course  many  variations, 
both  of  planning  and  of  atmosphere — from  Armley  Gaol  in  Leeds, 
where  all  an  imprisoned  Yorkshireman  can  see  below  the  sky  is  the 
surrounding  wall  black  with  a  century's  soot,  to  Lewes  in  Sussex,  where 
the  young  prisoners  at  exercise  can  lose  sight  of  the  wall  and  see  for 
miles  the  sweep  of  the  South  Downs.  There  are  many  interesting 


104          ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

structural  links  with  early  prison  history:  Gloucester  keeps  its  con- 
nection with  Sir  Onesiphorus  Paul,  while  Oxford,  on  the  site  of  the 
ancient  castle,  has  in  good  preservation  not  only  a  row  of  eighteenth- 
century  dungeons  but  a  Norman  crypt  and  the  tower  from  which 
Queen  Matilda  in  her  mantle  of  white  escaped  across  the  snow. 

As  to  the  prisons  of  recent  acquisition,  there  can  be  no  generalisation. 
Such  premises  were  taken  as  were  quickly  available  and  could  easily  be 
made  serviceable.  The  central  prison  at  Leyhill  and  the  regional  prison 
at  Sudbury  are  in  the  well-built  brick  structures  of  American  Army 
hospital  camps;,  the  regional  prison  at  The  Verne,  Portland,  is  within 
the  high  earthwork  and  moat  of  the  island  fortress;  one  is  in  the 
one-time  country  seat  of  a  noble  family,  another  on  a  war-time 
airfield.  For  women  the  northern  training  prison  is  in  a  country 
house  in  a  park  some  miles  from  York,  while  that  for  the  south  is  being 
prepared  in  the  historic  beauty  of  Hill  Hall,  Essex.  It  is  a  curious 
comment  on  the  times  that  it  should  be  the  Prison  Commissioners 
who,  in  these  great  houses  of  the  past,  find  themselves  the  custodians 
not  only  of  their  precious  heritage  of  art  and  natural  beauty  but  of  their 
long  tradition  of  service  to  the  local  community. 

(3)    CELLS  AND  THEIR  EQUIPMENT 

The  abandonment  of  the  Separate  System  in  England  implied  no 
weakening  of  belief  in  the  separate  cell  for  sleeping.  In  principle,  strict 
separation  by  night  remains  fundamental  to  the  system.  In  practice, 
in  more  recent  years,  circumstances  have  forced  more  than  one  breach 
in  the  principle.  The  first  followed  the  introduction  of  'minimum 
security'  establishments :  these  had  to  be  hutted  camps  or  nothing,  and 
camps  imply  dormitories.  It  remains  an  open  question,  whether,  if 
funds  were  available  to  build  an  'open  prison',  it  should  be  based  on 
dormitories  or  on  separate  rooms :  the  argument  is  well  balanced.  The 
second  breach  is  due  simply  to  overcrowding:  before  the  late  war  there 
had  always  been  cells  enough  for  all  comers,  but  post-war  pressure 
on  the  available  accommodation  has  led  first,  to  the  creation  inside  the 
prisons  of  small  dormitories  in  whatever  rooms  could  be  made  avail- 
able, and  next  to  the  regrettable  necessity,  in  the  majority  of  local 
prisons,  of  sleeping  a  proportion  of  the  prisoners  three  in  a  cell — 
three  being  the  maximum  allowed  by  Rule,  while  for  other  reasons  two 
men  are  not  allowed  to  sleep  in  a  cell.  Where  this  must  be  done,  three- 
tier  bunks  are  used.  Although  the  practice  has  many  undesirable  conse- 
quences, it  is  certainly  not  unpopular  among  the  prisoners,  provided 
that  reasonable  care  is  taken  in  the  selection  of  cell-mates  and  suitable 
adjustments  are  made  when  necessary.  And  the  Medical  Officers  have 
found  no  evidence  of  adverse  effects  on  health. 

Normally  however  the  prisoner,  for  all  his  sleeping  time  and — in 
present  conditions  at  least — for  far  too  many  of  his  waking  hours  as 


ACCOMMODATION  105 

well,  is  in  his  cell,  locked  in,  and  alone.  What  this  cell,  and  what  is  in 
it,  may  come  in  the  course  of  months  or  long  years  to  seem  to  him, 
only  a  prisoner  can  tell.  This  account  must  be  objective  and  impersonal. 

There  is  no  prescribed  specification  of  a  standard  cell,  but  the  Rules 
provide  that  every  cell  in  which  a  prisoner  sleeps  must  be  certified  by 
the  Prison  Commissioners  as  reaching  a  proper  standard  of  size, 
construction,  heating,  lighting,  ventilation  and  equipment. 

The  majority  of  cells  in  local  prisons  are  13  ft.  X?  ft.x9  ft.  high, 
giving  819  cubic  feet  of  air  space:  this  was  the  size  adopted,  after  careful 
inquiry,  at  Pentonville,  which  as  we  have  seen  was  the  model  for  most 
of  the  prisons  built  after  1842.  It  was  intended  to  provide  an  adequate 
size  for  strictly  separate  confinement  with  cellular*  labour.  The  size  of 
cell  subsequently  adopted  by  the  Directors  for  Convict  Prisons  was 
10  ft.  x7  ft.  x9  ft.  high,  giving  only  630  cubic  feet  of  air  space,  since 
the  convicts  worked  outside  and  not  in  their  cells. 

The  stone  or  brick  wall  surfaces  and  the  ceiling  are  lime- washed,  with 
a  dado  painted  like  that  in  the  halls:  the  outer- wall  surface  only  is 
plastered,  and  this  is  done  for  security  so  that  any  attempt  to  tamper 
with  the  brickwork  would  show  up.  The  floors  vary,  concrete,  stone 
flags,  tiles,  slate  and  wood  planks  or  blocks  all  being  found. 

Cell  doors  are  of  solid  construction,  both  doors  and  frames  often 
being  lined  with  sheet-iron  to  prevent  tampering  by  ingenious  prisoners. 
A  small  glass  peep-hole,  covered  by  a  movable  shutter,  gives  observation 
of  the  cell  to  the  patrolling  officer.  The  lock  is  strong  and  heavy,  and 
inaccessible  from  the  inside  of  the  cell. 

There  are  many  patterns  of  cell- window:  the  majority  are  of  the  old 
Pentonville  type,  with  14  small  panes  in  two  rows;  a  later  pattern  was 
of  21  panes  in  three  rows;  during  the  present  century  the  pattern  used 
has  been  of  35  panes  in  five  rows,  each  pane  being  4J  in.  x  6£  in.  The 
panes  are  glazed  with  clear  glass,  and  two  sliding  panes  give  direct 
access  to  the  outer  air.  With  older  types  of  window  the  sash  was  of  cast 
iron,  and  this  necessitated  strong  guard-bars  outside  the  window:  the 
later  type  has  a  manganese-steel  sash,  which  renders  guard-bars  un- 
necessary. With  the  old  14-pane  window  the  sill  was  approximately 
6  ft.  9  in.  above  floor-level,  but  with  the  later  type  the  height  from 
floor  to  sill  is  about  5  ft.  Today  it  would  not  be  thought  necessary  to 
construct  windows  on  these  principles:  those  of  the  new  Edinburgh 
prison  are  of  more  normal  pattern,  and  in  English  prisons  experiments 
have  been  made  on  similar  lines  against  the  day  when  reconstruction 
can  be  started.  Security  must  be  retained,  but  it  is  no  longer  thought 
wrong  that  a  prisoner  should  be  able  to  look  out  of  his  window. 

For  artificial  lighting  electricity  has  now  replaced  gas  in  all  establish- 
ments, and  since  the  late  war  a  start  has  been  made  on  increasing  the 
wattage  of  cell  lights  from  20  to  40. 

The  old  system  of  heating  and  ventilation  provided  for  fresh  air, 


106         ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

warmed  in  winter  by  low  pressure  hot-water  pipes,  to  be  passed  into 
the  cell  by  an  intake  flue  near  the  ceiling  and  out  by  an  extraction  flue 
in  the  opposite  corner  near  the  floor.  This  system,  originated  at  Penton- 
ville,  is  with  little  modification  still  used  with  satisfactory  results  in 
many  prisons.  In  systems  of  more  modern  installation  heating  is  by 
direct  radiation  from  low  pressure  hot-water  pipes  carried  through  the 
cells  themselves,  and  ventilation  is  not  by  ventilating  flues  but  by 
circulation  from  the  outer  air  secured  by  the  sliding  panes  in  the  win- 
dows and  ventilators.  A  daily  record  is  kept  of  the  temperatures  of 
different  parts  of  the  prison,  which  must  be  maintained  in  conformity 
with  a  prescribed  standard. 

Prisoners  are  required  to  open  the  ventilators  on  leaving  their  cells, 
and  it  is  the  landing  officer's  duty  to  see  that  at  least  once  a  day  doors 
and  sliding  sashes  are  open  for  long  enough  to  give  the  cells  a  thorough 
airing.  The  general  intention  is  that  all  temperatures  should  be  kept  at 
about  60°  F.  in  winter,  and  that  both  in  summer  and  winter  there 
should  be  a  regular  current  of  fresh  air  through  the  cells.  Equal  care  is 
devoted  to  the  heating  and  ventilation  of  halls,  workshops  and  other 
parts  of  the  building. 

The  above  relates  to  ordinary  cells,  but  there  are  many  special  types 
of  cell:  the  hospital  cell  is  larger  and  lighter,  and  its  plastered  walls  are 
painted  ivory  white :  the  observation  cell,  for  certain  medical  and  mental 
cases,  has  an  iron  gate  as  well  as  a  door,  the  latter  being  left  open  to 
allow  full  observation  into  the  cell  at  all  times:  cells  for  tubercular  cases 
are  similar  to  hospital  cells,  with  a  larger  portion  of  the  window  made 
to  open,  rounded  angles,  and  impervious  floors :  there  are  matted  cells 
for  epileptics,  with  observation  gates,  coir  floor  mats,  and  coir  matting 
round  the  walls  to  a  height  of  5  feet,  and  padded  cells  for  insane 
prisoners  who  may  endanger  their  lives  without  this  protection:  the 
'special'  cells  are  fitted  with  a  minimum  amount  of  immovable  equip- 
ment that  cannot  be  'smashed  up',  and  windows  and  lights  high  out  of 
reach  for  the  same  reason — a  certain  number  of  such  cells  are  specially 
isolated  and  fitted  with  double  doors,  for  the  discouragement  of  those 
who  disturb  the  prison  by  outbursts  of  shouting  and  offensive  noise. 
In  accordance  with  the  Rules  every  cell  is  fitted  with  a  bell  and  out- 
side indicator  so  that  the  duty  officer  may  be  summoned  in  case  of 
need.  At  the  times  when  prisoners  are  locked  up  there  is  a  minimum 
staff  on  duty,  and  after  10  p.m.  only  one  with  a  cell-key:  it  may  be 
inferred  that,  particularly  in  large  prisons  where  several  flights  of  steps 
may  have  to  be  climbed  and  considerable  lengths  of  stone  landing 
traversed  to  reach  a  distant  cell,  the  prisoners  come  to  understand 
that  the  unnecessary  ringing  of  bells  is  unwelcome. 

These  considerations,  to  anyone  familiar  with  prison  life,  at  once 
carry  the  mind's  eye  in  the  cell  to  the  chamber-pot  (enamel,  with  lid) 
which  symbolises  one  of  the  major  difficulties  of  that  life — one  which 


ACCOMMODATION  107 

at  the  same  time  leads  to  more  criticism  than  almost  any  other  while 
still  resisting  any  immediately  practicable  solution.  It  has  been  the 
practice  in  some  countries  to  instal  a  water-closet  in  every  cell.  Whether 
or  not  that  be  the  best  solution,  and  modern  practice  abroad  appears 
to  move  away  from  it,  it  has  at  least  in  England  been  found  to  have 
serious  practical  disadvantages:  Pentonville  was  thus  equipped  when 
built,  but  experience  showed  that  the  combined  malice,  ignorance  and 
carelessness  of  prisoners  resulted  in  such  constant  stoppage  of  the  drains 
that  the  system  had  to  be  taken  out.  And  experience  suggests  that  a 
hundred  years  later  the  result  would  be  the  same:  the  stoppage  of  W.C. 
drains  in  prisons  is  a  constant  nuisance.  It  is  therefore  not  proposed, 
in  the  new  prison  plans  in  preparation,  to  provide  water-closets  in  the 
cells.  So  the  chamber-pot  remains,  though  consideration  of  the  whole 
range  of  its  disadvantages  will  be  better  reserved  for  a  later  discussion 
of  sanitation. 

It  may  be  that  ideally  a  new  prison  should  have  wash-basins  with 
running  water,  possibly  even  'h.  and  c.',  in  the  cells,  though  this  would 
add  enormously  to  the  cost:  the  present  plans  provide  for  adequate 
lavatory  and  sanitary  annexes  on  each  landing.  At  present,  there  is  an 
enamel  wash  basin  and  water  jug  on  a  wooden  stand,  and  a  set  of  toilet 
requisites  to  go  with  it — nail-brush,  soap  and  towel;  toothbrush  and 
tooth-powder;  hair-brush  and  comb;  a  small  looking-glass;  and  for 
men  a  safety-razor  holder  and  shaving-brush. 

For  furniture  there  is  first  the  bed — still  commonly  a  movable  plank 
bed,  though  these  are  gradually  being  replaced  by  iron  hospital-type 
beds,  which  have  already  been  issued  to  all  women's  prisons.  The 
bedding  consists  of  a  mattress,  two  blankets,  and  a  bed-rug  to  go  on 
top,  with  an  extra  blanket  in  winter,  sheets,  pillow  and  pillow-case. 
By  day  the  bed  stands  on  one  side  against  the  wall,  with  the  bedding 
neatly  folded  to  hang  over  the  top;  this  allows  of  airing  and  a  clean 
floor,  and  disallows  lying  on  the  bed  until  'beds-down'  in  the  evening. 

Next  in  importance  after  the  bed  comes  the  table  and  chair:  the 
table  is  of  wood,  fixed  between  the  door  and  the  side-wall,  this  being 
the  position  of  the  old  'gas-box'  when  the  cells  were  gas-lit:  the  chair 
is  an  ordinary  straight-backed  wooden  piece.  On  the  table  will  be 
eating  utensils — enamel  plate  and  mug,  salt-cellar,  and  knife,  fork  and 
spoon,  though  the  'knife'  is  a  prison  speciality  of  soft  metal  without  a 
cutting  edge — window  bars  have  been  cut  through  with  an  ordinary 
table-knife  to  which  a  prisoner  had  given  a  saw-edge. 

On  the  wall  opposite  the  bed  is  a  batten  with  hooks  from  which 
hang  the  cell-cards  of  information  and  guidance  provided  under  the 
Rules,  and  maybe  a  calendar  or  some  Christmas  or  other  cards, 
or  photographs.  Prisoners  are  allowed  to  have  a  reasonable  number  of 
such  things  in  their  cells,  so  long  as  they  do  not  paste  or  pin  them  on 
the  walls. 


108         ADMINISTRATION  AND  ACCOMMODATION 

The  last  fixed  object  is  a  corner  shelf  on  the  window  side,  on  which 
will  be  found  the  prisoner's  devotional  and  library  books,  and  when 
one  looks  behind  the  books  usually  a  jackdaw  cache  of  miscellaneous 
objects  for  which  there  is  no  other  obvious  place.  On  the  floor  is  a 
strip  of  coconut  matting,  and  the  brushes  and  cloths  supplied  for 
cleaning;  also,  if  the  prisoner  has  a  'cell-task',  which  is  invariably  the 
sewing  or  patching  of  mail-bags,  a  heap  of  canvas  and  the  necessary 
implements. 

All  these  articles  must,  before  the  occupant  of  the  cell  goes  out  to 
work  in  the  morning,  be  laid  out  for  inspection  according  to  the  regula- 
tion pattern  of  the  prison,  the  cell  having  first  been  cleaned  out.  From 
dinner-time  onwards,  there  is  a  rather  more  homely  appearance.  And 
while  'homely'  may  not  seem  to  be  the  mot  juste  for  a  prison  cell,  it  is 
remarkable  how  this  impersonal  collection  of  unattractive  barrack 
utilities  can  reflect  the  personality  of  its  incumbent.  Of  the  short- 
sentence  ins-and-outs  of  local  prisons  one  does  not  expect  more  than 
a  cell  tidy  enough  to  escape  notice;  they  have  neither  the  time  nor  the 
interest.  But  there  will  usually  be  the  cell  of  some  favourite  'old  lag' 
which  the  Chief  Officer  will  point  out  with  amused  admiration — a 
dazzle  of  'spit  and  polish'  set  out  with  mathematical  precision.  At  the 
other  extreme  one  recognises  the  student,  his  books  double-banked  on 
the  shelf  and  note-books  and  technical  journals  piled  on  the  table.  Indeed 
there  are  few  cells,  used  for  any  length  of  time  by  the  same  person,  man 
or  woman,  which  will  not  to  a  few  moments'  observation  give  back 
some  human  reflections — in  one  the  shelf  is  made  a  little  shrine  of 
photographs  of  husband  or  wife  and  children,  in  another  no  photo- 
graphs at  all,  but  a  collection  of  old  Christmas  cards  set  out  with  careful 
art;  in  this  cell  are  some  reproductions  of  good  pictures  cut  from 
magazines  and  ingeniously  backed  and  framed,  in  that  a  riot  of  'pin-up 
girls'. 

The  complicated  and  colourful  miracles  wrought  by  long-term 
women  in  their  cells  we  shall  see  when  we  reach  them,  and  arrangements 
have  recently  been  completed  for  extending  the  use  of  personal 
possessions  in  cells  to  all  long-term  prisoners  at  a  certain  stage  of  their 
sentence. 

Outside  the  cell  door  a  small  wooden  frame  of  cards  contains  informa- 
tion for  the  staff  about  the  occupant.  On  one  appears  the  name  and 
register  number,  sentence  and  classification:  this  card  varies  in  colour 
according  to  religious  denomination,  so  that  Chaplains  and  Ministers 
may  pick  out  members  of  their  flock  at  a  glance.  Here,  too,  are  kept 
notes  of  the  party  the  prisoner  is  allotted  to  for  work,  the  tools  he 
should  have  in  his  cell,  any  special  diet  he  is  allowed,  and  other  such 
matters. 


PART  THREE 

THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT 
OF  ADULTS 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 
THE   PRISON   POPULATION 


(1)    COMPOSITION 

WHILE  it  is  well  to  start  this  chapter  by  remembering,  from 
Chapter  1,  that  the  majority  of  those  who  come  to  prison 
are  not  criminals  and  the  majority  of  criminals  do  not  come 
to  prison,  it  is  also  necessary  to  qualify  this  statement  by  adding 
that  in  recent  years  the  first  part  of  it  has  very  nearly  ceased  to  be  true. 
At  p.  195  of  The  Modern  English  Prison  it  is  stated,  in  respect  of  1931, 
that  'only  about  one-quarter  of  the  persons  received  into  prison  are 
convicted  of  crime  in  the  ordinary  sense,  i.e.  of  indictable  offences' : 
in  1949  those  persons  numbered  almost  one-half. 

It  is  also  desirable  to  explain  at  the  outset  that  in  considering  numbers 
reference  will  be  made  both  to  'receptions'  and  to  'daily  average  popu- 
lation'. But  x  receptions  in  a  year  does  not  mean  that  x  separate 
individuals  have  been  received:  many  persons  are  'received'  more  than 
once  in  a  year,  and  a  special  record  kept  in  1927  showed  that  in  that 
year  35,964  individuals  accounted  for  43,674  receptions.  There  is  no 
fixed  ratio  between  the  number  of  receptions  and  the  daily  average 
population,1  which  reflects  not  only  the  volume  of  receptions  but  the 
average  length  of  sentences:  thus  x  receptions  for  an  average  of  three 
months  would  give  a  d.a.p.  only  half  as  large  as  x  receptions  for  an 
average  of  six  months. 

Analysis  of  the  receptions — The  receptions  for  the  year  1949,  as 
shown  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1950,  are  analysed  in  Table  A  at  the 
end  of  this  chapter. 

In  this  table,  omitting  those  sentenced  by  Courts-Martial  and  those 
sent  to  Borstal,  it  is  only  those  persons  in  categories  4  (ii),  5  and  6  who 
had  been  convicted  of  crimes,  except  that  of  those  committed  in  default 
of  fines  1-7  of  the  men  and  1-1  of  the  women  had  been  fined  for  indict- 
able offences.  Thus  some  45  per  cent  of  the  men  and  some  35  per  cent 
of  the  women  were  convicted  of  indictable  offences,  a  striking 

1  Hereafter  referred  to  as  'd.a.p.' 
Ill 


112      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

increase  since  1938,  when  the  comparable  figures  were  28-8  per  cent 
and  21-5  per  cent. 

A  second  point  of  general  interest  is  that  20-3  per  cent  of  the  men 
and  13-3  per  cent  of  the  women  had  been  committed  for  non- 
payment of  sums  of  money,  whether  debts  or  fines.  This  represents 
the  present  extent  of  what  has  been  called  the  coercive  function  of  the 
prison,  in  that  its  purpose  is  to  persuade  these  people  to  pay,  and  if 
they  pay  they  can  go.  There  has  been  a  remarkable  contraction  of  this 
function  since  the  years  before  the  late  war:  for  1931  the  comparable 
figures  were  41-3  for  men  and  41-7  for  women,  and  for  1938  they  were 
32-0  and  34-8.  This  drop  has  been  equally  marked  for  both  debts  and 
fines,  but  the  debtors — or  civil  prisoners  as  they  are  now  called — 
form  a  trifling  proportion  of  the  prison  population  and  their  problems 
will  be  considered  in  a  later  chapter.  For  our  present  purpose  interest 
centres  on  the  important  question  of  committal  for  non-payment  of 
fines,  which  through  the  present  century  has  had  considerable  effect  on 
the  numbers  of  persons  coming  to  prison. 

Imprisonment  in  default  of  fines — Reference  has  already  been  made 
(p.  81)  to  the  effects  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1914  and  the  Money 
Payments  Act  1935  on  the  abatement  of  imprisonment  in  default: 
this  is  shown  in  detail  in  the  following  table  from  the  Annual  Report 
for  1950. 

Imprisonments  in  Default  of  Payment  of  Fines 
Quinquennial  Averages  or  Calendar  Years 


Total  Imprisonments 

in  default 

1909-131 

83,187 

1926-30 

13,433 

1931-35 

11,214 

19362 

7,022 

1937-41 

6,054 

1942-46 

3,488 

1947 

2,952 

1948 

4,059 

1949 

4,329 

1  The  Criminal  Justice  Administration  Act,  1914  required  time  to  be  given  for  the 
payment  of  fines. 

2  The  Money  Payments  (Justices  Procedure)  Act,  1935,  came  into  force  in  1936. 

It  may  be  that  this  process  has  now  been  taken  almost  as  far  as  it  can 
go,  for  in  the  absence  of  an  effective  alternative  sanction  imprisonment 
must  remain.  In  1938  the  numbers  committed  in  default  were  7,936, 
only  1-25  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  fines  imposed,  as  compared 
with  75,152  or  14-9  per  cent  in  1913.  But  in  spite  of  this  great  reduction 
only  2,469  or  31  per  cent  of  the  persons  actually  committed  in  default 


THE  PRISON  POPULATION  113 

in  1938  had  been  allowed  time  to  pay,  and  in  1949  the  percentage  was 
still  lower,  being  only  29-9  per  cent  of  the  4,329  committals. 

Length  of  sentences — The  statistics  of  length  of  sentences  shown  in 
Table  B  affect  not  only  the  size  of  the  prison  population  but  its  dis- 
tribution and  the  nature  of  the  training  which  can  be  given  to  it. 

The  d.a.p.  of  the  prisons  may  be  more  affected  by  the  average  length 
of  sentence  of  the  prisoners  received  than  by  their  numbers.  Thus  in 
their  Annual  Report  for  1948  the  Commissioners  said: 

'From  the  following  table  it  will  be  observed  that  notwithstanding  the 
increase  in  1940  of  the  amount  of  remission  to  be  earned,  an  increase  in 
receptions  between  1938  and  1947  of  only  8  per  cent  produced  an 
increase  in  the  daily  average  population  of  over  54  per  cent. 

Convicted  Men 


Receptions 
Daily      Average 
population 

1938 
28,815 

9,330 

1945 

28,887 

11,899 

1946 
28,331 

13,221 

1947 
31,116 

14,448 

But  an  increase  in  the  average  length  of  sentence  may  be  due  either 
to  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Courts  to  pass  longer  sentences  in 
certain  conditions,  or  to  an  increase  in  the  proportion  of  more  serious 
offences:  thus,  in  commenting  on  the  foregoing  figures,  the  Commis- 
sioners said: 

'Broadly,  this  position  was  due  to  the  proportion  of  receptions  on 
conviction  for  indictable  offences,  carrying  longer  sentences,  being 
much  higher  in  the  post-war  years  than  in  1938. 

In  1938  the  percentages  were: 

Non-indictable  51-3  per  cent.  Indictable  48-7  per  cent. 
In  1947  they  were: 

Non-indictable  23-4  per  cent.  Indictable  76-6  per  cent.' 

The  distribution  of  the  population  is  affected  since  long-term  prisoners 
(over  3  years)  are  detained  in  central  prisons,  and  increases  in  the  numbers 
of  long  sentences  will  increase  the  pressure  on  the  limited  number  of 
prisons  suitable  for  this  purpose:  thus  in  1948  prisoners  of  this 
category,  owing  to  the  increase  in  their  numbers,  had  to  wait  over  a 
year  in  local  prisons  before  there  was  room  for  them  in  central  prisons.1 

Training  is  affected  from  two  angles.  Regional  training  prisons 
take  only  prisoners  with  sentences  of  12  months  or  over,  and  their 
populations  will  therefore  depend  on  the  numbers  of  prisoners  otherwise 
suitable  for  training  who  are  received  with  such  sentences.  In  local 
prisons  the  training  that  can  be  given  will  affect  only  those  who  are 
i  Annual  Report  1948,  p.  24. 

E.P.B.S.— 8 


114      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

there  long  enough  to  profit  by  it.  Of  the  many  misuses  and  abuses  of 
imprisonment  as  a  system,  none  has  been  more  unsparingly  condemned, 
at  home  and  abroad,  by  penologists,  prison  administrators  and 
informed  opinion  in  general,  than  the  short  sentence — which  for  this 
purpose  may  be  taken  to  mean  one  of  under  6  months.  It  may  be  that 
for  certain  first  offenders  who  stand  in  no  need  of  constructive  training 
but  for  whom  the  courts  find  no  alternative  to  imprisonment  a  sentence 
of  less  than  6  months  may  serve  some  positive  purpose;  it  is  certain 
that  for  those  already  inured  to  prison  the  effect  is  purely  negative. 
Unfortunately,  as  will  be  seen  from  Table  B,  the  position  in  this 
respect  in  this  country,  though  better  than  it  once  was,  is  still  far  from 
satisfactory.  In  1949,  9-9  per  cent  of  the  receptions  of  men  and  18-6 
per  cent  of  women  sentenced  to  imprisonment  were  for  periods  of 
not  more  than  14  days;  51-3  per  cent  of  men  and  69-3  per  cent  of  women 
were  for  not  more  than  3  months;  and  70-2  per  cent  of  men  and  86-8 
of  women  were  for  not  more  than  6  months.  These  men  and  women 
for  the  most  part  represent  a  dreary  stage  army  of  'ins-and-outs'  to 
whom  these  periodic  visits  to  prison  are  no  more  than  an  accepted  if 
unwelcome  risk  of  the  trade :  they  clog  the  efficiency  of  the  prison  system, 
add  greatly  to  its  cost,  and  distract  it  most  wastefully  from  its  proper  func- 
tion, which  is  the  protection  of  society  against  crime:  in  the  14  day  and 
under  cases,  they  reduce  the  prison  to  the  status  of  a  cleansing  centre. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  scale  it  is  notable  that  the  English  courts  do 
not  favour  the  very  long  sentence.  In  1949  sentences  of  5  years  and 
upwards  for  men  numbered  only  286  or  1-0  per  cent  of  the  total 
receptions,  a  trifling  increase  over  1913  in  spite  of  the  grave  increase  in 
serious  crime  which  might  well  have  led  to  a  period  of  very  heavy 
sentences.  This  disposition  is  welcome  to  the  prison  administration, 
since  one  of  their  major  problems  is  to  counteract  the  mental  and 
physical  deterioration  which  for  most  men  and  women  may  be  the 
result  of  many  years  in  prison. 

To  conclude  this  section,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  large  numbers 
received  for  short  periods,  although  each  of  them  causes  as  much  work 
on  reception  and  discharge  as  if  he  were  in  Tor  life,  do  not,  because  of 
their  rapid  turn-over,  bulk  large  in  the  d.a.p. :  figures  given  in  the  Annual 
Report  for  1950  show  that  the  d.a.p.  for  1949,  if  divided  according  to 
length  of  sentences,  fell  into  the  following  groups: 

Men       Women 
Under  1  month      ...  318          36 


1  month  and  less  than  3  months 
3  months  and  less  than  6  months 
6  months  and  less  than  12  months 
12  months  and  less  than  18  months 
1 8  months  and  less  than  3  years 
3  years  and  over    . 


650  81 

1,087  96 

2,094  124 

2,261  109 

2,977  122 

4,001  113 


13,388         681 


THE  PRISON  POPULATION  115 

(2)    CHARACTERISTICS 

The  following  section,  which  could  be  the  most  interesting  part  of 
this  book,  may  well  prove  to  be  the  least.  To  describe  what  manner  of 
men  and  women  prisoners  are,  why  they  have  been  led  to  do  whatever 
has  brought  them  to  prison,  how  they  behave  in  prison  and  what  effect 
imprisonment  has  on  their  behaviour,  would  be  the  work  not  of  one 
section  of  a  book  but  of  many  books  from  many  h^nds — criminologists, 
social  research  workers,  psychologists,  those  who  have  lived  with 
prisoners  whether  as  officers  of  a  prison  or  as  prisoners  themselves, 
and  others  with  experience  and  qualifications  which  the  present  writer 
cannot  claim. 

Sir  Norwood  East,  whose  published  work  throws  on  these  questions 
as  much  light  as  the  life-work  of  a  medical  psychiatrist  among  prisoners 
can  hope  to  throw,  quotes  1  Sir  A.  Maxwell,  in  an  address  to  the 
Cambridge  University  Medical  Society,  as  follows: 

That  persons  found  guilty  of  criminal  offences  are,  for  the  most 
part,  ordinary  folk,  seldom  showing  abnormal  characteristics,  is  one 
of  the  first  things  noted  by  everyone  who  is  brought  into  contact  with 
a  considerable  number  of  offenders.  In  a  prison  one  prisoner  differs 
from  another  as  one  clerk  or  one  labourer  differs  from  another,  but 
between  a  hundred  prisoners  and  a  hundred  persons  chosen  at  random 
from  the  street  outside  the  resemblances  are  more  noticeable  than  the 
differences.  In  each  group  there  will  be  found  a  similar  mixture  of 
good  and  bad  qualities,  strains  of  kindness  and  streaks  of  selfishness, 
companionable  fellows  and  self-centred  people,  masterful  personalities 
and  weaker  characters,  a  few  who  are  specially  intelligent  and  a  few 
who  are  noticeably  dull.  In  each  group  there  will  be  some  accustomed 
to  comfortable  circumstances  and  many  who  are  poor.  Perhaps  among 
the  prisoners  the  proportion  of  noticeably  egotistic  and  noticeably 
shiftless  characters  will  be  higher  than  in  the  other  group,  but  other- 
x  wise  the  ordinary  observer  will  find  it  hard  to  discover  differences 
between  the  two  groups." 

As  a  broad  statement  of  the  human  truth  about  prisoners  this  must 
stand.  Nevertheless  the  writer  must  add  the  strong  personal  impression 
that  when  he  enters  a  workshop  in  one  of  the  large  London  prisons 
with  its  thousand  or  more  hardened  recidivists,  and  feels  the  furtive 
glances  flicking  above  rows  of  canvas-draped  knees,  he  has  a  quick 
and  painful  impression  that  here  are  'the  right  men^in  the  right  place'. 
Looking  at  a  shop  in  a  'star'  prison  or  one  of  the  training  prisons,  the 
question  that  starts  to  his  mind  is  'why  are  these  men  here?'  Is  it  that 
the  recidivist  prison  stamps  its  own  character  on  its  prisoners,  or  is 
it .  .  .?  But  these  are  speculations  which  could  fill  another  book:  here 
1  Society  and  the  Criminal,  pp.  167,  168, 


116      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

we  must  be  content  with  such  thin  and  uncertain  light  as  may  come  from 
the  published  statistics. 

Nature  of  Offences— Table  C  gives  in  respect  of  1913,  1938  and 
1949  a  summary  of  the  principal  types  of  offence  for  which  convicted 
prisoners  were  received  into  prison.  It  is  interesting  as  showing  again  in 
statistical  form  that  protection  against  crime  means  in  practice  pro- 
tection against  dishonesty  and  personal  violence,  and  also  how  the 
various  types  of  offence  have  fluctuated  through  the  years :  in  relation 
to  the  treatment  of  offenders  in  prison  its  interest  is  limited — what 
matters  there  is  not  the  nature  of  the  offence  but  the  nature  of  the 
offender,  what  he  is  and  what  he  is  capable  of  becoming.  In  the  indi- 
vidual study  of  a  prisoner  the  facts  of  the  offence  may  or  may  not  be  of 
interest:  in  the  arrangements  for  the  classification  and  training  of 
prisoners  in  general  they  are  of  no  account,  except  in  relation  to  selec- 
tion for  open  establishments:  even  the  special  consideration  given  to 
homosexuals  is  not  necessarily  connected  with  their  offences,  since 
they  may  well  have  been  convicted  of  some  other  offence. 

Classes  of  prisoner — In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Statutory 
Rule  9,  'in  order  so  far  as  possible  to  prevent  contamination  and  facili- 
tate training',  prisoners  are  divided  into  three  classes,  as  follows : 

Prisoners  under  21  years  of  age  shall  be  placed  in  the  Young 
Prisoners'  Class. 

Prisoners  of  21  years  of  age  and  over  who  have  not  previously 
been  in  prison  on  conviction  shall  be  placed  in  the  Star  Class 
unless  the  reception  board  considers  that,  in  view  of  their  record 
or  character,  they  are  likely  to  have  a  bad  influence  on  others. 
The  reception  board  may  also  place  in  the  Star  Class  a  prisoner 
of  21  years  of  age  and  over  who  has  previously  been  in  prison 
on  conviction  if  they  are  satisfied,  having  regard  to  the  nature 
of  the  previous  offence,  or  to  the  length  of  time  since  it  was 
committed,  or  to  the  prisoner's  general  record  and  character, 
that  he  is  not  likely  to  have  a  bad  influence  on  others. 

Other  prisoners  shall  be  placed  in  the  Ordinary  Class. 
The  d.a.p.  of  persons  sentenced  to  imprisonment  was  in  1949  divided 
among  these  statutory  classes  as  follows: l 

Men  Women 

Young  Prisoners 486  25 

Star  Class,  serving  less  than  3  years      .         .      3,483  188 

Ordinary  Class,  serving  less  than  3  years       .      5,418  355 

All  classes  serving  3  years  or  over        .        .      4,001  113 

13,388        681 

1  The  figures  are  given  in  this  form  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1950  because  they 
had  not  in  previous  years  included  sentences  of  penal  servitude  (3  years  and  over), 
and  the  change  could  not  be  made  in  respect  of  1949. 


THE  PRISON  POPULATION  117 

The  arrangements  for  classification  will  be  discussed  in  the  following 
chapter,  together  with  the  relation  between  classification  and  training: 
here  we  are  concerned  only  with  the  make-up  of  the  classes.  The  first 
thing  to  be  said  about  the  foregoing  table  is  that  compared  with  the 
years  between  the  wars  the  proportion  in  the  Star  class  is  very  much 
higher:  exact  figures  cannot  be  quoted,  first  because  the  system  of 
classification  before  the  war  was  rather  different,  second  because  a 
Star  cannot  be  mathematically  defined  and  practice  as  to  the  making 
of  Stars  may  vary  with  the  views  of  individual  Governors  as  well  as  on 
long  term  tendencies.  Arising  out  of  that  is  a  further  point,  that  these 
figures  do  not  indicate  how  many  of  those  classed  as  Stars  were  in 
prison  for  the  first  time,  or  of  those  who  were  in  for  the  first  time,  how 
many  had  previous  proved  offences.  These  considerations  raise  inter- 
esting questions  concerning  the  movement  of  crime  and  the  effect  of 
imprisonment  on  crime,  which  will  be  studied  in  a  later  chapter:  here 
we  are  only  concerned  to  establish  that  the  prison  population  of  today 
contains  a  very  much  higher  proportion  of  the  Star  class  than  has  been 
the  case  previously,  with  the  effect  that  positive  training  takes  a  much 
greater  part  and  the  need  for  accommodation  in  training  prisons 
becomes  more  pressing. 

Sex  and  age — Table  D  shows  the  grouping  by  sex  and  age  of  each 
main  class  of  the  convicted  prisoners  received  in  1949,  with  a  percentage 
comparison  with  1913  and  1938.  The  striking  factors  are  the  growing 
predominance  of  the  21-30  age-group  among  the  men,  and  the  uprush 
of  both  the  younger  age-groups  of  women  in  1949.  The  annual  reports  of 
prison  governors  in  the  post-war  years  constantly  reflected  their  almost 
despairing  amazement  at  the  character  of  the  young  men  between  21  and 
30  who  were  coming  to  prison  in  such  great  numbers,  convicted  usually 
of  serious  offences — insolent,  a-moral,  unco-operative,  and  unashamed. 
The  salvage  of  this  war-corroded  generation  from  lives  of  habitual  crime 
is  a  terrible  responsibility  for  the  prison  system  of  our  day.  The  even 
more  discouraging  problems  of  young  people  under  21  are  reflected  less 
in  the  prisons  than  elsewhere,  and  will  be  discussed  as  a  whole  in  Part  V. 

Occupations — Table  E  summarises  the  occupations  of  convicted 
prisoners,  according  to  their  own  statements,  as  given  in  the  Annual 
Report  for  1946,  since  when  it  has  not  been  published.  Its  main  interest 
is  perhaps  in  comparison  with  pre-war  years,  e.g.  in  1938  'Vagrants, 
etc.'  numbered  2,843  as  compared  with  113  in  1945,  'Labourers,  etc.' 
had  fallen  from  nearly  15,000  to  nearly  11,000.  'Skilled  work-people, 
had  gone  up  by  some  1,500,  and  'Armed  Forces'  had  gone  up  from 
487  to  4,546,  though  of  course  this  last  figure  is  meaningless  since  like 
is  not  compared  with  like — the  Forces  of  1913  were  not  those  of  1945. 
If  any  deduction  could  be  ventured  from  these  figures,  it  might  be  that 
they  tend  to  support  the  view  of  experienced  prison  officials  that  too 
much  and  too  easy  money  is  as  likely  to  lead  to  crime  as  too  little. 


118      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 


(3)    SIZE  AND  DISTRIBUTION 

Size — In  the  years  following  the  Second  World  War  the  English 
prison  system  was  dominated  by  the  problem  of  over-crowding.  In  the 
immediate  pre-war  years  the  d.a.p.  had  been  of  the  order  of  10-11,000, 
and  the  war  did  not  bring  a  fall  as  did  the  First  World  War,  when  a 
'record  low'  of  about  9,000  was  reached.  Instead,  it  mounted  steadily 
to  12,915  in  1944,  then  rapidly  to  17,067  in  1947,  and  in  1948  reached 
19,765,  at  or  about  which  level  it  remained  in  1949.  During  1950  it 
moved  up  again  to  20,462.  In  October  1951  the  number  was  22,500.!  A 
population  of  this  order,  doubling  the  pre-war  average,  had  not  been 
known  since  the  bad  first  decade  of  the  century. 

To  see  this  position  in  its  proper  perspective,  it  should  be  placed 
against  its  historical  background,  and  to  this  end  Graph  A  (p.  127) 
shows,  from  the  early  years  of  the  Prison  Commission  to  the  present 
time,  the  fluctuations  in  the  numbers  of  both  receptions  and  d.a.p. 

Since  the  subject  of  this  book  is  not  crime  but  the  treatment  of 
prisoners,  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  draw  such  inferences  from  this 
graph  as  to  the  movement  of  crime  or  the  practice  of  the  courts  as  it 
might  appear  to  reflect.  Two  general  observations  may  however  be 
made  which  appear  to  be  both  relevant  and  safe. 

First,  the  reason  for  the  very  striking  divergence  of  the  curves  in  the 
post-Second  War  years  is  the  great  increase  during  those  years  of 
serious  crime,  resulting  in  a  high  proportion  of  long  sentences,  as  has 
been  explained  on  p.  113.  Second,  as  the  converse  of  this,  the  enormous 
reduction  of  committals  for  minor  offences  which  followed  the  First 
World  War  has  progressively  continued:  the  receptions  on  conviction 
of 'other  non-indictable  offences',  which  in  1913  numbered  over  70,000 
men  and  nearly  28,000  women,  had  by  1938  fallen  to  10,819  men  and 
2,009  women,  and  in  1949  to  5,088  men  and  854  women.  The  broad 
effect  of  these  movements  is  to  concentrate  the  prison  increasingly  on 
its  central  task  of  training  criminal  prisoners. 

Distribution — The  following  table  shows  how  the  d.a.p.  for  1949 
was  distributed  among  the  different  categories  of  prisoners: 


Category 

Men 

Women 

Untried  Prisoners  . 
Civil  Prisoners 
Imprisonment 
Corrective  Training 
Preventive  Detention 
Borstal  Training    . 
Other  Convicted  Prisoners 

1,153 
467 
13,388 
390 
123 
3,088 
174 

94 
1 
681 
18 
7 
275 
20 

Total  d.a.p. 

18,783 

1,096 

1  This  was  the  highest  figure  recorded  since  the  records  began  in  1878. 


THE  PRISON  POPULATION  119 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  latest  available  annual  statistics  should  be 
those  for  a  year  for  only  a  part  of  which  was  the  Criminal  Justice  Act 
in  force,  since  after  April  1949  the  categories  of  prisoners  were  altered 
following  the  abolition  of  penal  servitude  and  the  introduction  of 
corrective  training  and  preventive  detention  in  its  new  form.  The 
situation  at  the  end  of  1950  is  however  shown,  on  a  slightly  different 
basis,  by  the  following  summary  of  the  weekly  population  return  for 
the  week  ended  December  26th : 


Categories 

Men 

Women 

Local  prisoners 

11,600 

730 

Imprisonment  over  3  years 

2,391 

49 

Corrective  training 

2,077 

88 

Preventive  detention 

497 

17 

Borstal  training     . 

2,895 

235 

Attention  may  be  drawn  to  certain  aspects  of  these  figures.  Firstly  the 
very  small  proportion  of  women,  which  makes  many  difficulties  in 
providing  the  most  suitable  arrangements  for  their  classification, 
accommodation  and  training:  during  1949,  for  example,  the  number 
of  girls  under  21  in  custody  averaged  only  about  25  over  the  whole 
country !  Second,  the  significant  change  in  the  numbers  serving  sentences 
of  preventive  detention,  after  less  than  two  years'  experience  of  the 
provisions  of  1948:  out  of  some  500  *  cases,  only  about  30  were  serving 
sentences  passed  under  the  Act  of  1908. 

It  is  of  interest,  in  conclusion,  to  note  that  in  1949  the  d.a.p.  of  men 
and  women  in  our  prisons  and  Borstals  represented  117  for  each 
100,000  of  the  male  population  of  England  and  Wales,  and  6-2  for  each 
100,000  of  the  female  population  (the  populations  in  both  cases  being 
of  persons  of  16  years  of  age  or  over). 

1  In  October  1951  this  number  was  approaching  700. 


120      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 


TABLE  A 

Analysis  of  receptions  in  the  year  1949 


Men 

Women 

Numbers 

Percentage 

Numbers 

Percentage 

1.  Committals  on  remand  or 

for  trial,  not  followed  by 

return  to  prison  on  con- 

viction .... 

8,510 

19-4 

1,668 

36-3 

2.  Committals  by  civil  process 

5,176 

11-8 

32 

0-7 

3.  Committals  in  default  of 

paying  fines    . 

3,749 

8-5 

580 

12-6 

4.  Imprisonment: 

(i)  For  non-indictable 

offences    . 

5,183 

11-8 

590 

12-8 

(ii)  For  indictable  offences 

17,509 

40-0 

1,485 

32-3 

(iii)  By  Courts-Martial 

371 

0-8 

— 

— 

5.  Sentences    of    corrective 

training. 

1,106 

2-5 

54 

1-2 

6.  Sentences    of   preventive 

detention 

268 

0-6 

11 

0-2 

7.  Sentences  of  Borstal  train- 

ing       .... 

1,812 

4-1   x 

115 

2-5 

8  .  Other  convicted  prisoners  * 

208 

0-5 

66 

1-4 

Total  Receptions 

43,892 

100-0 

4,601 

100-0 

*  E.g.  Capital  and  H.M.  Pleasure  cases,  committals  under  the  Mental  Deficiency 
Act,  1913  to  1927,  committals  to  Approved  Schools,  etc. 


THE  PRISON  POPULATION 


121 


TABLE  B 

Lengths  of  Sentences  of  Receptions  in  1949 


1913 

1938 

1949 

Percent- 

Percent- 

Percent- 

Recep- 
tions on 
convic- 
tion with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 
Servitude 

age  of 
total  re- 
ceptions 
on  con- 
viction 
with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 

Recep- 
tions on 
convic- 
tion with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 
Servitude 

age  of 
total  re- 
ceptions 
on  con- 
viction 
with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 

Recep- 
tions on 
convic- 
tion with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 
Servitude 

age  of 
total  re- 
ceptions 
on  con- 
viction 
with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 

Servitude 

Servitude 

Servitude 

MEN 

Not  exceeding  1  month  . 

81,986 

78-2 

13,865 

51-0 

6,868 

26-0 

Over  1  month  and  not 

more  than  3  months  . 

13,932 

13-3 

6,518 

23-9 

6,686 

25-3 

Over  3  months  and  not 

more  than  6  months  . 

4,204 

4-0 

3,634 

13-4 

4,981 

18-9 

Over  6  months  and  not 

more  than  12  months. 

2,651 

2-5 

1,770 

6-5 

3,881 

14-7 

Over  12  months  and  not 

more  than  18  months. 

993 

0-9 

659 

2-4 

1,719 

6-5 

Over  18  months  and  not 

more  than  2  years 

304 

0-3 

284 

1-0 

1,038 

3-9 

Over   2   years   and  less 

than  3  years 

2 

— 

— 

— 

25 

0-1 

3  years 

492 

0-5 

288 

M 

718 

2-7 

Over   3   years   and   not 

more  than  4  years 

76 

0-1 

72 

0-3 

237 

0-9 

Over  4  years   and  not 

more  than  5  years 

155 

0-2 

88 

0-3 

2141 

0-8 

Over   5   years   and  not 

more  than  7  years 

32 

— 

17 

0-1 

63 

0-2 

Over   7   years  and  not 

more  than  10  years     . 

10 

— 

8 

— 

8 

— 

Over  10  years  and  not 

more  than  14  years     . 

5 

— 

5 

— 

3 

— 

Over  14  years 

4 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Life  sentences 

8 

— 

— 

— 

— 

—  • 

Death  sentences2  com- 

muted to  penal  servi- 

tude-imprisonment for 

life  .... 

8 

_- 

11 

— 

11 

—  _ 

1  Includes  212  sentences  of  5  years 

2  Disregarded  in  calculating  the  percentages  in  this  table. 


122      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 


TABLE 

Lengths  of  Sentences  of  Receptions  in  1949 


1913 

1938 

1949 

* 
Percent- 

Percent- 

Percent- 

Recep- 
tions on 
convic- 
tion with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 
Servitude 

age  of 
total  re- 
ceptions 
on  con- 
viction 
with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 

Recep- 
tions on 
convic- 
tion with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 
Servitude 

age  of 
total  re- 
ceptions 
on  con- 
viction 
with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 

Recep- 
tions on 
convic- 
tion with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 
Servitude 

age  of 
total  re- 
ceptions 
on  con- 
viction 
with 
sentences 
of  Impri- 
sonment 
or  Penal 

Servitude 

Servitude 

Servitude 

WOMEN 

Not  exceeding  1  month  . 

29,334 

87-7 

2,430 

70-7 

1,107 

41-7 

Over  1  month  and  not 

more  than  3  months  . 

2,930 

8-8 

525 

15-3 

732 

27-6 

Over  3  months  and  not 

more  than  6  months  . 

866 

2-6 

313 

9-1 

466 

17-5 

Over  6  months  and  not 

more  than  12  months. 

222 

0-7 

111 

3-2 

196 

7-4 

Over  12  months  and  not 

more  than  18  months. 

40 

0-1 

35 

1-0 

78 

3-0 

Over  18  months  and  not 

more  than  2  years 

4 

— 

9 

0-3 

31 

1-2 

Over  2  years  and  less 

than  3  years 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

3  years 

30 

0-1 

11 

0-3 

32 

1-2 

Over  3  years  and  not 

more  than  4  years 

2 

—  . 

3 

0-1 

3 

0-1 

Over  4  years  and  not 

more  than  5  years 

7 

— 

1 

0-0 

71 

0-3 

Over  5  years  and  not 

more  than  7  years 

2 

— 

— 

— 

3 



Over  7  years  and  not 

more  than  10  years    . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 



Over  10  years  and  not 

more  than  14  years    . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 



Over  14  years 

— 

— 

— 

— 

„  — 



Life  Sentences 

4 

— 

— 

— 

— 



Death  sentences2  com- 

muted to  penal  servi- 

tude-imprisonment for 

life  .... 

4 

•*•— 

3 

- 

3 

'-'-  -" 

1  All  sentences  of  5  years. 

2  Disregarded  in  calculating  the  percentages  in  this  table. 


THE  PRISON  POPULATION 


123 


TABLE  C 

Analysis  of  the  offences  of  receptions  in  the  year  1949 


1913 

1938 

1949 

MEN 
Indictable  Offences. 
Violence  against  the  person    , 
Sexual  offences  (including  bigamy)  . 
Burglary,  housebreaking,  etc. 
Other  offences  against  property 
Forgery  and  coining 
Other  offences       .... 

514 
1,064 
1,956 
16,806 
115 
543 

529 
839 
2,498 
9,649 
152  . 
330 

923 
1,361 
5,610 
12,863 
241 
631 

Totals 

20,998 

13,997 

21,629 

Non-Indictable  Offences. 
(i)  Offences  akin  to  indictable  offences  : 
Assaults       
Frequenting,  etc.  ..... 
Malicious  damage          .... 
Indecent  exposure          .... 
Cruelty  to  children         .... 
Other  offences       

7,486 
1,770 
1,650  . 
866 
1,028 
1,558 

1,691 
701 
536 
449 
181 
329 

1,058 
695 

455 
347 
172 
391 

Totals 

14,358 

3,887 

3,118 

(ii)  Other  Offences: 
Drunkenness         ..... 
Offences  against  the  Poor  Law 
Begging  and  Sleeping-out 
Breach  of  Police  Regulations  . 
Offences  in  relation  to  Railways 
Other  offences       ..... 

37,033 
4,343 
14,822 
5,897 
866 
7,193 

5,078 
1,004 
1,300 
391 
194 
2,852 

2,167 

510 
131 
162 
2,118 

Totals 

70,154 

10,819 

5,088 

Grand  Totals 

105,510 

28,703 

29,835 

124      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 


TABLE  C— continued 
Analysis  of  the  offences  of  receptions  in  the  year  1949 


1913 

1938 

1949 

WOMEN 

Indictable  Offences. 
Violence  against  the  person    . 
Offences  against  property 
Bigamy        
Other  offences       

Totals 

Non-Indictable  Offences. 
(1)  Offences  akin  to  indictable  offences: 
Assaults       ...... 
Cruelty  to  children        .... 
Indecent  exposure          .... 
Malicious  damage          .... 
Brothel-keeping,  etc.      .... 
Other  offences       .         . 

Totals 

(ii)  Other  Offences: 
Drunkenness         
Disorderly  behaviour  of  prostitutes  . 
Breach  of  Police  Regulations  . 
Begging  and  Sleeping-out 
Other  offences       ..... 

Totals 
Grand  Totals 

114 
2,593 
10 
154 

82 
921 
22 
123 

59 
1,648 
13 
43 

2,871 

1,148 

1,763 

1,136 
731 
242 
392 
419 
134 

71 
120 
81 

43 
32 
18 

26 
168 
26 
21 
39 
4 

3,054 

365 

284 

15,116 
8,063 
2,730 
1,049 
850 

1,543 
172 
92 
41 
161 

407 
92 
32 
33 
290 

27,808 

2,009 

854 

33,733 

3,522 

2,901 

THE  PRISON  POPULATION 


125 


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126      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 


TABLE  E 

Occupations  of  receptions  on  conviction  in  the  year  1945 


(1) 

(2) 

Offences 

Total 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Occupations 

Number  of 
Convicted 
Prisoners 

Indictable 
Offences 

Non- 
indictable 
Offences 
(akin  to 

Other 
Non- 
Indictable 

Indictable 

Offences 

Offences) 

Vagrants   and   prostitutes   and 

others  of  known  bad  character 

113 

56 

13 

44 

Labourers,     charwomen,     and 

other  unskilled  workpeople    . 

10,955 

7,166 

1,278 

2,511 

Domestic  servants    . 

870 

465 

157 

248 

Miners,    farm    hands,    factory 

operatives,  merchant  seamen, 

and  other  skilled  workpeople. 

10,963 

7,555 

959 

2,449 

Members  of  the  Army,  Navy  or 

Air  Force    .... 

4,546 

3,879 

380 

287 

Shop  assistants,  clerks,  waiters, 

etc  

1,169 

867 

85 

217 

Shopkeepers,  tradesmen,  farmers, 

etc  

323 

263 

19 

41 

Professional  employments,  mer- 

chants, and  persons  of  inde- 

pendent means,  etc. 

176 

117 

19 

40 

Unclassified    .... 

2,775 

1,377 

543 

855 

Total    .... 

31,890 

21,745 

3,453 

6,692 

THE  PRISON  POPULATION 


127 


Graph  A — Fluctuations  in  receptions  and  daily  average. 
Population  1880-1950 


\  r  vv    \\  i 


O        O         —        —        CM        CN 


Receptions: 


D.A.P! 


-«•••*•--*•--- 


CHAPTER  NINE 
CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING 

(1)   PRINCIPLES  AND  THEIR  APPLICATION 


T 


HE  purposes  of  training  and  treatment  of  convicted  prisoners 
shall  be  to  establish  in  them  the  will  to  lead  a  good  and  useful 
life  on  discharge,  and  to  fit  them  to  do  so.' 

Having  dealt  with  the  historical  and  penological  considerations 
which  have  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  central  purpose  of  the  prison 
system  in  the  terms  of  the  foregoing  Rule,  with  the  organisation  created 
to  effect  that  purpose,  the  buildings  within  which  it  must  be  effected, 
and  the  numbers  and  types  of  offender  with  whom  it  is  concerned,  we 
now  turn  to  the  practical  working  of  the  system  as  it  is  organised  under 
the  Criminal  Justice  Act  and  the  Prison  Rules  1949.  In  this  chapter  we 
shall  consider  the  broader  outlines  and  general  framework  of  the 
system,  and  in  this  section  the  principles  on  which  it  is  based  and  the 
difficulties,  inherent  or  contingent,  which  condition  the  translation  of 
those  principles  into  practice. 

The  prison  system  of  1950  is  in  principle  and  in  method  the  natural 
growth  of  the  seminal  ideas  of  the  years  between  the  wars,  as  set  out 
in  the  third  section  of  Chapter  Four.  Its  basic  ideas  have  been  sum- 
marised as  follows : 

'First,  that  for  all  suitable  prisoners  with  sentences  of  suitable 
length,  the  prison  regime  should  be  one  of  constructive  training,  moral, 
mental  and  vocational ;  second,  that  such  training  can  be  fully  carried 
out  only  in  homogeneous  establishments  set  aside  for  the  purpose, 
though  the  principle  should  apply,  so  far  as  practicable  in  the  limitations 
of  an  ordinary  prison,  to  all  prisoners  in  all  prisons;  third,  that  the 
special  training  prisons  need  not,  for  all  prisoners,  provide  the  security 
of  normal  prison  buildings,  since  men  can  only  acquire  a  sense  of 
responsibility  by  exercising  it,  and  experience  has  shown  that  a  high 
proportion  of  prisoners  can  be  trusted  to  exercise  it  in  open  conditions ; 
fourth,  that  the  outside  community  should  be  brought  into  the  training 

128 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  129 

at  every  practicable  point,  so  as  to  break  down  the  tradition  that  the 
prisoner  is  cut  off  from  society;  and  fifth,  that  this  continuing  respon- 
sibility of  society  should  be  maintained  after  his  discharge  by  effective 
aid  towards  social  rehabilitation.' 1 

Before  developing  the  application  of  these  ideas,  let  us  consider  the 
difficulties  which  condition  that  application. 

The  first  we  have  already  discussed :  it  lies  in  the  inherent  contradiction 
between  punishment  and  rehabilitation,  and  the  inherent  doubt  whether 
the  prison  can  become  an  effective  instrument  for  reconciling  these  two 
purposes.  The  duty  of  the  administration  is  to  do  its  best,  but  it  does 
not  operate  in  vacuo:  it  must  deal  with  the  human  material  it  receives, 
and  the  selection  of  that  material  is  itself  conditioned  by  these  doubts 
and  contradictions.  The  people  who  come  to  prison  must  be  somehow 
fitted  into  the  general  pattern,  whether  from  the  point  of  view  of  fitting 
in  they  be  well  selected  or  ill,  either  as  persons  or  in  the  length  of  time 
they  are  to  be  kept  there. 

And  here  one  inevitable  feature  of  prison  life  must  be  mentioned: 
writing  in  1931  of  the  general  standards  of  a  prison  system  the  present 
writer  said: 

'And  these  standards,  at  whatever  level  fixed,  must  be  applied  rigidly 
and  impartially  to  all  alike.  Inflexibility  and  impartiality  are  of  the 
essence  of  a  prison  system:  a  prison  cannot  make  the  punishment  fit 
either  the  crime  or  the  criminal.  The  sentence  is  meted  out  by  the  Court 
according  to  an  established  scale  of  time-lengths,  which  may  be  some 
measure  of  the  offence  but  can  be  no  measure  of  the  effect  upon  the 
offender.  Once  in  prison  each  has  for  his  appointed  term  to  tread  the 
same  road,  at  the  same  step,  and  in  the  same  standard  shoe — some  it 
may  pinch  in  one  place,  some  in  another;  some  it  may  fit  pretty  well, 
others  it  may  painfully  crush;  many  are  already  hardened  to  it,  but  of 
the  others  few  will  escape  without  bruises  and  callosities. 

4  Yet  the  contrast  between  the  standardisation  of  the  punishment  and 
the  variety  of  the  offender  grows  progressively  greater.  In  the  last 
hundred  years  the  increasing  complexity  of  society  has  brought  with  it 
a  proportionately  complex  increase  in  the  number  of  offences  against 
society,  and  in  the  kinds  of  people  who  are  convicted  of  such  offences. 
The  prison  population  today  shows  a  vertical  section  through  society 
from  peer  to  vagrant:  and  to  all  these  people  their  punishment  must 
mean  something  quite  different  according  to  the  differences  in  tempera- 
ment, mental  and  moral  calibre,  education  and  previous  social  circum- 
stances and  training.'  2 

Neither  the  changes  of  time  nor  maturity  of  reflection  have  led  him 
to  wish  to  modify  this  as  a  broad  generalisation,  though  he  might  now 

1  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p.  1 1 .  2  The  Modern  English  Prison,  p.  33. 

E.P.B.S. — 9 


130      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

qualify  it  by  adding  that  there  are  two  or  three  standard  shoes  made 
on  different  lasts,  and  'American  fittings'  may  be  available. 

Again,  though  the  English  administration  is  fortunate  in  its  compara- 
tive freedom  to  experiment  and  develop,  it  must  still  do  its  work  within 
the  climate  of  opinion  of  its  time,  with  a  constant  regard  to  the  effect  on 
the  value  of  that  work  of  public  and  parliamentary  criticism;  and  that 
opinion  again  reflects  the  contradictions  inherent  in  the  question. 
That  it  is  greatly  changed  from  the  times  of  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise 
is  sufficiently  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  publication  of  the  Rule  which 
heads  this  chapter  should  have  passed  without  comment:  undoubtedly 
there  is  today  a  much  wider  circle  of  opinion  which  is  well  informed  on 
the  realities  of  penal  administration.  This  may  be  due  to  several  causes. 
One  of  these  is  the  belated  development  in  certain  of  our  Universities 
of  an  interest  in  penology  and  criminology  as  valuable  spheres  of 
knowledge:  it  is  a  curious  fact,  that  in  spite  of  the  great  English  con- 
tribution to  international  thought  on  these  matters  in  the  eighteenth  and 
early  nineteenth  centuries — witness  only  Blackstone,  Howard,  Bentham 
and  Maconochie — there  has  been  until  recently  almost  no  modern 
English  penology.  Even  the  valuable  work  now  being  done  here  is 
for  the  most  part  that  of  eminent  penologists  from  abroad  who  have 
honoured  us  by  preferring  to  work  in  our  Universities.  But  to  balance 
our  deficiency  in  the  professional  academic  field  we  have  lately  had, 
as  one  fruit  of  the  policy  of  enlisting  the  community  in  the  service 
of  the  prison  system,  the  published  work  of  such  practical  amateurs 
as  Mrs.  le  Mesurier,  Sir  Leo  Page  and  Mr.  John  Watson,  who  have 
learned  about  prisons  and  prisoners  by  working  in  and  with  them. 
Fuller  access  for  the  Press  to  prisons  and  Borstals,  with  freedom 
of  comment  within  the  limits  of  accurate  presentation,  has  also  paid 
occasional  dividends  in  the  form  of  a  more  balanced  and  under- 
standing treatment  of  matters  of  news  interest  as  they  arise,  and  of 
a  willingness  to  give  space  to  informed  accounts  of  what  is  being 
done  and  why.  It  remains  necessary,  nevertheless,  to  distinguish  between 
informed  and  uninformed  Press  comment  on  what  happens  in  prisons. 

But  when  all  is  said  and  done,  responsible  publications  on  penal 
matters  affect  the  minds  of  a  minimal  number  of  the  public.  One  cannot 
be  unaware  that  what  Mr.  G.  M.  Young  has  called  the  'body  of  assump- 
tions underlying  the  common  talk  of  common  people,  and  directing 
their  praise  and  blame'  l  are  not,  in  these  matters,  the  assumptions  on 
which  contemporary  prison  administration  is  based.  As  to  whatever 
he  may  understand  by  the  phrase  'prison  reform',  the  man-in-the-street 
is  at  best  apathetic,  commonly  cynical,  and  at  worst  frankly  hostile. 
And  while  it  must  be  for  an  administration  to  lead,  it  cannot  afford 
to  get  out  of  touch  with  the  common  sense  of  the  community  as  a 
whole.  Its  position  in  relation  to  public  criticism  tends  therefore  to 
i  In  The  Sumlay  Times,  October  16th  1949. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  131 

resemble  that  of  the  Romans  who  happened  to  be  in  the  middle  of  the 
bridge  when  'those  behind  cried  forward,  and  those  in  front  cried 
back'.  In  such  a  position,  they  may  do  well  to  remember  the  words  of  a 
former  Home  Secretary: 

The  harm  done  by  crime  is  caused  by  a  few  members  of  the  com- 
munity; but  for  the  harm  done  by  wrong  methods  of  punishment  the 
whole  community  is  answerable.  The  responsibility  for  our  penal  laws 
and  for  the  operations  of  our  criminal  courts  rests  on  us  all,  and  if 
society  continues  to  tolerate  unenlightened  methods  of  dealing  with 
offenders  when  better  methods  are  known  and  are  practicable,  all 
members  of  society  are  guilty  of  sinning  against  the  light.'  l 

Where  the  administration  thinks  it  knows  the  better  way  it  has  no 
option  but  to  follow  it  if  it  may:  but  this  duty  makes  it  all  the  more 
necessary  to  examine  and  answer  all  objections  which  may  be  felt  by 
the  majority  of  the  community  in  whose  name  it  acts  and  to  whom  it  is 
finally  responsible.  It  is  therefore  important  to  consider  what  are  the 
main  'assumptions  underlying  the  common  talk  of  common  people'  in 
these  matters :  to  dogmatise  on  this  would  be  unwise,  but  the  opinion 
may  be  ventured  that  there  are  perhaps  three.  The  first  has  already  been 
adumbrated  in  Chapter  2,  p.  19,  in  the  reference  to  legal  punishment 
being  in  origin  a  substitute  for  private  vengeance:  the  second  was 
put  by  Professor  Bruno  Salmiala  when  he  spoke  2  of  its  being  "an 
almost  intuitive  conception,  sprung  from  a  people's  age-old  experience' 
that  justice  requires  suffering  as  an  element  of  punishment:  the  third, 
though  related  to  the  second,  is  really  distinct.  It  is  that  repugnance  to 
what  is  believed  to  be  a  policy  of  'pampering  prisoners'  which  has  been 
very  fully  explored  by  Dr.  Mannheim  as  a  translation  into  this  sphere 
of  the  'principle  of  less  eligibility'  of  the  old  Poor  Law. 

The  place  of  the  first  two  of  these  popular  assumptions  in  the  theory 
of  punishment  on  which  the  contemporary  prison  system  is  based  has 
been  discussed  in  principle  in  Part  I:  it  may  however  be  well  at  this 
point  to  elaborate  a  little  the  facts  behind  the  official  assumption  that 
a  prisoner  is  'sent  to  prison  as  a  punishment,  not  for  punishment' — 
that  is,  that  so  far  as  suffering  is  a  necessary  element  of  punishment  it 
is  inherent  in  the  fact  of  imprisonment,  and  that  it  is  no  part  of  the 
duty  of  the  prison  authorities  to  devise  a  regime  intended  to  add  to  it. 

The  essence  of  imprisonment  is  deprivation  of  personal  liberty:  when 
Dame  Ethyl  Smyth,  after  imprisonment  in  Holloway  as  a  suffragette, 
was  asked  what  for  her  was  the  worst  part  of  the  experience,  she  replied 
shortly  but  sufficiently,  'Couldn't  get  out.'  Nor  is  it  only  freedom  to 

1  Mr.  Herbert  Morrison,  speaking  in  Birmingham  on  28th  March  1944. 

2  Annual  Meeting  of  1948  of  the  Northern  Association  of  Criminalists,  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  The  Purpose  of  Punishment,  Yearbook  of  the  Northern  Association  of 
Criminalists,  1947-48. 


132      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

come  and  go  that  is  cut  off,  it  is  freedom  to  do  as  you  like  at  almost 
every  point  of  personal  life.  'The  whole  existence  of  great  masses  of 
the  population  receives  its  vital  stimulus  mainly  from  that  small  margin 
of  personal  freedom  that  still  remains  to  them  after  their  daily  work  is 
done' ;  l  but  the  person  sentenced  to  forfeiture  of  freedom  by  imprison- 
ment is  'placed  under  the  control  of  custodians  whose  powers  of  super- 
vision and  coercion  are  such  that  if  (he  is)  recalcitrant  (he)  can  be 
forced  to  comply  with  the  rules.  .  .  .  They  control  his  time,  his  food,  his 
clothing  and  all  the  details  of  his  life.  He  lives  within  a  framework  of 
supervision  and  control,  whether  he  is  in  a  prison  cell  or  working  on 
an  outlying  farm.  The  control  is  not  dependent  on  walls  or  bolts  and 
bars:  it  is  constituted  by  the  legal  powers  of  his  custodians.  Those 
powers  are  unaffected  by  such  changes  as  the  institution  of  'open 
prisons'  or  arrangements  for  the  offender  to  work  at  a  distance  from 
the  prison  or  Borstal  establishment.  The  essence  of  his  punishment  is 
that  he  is  in  subjection  to  his  custodians  and  can  do  only  what  they 
allow  or  direct.  The  right  of  citizens  to  freedom  from  restraint  is  a 
precious  right,  and  the  loss  of  that  right  is  a  severe  deprivation.  If  any- 
one is  illegally  held  in  captivity  by  some  other  person  or  persons,  he 
suffers  a  grave  injury,  for  which  the  courts  will  award  him  heavy 
damages,  however  considerately  he  may  have  been  treated  by  his 
captors.  When  an  offender  is  held  in  legal  custody,  he  suffers  a  grave 
punishment,  however  free  from  punitive  conditions  his  treatment  may 
be.'2 

There  are  other  conditions  of  confinement  which  may  cause  more  or 
less  suffering  according  to  the  circumstances  and  temperament  of  the 
individual.  Save  for  infrequent  letters,  and  even  less  frequent  visits  in 
what  for  most  are  distressing  circumstances,  the  prisoner  is  wholly  cut 
off  from  his  family,  friends  and  all  familiar  life,  with  perhaps  the  added 
suffering  of  knowing  that  his  crime  has  left  them  in  want  and  trouble. 
The  troubles  of  complete  separation  from  the  other  sex  in  what  Pater- 
son  has  described  as  'a  monastery  of  men  unwilling  to  be  monks' — and 
these  are  not  absent  in  the  nunnery — must  be  common  to  imprisonment 
in  any  form.  For  many  prisoners  for  many  months,  at  any  rate  in 
present  conditions,  nearly  every  evening  must  be  spent  in  silence  in  a 
locked  cell.  If  to  all  this  be  added  the  nature  of  the  company  for  those 
who  do  not  like  it — and  few  prisoners  of  any  type  enjoy  each  other's 
company — and  the  fact  that  this  life  is  to  be  lived  in  physical  sur- 
roundings which  for  many  are  a  punishment  in  themselves,  it  may  be 
understood  that  the  idea  that  imprisonment  is  a  punishment  per  se  is 
not  without  substance. 

It  is  of  course  implicit  in  the  nature  of  imprisonment  that  as  a  punish- 

1  Mannheim,  p.  70. 

2  'The  Institutional  Treatment  of  Offenders',  Ninth  Clarke  Hall  Lecture,  by  Sir 
Alexander  Maxwell,  pp.  39,  40. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  133 

ment  it  does  not  fall  equally  on  all  subjected  to  it:  what  punishment 
does?  It  is  one  purpose  of  classification  to  secure  so  far  as  may  be,  in 
the  broad,  the  'individualisation  of  the  punishment',  which  implies  a 
certain  levelling  out  of  inherent  inequalities  as  well  as  fitting  the  training 
to  the  needs  of  the  individual.  Not  all  of  these  conditions  therefore  fall 
equally  today,  for  the  whole  of  their  sentences,  on  all  classes  of  prisoner 
in  every  type  of  prison:  there  is  more  than  one  'standard  shoe'.  But 
broadly  they  are  and  must  be  the  common  lot,  the  punishment 
inherent  in  the  sentence. 

Now  as  to  the  third  assumption,  the  recurrent  question  of  'pamper- 
ing', Dr.  Mannheim  has  treated  one  aspect  of  it  as  follows.  The  Poor 
Law  principle  of  'less  eligibility'  was  defined  by  Sidney  and  Beatrice 
Webb  l  as  follows — 'that  the  condition  of  the  pauper  should  be  less 
eligible  than  that  of  the  lowest  grade  of  independent  labourer'.  This 
had  been  re-stated  by  Bentham,2  in  relation  to  the  penal  system,  thus — 
'saving  the  regard  due  to  life,  health  and  bodily  ease,  the  ordinary 
condition  of  a  convict  doomed  to  punishment,  which  few  or  none  but 
individuals  of  the  poorest  class  are  apt  to  incur,  ought  not  to  be  made 
more  eligible  than  that  of  the  poorest  class  of  subjects  in  a  state  of 
innocence  and  liberty'.  The  justness  of  one  or  other  of  these  principles 
is  deeply  ingrained  in  common  thought  about  the  treatment  of  con- 
victed prisoners,  and  the  second  at  least  has  not  been  specifically 
rejected  by  any  English  prison  administration.  But  the  application  of 
the  principle  is  beset  with  many  problems,  both  theoretical  and  practical. 
Dr.  Mannheim,  basing  his  argument  on  the  view  that,  in  law,  imprison- 
ment is  fundamentally  no  more  than  deprivation  of  liberty,  takes 
account  of  the  additions  to  this  fundament  which  occur  in  fact,  and 
suggests  that  'it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  state  to  compensate  the  prisoner 
for  this  excess  of  evil  that  the  execution  of  the  penalty  has  inflicted  upon 
him';  and  he  adds  to  this  that  'modern  treatment  .  .  .  while  often 
implying  greater  leniency,  may  .  .  .  lead  to  the  imposition  of  long-term 
penalties  for  comparatively  petty  offences  which  would  previously 
have  been  visited  with  much  smaller  sentences'.3  He  concludes  that 
these  principles  (less  eligibility  or  non-superiority)  are  'incompatible  with 
the  idea  of  reformation  .  .  .  and  equally  .  .  .  with  the  idea  of  individual 
treatment,'  pointing  out  in  particular  that  'for  all  members  of  the  better 
situated  classes  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  principle  of  less  eligibility 
makes  their  punishment  much  more  severe  than  that  of  others'.4 

This  last  point  deserves  a  moment's  elaboration.  We  have  moved  far 
from  the  situation  in  which  Bentham  could  write  of  imprisonment  as 
something  which  'none  but  individuals  of  the  poorest  class  are  apt  to 
incur'.  Table  E  (p.  126)  shows  that  the  great  majority  of  those  who  come 
to  prison  today  are  of  or  above  the  standing  of  'skilled  work-people', 

1  Cit.  Mannheim,  p.  56.  3  p.  93. 

2  Cit.  Mannheim,  p.  57.  *  Pp.  100,  101. 


134      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

who  in  modern  social  conditions  are  by  no  means  'individuals 
of  the  poorest  class'.  And  considering  the  application  of  this  principle 
on  the  plane  of  purely  physical  standards — food,  clothing,  furniture 
and  accommodation,  and  so  on — it  must  be  emphasised  that  these 
standards  at  least,  at  whatever  level  fixed,  apply  with  complete  imparti- 
ality to  every  prisoner  alike — no  methods  of  classification  or  individual- 
isation  significantly  affect  this. 

There  are  also  practical  difficulties.  Any  public  institution  charged 
with  the  residential  care  of  persons  committed  to  its  charge  is  bound 
for  reasons  of  health  and  good  order  alone  to  require  a  certain  level 
in  its  physical  standards,  and  where  that  institution  charges  itself  with 
preserving  at  least  and  enhancing  if  possible  the  self-respect  of  its 
charges,  and  with  training  them  if  it  can  in  good  citizenship,  that  level 
must  in  some  respects  be  higher  still.  In  the  matter,  for  instance,  of 
personal  appearance,  it  might  be  adequate  on  a  minimum  basis  to 
clothe  its  prisoners  in  drab,  shapeless,  and  shaming  dress,  crop  their 
heads  close,  and  balance  this  with  a  week's  stubble  on  the  chin.  This 
was  done  within  the  present  century.  But  if  today  men  and  women  are 
given  clothes  of  normal  type,  wear  their  hair — in  reason — as  they  like, 
shave  every  day  if  they  are  men  and  use  their  cosmetics  if  they  are 
women,  that  is  not  to  'pamper'  them  but  to  avoid  the  evil  of  making 
their  personal  appearance  a  source  of  constant  humiliation:  not  that, 
with  the  best  will  of  all  concerned,  prison  dress  ever  seems  to  contrive 
an  air  much  above  its  station.  As  to  food,  again,  health  might  be 
preserved  by  a  reasonably  varied  diet  of  adequate  nutritional  value, 
but  it  is  not  with  the  intention  to  pamper  that  attention  is  also  paid  to 
the  conditions  in  which  it  is  served:  to  require  that  men  or  women 
eating  together  should  have  a  clean  table,  properly  set  with  the  mini- 
mum requirements  of  civilised  eating,  and  should  use  it  properly,  is 
the  merest  necessity  of  a  system  which  allows  of  common  meals,  even 
if  some  visitors  remark  with  almost  shocked  surprise  that  the  effect  is 
little  different  from  a  good  works  canteen. 

In  fact  all  these  physical  standards  remain,  and  often  by  the  in- 
evitable conditions  of  their  surroundings  are  bound  to  remain,  at  a 
level  which  most  prisoners  used  to  a  modicum  of  material  comfort  or 
refinement  find  at  the  least  austere;  and  harder  words  have  been  used 
by  those  accustomed  to  more  than  that  modicum  who  have  not  appreci- 
ated the  principle  of  less  eligibility.  Certainly  they  do  not  offer  much  of 
what  for  Vhomme  moyen  sensuel  might  seem  the  smallest  comforts  of 
life.  There  is  no  beer  for  the  thirsty,  for  the  weary  no  armchair:  and 
the  troubles  of  a  smoker  suddenly  reduced  to  one  cigarette  or  less  a 
day  which  he  cannot  even  smoke  when  he  likes  are  not  small. 

But  even  so  these  standards,  at  their  minimum,  will  remain  above 
those  which  many  prisoners  are  able,  or  willing,  to  provide  for  them- 
selves outside.  Hence  the  traditional  stories  of  people  who  so  much 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  135 

prefer  prison  to  the  workhouse  (cidevant),  or  regularly  winter  in  their 
favourite  prison.  There  may  well  be  such  people,  though  Table  E 
(p.  126)  shows  that  the  class  from  which  they  are  likely  to  be  drawn  is 
nowadays  minimal  in  the  prison  population,  and  the  Report  of  the 
Casual  Poor  Committee  1930  1  found  little  factual  foundation  for  these 
stories.  The  answer  given  by  Edwin  Chadwick,  one  of  the  Poor  Law 
Commissioners  in  the  days  when  Bentham's  principle  was  young  and 
strong,  is  valid  in  its  degree  today : 

The  prisons  (he  wrote)  were  formerly  distinguished  for  their  filth 
and  bad  ventilation;  but  the  descriptions  given  by  Howard  of  the  worst 
prisons  he  visited  in  England  (which  he  states  were  among  the  worst  he 
had  seen  in  Europe)  were  exceeded  in  every  wynd  in  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow  inspected  by  Dr.  Arnott  and  myself.  More  filth,  worse  physical 
suffering  and  moral  disorder  than  Howard  describes  are  to  be  found 
amongst  the  cellar  populations  of  the  working  people  of  Liverpool, 
Manchester  or  Leeds  and  in  large  portions  of  the  Metropolis/  2 

The  conclusion  is  well  stated  by  Dr.  Mannheim:  'The  old  materialistic 
idea  that  prison  conditions  can  be  considered  one  by  one,  and  that  each 
calorie  of  food,  each  cubic  foot  of  air,  enjoyed  by  the  prisoner  should  be 
compared  and  contrasted  with  conditions  outside  .  .  .  has  proved 
fundamentally  wrong.  No  comparison  is  possible  between  social 
conditions  that  have  no  common  factor.' 3 

But  in  spite  of  some  adverse  comment  in  Parliament  and  the  Press 
when  in  recent  years,  at  a  time  of  potato  shortage,  prisoners  were 
thought  to  be  receiving  more  potatoes  than  those  'in  a  state  of  inno- 
cence and  liberty',  and  it  became  necessary  to  publish  a  calorific 
balance  sheet,  it  is  less  to  these  purely  physical  conditions  than  to 
methods  of  treatment  and  control  that  the  flavour  of  pampering  seems 
nowadays  to  attach.  This  can  be  ascribed  only  to  a  failure  to  appreciate 
either  the  nature  or  the  purpose  or  the  methods  of  imprisonment. 

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  description  of  the  nature  of  imprison- 
ment, we  may  appreciate  the  truth  of  Sir  Alexander  Maxwell's  con- 
clusion 'that  when  an  offender  is  confined  in  an  institution  the  con- 
striction of  his  life  and  his  isolation  from  society  have  harmful  effects 
on  his  mind  and  character,  that  to  mitigate  these  harmful  effects 
should  be  the  aim  of  institutional  treatment,  and  that  methods  of 
treatment  adopted  for  punitive  purposes  aggravate  the  harmful  effect 
and  should  be  avoided.  .  .  .  How  far  it  is  practicable  to  make  men  and 
women  better  by  methods  of  prison  treatment  may  be  arguable.  That  it 
is  possible  to  make  them  worse  is  incontestable;  and  the  primary 
object  of  prison  reform  is  to  mitigate  the  deformative  effects  of 
detention.'  4  To  prevent  actual  deterioration,  moral,  mental  or  physical, 

1  Cit.  Mannheim,  p.  85.  3  p.  70. 

2  Cit.  Trevelyan,  p.  529.  4  Ninth  Clarke  Hall  Lecture,  pp.  25,  38. 


136      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

must  clearly  be  a  primary,  if  negative,  duty  of  the  administration, 
especially  for  those  serving  long  sentences,  and  to  this  end  alone  such 
small  progress  as  has  been  made  towards  normalising  the  abnormal 
and  deforming  conditions  of  prison  life  would  have  been  essential. 
But  the  positive  duty  enjoined  in  Rule  6  calls  not  only  for  this  but  for 
more  than  this.  The  traditional  'punitive'  discipline  and  treatment  was 
entirely  negative;  it  was  humiliating,  repressive,  dead  and  dull.  It 
allowed  the  prisoner  who  could  'take  it'  to  shuffle  through  his  sentence 
with  the  minimum  of  mental  and  physical  effort  so  long  as  he  knew 
enough  to  appear  to  be  keeping  within  the  rules.  It  was  symbolised  by 
the  'face  to  the  wall'  order  whenever  a  person  of  sufficient  importance 
entered  or  passed  by — a  practice  by  which  the  writer  has  himself  been 
humiliated  while  visiting  a  war-time  military  prison  in  this  country, 
but  not,  fortunately,  of  it.  If  for  'discipline'  of  this  type  there  has  been 
substituted  a  method  of  control  which  is  positive  and  constructive, 
this  does  not  mean  that  discipline  in  its  proper  sense  has  been  in  any 
way  relaxed:  it  does  mean  that,  in  the  words  of  the  relevant  Rule, 
'Discipline  and  order  shall  be  maintained  with  firmness,  but  with  no 
more  restriction  than  is  required  for  safe  custody  and  well  ordered 
community  life',  and  that  'At  all  times  the  treatment  of  prisoners  shall 
be  such  as  to  encourage  their  self-respect  and  a  sense  of  personal 
responsibility.'  Self-respect  and  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility  are 
qualities  that  can  only  be  acquired  by  exercising  them:  they  will  not 
come  from  the  'fugitive  and  cloistered  virtue'  of  men  and  women  walk- 
ing in  silence  from  cell  to  workshop  and  back  again,  seeking  no  more 
than  to  keep  out  of  trouble.  This  is  not  to  pamper:  it  is  to  substitute 
for  what  was  merely  repressive  something  more  strenuous  and  more 
exacting. 

Similar  considerations  apply  to  every  technique  which  the  system 
devises  to  get  prisoners  out  of  their  cells  for  as  long  as  possible,  so  as 
to  quicken  rather  than  deaden  their  moral,  mental  and  physical 
responses  to  so  much  of  life  as  a  prison  can  offer  them.  The  final 
development  and  test  of  these  principles,  the  practical  application  of 
Paterson's  dictum  that  'you  cannot  train  men  for  freedom  in  a  condition 
of  captivity',  is  the  open  prison.  Although  men  and  women  placed  in 
these  conditions  are  still,  in  all  the  implications  of  the  word,  in  captivity, 
at  least  it  is  a  form  of  captivity  less  subject  to  deformative  effects,  more 
likely  to  turn  out  better  men  and  women,  than  any  that  has  yet  been 
tried.  And  it  is  for  that  reason  and  that  alone  that  open  prisons  are 
used.  They  are  in  no  sense  'holiday  camps';  save  for  the  different 
buildings  and  the  open  view,  the  standards  of  material  life  are  the 
same  as  in  a  closed  prison;  work  is  just  as  hard,  probably  harder,  the 
standard  of  discipline  just  as  high,  probably  higher. 

Here  the  man-in-the-street,  may  well  raise  his  hand  and  put  a  point 
that  for  some  time  has  been  pressing  from  the  back  of  his  mind. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  137 

This,'  he  may  say,  'may  be  all  very  well.  But  what  about  your  really 
bad  men — your  recidivists,  old  lags,  habitual  criminals,  or  whatever 
you  call  them.  Those  who  keep  coming  back  for  more.  Is  there 
nothing  more  to  be  done  about  them?  This  system  doesn't  seem 
either  to  reform  them  or  deter  them.'  This  is  a  valid  point  and  must 
be  answered.  First,  the  system  recognises  this  type,  and  classification 
sorts  them  out:  if  there  is  no  apparent  hope  that  training  can  help 
them,  they  will  get  very  little  in  the  fuller  sense  of  the  word — per- 
haps indeed  too  little:  many  men  could  serve  many  sentences  in  our 
prisons  today  without  benefit  of  much  that  is  described  in  these  pages 
as  training — but  the  system  cannot  do  everything  for  the  best  for 
everybody,  or  not  yet. 

Second,  it  remains  as  true  for  the  recidivists  as  for  the  first  offenders 
that  if  you  cannot  make  them  better  at  least  you  must  not  make  them 
worse:  and  it  is  a  basic  assumption  that  deliberately  punitive  measures 
will  make  them  worse.  That  conclusion  of  the  Gladstone  Committee 
was  confirmed  by  one  who  suffered  the  deterrent  system  at  its  sharpest 
in  Reading  Gaol  in  1898.  Wilde  wrote  in  De  Profundis  that: 

'prison  life  with  its  endless  privations  and  restrictions  makes  one 
rebellious.  The  most  terrible  thing  about  it  is  not  that  it  breaks  one's 
heart — hearts  are  made  to  be  broken — but  that  it  turns  one's  heart  to 
stone.  One  sometimes  feels  that  it  is  only  with  a  front  of  brass  and  a 
lip  of  scorn  that  one  can  get  through  the  day  at  all.  And  he  who  is  in 
a  state  of  rebellion  cannot  receive  grace 

Third,  a  question — what  is  it  suggested  that,  in  actual  practice,  such 
measures  should  be?  Work  harder?  But  all  are  made  to  work  as  hard 
as  they  can.  More  confinement  in  cells?  That  will  only  deaden  or 
embitter.  Lower  the  physical  standards  of  treatment?  But  where  is  this 
to  stop,  short  of  a  bread  and  water  diet  in  dungeons?  The  prisons 
cannot  include  an  entirely  different  kind  of  system  directed  in  terrorem 
against  'the  criminal  class'.  Among  other  reasons,  the  'criminal  class' 
is  too  diverse:  it  includes  many  who  are  dangers  to  society  in  prison 
and  out,  brutal,  cunning  and  vicious,  but  many  also  who  are  not  so 
much  anti-social  as  a-social  misfits  who  through  mental  or  physical 
deficiencies  slip  into  crime  because  they  cannot  keep  out  of  it.  Each 
offender  presents  an  individual  human  problem,  and  the  administration 
cannot  assume  the  responsibility  of  adjusting  the  physical  severity  of 
the  punishment  in  accordance  with  some  criterion  of  moral  guilt 
prescribed  by — whom?  Not  by  the  courts,  who  must  be  assumed  to  have 
expressed  their  sense  of  the  gravity  of  offences  in  the  lengths  of  the 
punishments  they  award.  No,  the  problem  is  not  to  be  solved  on  these 
lines :  that  way  leads  straight  back  to  the  opinion  Sir  Godfrey  Lushing- 
ton  gave  to  the  Gladstone  Committee  that  'a  mediaeval  thief  who  had 
his  right  hand  chopped  off  was  much  more  likely  to  turn  over  a  new 


138      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

leaf  than  a  convict  who  has  had  penal  servitude'.  The  contemporary 
solution  is  that  provided  by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act:  follow  the  better 
way  so  long  as  it  is  open — when  it  is  clear  that  the  offender  will  not 
take  it,  then  for  the  protection  of  society  shut  him  up  out  of  harm's 
way  for  a  very  long  time. 

Such  are  the  answers  to  be  returned  to  those  who,  believing  that 
'prison  reform'  goes  too  far  or  too  fast,  would  seek  to  curb  it.  To  those 
who,  thinking  it  goes  neither  far  nor  fast  enough,  would  serve  it  in  the 
office  of  a  spur,  there  are  others.  Pressure  from  this  direction  is  however 
less  urgent  since  the  fuller  developments  of  the  training  system,  and  is 
directed  for  the  most  part  against  conditions  in  the  local  prisons. 

So  far  as  this  criticism  is  directed  against  physical  conditions  in  and 
arising  from  the  buildings,  it  is  at  the  same  time  pushing  at  an  open 
door  and  beating  its  head  against  a  stone  wall.  No  one  charged  with 
responsibility  in  these  matters  for  many  years  past  has  not  at  some 
time  publicly  raised  his  voice  in  bitterness  on  this  question;  equally  no 
one  so  charged  today  does  not  realise  that  the  economic  conditions  of 
the  time  will  prevent  any  substantial  changes  for  some  years  to  come. 
Nevertheless,  by  the  use  of  huts  and  other  improvisations,  steady 
improvement  goes  on  in  the  teeth  of  steady  reduction  of  available  funds. 

Within  this  rigid  and  unsuitable  framework,  the  staff  of  a  local 
prison  cannot,  as  in  a  training  prison,  concentrate  on  its  central 
function.  There  is  a  constant  ebb  and  flow  of  receptions  and  discharges, 
surges  of  family  visitors,  a  great  and  growing  amount  of  work  in 
escorting  prisoners  to  and  from  courts  and  other  prisons  and  a  special 
drain  on  the  staff  at  every  sitting  of  the  many  Assizes  and  Sessions 
which  a  local  prison  serves:  often  on  these  occasions  there  are  hardly 
enough  officers  left  in  the  prison  to  man  the  essential  posts.  Again,  as 
we  have  seen  in  Chapter  Eight,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
prisoners  are  not  criminals  but  either  civil  prisoners  or  untried  prisoners 
who  cannot  yet  be  deemed  criminal,  and  each  of  these  categories  has 
to  be  treated  separately  under  special  rules.  Of  the  convicted  prisoners, 
many  are  merely  on  their  way  to  some  other  kind  of  prison ;  many  are 
there  for  so  short  a  time  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  done  with  or  for 
them  except  provide  board,  lodging  and  work;  and  those  who  stay 
longer  are  only  those  who  are  unsuitable  to  go  anywhere  else.  It  is  a 
valid  criticism  of  the  system  of  specialised  prisons  that  it  tends  to 
concentrate  the  more  interesting  and  constructive  work  in  a  few 
prisons  and  leave  to  the  majority  little  that  is  encouraging  and  much 
that  is  mere  routine.  But  these  distracting  features,  in  their  degree, 
are  inseparable  from  a  local  prison,  and  the  balance  of  advantage 
seems  to  lie  in  doing  the  best  for  those  prisoners  who  are  most  likely 
to  profit  by  removing  them  to  prisons  where  the  conditions  are  more 
settled  and  favourable,  and  the  staff  is  able  to  concentrate  on  its 
fundamental  job. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  139 

There  is  another  aspect  of  prison  treatment  which,  though  it  affects 
every  kind  of  prison,  especially  governs  the  working  of  local  prisons. 
The  essence  of  the  punishment  being  deprivation  of  liberty,  it  must  be 
of  the  essence  of  prison  life  that  the  prisoners  be  kept  in  safe-custody. 
The  methods  of  securing  this  will  vary  from  one  type  of  prison  to 
another,  but  in  the  conditions  of  a  local  prison  only  rigid  attendance 
to  the  needs  of  security  at  every  point  will  suffice.  What  this  entails  in 
detail  is  fully  described  in  Chapter  Ten. 

Without  doubt  many  of  these  difficulties  could  with  time  and  thought 
be  removed  or  mitigated,  and  without  doubt,  in  time,  they  will  be. 
But  the  bright  prospect  opened  out  by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  is 
clouded  by  unfavourable  conditions  which  may  be  transient,  but  are  a 
serious  check  on  progress  while  they  last.  The  overcrowding  of  the 
prisons  caused  by  the  increase  of  population  (p.  118)  clogs  the  admin- 
istration of  the  local  prisons  and  tends  to  an  atmosphere  of  rush  and 
pressure  making  for  frayed  tempers  among  both  prisoners  and  staff, 
of  which  the  substantial  increase  of  offences  of  violence  by  prisoners 
in  1949  was  perhaps  one  unhappy  effect,  though  the  unduly  high  pro- 
portion of  inexperienced  staff  may  also  have  contributed.  In  1947  the 
Commissioners  reported  as  follows : 

'One  result  of  the  overcrowding  was  that  in  almost  every  prison 
from  time  to  time,  and  in  many  all  the  time,  it  became  necessary  to 
sleep  three  men  in  a  cell.  The  effects  were  not  so  bad  as  might  have  been 
expected.  Some  prisoners,  of  course,  disliked  it,  but  the  more  general 
reaction  seems  to  liave  been  to  find  the  advantage  of  company  out- 
weighing the  drawbacks  of  'crowding  in\  The  hygienic  effects  must  be 
disagreeable,  but  have  not  so  far  affected  the  general  state  of  health. 
The  staff  and  the  general  tempo  and  standards  of  administration  have 
perhaps  suffered  most.  When  there  are  three  times  the  normal  number 
of  prisoners  on  a  landing  to  be  locked  up  and  unlocked,  'slopped  out', 
searched,  and  served  with  meals,  speed  must  tend  to  take  the  place  of 
care.  II  is  a  situation  in  which  an  officer  can  rarely  feel  satisfaction  in 
his  work,  and  particularly  bad  for  the  training  of  so  many  young 
officers. 

There  are  other  bad  effects  of  over-crowding.  The  results  in  the 
industrial  sphere  have  been  mentioned.  In  the  largest  prisons  the 
administration  is  simply  clogged  by  the  unwieldy  masses  of  men  who 
have  to  be  moved  from  place  to  place,  so  that  workshop  hours  as  well 
as  tempers  become  shorter.  There  is  a  perpetual  general  post  of  prisoners 
and  officers,  the  prisoners  being  moved  from  the  more  overcrowded 
prisons  to  the  less,  the  officers  detached  on  temporary  duty  from  the 
morq  fortunate  prisons  to  the  less.  In  most  prisons  every  room  that 
could  be  used  for  education  or  recreation  has  been  pressed  into  use  as 
a  dormitory.  And  when  every  cell  has  to  be  used,  classification  by 


140      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

wings  and  landings  is  preserved  more  in  principle  than  in  effective 
practice.' l 

Throughout  1950  these  conditions  had  not  improved  and  a  daily 
average  of  some  2,000  men  were  still  sleeping  three  in  a  cell,  though 
their  lot  had  been  improved  by  the  introduction  of  tiered  bunks  and 
suitable  furniture.  These  conditions  were  not  allowed  to  affect  the 
regional  training  prisons  and  the  central  prisons,  though  here  there 
were  balancing  disadvantages:  a  large  number  of  men  qualified  for 
training  prisons  could  not  go  to  them,  and  the  average  period  of  waiting 
for  removal  to  a  central  prison  was,  for  men  of  the  Ordinary  Class, 
about  15  months. 

These  difficulties  were  capable  of  relief  by  expansion  of  accommoda- 
tion, or  mitigation  by  expansion  of  staff.  But  by  1947  every  available 
cell  in  the  country  had  been  taken  into  use;  expansion  thereafter  could 
only  be  into  open  conditions;  and  there  are  limits  to  the  numbers  of 
prisoners  who  can  properly  be  placed  in  those  conditions.  The  opening 
of  new  prisons  is  also  a  heavy  drain  on  staff,  and  the  fall  in  recruiting 
in  1949  strictly  limited  the  possibilities  of  further  expansion.  The  effects 
of  this  serious  staff  shortage  on  the  administration  of  prisons  and  the 
training  of  prisoners  have  already  been  touched  on:  in  March  1951  the 
numbers  of  established  officers  in  post  were  still  below  the  number 
reckoned  to  be  necessary  to  maintain  even  a  one-shift  system  with 
full  efficiency.  Women  prisoners,  it  may  be  added,  are  not  overcrowded, 
but  the  women's  prisons  are  equally  understaffed. 

In  these  circumstances  it  is  a  tribute  to  the  tradition  and  morale 
of  the  service  that  health,  discipline  and  good  order  were  kept  at  a  satis- 
factory level  and  that  substantial  progress  was  made  in  improving  the 
methods  of  training  even  in  the  local  prisons.  But  1949  was  a  bad  year  in 
which  to  face  the  substantial  reorganisation  of  the  whole  system  required 
by  the  provisions,  so  long  and  so  hopefully  awaited,  of  the  Act  of  1948. 

Before  we  finally  leave  principle  for  practice,  it  is  of  interest  to  note 
the  international  diffusion  of  the  'climate  of  opinion'  in  which  the 
contemporary  English  prison  system  has  developed.  This  may  be  seen 
in  the  spirit  which  characterises  the  Resolutions  of  the  Twelfth  Inter- 
national Penal  and  Penitentiary  Congress  at  The  Hague  (1950)  (Appen- 
dix F),  and  in  the  selection  in  Appendix  G  of  recently  published  reports 
and  studies  which  show  a  striking  correspondence  of  thought,  whether 
as  to  the  principles  of  penal  punishment  or  its  application,  across  the 
five  continents  of  the  world. 

(2)    CLASSIFICATION 

Classification  is  a  word  which  has  come,  like  democracy,  to  mean 
very  much  what  the  user  wants  it  to  mean.  It  first  gained  currency  in 

i  A.R.  for  1947,  p.  34. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  141 

England  to  describe  a  system  intended  to  break  down  the  contamination 
of  the  common  wards  and  yards  of  the  eighteenth  century  gaols :  as 
established  by  Peel's  Gaol  Act  of  1823  it  was  based  on  Bentham's 
division  of  the  prisoners  into  five  groups — debtors  (or,  in  the  bridewells, 
vagrants),  unconvicted  felons,  unconvicted  misdemeanants,  convicted 
felons  and  convicted  misdemeanants.  Although  this  method  was 
shortly  abandoned  for  the  separate  system,  it  did  establish  two  prin- 
ciples that  have  governed  all  subsequent  methods  of  classification, 
viz.  the  necessity  for  the  prevention  of  contamination,  and  the  complete 
separation  of  debtors  and  unconvicted  prisoners  from  convicted 
prisoners.  The  latter  principle  has  for  over  fifty  years  been  as  much  a 
matter  of  course  as  the  separation  of  the  sexes,  though  it  does  present 
its  own  anomalies :  any  collection  of  untried  prisoners  is  likely  to  include 
every  degree  of  criminality,  while  among  civil  prisoners  there  may  well 
be  criminal  records — and  the  ethical  distinction  between  some  forms 
of  debt  and  some  forms  of  crime  is  rather  fine.  It  is  equally  a  matter  of 
course  that  young  prisoners  under  21  will  be  separated  from  all  other 
categories.  The  questions  to  be  considered  here  will  therefore  relate 
solely  to  adult  convicted  prisoners,  the  treatment  of  the  three  special 
categories  above-mentioned  being  dealt  with  in  later  chapters. 

The  ground  must  be  further  cleared  by  eliminating  those  who  are 
dealt  with  under  section  21  of  the  Act  of  1948  as  persistent  offenders. 
This  is  in  fact  a  major  act  of  classification,  since  it  separates  out  two 
significant  classes  of  offender  for  appropriate  treatment  of  different 
forms :  but  since  it  places  them  under  a  separate  statutory  system,  they 
will  also  be  dealt  with  in  a  separate  chapter. 

But  having  reduced  the  present  subject-matter  to  adult  convicted 
offenders  sentenced  to  imprisonment,  we  have  by  no  means  reduced 
the  terms  of  the  problem  to  simplicity.  Dr.  Griinhut,  for  instance, 
devotes  17  pages  l  to  a  study  of  classification  without  approximating 
to  a  statement  corresponding  with  current  English  practice.  We  may 
however  take  as  a  point  of  departure  his  opening  statement  that 
'classification  means  a  method  of  assigning  certain  types  of  prisoner 
to  different  forms  of  custody  and  treatment',  together  with  his  further 
statement  (p.  182)  that  'classification  is  a  means  to  an  end'.  But  when 
the  inquiry  is  pursued  along  the  lines  of  'what  types,  to  what  forms  of 
(a)  custody  (b)  treatment,  to  what  ends,  and  why?'  we  shall  find  con- 
siderable confusion  of  both  theory  and  practice  in  respect  of  each 
separate  part  of  this  question. 

At  the  London  Congress  of  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary 
Commission  in  1925  the  following  statement  emerged  from  a  full  dis- 
cussion by  higly  qualified  and  experienced  experts  of  many  countries: 

The  prevention  of  the  contamination  of  the  less  criminal  prisoner 
1  Penal  Reform,  pp.  179  seqq. 


142      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

by  those  more  experienced  in  crime  is  one  of  the  first  essentials  in 
prison  treatment. 

'After  the  necessary  divisions  according  to  age  and  sex  have  been 
made  and  the  mental  status  of  the  prisoner  has  been  taken  into  account, 
classification  should  be  according  to  character  and  ability  to  be  reformed 
of  each  prisoner. 

'The  shorter  term  prisoners  should  be  treated  apart  from  those  with 
longer  sentences  in  order  that  a  regime  or  course  of  training,  appro- 
priate to  the  latter  but  not  possible  with  the  former,  may  be  applied. 

The  various  classifications  of  prisoners  should  be  located  separately 
and  where  possible  in  different  buildings  on  the  same  ground  under 
one  administrative  head. 

'It  is  difficult  to  apply  the  necessary  individual  treatment  of  prisoners 
where  the  number  in  any  one  establishment  exceeds  five  hundred.'  1 

This  statement  implies  two  ends  to  which  classification  is  a  means — 
first,  prevention  of  contamination;  second,  individualisation  of  treat- 
ment, taking  account  of  'mental  status,  character  and  ability  to  be 
reformed'.  It  also  implies,  in  addition  to  these  vertical  divisions,  a 
horizontal  division  according  to  the  length  of  sentences,  and  suggests 
the  classification  of  prisons  as  well  as  of  prisoners. 

Dr.  Griinhut  also  deals  with  classification  under  the  headings  of 
'horizontal'  and  'vertical',  though  along  different  lines.  He  includes 
under  the  former  the  division  of  prisoners  'into  a  number  of  treatment 
groups',  and  under  the  latter  the  'differentiation  of  the  prison  term  into 
a  number  of  consecutive  stages' :  in  English  practice  the  stage  system 
is  not  regarded  as  an  aspect  of  classification,  being  itself  adapted  to  the 
special  needs  of  each  'treatment  group'.  In  his  discussion  of  the  assign- 
ment of  types  of  prisoner  to  appropriate  treatment  groups,  Dr.  Griinhut 
distinguishes  two  leading  principles ;  the  first  is  based  on  'a  distinction 
between  offenders  committing  crimes  from  strong  motives  or  the  lack 
of  counter-motives,  and  those  whose  offences  seem  an  almost  inevitable 
expression  of  deep-rooted  anti-social  tendencies';  the  second  on  "the 
consideration  whether  every  prisoner  needs  the  same  amount  of  safe- 
custody  in  order  to  prevent  assaults  and  escapes'.  He  also  gives  as  the 
basis  of  a  classification  proposed  in  the  Handbook  of  Case  Work  and 
Classification  Methods  of  the  American  Prison  Association,  'a  differen- 
tiation into  first  offenders,  recidivists,  mentally  abnormal,  and  physic- 
ally defective  prisoners'.  More  recently  and  nearer  home,  the  Report  on 
the  Scottish  Prison  System  by  the  Scottish  Advisory  Council  on  the 
Treatment  and  Rehabilitation  of  Offenders  (1949)  recommends  that 
'convicted  prisoners  whose  sentences  are  over  6  months  should  be 
classified  in  the  first  instance  according  to  their  mental  ability  irrespec- 

1  For  a  later  statement  by  The  Hague  Congress  1950,  see  I  (3),  Appendix  F. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  143 

tive  of  their  age,  criminal  record  or  character,  and  divided  into  two 
groups — those  of  low  intelligence  and  the  mentally  agile'  (para.  105). 

In  considering  what  is  meant  by  classification  in  current  English 
practice,  we  shall  find  that  in  outline  it  corresponds  almost  exactly 
with  the  specifications  of  the  Congresses  of  London  and  The  Hague, 
but  that  in  its  detailed  application  to  types  and  individuals  not  more 
than  one  or  two  of  the  systems  and  considerations  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Griinhut,  the  American  Prison  Association  Handbook,  or  the  Scottish 
Report  are  even  indirectly  relevant. 

The  main  structure  is  based  on  one  vertical  division  by  type  and  two 
horizontal  divisions  by  length  of  sentence.  The  vertical  division  is  into 
two  classes,  Star  and  Ordinary,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
Rule  9,  which  (omitting  certain  paras,  relevant  only  to  young  prisoners) 
reads  as  follows : 

9.  (1)  'In  order  so  far  as  possible  to  prevent  contamination  and  to 
facilitate  training  the  arrangements  set  out  in  the  following 
paragraphs  of  this  Rule  shall  be  made  in  classifying  prisoners. 

(3)  'Prisoners  of  21  years  of  age  and  over  who  have  not  previously 
been  in  prison  on  conviction  shall  be  placed  in  the  Star  Class  un- 
less the  reception  board  considers  that,  in  view  of  their  record  or 
character,  they  are  likely  to  have  a  bad  influence  on  others.  The 
reception  board  may  also  place  in  the  Star  Class  a  prisoner  of  21 
years  of  age  and  over  who  has  previously  been  in  prison  on  con- 
viction if  they  are  satisfied,  having  regard  to  the  nature  of  the 
previous  offence,  or  to  the  length  of  time  since  it  was  committed, 
or  to  the  prisoner's  general  record  and  character,  that  he  is  not 
likely  to  have  a  bad  influence  on  others. 

(4)  'Other  prisoners  shall  be  placed  in  the  Ordinary  Class. 

(5)  (b)  'The  Governor  may  in  his  discretion  at  any  time  remove  from 
the  Star  Class  to  the  Ordinary  Class  a  prisoner  whose  character  has 
shown  him  to  be  unfit  to  associate  with  other  prisoners  of  the  Star 
Class. 

(6)  'Arrangements  shall  be  made  in  all  local  prisons  to  provide  so 
far  as  practicable  for  the  effective  separation  at  all  times  of  the  three 
classes  of  convicted  prisoners. 

(7)  'Prisoners  of  the  Star  Class  transferred  to  a  central  prison  shall 
normally  be  placed  in  a  prison  set  aside  for  prisoners  of  that  class  and, 
where  they  are  in  the  same  prison  as  prisoners  of  the  Ordinary  Class, 
the  two  classes  shall  so  far  as  practicable  be  effectively  separated. 

(8)  'The  Commissioners  may  set  up  such  other  classes,  or  may 
authorise  in  particular  cases  or  at  particular  prisons  such  departures 
from  the  provisions  of  this  Rule,  as  may  in  their  opinion  be 
desirable  for  the  purposes  of  paragraph  (1)  of  this  Rule." 


144      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  Rule,  like  the  statement  of  the  Congress 
of  London,  lays  down  two  objects  of  classification — prevention  of 
contamination  and  facilitation  of  training:  but  as  to  the  methods  of 
achieving  these  objects,  it  goes  no  further  in  terms  than  the  division 
into  two  classes,  and  provision  for  their  effective  separation.  This 
division  serves  primarily  the  prevention  of  contamination,  though  the 
training  of  the  two  classes  is  facilitated  by  separation,  since  different 
methods  of  treatment  are  appropriate.  In  the  break-down  of  these  two 
statutory  classes  into  appropriate  treatment  groups  the  Commissioners 
are  left  a  fairly  free  hand  under  para.  (8)  of  the  Rule. 

Of  the  horizontal  divisions,  the  first  is  based  on  the  view  that 
prisoners  who  have  to  serve  really  long  terms  of  imprisonment  require 
different  treatment  from  those  serving  shorter  terms,  and  in  separate 
establishments;  accordingly  the  Rules  provide  that  the  Commissioners 
may  set  aside  particular  prisons,  or  parts  of  prisons,  for  such  prisoners 
or  classes  of  prisoner  serving  sentences  of  3  years  and  upwards  as  they 
may  determine.  These  are  known  as  central  prisons,  and  at  present 
the  prisoners  removed  to  them  are  normally  those  serving  sentences 
of  over  4  years,1  though  this  may  be  varied  from  time  to  time 
or  for  particular  prisoners.  The  vertical  division  of  this  long-term 
group  is  preserved  by  setting  aside  separate  prisons  for  those  of  the 
Star  class  and  those  of  the  Ordinary  class,  whether  men  or  women. 
One  of  the  two  prisons  for  the  Star  class  men  is  an  open  prison 
(Leyhill). 

.  For  the  prisoners  below  this  horizontal  line  there  is  another  line 
drawn  below  12  months,  this  being  the  minimum  sentence  required 
before  transfer  to  a  regional  training  prison  is  considered.  The  regional 
training  prison  represents  one  aspect  of  the  principle  recommended  by 
the  Congress  of  London  of  setting  aside  particular  prisons  for  particular 
classes  of  prisoner :  the  second  aspect  (again  leaving  aside  the  provision 
for  young  prisoners)  is  met  by  providing  so  far  as  possible  separate 
prisons  for  the  Star  class.  These  latter  arrangements  are  at  the  time 
of  writing  in  process  of  reorganisation,  but  in  principle  there  are  two 
prisons,  one  in  the  north  and  one  in  the  south,  for  Stars  with  sentences 
of  over  6  months,  and  two  more  for  those  with  sentences  of  up  to 
6  months.2  The  two  last  mentioned  prisons  are  of  medium  or  minimum 
security:  they  were  opened  primarily  to  relieve  overcrowding,  though 
having  become  available  they  are  used  in  a  manner  to  assist  the  process 
of  classification  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  'custodial  differen- 
tiation' mentioned  by  Dr.  Griinhut,  the  convicted  prisoners  sent  to 
them  being  of  types  which  by  length  of  sentence  are  not  eligible  for 
training  prisons,  but  which  both  by  length  of  sentence  and  by  character 
are  suitable  for  treatment  in  conditions  of  minimum  security,  since 

1  For  Stars,  3  years.  See  also  Appendix  K. 

2  Civil  prisoners  are  also  sent  to  these  prisons.  See  also  Appendix  K. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  145 

they  are  unlikely  either  to  think  it  worth  while  to  escape  or  to  require 
conditions  of  close  control. 

While  for  short-sentence  Stars  the  principle  of  custodial  differen- 
tiation is  applied  to  the  class  as  a  whole,  individuals  being  held 
back  on  special  grounds  only  (e.g.  medical  unfitness  or  some  doubt- 
ful factor  in  the  offence  or  record),  in  other  categories  it  is  based  on 
rigorous  personal  selection  after  careful  observation.  For  the  long-term 
(over  3  year)  Stars  the  practice  is  to  send  them  first  to  that  half  of 
Wakefield  which  serves  as  a  central  prison,  where  their  characters  and 
accommodation  to  prison  conditions  are  periodically  considered  by  a 
board :  when  it  is  thought  that  they  are  suitable  and  ready  to  go  to  the 
open  central  prison  at  Leyhill,  a  recommendation  is  made  to  the  Com- 
missioners, who  again  give  the  case  most  careful  consideration  before 
either  approving  or  postponing  transfer.  No  type  of  case  is  auto- 
matically excluded,  but  the  greatest  care  is  taken  with  men  who  have 
committed  offences  of  violence,  particularly  sexual  offences,  homo- 
sexuals and  younger  men  with  any  suggestion  of  mental  instability. 
The  Commissioners  feel  that  they  have  a  considerable  responsibility 
to  the  public  among  whom  they  place  some  hundreds  of  men  serving 
sentences  of  from  4  years  to  life  for  serious  offences,  including  murder, 
with  no  physical  restrictions  against  escape.  They  are,  moreover, 
acutely  conscious  that  too  many  escapes,  or  even  a  very  few  serious 
offences  committed  against  members  of  the  public  by  prisoners,  might 
seriously  shake  public  and  parliamentary  confidence  in  the  system. 
Most  prisoners,  therefore,  serve  some  months,  and  many  much 
longer,  before  the  Commissioners  can  feel  satisfied  that  they  are  able 
and  ready  to  settle  down  and  co-operate  in  a  system  which  requires  a 
high  standard  of  self-discipline:  moreover  any  who  show  that  they 
cannot  maintain  that  standard  are  at  once  returned  to  a  closed  prison. 

The  same  methods  are  applied,  in  relation  to  short-term  prisoners 
eligible  for  training  prisons,  in  considering  whether  they  are  suitable 
for  an  open  training  prison,  except  that  they  do  not  pass  through 
Wakefield.  In  any  case  of  doubt  it  is  thought  right  to  place  the  interests 
of  the  system  before  those  of  the  individual,  and  on  this  basis  the 
English  experience  since  the  first  open  prison  was  established  in  1933 
has  been  fortunate,  in  that  the  number  of  escapes  has  been  insignificant 
and  only  two  prisoners  have  been  charged  with  offences  against  local 
inhabitants. 

From  this  divagation  into  'custodial  differentiation'  we  return  to 
consider  how  the  two  divisions  of  short-term  (up  to  3  years)  prisoners 
are  further  subdivided  into  appropriate  'treatment  groups'. 

Let  us  first  take  those  above  the  horizontal  line  which  qualifies  for  a 
training  prison,  i.e.  12  months  to  3  years.  These  may  be  either  Stars  or 
Ordinaries.  For  a  Star,  the  assumption  is  that  he  will  go  to  a  training 
prison  unless  some  exceptional  reason  appears  against  it:  the  main 

E.P.B.S. — 10 


146      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

question  for  decision  is  whether  the  prison  shall  be  open  or  closed. 
The  disposal  of  Ordinaries  is  more  complicated,  and  calls  for  another 
divagation  from  the  main  theme. 

In  their  origin  training  prisons  were  for  the  Star  class  only,  since  it 
was  thought  that  only  with  prisoners  of  that  type  could  the  atmosphere 
of  trust  and  self-responsibility  required  for  such  prisons  be  maintained. 
But  in  more  recent  years  the  Commissioners  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  to  devote  this  intensive  system  of  training  solely  to  a  class  of 
offender  of  whom  it  was  statistically  certain  that  some  80  per  cent 
would  not  in  any  event  return  to  prison  was  in  some  sense  a  waste. 
In  the  fight  against  recidivism  the  hard  core  of  the  problem  was  the 
20  per  cent  who  did  return  to  prison:  these  were  the  people  who 
above  all  needed  the  best  training  that  could  be  given.  But  to  attempt 
to  create  the  atmosphere  of  a  training  prison  with  prisoners  drawn 
only  from  this  group  was  out  of  the  question.  The  somewhat  revolu- 
tionary solution  decided  on  was  to  break  down,  under  the  powers  of 
Rule  9  (8),  the  vertical  division  into  Stars  and  Ordinaries  and  substitute 
a  division  into  'trainable'  and  'non-trainable'.  This  implied  a  revaluation 
of  'contamination' :  the  possibilities  of  contamination  are,  perhaps,  no 
easier  to  evaluate  than  the  possibilities  of  reform  without  a  much  more 
subtle  and  precise  method  of  probing  the  depths  of  the  human  mind 
than  is  yet  available  to  prison  staffs — there  may  be  many  who  must  be 
classed  as  Stars  who  are  more  likely  to  corrupt  the  minds  of  their 
fellows  than  many  who  must  be  classed  as  recidivists.  Nor  is  a  burglar 
or  a  pickpocket  likely  to  teach  his  trade  to  a  defaulting  solicitor  or  a 
public  servant  who  has  committed  a  breach  of  his  trust.  However  that 
may  be,  it  was  decided  to  look  the  bogy  of  contamination  firmly  in  the 
face  and  to  act  on  the  optimistic  view  that,  provided  the  recidivists 
were  selected  with  sufficient  care,  and  remained  a  minority,  it  was  more 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  would  be  influenced  for  the  good  by  a 
majority  of  better  men  than  the  other  way  about.  Accordingly 
machinery  was  devised  for  selecting  prisoners  of  the  Ordinary  Class 
whose  records  suggested  that  they  were  not  yet  beyond  hope  of  rehabili- 
tation, and  whose  characters  appeared  to  be  such  that  they  would 
co-operate  in  and  profit  by  the  special  regime  of  a  training  prison.  These 
'trainable  ordinaries'  were  slowly  infiltrated  into  the  training  prisons 
until  they  reached  a  proportion  of  40  to  60  per  cent  of  Stars,  though 
within  the  training  prisons  there  is  no  classification — all  are  treated 
alike.  Governors  of  closed  training  prisons,  like  those  of  open  prisons, 
are  free  to  send  back  to  their  local  prisons  any  who  cannot  or  will  not 
co-operate,  after  they  have  done  their  best  with  them — and  they  do  not 
like  to  admit  failure  too  easily.  After  three  years'  trial,  there  has  been  no 
reason  to  regret  this  experiment,  either  in  the  administration  of  the  train- 
ing prisons  or  in  the  results  after  discharge  of  either  class  of  prisoner.1 

1  Appendix  K. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  147 

Finally,  for  those  who,  being  disqualified  either  by  character  or 
shortness  of  sentence  from  transfer  to  a  training  prison,  serve  their 
sentences  in  their  local  prisons,  there  remains  nothing  but  the  division 
into  the  two  normal  classes,  with  appropriate  treatment  for  each 
class  so  far  as  the  conditions  of  such  prisons  permit  of  differentiation, 
and  such  physical  separation  as  is  practicable  of  the  Stars  who  will  not 
be,  or  have  not  yet  been,  transferred  to  a  separate  prison. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  system  translates  into  practice  with  some 
precision  the  recommendations  of  the  Congress  of  London,  except 
that  it  appears  to  take  no  account  of  'mental  status',  whether  this  term 
be  taken  to  mean,  as  in  the  criterion  favoured  by  the  Scottish  Report, 
'mental  ability',  or  as  in  that  of  the  American  Prison  Association, 
'mental  abnormality'.  Nor  has  account  been  taken  of  certain  other 
features  mentioned  in  Dr.  Griinhut's  study,  e.g.  the  nature  and  motive 
of  the  offence  and  physical  defect.  Nevertheless,  although  none  of 
these  criteria  is  used  as  the  basis  of  a  separate  treatment  group,  any 
one  of  them  may  be  relevant  to  the  question  whether  an  individual 
should  be  selected  either  for  a  training  prison  or  an  open  prison.  The 
nature  of  the  offence  and  even  its  motives,  so  far  as  they  could  be 
discovered,  might  well  decide  whether  or  not  a  man  was  sent  to  a 
particular  type  of  prison,  as  would  a  medical  diagnosis  of  psychopathy 
or  psycho-neurotic  disturbance:  but  neither  subnormal  intelligence  nor 
physical  defect  would  affect  a  prisoner's  selection  for  a  particular  form 
of  training  unless  it  were  such  that  he  would  evidently  be  unable  to 
co-operate  in  and  profit  by  the  training.  This  does  not  mean  that 
serious  consideration  has  not  been  given  to  the  separation  for  appro- 
priate treatment  of  the  group  described  by  Sir  Norwood  East  as  the 
'non-sane  non-insane':  this  has  long  been  accepted  in  principle,  but 
this  whole  important  question  may  be  more  properly  considered  as  a 
medical  one,  and  is  dealt  with  as  such  in  Chapter  Fourteen.  Another 
related  question  which  has  occasioned  much  doubt  in  the  English  as 
in  other  prison  systems  is  whether  homosexual  offenders  should,  as 
such,  be  separated  from  other  groups:  the  view  so  far  taken  in  this 
country,  not  without  consideration  of  other  methods  and  their  effects, 
is  against  such  separation.  But  so  far,  rightly  or  wrongly,  consideration 
has  not  been  given  to  the  practice  followed  in  some  systems  of  setting 
up  separate  establishments  for  e.g.  the  tuberculous,  or  those  requiring 
continuous  treatment  in  hospital. 

A  word  in  conclusion  about  women.  Although  the  foregoing  dis- 
cussion has  been  throughout  in  the  masculine  gender,  the  whole  of  it 
applies  equally  to  women,  except  in  so  far  as  modifications  are  necessary 
owing  to  the  much  smaller  numbers  to  be  dealt  with— it  is,  for  example, 
impossible  to  provide  training  centres  for  girls  under  21  when  the  total 
number  eligible  l  at  any  one  time,  all  over  the  country,  rarely  reaches 
1  I.e.  with  sentences  of  3  months  or  over. 


148       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

twenty.  Apart  from  Hollo  way,  the  characteristics  of  which  have  already 
been  described,  there  are  only  four  local  prisons  which  have  wings  for 
women,  plus  one  which  keeps  a  small  block  of  cells  for  untried  women 
only,  and  in  only  one  of  these  is  the  population  likely  to  exceed  100. 
These  small  and  ill-provided  premises  offer  little  facility  either  for 
complete  separation  of  classes  or  for  active  training.  However,  subject 
to  these  limitations  of  the  local  prisons,  the  general  principles  above 
described  are  applied  except  that  there  is  no  separate  prison  for  short- 
term  Stars — the  long-term  (over  3  year)  Stars  go  to  a  separate  prison 
at  Aylesbury,  the  long-term  Ordinaries  to  a  separate  wing  of  Hollo  way . 
There  is  one  regional  training  prison  for  women  at  Askham  Grange 
in  Yorkshire,  and  a  second  in  preparation  at  Hill  Hall  in  Essex,  both 
being  open  prisons.  In  the  Tive  Year  Plan'  presented  by  the  Com- 
missioners to  the  Secretary  of  State  at  the  end  of  the  war  1  the  building 
of  modern  prisons  for  women  was  given  a  high  priority,  but  of  these 
hopeful  plans,  five  years  later,  only  the  sense  of  urgency  remains. 

(3)  TRAINING 

Having  divided  the  prisoners  into  appropriate  treatment  groups,  we 
pass  to  consideration  of  how,  in  the  broad,  the  principles  of  training 
and  treatment  already  described  are  applied  to  the  different  groups, 
working  our  way  up  from  the  local  prisons,  through  the  regional 
training  prisons,  to  the  central  prisons.  In  the  local  prisons  we  are 
concerned  with  those  members  of  the  Star  class  whose  sentences  are 
too  short  for  training  prisons,  or  who  are  awaiting  their  turn  to  go  to 
one,  but  principally  with  the  common  run  of  'in-and-out'  Ordinaries — 
mostly  with  short  sentences,  but  a  fair  proportion  also  with  sentences 
up  to  4  years  whose  character  and  record  offer  little  hope  that  they  will 
profit  by  any  sort  of  training.  The  operation  of  section  21  of  the 
Criminal  Justice  Act  is  now  diverting  a  number  of  these  last,  with  what 
result  remains  to  be  seen,  into  the  channel  of  corrective  training. 

Methods  of  treatment  concerned  with  security  and  control,  material 
conditions  of  life  and  so  forth  make  no  differentiation  between  the 
two  classes;  and  in  smaller  prisons  where  only  one  or  two  industries 
are  available  there  will  be  little  if  any  differentiation  in  work,  though 
in  general  the  Stars  would  be  put  to  the  better  class  work  where  prac- 
ticable. But  in  practice  this  would  not  always  work  out,  as  the  more 
skilled  industries  call  for  men  with  longer  sentences,  and  these  will  ex 
hypothesi  be  Ordinaries.  On  the  other  hand,  Stars  will  generally  be 
found  in  positions  of  trust,  as  in  the  library,  or  in  small  'honour  parties' 
working  without  the  direct  supervision  of  an  officer,  or  working  on  the 
prison  gardens  or  in  outside  agricultural  parties :  and  in  the  separate 
Star  prisons  the  industries  are  of  the  better  class.  Trust  and  responsi- 
2  Annual  Report  for  1945,  Appendix  2A. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  149 

bility  are  not,  in  the  hurly-burly  of  local  prison  life,  to  be  attributed 
with  any  freedom  to  the  general  run  of  the  Ordinary  class:  those  who 
are  given  the  'red-band'  of  the  prisoner  who  is  allowed  to  pass  to  and 
fro,  or  do  his  special  job,  without  continuous  supervision,  are  as  likely 
to  be  reliable  old  customers  who  know  the  ropes  as  men  selected  for 
the  inculcation  of  a  sense  of  responsibility. 

The  main  differentiation  lies  in  the  application  to  the  two  classes  of 
the  Stage  System.  This  has,  in  recent  years,  undergone  such  changes 
of  both  principle  and  practice  as  may  almost  have  excluded  it  from  any 
of  the  classical  definitions  or  descriptions.  We  have  seen  how,  at  least 
from  the  time  of  Maconochie  on  Norfolk  Island,  the  conception  of 
Progressive  Stages,  coupled  with  Maconochie's  marks  system,  became 
almost  the  dominating  idea  in  prison  reform  in  both  Europe  and 
America.  In  its  earliest  form,  it  amounted  to  little  more  than  per- 
mission to  pass  from  a  stage  of  desperate  hopelessness,  through  one  of 
mere  existence,  to  the  ultimate  goal  of  hope  that  some  remission  might 
be  earned.  Its  second  form,  corresponding  in  England  roughly  with  the 
du  Cane  regime,  added  to  this  some  progressive  mitigation  of  the 
severer  physical  deprivations,  though  convicts  with  their  longer  sen- 
tences received  a  little  more  encouragement.  Under  the  Ruggles-Brise 
'  regime  the  main  features  were  a  slow  increase  in  the  numbers  of  letters 
and  visits  allowed,  and  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  library  books — one 
'good'  book  in  the  First  Stage,  one  good  book  and  one  less  good  but 
more  interesting  in  the  Second,  two  good  ones  and  one  interesting  one 
in  the  Third,  and  so  on.  Indeed  this  sort  of  thing  remained  the  sub- 
stantial basis  of  the  system  until  recent  years,  with  some  provision  for 
periodicals  to  be  sent  in,  attendance  at  concerts  and  lectures,  and  the 
privilege  of  association  at  certain  meals  for  Stars :  with  the  introduction 
of  earnings  at  work  the  right  to  earn  also  became  a  stage  privilege, 
while  convicts  had  continued  to  receive  their  traditional  'stage  gratu- 
ities' of  a  few  pence  increasing  year  by  year. 

Under  the  modifications  gradually  introduced  since  the  war,  and 
standardised  in  the  revised  stage  system  introduced  in  1949,  almost 
the  whole  of  this  machinery  has  been  discarded.  The  marks  system  had 
gone  some  years  earlier,  having  long  become  a  piece  of  labour-wasting 
routine  which  served  no  perceptible  purpose:  in  practice  every  prisoner 
was  automatically  credited  with  the  necessary  marks  for  both  remission 
and  stage  unless  he  had  forfeited  them  by  idleness  or  misconduct — it 
was  therefore  much  simpler  all  round  to  assume  that  he  had  earned 
these  privileges  unless  they  had  been  taken  away,  which  could  more 
conveniently  be  done  in  terms  of  days  than  of  marks. 

It  appeared  to  the  Commissioners  that  a  system  of  this  traditional 
pattern  was  open  to  two  objections  in  principle.  In  so  far  as  the  'privi- 
leges' had  a  value  as  elements  of  training,  the  sooner  a  prisoner  was 
able  to  profit  by  them  the  better:  and  in  so  far  as  they  were  useful  as 


150       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

aids  to  discipline,  a  prisoner  might  be  more  affected  by  the  loss  of 
something  he  was  actually  enjoying  than  by  deferment  of  the  hope  of 
enjoying  it.  Accordingly  it  was  decided  that  since  good  reading,  the 
stimulation  of  industry  by  earning,  and  the  maintenance  of  family 
relations  by  letters  and  visits  were  all  valuable  for  training,  they  should 
be  divorced  from  the  stage  system  and  made  available  as  fully  as 
possible  to  all  prisoners  from  the  beginning  of  their  sentences.  Further, 
that  except  for  long-term  Ordinaries  the  system  should  no  longer  be 
progressive  through  a  number  of  stages,  but  that  the  prisoners  should 
be  either  'in  stage'  or  'out  of  stage',  this  being  already  the  practice  in 
the  training  prisons  before  the  war.  For  the  long-term  Ordinaries  it 
seemed  desirable,  for  a  variety  of  reasons,  to  keep  a  progressive  system. 
The  feeling  of  progress  through  a  term  of  years  is  helpful  to  men  to 
whom  it  is  neither  practicable  nor  desirable  to  give  at  an  early  stage  the 
privileges  which  the  modern  system  affords  to  Stars;  and  the  old  lag 
is  a  conservative  person  who  values  his  place  in  a  well-defined  class 
system,  with  its  cachet  of  distinctive  dress  and  separate  'club  room'  in 
the  higher  ranks,  and  he  will  usually  try  to  live  up  to  it.  Long-term 
Stars  however  get  all  available  privileges  as  soon  as  they  come  into  stage. 
Another  feature  of  the  new  system  is  that  any  one  privilege,  whether 
it  be  a  stage  privilege  or  not,  may  be  forfeited  independently,  but 
Governors  are  advised  that  certain  privileges,  e.g.  letters,  library  books 
and  educational  facilities  should  normally  be  forfeited  only  if  they  are 
abused.  A  list  of  all  the  features  of  treatment  which  are  defined  as 
privileges  which  may  be  forfeited  is  given  in  Appendix  H,  together 
with  a  detailed  account  of  the  operation  of  the  Stage  System.  Certain 
features  of  this  call  for  special  comment. 

The  differentiation  in  the  application  of  the  short-term  system  to  the 
two  classes  is  two-fold.  The  Star  gets  into  stage  after  a  month,  this 
being  in  some  sense  a  period  of  quarantine  to  make  sure  that  he  is  a 
Star,  and  suitable  to  be  trusted  in  the  fairly  full  association  allowed  to 
his  class:  the  Ordinary  is  out  of  stage  for  4  months,  which  means  that 
he  has  to  have  a  sentence  of  over  6  months  (allowing  one-third  off  for 
remission)  to  get  into  stage.  This  decision  was  deliberately  taken  to 
exclude  the  mass  of  short-sentence  recidivists  for  whom  their  imprison- 
ment could  have  no  training  value,  who  could  not  be  trusted  in  associa- 
tion, and  for  whom  there  would  be  no  room  if  they  could  be  trusted: 
it  should  nevertheless  be  noted  that  while  out  of  stage  they  now  receive 
every  privilege  which  they  could  have  earned  in  the  second  stage  of 
the  previous  progressive  system.  The  second  difference  relates  to  the 
amount  of  association  allowed  in  stage:  to  allow  prisoners  to  mix  freely 
together  for  meals  and  recreation  is  a  means  of  allowing  the  staff  to 
form  some  judgment  of  a  prisoner's  real  character — it  is  also  a  privilege 
so  highly  valued  by  the  majority  that  they  will  try  to  conform  to  the 
required  standards  of  behaviour  rather  than  lose  it,  and  for  many  there 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  151 

is  a  positive  gain  in  having  succeeded  in  living  up  to  a  standard  for 
some  months,  however  reluctantly  and  for  whatever  motives.  Nor  is  it 
compulsory — those  who  prefer  their  own  company  or  wish  to  read  or 
study  quietly  can  stay  in  their  cells.  But  this  privilege  can  be  awarded 
much  more  sparingly  to  Ordinaries  than  to  Stars,  not  only  because  of 
their  nature  but  because  in  a  local  prison,  which  normally  has  only  the 
floors  of  the  halls  available  for  association,  there  simply  is  not  room 
for  them:  so  the  Governor  is  given  complete  discretion  as  to  allowing 
them  to  associate  either  at  meals  or  for  evening  recreation,  and  it  is  only 
after  12  months  in  stage  that  they  come  out  in  the  evenings. 

The  long-term  system  gives  to  all  prisoners  from  the  beginning 
everything  that  was  formerly  a  second-stage  privilege,  and  for  the  rest 
is  based  mainly  on  the  gradual  extension  of  the  periods  of  association — 
an  arrangement  that  is  conditioned  as  much  by  the  limited  accommo- 
dation of  the  central  prisons  as  by  any  principle  of  treatment  or  training, 
though  over  a  period  of  years  too  much  purposeless  association  does 
tend  to  diminish  its  value. 

The  shorter  periods  of  the  progressive  stages  for  women  are  due 
primarily  to  the  fact  that  the  women's  prisons  are  better  able  to  provide 
the  necessary  facilities  for  association. 

There  are  two  important  aspects  of  training  which  are  not  dependent 
on  stage  or  class — education  in  all  its  forms,  and  what  may  broadly 
be  termed  social  welfare.  Both  these  subjects  will  be  fully  discussed 
elsewhere,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  of  them  here  that  in  a  local 
prison  all  prisoners  of  both  classes  may  benefit  from  all  the  facilities 
available  to  the  extent  of  their  capacity  and  will. 

In  a  training  prison  nothing  turns  on  either  stage  or  class — all, 
whether  in  their  local  prisons  they  were  Stars  or  Ordinaries,  are  on  the 
same  footing,  and  all  are  in  stage  from  the  start.  And  there  are  two 
other  features  which  are  not  found  in  local  prisons — stability  and  homo- 
geneity: all  the  prisoners  are  there  for  at  least  six  months  and  often 
much  longer.  The  staff  get  to  know  them  because  they  are  not  being 
constantly  taken  off  their  regular  work  by  extraneous  jobs,  and  the 
whole  establishment  and  every  one  in  it  is  working  to  one  and  the  same 
end.  The  principles  are  not  different  from  those  in  a  local  prison,  but 
they  can  be  more  fully  and  intensively  practised.  All  the  industries  are 
of  good  quality,  with  three  or  four  vocational  training  classes  in  skilled 
trades,  and  the  staff  is  sufficient  to  allow  a  working  week  of  reasonable 
length.  The  evening  educational  and  recreational  programmes  are  full 
and  varied,  so  that  little  or  no  time  need  be  spent  in  cells — indeed  these 
stand  open  all  day  and  are  used  for  little  else  but  sleeping.  And  the 
teaching  of  self-discipline  and  self-responsibility  is  taken  much  further 
in  many  ways  besides  the  daily  freedom  of  association  from  getting  up 
to  going  to  bed :  although  security  cannot  be  neglected  it  is  not  obtruded, 
and  prisoners  move  freely  about  the  place  without  the  direct  supervision 


152      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

of  officers.  This  is  one  result  of  the  'leader'  system.  A  leader  is 
something  quite  different  from  the  'red-band'  of  a  local  prison,  though 
he  has  none  of  the  attributes  of  the  'trustie'  of  some  American  practice 
or  of  the  N.C.O.  prisoner  of  some  colonial  practice — at  Wakefield  they 
are  traditionally  called  'strokes',  because  their  job  is  not  to  command 
the  crew  but  to  set  the  pace:  each  mess  of  some  ten  men  has  its  stroke, 
and  in  this  prison  each  mess  has  its  own  small  room  where  it  eats  and 
lives,  and  the  stroke  sees  to  it  that  the  standards  of  the  prison  and  the 
mess  are  maintained — but  he  has  no  disciplinary  authority  and  no 
special  privileges  or  remuneration.  At  Maidstone  there  are  no  separate 
mess-rooms  so  the  system  is  rather  different:  here  leaders  are  respons- 
ible, for  example,  for  the  cleanliness  and  turn-out  of  their  halls,  for 
arranging  evening  activities  and  taking  parties  to  and  fro,  and  generally 
they  play  a  fairly  responsible  part  in  the  life  of  the  prison.  The  writer 
was  in  a  block  of  this  prison  one  evening  while  a  number  of  educa- 
tional classes  were  going  on,  for  the  most  part  under  prison  teachers ; 
while  he  was  in  one  such  class,  the  lights  fused  and  the  building  was  in 
darkness ;  although  there  was  no  uniformed  officer  in  the  block,  there 
was  no  disorder — prisoners  from  a  technical  class  quickly  located  the 
fault  and  restored  the  light,  and  all  went  quietly  on.  Such  can  be  the 
effect  of  self-discipline  through  trust. 

An  essential  part  of  the  training  in  regional  prisons  is  personal 
knowledge  by  the  staff  of  every  prisoner  and  attention  to  the  problems 
he  presents  as  an  individual,  whether  in  relation  to  his  past  or  his 
future,  his  training  inside  the  prison  or  his  family  and  social  relations 
outside.  The  subordinate  staff,  as  we  have  seen,  are  in  a  much  better 
position  to  help  here  than  in  a  local  prison;  there  is  a  resident  Welfare 
Officer  appointed  by  the  National  Association  of  Discharged  Prisoners' 
Aid  Societies  x;  the  Medical  Officers  are  skilled  in  psychological  medi- 
cine and  play  a  full  and  essential  part  in  the  training;  the  Chaplain  is 
in  a  much  better  position  than  in  a  local  prison  to  get  to  know  his 
flock  as  individual  souls,  and  to  find  the  way  to  reach  them;  and  finally, 
though  this  cannot  be  carried  so  far  as  in  a  Borstal,  appropriate  blocks 
or  divisions  of  the  prisons  are  placed  under  Assistant  Governors  who 
bring  to  the  men  in  their  charge  much  the  sort  of  care  that  a  Borstal 
housemaster  brings  to  his  house. 

The  culminating  feature  of  the  training  for  many  men  is  the  transfer 
to  camp.  Both  Wakefield  and  Maidstone  have  camps,  which  normally 
take  up  to  100  men,  some  miles  away  in  the  country.  These  are  entirely 
without  security,  the  men  sleeping  in  wooden  huts  and  the  bounds 
designated,  if  at  all,  by  whitewash  marks  on  the  trees.  An  Assistant 
Governor  is  in  charge,  with  a  Principal  Officer  and  a  staff  of  three  or 
four  officers  who  lead  a  bachelor  life  on  the  premises.  Work  is  entirely 
agricultural;  at  Wakefield,  in  clearing  the  woodland  for  cultivation  and 

1  See  Chapter  16. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  153 

then  cultivating  it,  with  minor  stock-raising  (pigs,  hens,  rabbits);  at 
Maidstone,  by  supplying  parties  of  workers  to  surrounding  farms  or 
for  public  works  1  (catchment,  land  drainage,  etc.).  Selection  for  camp 
will  usually  be  considered  in  the  latter  part  of  a  man's  sentence,  as 
forming  a  valuable  half-way  house  to  freedom,  an  opportunity  for 
conditioning  to  the  feel  of  normal  life  after  the  distortions  of  life  behind 
a  wall.  It  is  not,  however,  either  valuable  or  possible,  or  not  equally 
so,  for  everyone;  some  men  from  their  records,  the  nature  of  their 
offences  (especially  if  it  is  a  sexual  offence  or  one  of  violence),  their 
observed  characters  in  the  prison,  are  bad  risks;  others  may  be  com- 
pleting a  trade  training  course  and  prefer  to  stick  to  their  lasts;  others 
are  just  not  tempted  by  a  rather  hard  physical  life  out  of  doors  with 
dormitory  life  and  modest  amenities.  But  wise  selection  can  bring  to 
many  men  an  influence  which  is  of  determining  value  for  their  future: 
there  have  been  many  cases  of  men  with  dubious  records,  on  whom 
other  forms  of  treatment  had  little  apparent  effect,  who  lost  in  camp 
their  'old-lag'  mentality  and  did  well  after  discharge.  With  this  careful 
selection,  and  the  rigorous  return  to  the  prison  of  any  who  cannot 
stand  up  to  the  strain  of  self-discipline,  experience  has  shown  that  the 
public  is  not  asked  to  undergo  any  special  risk  in  the  interests  of  this 
form  of  training:  from  New  Hall  Camp  at  Wakefield,  since  1936,  only 
seven  prisoners  have  escaped,  and  only  one  has  been  charged  with  an 
offence  against  a  local  inhabitant,  while  from  Aldington  Camp  at 
Maidstone,  since  it  was  opened  in  1947,  there  has  been  one  escape  and 
no  known  offences. 

This  experience  led  the  Commissioners,  in  1948,  to  establish  at 
Sudbury,  Derbyshire,  in  the  premises  of  a  former  American  army 
hospital,  an  independent  training  prison  for  up  to  300  men  in  entirely 
open  conditions.  This  establishment  was  built  up  slowly  with  an  initial 
population  of  selected  Stars,  and  now  takes  up  to  40  per  cent  of  train- 
able  Ordinaries  or  corrective  trainees  2  like  the  closed  training  prisons 
— to  the  extent,  that  is,  to  which  a  sufficient  number  of  these  categories 
suitable  for  open  conditions  can  be  found.  Its  traditions  are  now  well- 
established,  and  are  based  on  the  fullest  responsibility  and  initiative  in 
a  communal  life  which  is  less  cramped  and  distorted  than  that  of  a 
walled  prison.  There  is  first-class  workshop  accommodation,  ample 
space  for  indoor  and  outdoor  recreation  (including  a  good  theatre), 
and  a  valuable  educational  programme  provided  by  the  County 
Education  Authority. 

The  fourth  of  the  present  training  prisons  for  men  might  technically 
be  described  as  a  'medium  security'  prison — not  because  the  system 
recognises  a  place  for  medium  security  in  principle,  but  because  the 
premises  became  available  and  happened  to  be  built  that  way.  This 

1  For  the  conditions  of  extra-mural  employment  of  prisoners  in  all  prisons,  see 
Chapter  11.  2  See  Appendix  K,  note  on  p.  146. 


154      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

institution  is  situated  within  the  formidable  earthwork  and  moat  of  the 
Verne  Citadel  on  the  Island  of  Portland.  The  security  of  the  perimeter 
is  thus  impressive,  but  the  conditions  within  are  quite  open,  the 
prisoners  using  the  former  accommodation  of  the  garrison.  The  prem- 
ises lend  themselves  admirably  to  their  new  purpose,  the  dining-room 
and  kitchen,  common-rooms  and  workshops  being  exceptionally  good. 
The  prison  was  opened  early  in  1949  by  a  pioneer  party  of  Stars,  and 
the  population  was  slowly  built  up  towards  the  optimum  of  300,  of 
whom  up  to  40  per  cent  will  be  trainable  Ordinaries  or  corrective 
trainees  as  elsewhere.  A  football  field  has  been  levelled  and  prepared 
within  the  'wall',  and  the  Dorset  County  Education  Authority  provide 
a  programme  of  evening  education.1 

The  first  training  prison  for  women,  at  Askham  Grange  near  York, 
is  also  on  the  60-40  basis,  but  there  is  rather  more  elasticity  about  the 
types  of  women  sent  there.  The  prison  was  established  early  in  1947 
in  a  large  country  house,  not  because  premises  of  this  type  were  thought 
to  be  the  most  appropriate  for  the  purpose,  but  because,  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  time,  if  anything  was  to  be  done  for  women  it  had  to  be 
done  in  a  house  of  this  sort  or  not  at  all.  Many  visitors  have  raised 
the  question,  both  here  and  in  the  similar  but  more  beautiful  house  for 
Borstal  girls  at  East  Sutton  Park,  whether  it  is  wise  to  accustom  women 
and  girls  to  this  standard  of  amenity  when  most  of  them  must  shortly 
go  back  to  something  so  depressingly  different.  It  is  a  valid  question — 
but  would  it  have  been  better  or  worse,  on  the  whole,  to  have  left  them 
behind  the  walls  of  Holloway  or  Strangeways?  And  again,  may  there 
not  be  some  continuing  value  in  having  given  them,  perhaps  for  the 
first  time,  the  feeling  of  a  way  of  life  with  standards  and  values  outside 
the  possibility  of  their  own  experience?  Apart  from  this  doubt,  it  may 
also  be  thought  that  mature  women  would  be  better  placed  in  single 
rooms  than  in  the  small  dormitories  that  the  structure  of  Askham 
Grange  requires.  But  given  these  conditions  as  inevitable,  one  can 
only  put  them  to  the  test  of  experience  and  remark  that  after  two  years' 
experience  the  Governor  was  able  to  report  that  no  woman  had  escaped, 
none  had  been  punished  and  none  had  been  reconvicted.2 

The  principles  at  Askham  are  the  same  as  for  men,  but  the  methods 
are  modified  to  meet  the  needs  of  women,  and  of  a  small  unit  of  women, 
for  the  house  will  take  only  60.  It  has  not  yet  been  possible  to  find  an 
industry  in  which  vocational  training  could  be  given  to  women  on  the 
lines  of  that  given  to  men,  and  the  day's  work  is  based  on  a  thorough 
training  in  the  various  aspects  of  home-making,  including  cookery, 
housewifery,  needlework,  gardening  and  laundry-work.  It  is  worth 
while  to  emphasise  that  this  is  training,  and  that  the  conditions  of  the 
house  make  it  possible,  in  a  way  that  is  not  possible  in  an  ordinary 

1  Another  open  training  prison  was  opened  in  1951  at  Falfleld,  Glos. 

2  Annual  Report  for  1948,  p.  27.  In  1949  two  reconvictions  were  reported. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  155 

prison,  to  relate  the  training  to  the  needs  of  ordinary  life:  the  women 
become  really  competent  cooks  and  needlewomen,  learn  how  to  do 
home  washing,  and  finally  go  through  a  course  of  Cookery  and  Home 
Management  prescribed  by  the  County  Council,  who  examine  them  at 
the  end.  The  painting  and  decorating  has  also  been  done  by  the  women 
themselves,  and  done  very  well.  There  is  plenty  of  outdoor  work,  not 
only  in  gardening  and  poultry-keeping  in  the  grounds  but  (in  super- 
vised parties)  for  local  farmers.  The  evening  educational  activities 
have  a  useful  bias,  including  teaching  in  embroidery,  dress-making, 
toymaking  and  leatherwork,  and  lectures  in  Child  Welfare,  Home 
Nursing,  First  Aid  and  Personal  Hygiene.  There  are  also  classes  in 
English  and  other  subjects.  All  this  is  of  real  value  to  women  who  will 
for  the  most  part  return  to  their  homes  or  be  called  on  to  make  homes. 
After  a  time  the  women  are  allowed  to  go  for  local  walks  in  small  groups 
without  supervision,  and  in  a  spirit  of  good-neighbourliness  'the 
Grange',  in  spite  of  its  new  use,  remains  within  proper  limits  the  local 
centre  for  both  recreation  and  social  welfare. 

On  the  effects  of  this  homely  community  life  on  character  the 
Governor  reported  as  follows: 

'A  code  of  honour  takes  the  place  of  what  is  generally  known  as 
discipline;  this  is  rarely  abused  even  in  a  small  way.  The  improvement 
in  manners,  appearance,  industry  and  co-operation  of  the  women  has 
been  well  maintained,  there  is  always  an  atmosphere  of  friendliness, 
and  freedom  from  fear  and  anxiety  makes  a  noticeable  difference  in 
their  behaviour  in  a  short  time.  Their  readiness  to  shoulder  responsi- 
bility is  praiseworthy.  Friendship  with  the  local  inhabitants  is  now 
firmly  established,  they  are  invited  to  all  our  social  activities,  and  always 
come  in  full  force.'  l 

We  pass  now  to  the  central  prisons,  taking  first  those  for  the  Ordinary 
Class  at  Parkhurst  and  Dartmoor.  Dartmoor,  in  spite  of  its  reputation, 
climate  and  buildings,  does  provide  good  facilities  for  training:  there 
is  a  variety  of  good  class  industry,  and  almost  unlimited  work  outside 
the  walls  on  the  extensive  farm-lands,  quarries  and  land  maintenance 
and  reclamation.  Notwithstanding  the  isolation  of  the  prison  the  Devon 
County  Council  provides  a  good  programme  of  evening  education, 
and  the  use  of  the  library  and  of  correspondence  courses  shows  a  high 
level  of  serious  interest.  The  two  great  draw-backs  to  this  prison,  apart 
from  archaic  buildings,  are  its  isolation,  which  minimises  the  amenities 
of  life  for  the  staff  and  the  application  of  outside  resources  to  the 
training  of  the  prisoners,  and  the  sensational  reputation  which  has 
been  attached  to  it.  It  has  been  doomed  to  discontinuance  for  so  long 
that  it  will  now  be  a  long  and  costly  business  to  bring  its  buildings  and 
staff  accommodation  up  to  the  standards  which  might  make  of  it  the 
*  Annual  Report  for  1948,  p.  28. 


156      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

healthy  and  active  training  establishment  which,  given  a  fair  chance, 
it  is  capable  of  becoming.  Nevertheless,  with  the  growing  need  for 
prisons  of  this  type  to  provide  for  the  large  number  of  long-term 
prisoners  flowing  from  the  'persistent  offenders'  provisions  of  the 
Criminal  Justice  Act,  it  became  necessary  in  1949  to  grant  this  ancient 
prison  a  reprieve  from  its  long-impending  doom,  and  to  set  to  work 
on  its  reorganisation  and  modernisation. 

Dartmoor  is  built  of  hard  granite  on  the  high  moors.  Parkhurst, 
brick-built  in  the  softer  climate  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  is  a  different 
affair.  Steeped  in  the  'old-lag  mentality',  it  harboured  until  1950  l  the 
'old-age  party',  the  pre-1948  preventive  detention  men,  a  considerable 
hospital  which  has  long  been  the  conyict  medical  centre,  and  generally 
favoured  the  feeling  of  doing  one's  time  quietly.  There  are  few  elements 
of  hope  in  the  Parkhurst  population.  Nevertheless,  as  is  desirable  for 
men  serving  long  sentences,  there  are  good  industries,  out-door  work 
on  the  farm  and  in  the  forest,  and  a  football-field  in  an  adjoining 
compound,  where  the  week-end  games  offer  an  outlet  alike  for  the 
physical  energies  of  the  more  robust  and  the  gambling  instincts  of  all. 
The  whole  prison  turns  out  for  the  game,  and  the  break  from  routine  is 
good  for  discipline  and  morale.  There  is  little  to  be  said  of  any  con- 
structive evening  activities. 

Long-term  men  of  the  Star  Class,  for  so  long  as  they  remain  at 
Wakefield  (see  p.  175),  are  treated  under  a  regime  similar  to  that  of 
the  'training'  side  of  the  prison  which  has  already  been  described.  It 
remains  to  consider  those  who  in  due  course  are  passed  on  to  the  open 
prison  at  Leyhill.  Although  this  prison  represents  the  most  advanced 
experiment  in  training  prisoners  so  far  attempted  in  this  country,  not 
in  the  fact  of  its  being  in  open  conditions  but  in  the  resolution  to 
trust  in  those  conditions  men  serving  very  long  sentences  for  serious 
offences,  there  is  little  fresh  to  be  said  of  principles :  all  the  methods 
that  have  been  described  as  applicable  in  training  prisons  are  applied 
here.  First,  plenty  of  high-class  industrial  work,  with  outside  work  on 
surrounding  farms,  to  which  some  men  go  out  individually  on  bicycles. 
Then,  the  provision  of  ample  and  various  opportunities  for  the  valuable 
use  of  leisure — a  good  educational  programme  organised  by  the  Local 
Education  Authorities  in  conjunction  with  Bristol  University,  and  a 
variety  of  recreational  and  sporting  activities  organised  by  the  men 
themselves — the  Leyhill  Amateur  Dramatic  Society  puts  on  two  or 
three  shows  a  year  in  its  own  theatre  from  its  own  resources ;  the  cricket 
and  football  clubs  stand  high  in  the  sporting  esteem  of  neighbouring 
leagues,  though  they  play  only  'home'  matches;  regular  concerts  are 

1  In  the  summer  of  1950  the  first  of  the  'new-style'  preventive  detention  men 
under  the  Act  of  1948  began  to  arrive — see  Chapter  18.  It  seems  probable  that  by 
the  end  of  1951  Parkhurst,  except  for  medical  cases,  will  be  full  of  preventive  deten- 
tion men.  Dartmoor  will  then  be  the  only  prison  for  long-term  Ordinaries. 


CLASSIFICATION  AND  TRAINING  157 

supported  by  the  prison  orchestra;  there  is  a  monthly  periodical  edited 
and  produced  by  the  men  ...  in  short  nothing  in  reason  is  omitted 
which  may  keep  the  bodies  and  minds  of  the  prisoners  healthy,  active 
and  interested,  and  prepare  them  for  normal  life,  during  their  long 
years  of  confinement.  Here,  as  in  other  open  prisons,  there  is  a  notice- 
able absence  of  the  tensions  of  ordinary  prison  life,  and  a  high  standard 
of  discipline  is  required  and  maintained  with  little  need  to  resort  to 
punishment — for  which  indeed  there  are  few  facilities:  the  real  sanction 
against  failure  to  keep  up  is  to  be  sent  back  to  a  closed  prison.  And  last 
but  not  least,  knowledge  of  each  man  by  the  staff — Governor  and 
Assistant  Governors,  Chaplain,  Medical  Officer  and  every  one  else, 
so  that  their  problems  both  inside  and  outside  the  prison  may  be 
understood  and  so  far  as  possible  resolved — for  even  in  an  open  prison 
any  mole-hill  may  quickly  become  a  mountain  in  the  mind  of  a  prisoner. 
The  picture  for  women  fills  neither  so  broad  nor  so  various  a  canvas. 
Long-term  women  are  few:  some  30  Stars  at  Aylesbury  and  about  the 
same  number  of  Ordinaries  in  a  separate  wing  at  Holloway.  Aylesbury 
is  an  ordinary  cellular  prison  within  a  wall,  though  there  is  space  for 
gardens.  The  women  have  in  the  past  been  for  the  most  part  elderly 
abortionists,  with  others  who  have  committed  serious  offences  which 
may  often  be  classed  as  'accidental',  though  since  the  war  the  proportion 
of  younger  women  has  increased.  For  this  type  of  women  it  has  been 
found  that  a  rather  homely  and  informal  atmosphere,  allowing  closer 
personal  contacts  with  the  staff,  is  more  successful  than  a  regimented 
though  possibly  more  constructive  regime  to  which  few  would  be  likely 
to  respond.  Those  for  whom  something  more  positive  may  be  needed, 
especially  the  younger  women,  may  be  transferred  to  Askham  Grange 
after  a  time.  Certainly  the  regime  appears  to  serve  its  primary  purpose, 
since  a  reconviction  is  almost  unknown.  Nevertheless,  it  would  be 
refreshing  to  see  the  women  housed  in  some  more  pleasant  and  appro- 
priate buildings  which  would  encourage  a  more  tonic  and  normal  life. 
Even  more  would  one  wish  this  for  the  Ordinaries,  who  behind  the  grim 
walls  of  Holloway  lead  a  life  very  much  that  of  the  local  prison,  save 
for  their  privileges  of  association  and  the  efforts  made  by  the  staff, 
under  an  Assistant  Governor  who  has  them  in  her  special  charge,  to 
understand  and  help  them,  keep  the  peace,  and  make  their  evenings 
as  interesting  and  constructive  as  possible.  Again,  certain  carefully 
selected  women  may  be  sent  to  Askham  Grange  to  be  'finished'.1 

1  See  also  Appendix  K. 


CHAPTER  TEN 
SECURITY  AND  CONTROL 


(1)    GENERAL 

THE  regime  of  a  prison  is  founded,  and  must  be  firmly  founded,  on 
the  twin  rocks  of  security  and  good  order:  if  these  are  not  sound 
the  superstructure,  whatever  its  purpose,  must  sooner  or  later 
crack:  this  holds  true  in  its  degree  for  prisons  of  every  type,  though 
methods  of  securing  the  foundations  will  vary.  Classification  brings 
together  in  separate  prisons  those  who  can  be  trusted  to  exercise  self- 
discipline,  and  there  control  by  the  staff,  though  not  less  effective, 
should  be  less  obtrusive.  The  serious  problems  are  presented  in  the 
local  prisons  and  in  those  for  long-term  Ordinaries  and  persistent 
offenders :  it  is  essential  here  that  the  staff  should  not  only  have  com- 
plete and  unquestioned  control  but  that  they  should  manifestly  and 
openly  be  seen  to  have  it.  Many  of  these  prisoners  are  malicious,  cun- 
ning and  often  violent  men  whose  only  interests,  throughout  their 
sentences,  are  to  score  points  in  their  incessant  poker-game  against 
authority  and  to  bend  to  their  purposes  such  weaker  prisoners  as  they 
can  dominate:  and  once  this  section  feels  itself  to  be  on  top,  there  is 
no  more  peace  in  that  prison.  Firm  control  is  therefore  necessary  in  the 
interests  not  only  of  the  administration  but  of  the  majority  of  prisoners 
who  want  to  do  their  time  quietly,  and  they  recognise  and  welcome  it. 
Above  all  therefore  a  prison  officer  must  know  his  men — on  the 
one  hand  those  who  can  be  allowed  some  latitude,  or  checked  with  a 
quiet  word,  on  the  other  those  who  are  out  to  make  trouble,  and 
especially  those  who,  while  skilfully  keeping  out  of  trouble  themselves, 
know  how  to  make  others  fire  their  bullets  for  them:  he  must  be  able 
to  keep  order  fairly  and  firmly  without  too  much  fuss — he  should  not 
often  need  to  place  a  prisoner  'on  report',  but  he  should  never  hesitate 
if  it  is  necessary  for  that  man  at  that  time.  Long  periods  of  superficial 
calm  must  not  be  allowed  to  dull  alertness — in  the  abnormal  associa- 
tions of  a  prison  any  trifling  incident,  fumbled  in  its  handling,  may 
lead  for  no  apparent  reason  to  disorder,  assault  or  mutinous  riot. 

158 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  159 

It  is  against  this  background  that  we  should  consider  the  first  of  the 
Statutory  Rules  under  this  heading,  which  reads: 

'The  Rules  in  this  section  shall  be  applied,  due  allowance  being 
made  for  the  differences  of  character  and  response  to  discipline  of 
different  types  of  prisoner,  in  accordance  with  the  following  principles : 

(i)  Discipline  and  order  shall  be  maintained  with  firmness,  but  with 
no  more  restriction  than  is  required  for  safe  custody  and  well 
ordered  community  life; 

(ii)  In  the  control  of  prisoners  officers  shall  seek  to  influence  them 
through  their  own  example  and  leadership,  and  to  enlist  their 
willing  co-operation; 

(iii)  At  all  times  the  treatment  of  prisoners  shall  be  such  as  to 
encourage  their  self-respect  and  a  sense  of  personal  responsi- 
bility.' 

In  Star  prisons  and  training  prisons,  and  in  dealing  with  Stars  in 
local  prisons,  the  regime  and  the  conduct  of  the  staff  can  be  and  are 
confidently  based  on  those  principles.  For  the  rest  they  are  valid,  as  the 
Rule  implies,  as  far  as  they  can  be  taken,  and  the  farther  that  is  the 
better  will  be  the  tone  of  that  prison:  but  it  needs  a  well  selected,  trained 
and  experienced  staff  to  do  it.  There  is  more  than  one  system  of  con- 
trolling prisoners :  in  America  the  tendency  is  to  strengthen  the  prison 
wall  with  watch-towers,  searchlights,  armed  sentries  and  every  mechan- 
ical aid,  and  within  this  impregnable  circuit  to  allow  relaxed  control — 
the  prisoners  suffer  little  immediate  restriction  of  their  doings,  but  they 
know  that  tear-gas  and  fire-arms  are  not  far  in  the  background.  The 
English  prison  officers  carry  staves  (concealed  in  a  special  pocket)  for 
use  only  when  essential  and  in  self-defence,  but  no  fire-arms  or  tear-gas 
or  the  like  are  held  in  prisons,1  and  the  staff  is  on  a  minimum  functional 
basis  without  reserves  against  violent  contingencies.  It  may  here  be 
mentioned  that  a  Statutory  Rule  to  which  the  greatest  importance  is 
attached  is  that  'No  officer  when  dealing  with  prisoners  shall  use  force 
unnecessarily,  and  when  .  .  .  force  is  necessary,  no  more  force  than  is 
necessary  shall  be  used.'  Nothing  is  more  likely  to  result  in  dismissal 
than  a  breach  of  this  Rule,  and  though  it  cannot  be  confidently  stated 
that  illicit  'beatings-up'  never  happen,  they  are  very  rare  and  are  never 
condoned.  To  avoid  violence,  officers  are  instructed  in  certain  Judo 
holds  for  the  control  of  refractory  prisoners. 

This  system  of  control  does  call  for  a  somewhat  regimented  routine 
with  close  and  constant  supervision  by  the  staff:  it  also  requires  high 
qualities  from  the  staff  and  a  high  standard  of  discipline  from  the 
prisoners :  but  if  discipline  is  regarded  as  a  willing  response  to  authority, 

i  Except  at  Dartmoor,  where  armed  patrols  cover  the  large  parties  working 
outside  the  wall. 


160      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

and  the  staff  is  able  on  the  whole  to  secure  that  response  by  fairness 
and  humanity,  there  is  something  of  value  gained.  And  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  American  system,  whatever  its  advantages,  would 
travel  so  well  as  other  ideas  which  have  been  successfully  transplanted 
across  the  Atlantic.  However  that  may  be,  order  is  maintained  under 
this  system  with  little  recourse  to  punishment:  for  ten  years  before  the 
late  war  the  average  number  of  prisoners  punished  in  local  prisons  was 
about  4-5  per  cent — since  the  war,  overcrowding  and  shortage  of 
experienced  staff  have  resulted  in  an  increase  to  over  8  per  cent,  but 
even  so,  in  a  recent  year  in  a  large  and  difficult  local  prison  less  than  2 
men  a  day  were  reported  for  offences  out  of  over  800.  Serious  or  con- 
certed disorder  is  very  rare,  and  only  three  times  since  the  First  World 
War  have  there  been  serious  outbreaks  of  mutinous  violence. 

Of  all  restrictions  on  the  conduct  of  prisoners,  the  most  notorious 
has  been  the  Rule  of  Silence.  It  is,  therefore,  well  to  emphasise  that  in 
English  prisons  today  there  is  no  such  rule.  Broadly,  talking  is  restricted, 
though  not  forbidden,  on  certain  occasions,  and  entirely  unrestricted  on 
others.  During  working  hours,  gossip  and  unnecessary  chatter  will  be 
discouraged,  as  also  when  parties  of  prisoners  are  moving  about  under 
supervision,  or  waiting  to  see  the  Governor  or  Medical  Officer  when 
there  may  be  prisoners  of  different  classes  in  the  same  party:  on  all 
these  'parade'  occasions  a  prisoner  who  does  not  stop  talking  when  he 
is  warned  is  likely  to  be  reported.  'Off  parade',  during  meals,  recreation, 
exercise  and  on  educational  occasions,  talking  is  quite  unrestricted. 
There  is  a  story  that,  shortly  after  talking  at  exercise  was  first  allowed, 
an  officer  of  the  old  school  reported  a  prisoner  for  'not  conversing  on 
conversational  exercise' — apocryphal  perhaps,  but  it  does  hint  at  the 
danger  of  a  certain  traditionalism,  tending  to  rigidity,  which  is  still 
latent  in  our  system. 

The  qualities  this  system  seeks  in  its  officers  are  not  those  of  an 
amateur  psychologist,  or  even  of  a  strong  vocation  for  social  service, 
but  humanity,  fairness,  self-responsibility,  self-control  and  complete 
integrity — and  it  must  be  said  that  it  is  this  last  which  is  likely  to  be 
most  sorely  assailed  among  the  type  of  prisoner  we  are  primarily  con- 
sidering— and  even  among  the  Star  class  there  are  not  a  few  who  are 
dangerous  here.  Every  prison  officer  in  regular  contact  with  prisoners 
is  constantly  open  to  corruption,  and  the  root  of  this  evil  is  tobacco. 
There  has  always  been  a  certain  amount  of  illegal  traffic  in  tobacco, 
even  when  its  presence  in  a  prison  was  most  strictly  forbidden.  But 
then  it  was  fairly  easy  to  detect  illicit  tobacco.  When,  with  the  intro- 
duction of  the  earnings  scheme,  the  purchase  of  tobacco  by  prisoners 
was  allowed,  detection  became  less  easy;  and  since  the  level  of  earnings 
can  only  provide  enough  tobacco  to  stimulate  the  craving  for  more, 
the  effects  have  been  bad — so  bad  as  to  raise  the  question  whether  the 
disadvantages  of  this  step  have  not  outweighed  the  advantages.  To- 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  161 

bacco,  or  the  lack  of  it,  leads  to  more  corruption,  secret  and  overt 
violence  and  general  bad  feeling  and  evil  conduct  than  almost  any 
other  aspect  of  prison  life.  The  'tobacco-baron'  who,  with  the  help  of 
his  jackals,  gets  a  hold  on  the  weak  and  hard-up  who  have  been  led  into 
borrowing,  is  a  menacing  feature  of  the  unsavoury  underlife  of  all  too 
many  prisons. 

An  even  greater  menace  may  be  the  corrupt  officer,  rare  though  he 
fortunately  is:  to  bring  illicit  tobacco,  letters  and  other  specified 
articles  into  a  prison,  or  to  'plant'  them  outside  for  the  purpose,  is  an 
offence  punishable  by  imprisonment  and  (for  a  member  of  the  staff) 
automatic  forfeiture  of  office,  but  the  profits  are  so  great  that  the  risks 
may  still  be  taken.  The  danger  to  the  officer  is  insidious — if  he  gives 
way,  however  little,  he  cannot  withdraw;  once  a  prisoner  has  moved 
him  from  the  strict  path  of  duty  it  is  the  prisoners  who  control  him, 
not  he  the  prisoners — -facilis  descensus  .  .  . 

This  is  a  situation  of  real  difficulty  for  prison  administrators,  who 
cannot  but  know  that  in  this  sort  of  atmosphere  moral  training  is 
unlikely  to  do  well :  it  is  one  of  the  strongest  reasons  for  the  separate 
training  prison.  The  present  combination  of  high  prices  for  tobacco 
with  restrictions  on  the  cost  of  the  earnings  scheme  required  by  public 
economy  is  unfavourable  to  a  simple  economic  solution;  to  allow 
prisoners  a  reasonable  ration  of  tobacco  below  cost,  when  so  many  'in 
a  state  of  innocence  and  liberty'  cannot  now  afford  to  smoke  at  all, 
might  prove  to  be  too  flagrant  a  breach  of  the  principle  of  less  eligibility; 
the  radical  solution  of  abolishing  smoking  in  prisons  is  probably 
impracticable.  Recently  some  improvement  has  been  effected  by  a 
modest  increase  of  earnings,  by  allowing  all  to  earn  and  to  smoke  from 
the  beginning,  and  by  experiments  in  substituting  book-credits  for 
cash  payments.  But  this  may  well  remain  as  a  troublesome  problem 
in  any  prison  of  mixed  or  recidivist  population,  or  to  a  lesser  degree 
in  other  prisons  should  an  officer  become  corrupted  and  escape  detec- 
tion. Fortunately  the  determination  of  the  staff  as  a  whole  to  resist  and 
expose  this  evil  of  'trafficking'  keeps  it  within  very  small  dimensions. 
t 

(2)    SECURITY 

The  essence  of  commitment  to  prison  for  any  purpose  being  that  the 
prisoner  is  deprived  of  his  liberty,  the  basic  charge  on  the  keepers  of  the 
prison  is,  today  as  yesterday,  safe-custody.  If  today  other  'primary  and 
concurrent'  charges  are  laid  on  the  prison  which  cannot  be  fully  dis- 
charged if  safe-custody  is  treated  as  an  over-riding  consideration,  that 
raises  questions  of  method  and  emphasis  rather  than  of  principle. 
Where  the  value  of  a  particular  system  of  training  for  the  prevention 
of  crime  is  such  that,  in  order  to  preserve  it,  reasonable  risks  must  be 
taken  as  to  safe-custody,  such  risks  may  properly  be  taken  for  so  long 

E.P.B.S. — 11 


162       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

as  the  balance  of  results  justifies  them — for  so  long,  that  is,  as  escapes 
do  not  cause  trouble  to  the  police  and  the  public,  and  disturbance  in  the 
administration  of  the  prison,  which  are  disproportionate  to  the  addi- 
tional value  of  the  system  over  one  of  greater  security. 

But  in  prisons  which  rely  on  physical  restraints — walls,  locks  and 
bars — there  can  be  no  half-measures.  To  many  prisoners  this  type  of 
safe-custody  offers  a  challenge  which  they  are  always  ready  to  accept, 
and  they  show  great  skill,  perseverance  and  daring  in  their  attempts 
to  defeat  it.  For  the  defenders  therefore  a  certain  professional  pride  also 
becomes  involved,  if  no  more.  In  the  local  prisons,  then,  and  those  for 
long-term  prisoners  and  persistent  offenders,  the  requirements  of  security 
have  a  dominating  influence  on  the  life  and  routine  of  the  prison. 

The  structural  features  of  the  security  system  condition  the  whole 
plan  and  atmosphere  of  the  prison.  The  sheer  20-foot  wall  encloses  all, 
with  its  massive  gate-house  of  which  the  outer  and  inner  gates  must 
never  be  open  at  the  same  time.  Every  entrance  to  the  main  prison 
blocks  has  an  iron-barred  gate  on  a  double  lock  opened  with  a  special 
key  of  limited  issue,  and  the  day's  routine  is  regularly  punctuated  by 
the  unlocking  and  locking  up  of  the  prisoners  in  their  cells.  The  prison 
officer  of  today  is  a  good  deal  more  than  a  turnkey,  but  turning  keys, 
checking  them,  and  accounting  for  them  remain  a  prominent  and 
permanent  feature  of  his  daily  life. 

This  locking  and  unlocking  of  gates  and  cell  doors,  with  the  'proving' 
and  checking  required  to  ensure  that  they  are  always  properly  secured, 
requires  a  specialised  technique,  as  do  the  various  ceremonies  of  the 
keys — a  stray  key  may  give  sleepless  nights  to  the  whole  staff  till  it  is 
found.  The  checking  of  numbers  is  the  next  essential  of  security.  This 
requires  the  careful  supervision  of  every  party  of  prisoners  at  all  times, 
and  a  sort  of  running  audit  and  balancing  up  of  numbers  at  each  un- 
locking and  locking-up  comparable  with  the  operations  of  a  bank. 
The  first  thing  reported  to  a  visiting  superior  is  the  number  on  the 
roll,  whether  of  the  whole  prison  or  a  particular  shop  or  party,  and  the 
standard  greeting  of  every  prison  officer,  as  he  salutes  the  visitor,  is 
'Fourteen  men,  sir,  all  correct.'  When  prisoners  are  locked  up  at 
dinner-time,  and  again  at  supper-time,  every  officer  has  to  report  his 
roll,  and  the  senior  officer  balances  up.  The  staff  cannot  dismiss  till  the 
balance  is  correct,  and  many  a  careless  officer  has  appeared  before  the 
Governor  charged  with  'giving  an  incorrect  roll,  thereby  delaying  the 
staff  for  20  minutes'.  When  account  is  taken  of  all  the  comings  and 
goings  of  prisoners,  the  odd  men  who  are  sick,  or  on  report,  or  waiting 
to  see  the  Governor,  or  taken  away  from  their  parties  for  a  bath  or  a 
visit,  the  complication  of  this  technique,  and  the  constant  care  required 
to  keep  the  record  straight,  become  almost  distressingly  clear.  But  it  is 
not  difficult  for  an  experienced  prisoner  to  'escape  notice  disappearing' 
in  the  to-and-fro  of  a  busy  prison  day,  and  without  this  somewhat  rigid 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  163 

and  exacting  routine  his  absence  might  not  be  noticed  for  hours,  and 
then  it  might  take  a  very  long  time  to  find  out  who  it  was  that  was 
missing,  where  he  was  last  seen,  whether  he  was  not  perhaps  somewhere 
where  he  might  legitimately  be,  and  so  on.  It  is  easier  to  fade  away 
during  the  day  and  lie-up  somewhere  till  night-fall  than  to  break  out 
of  a  cell,  and  much  more  disturbing  to  the  administration. 

But  breaking  out  of  a  cell  is  a  possible  and,  with  a  limited  number 
of  skilled  operators,  a  popular  project.  It  has  been  done  in  many 
different  ways — by  making  keys,  by  filing  window-bars,  by  making  a 
hole  in  the  wall,  or  even  by  cutting  a  hole  in  the  floor  and  going  out 
through  a  ventilating  shaft.  But  it  requires  time,  care  and  tools  of  sorts, 
and  the  counter-move  to  this  gambit  is  searching.  About  once  a  fort- 
night, at  irregular  intervals  to  secure  a  surprise  effect,  every  cell  and  its 
occupant  should  have  a  'special  search'  designed  to  lay  bare  any  filing  or 
picking  or  scratching,  or  any  illicit  objects  that  could  serve  as  tools. 
Many  'unauthorised  articles'  are  revealed  on  these  occasions,  perhaps 
the  most  striking  of  recent  years  being  a  little  wireless  receiver  made 
out  of  bits  and  pieces  of  broken-down  telephone  equipment  smuggled 
in  from  a  workshop — though,  as  it  was  put  by  the  officer  displaying  this 
ingenious  bit  of  work,  'the  poor  chap  was  wasting  his  time  because 
after  all  it  seemed  he  could  only  get  the  Third  Programme!'  Every  party 
is,  in  principle,  searched  on  coming  in  from  work,  but  this  is  no  more 
than  a  superficial  rub-down  supposed  to  ensure  that  nothing  is  con- 
cealed in  the  clothing.  It  is  not  surprising  that,  in  the  general  rush,  this 
should  have  developed  into  little  more  than  a  formal  gesture  by  the 
officer  carrying  it  out,  though  it  may  still  have  some  deterrent  effect. 
The  'shadow-boards'  for  tools  in  the  workshops  are  part  of  the  same 
set  of  precautions,  to  ensure  that  the  officers  responsible  for  checking 
tools  at  the  end  of  each  period  can  see  at  a  glance  whether  one  is  missing. 
A  break  out  from  a  cell  is  usually  made  at  night,  {hough  it  has  been 
done  by  day  (and  once  by  a  girl  of  about  16),  and  must  include  the 
operation  of  'selling  the  dummy'  to  the  night-patrol,  that  is  of  placing 
in  the  bed  objects  giving  the  appearance  of  a  sleeping  occupant: 
since  the  night-patrols  have  no  cell-key  (lest  they  should  be  over- 
powered by  someone  at  large  who  could  then  unlock  the  whole  prison) 
this  is  not  difficult — indeed  the  night-patrols  are  not  effective  as  a 
security  measure,  and  escapers  can  always  gauge  their  operations  so  as 
to  evade  inspection. 

Having  broken  out  of  the  cell,  it  is  necessary  to  get  over  the  wall, 
and  this  seems  to  present  surprisingly  little  difficulty  to  the  enterprising. 
Security  measures  against  this  move  include  the  careful  locking  up  of 
ladders,  timber,  ropes  and  other  articles  that  would  help,  but  somehow 
the  escaper  is  usually  able  to  construct  and  conceal  somewhere  a  rope 
and  hook,  or  get  hold  of  a  long  piece  of  timber.  The  expense  of  man- 
power in  yard-patrols  by  night  has  not  seemed  justifiable. 


164      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

On  top  of  all  this  precaution  is  the  blanket-measure  of  the  Escape 
List,  on  which  the  Governor  is  required  to  place  all  prisoners  who  are 
known  to  have  escaped  or  tried  to  escape  before.  These  men  are  located 
together  in  cells  placed  where  they  can  most  easily  be  supervised,  and 
have  to  put  all  their  clothing  outside  the  door  at  night,  while  a  dim 
light  is  kept  on  in  their  cells.  During  the  day  every  officer  who  takes 
such  a  man  over  signs  for  him  and  duly  hands  him  over  on  receipt  to 
his  successor,  and  to  make  sure  that  they  are  not  overlooked  they  wear 
coloured  patches  of  an  unobtrusive  sort  on  their  jackets  and  trousers. 
The  Governor  has  complete  discretion  to  take  a  man  off  the  Escape 
List  at  any  time  he  thinks  it  right  to  do  so. 

The  dispassionate  observer,  considering  the  enormous  effort  put 
into  this  complicated  system  of  security,  and  its  effect  in  adding  to  the 
repression  and  artificiality  of  prison  life,  may  well  wonder  if  there 
may  not  be  more  sorrow  over  one  offender  who  escapes  safe-custody 
than  over  ninety-and-nine  who  escape  reform.  What,  he  may  ask,  are 
its  effects?  After  all  this  trouble,  how  many  prisoners  do  escape  from 
conditions  of  security?  The  answer,  as  given  by  the  Commissioners  in 
their  Annual  Report  for  1947  (p.  35)  is  that  prior  to  1939  the  average 
number  of  escapes  from  secure  conditions  was  about  5  a  year;  the 
conditions  during  and  after  the  war,  already  described,  had  led  to  an 
increase,  wholly  disproportionate  to  the  increase  of  population,  to 
between  40  and  50  a  year.  A  great  improvement  was  however  recorded 
in  1950,  when  escapes  fell  to  20  for  a  much  larger  population. 

(3)    MECHANICAL  RESTRAINTS  AND  REMOVAL 

Here  it  may  be  said  first  that  the  chaining  of  prisoners  who  have  tried 
to  escape  is  no  longer  permitted  in  English  prisons.  Indeed  the  use  of 
any  form  of  mechanical  restraint  inside  the  prison  is  strictly  forbidden 
by  the  Statutory  Rules  except  on  medical  grounds  by  direction  of  the 
Medical  Officer,  or  when  it  appears  to  the  Governor  that  it  is  necessary 
in  order  to  prevent  a  prisoner  injuring  himself  or  others,  or  damaging 
property,  or  creating  a  disturbance.  If  the  Governor  does  so  order,  he 
must  at  once  inform  the  Visiting  Committee  and  the  Medical  Officer 
in  writing,  and  if  the  Medical  Officer  does  not  concur  the  Governor 
must  act  on  his  recommendations.  No  prisoner  must  be  kept  under 
restraint  longer  than  is  necessary  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
,  ordered,  nor  for  a  longer  period  than  24  hours  without  the  written 
authority  of  the  Visiting  Committee  or  the  Commissioners. 

Outside  the  prison,  when  convicted  men  (but  not  women  or,  except 
by  special  direction  of  the  Governor,  young  prisoners)  are  being 
removed  to  another  prison,  or  to  or  from  court,  they  may  be  and 
usually  are  handcuffed,  or  attached  to  a  chain  when  being  moved  in 
parties.  On  these  occasions  the  Rules  prescribe  that  'they  shall  be 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  165 

exposed  to  public  view  as  little  as  possible,  and  proper  safeguards  shall 
be  adopted  to  protect  them  from  insult  and  curiosity' :  this  of  course 
applies  whether  the  prisoners  are  handcuffed  or  not,  and  to  all  classes 
of  prisoner.  Effect  is  given  to  the  rule  by  using  road  transport  direct 
from  place  to  place  as  much  as  possible,  and  where  rail  is  used  by 
securing  reserved  compartments  and  making  special  arrangements  with 
the  railway  authorities  to  ensure  the  inconspicuous  entraining  and 
detraining  of  the  prisoners  and  their  escort.  These  arrangements  do  not 
always  work  to  perfection,  and  on  occasion  the  sensitive  may  still  be 
shocked  by  the  sight  of  chained  prisoners  at  a  railway  station :  but  at 
least  such  a  sight  is  accidental,  unforeseen  and  undesired  by  those 
responsible.  We  have  moved  far  in  such  matters  from  the  days,  not 
much  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  a  party  of  unconvicted 
women  were  taken  down  the  public  street  to  York  Assizes  not  only 
handcuffed,  but  chained  by  their  necks;  or  from  those,  some  fifty 
years  ago,  when  Oscar  Wilde,  handcuffed  and  in  prison  garb,  was  kept 
for  twenty  minutes  on  the  crowded  platform  of  Clapham  Junction 
waiting  for  the  train  to  Reading. 

(4)  REMISSION 

From  the  days  of  transportation  and  the  early  penal  servitude  system, 
eligibility  to  earn  a  remission  of  part  of  the  sentence  by  good  conduct 
and  industry  has  been  the  first  and  most  valuable  privilege  accorded  to 
prisoners,  as  the  power  to  forfeit  remission  has  been  and  remains  one 
of  the  strongest  sanctions  against  bad  conduct.  Under  the  penal  servi- 
tude system  a  convict  did  not,  strictly,  earn  a  remission  of  his  sentence, 
but  became  eligible  for  earlier  release  on  a  conditional  licence:  the 
sentence  remained  in  force  and  on  breach  of  licence  he  might  be  required 
to  serve  the  unexpired  portion,  again  with  the  power  to  earn  earlier 
release  on  a  fresh  licence.  But  when  by  the  Prison  Act  1898  this  privilege 
was  extended  from  penal  servitude  to  imprisonment,  the  person  sen- 
tenced to  imprisonment  could  earn  an  absolute  remission:  when  he  was 
discharged  the  sentence  was  deemed  to  have  expired.  On  the  abolition  of 
penal  servitude  by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  this  system  of  absolute 
remission  was  continued  for  all  sentences  of  imprisonment  of  whatever 
length,  save  for  young  prisoners  (see  Chapter  20).  For  persons  sen- 
tenced to  corrective  training  or  preventive  detention  the  conditional 
licence  system  is  retained  (see  Chapter  18). 

The  amount  of  remission  which  may  be  earned  is  prescribed  not  by 
the  Act  but  by  the  Statutory  Rules.  After  1898  the  amount  to  be  earned 
on  a  sentence  of  penal  servitude  was  one-quarter  of  the  sentence  for 
men  and  one-third  for  women,  and  on  one  of  imprisonment  one-sixth. 
During  the  Second  World  War,  primarily  as  a  measure  to  reduce 
the  prison  population,  a  flat-rate  of  one-third  for  all  sentences  was 


166      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

introduced,  and  this  rate  was  continued  in  the  Statutory  Rules  1949. 
Remission  applies  only  to  sentences  above  one  month,  and  cannot 
serve  to  reduce  a  sentence  to  less  than  31  days.  A  prisoner  is  discharged 
in  the  early  morning  of  the  day  following  that  on  which  he  earns  full 
remission. 

It  is  not  easy  to  define  any  principle  on  which  the  amount  of 
remission  to  be  earned  has  been  or  should  be  based.  On  the  one  hand, 
the  amount  must  be  enough  to  enable  its  forfeiture  to  be  effective  as 
a  disciplinary  sanction :  if  a  badly  behaved  prisoner  loses  all  his  remis- 
sion in  the  early  days  of  his  sentence,  he  is  left  with  nothing  to  hope  or 
work  for,  while  if  he  continues  to  behave  badly  the  Governor  has  no 
resource  but  continued  physical  punishments  such  as  close  confinement 
or  reduced  diet.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  amount  went  beyond  a  certain 
point,  the  Courts  might  feel  constrained  to  pass  longer  sentences  than 
they  would  otherwise  consider  appropriate.  Although  the  present  rate 
was  fixed  on  grounds  of  expediency  rather  than  of  principle,  it  appears 
to  strike  a  reasonable  balance. 

Since  the  abolition  of  the  marks  system,  it  is  perhaps  hardly  correct 
to  speak  of  a  prisoner  'earning'  his  remission.  It  is,  like  his  privileges 
under  the  new  stage  system,  credited  to  him  at  the  beginning  and  he 
keeps  it  unless  it  is  forfeited  by  his  own  fault. 

(5)    OFFENCES  AND  PUNISHMENTS 

A  prisoner  may  be  punished  only  for  one  of  the  'offences  against 
discipline'  set  out  as  such  in  the  Statutory  Rules,  and  by  one  of  the 
punishments  prescribed  in  the  Rules.  Punishments  may  be  awarded  only 
by  the  Governor  or  the  officer  authorised  to  act  for  him,  or,  for  more 
serious  offences,  by  the  Visiting  Committee  or  a  Commissioner  or 
Assistant  Commissioner.1 

The  Rules  prescribe  that  'A  prisoner  shall,  before  a  report  against 
him  is  dealt  with,  be  informed  of  the  offence  for  which  he  has  been 
reported  and  shall  be  given  a  proper  opportunity  of  hearing  the  facts 
alleged  against  him  and  of  presenting  his  case.'  This  Rule  follows  an 
enactment  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  in  the  course  of  debate  on 
which  concern  was  shown  by  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
as  to  whether,  in  the  special  circumstances  of  a  prison,  prisoners  charged 
with  offences  are  enabled  to  make  an  effective  defence:  in  particular, 
the  view  was  expressed  that  an  accused  prisoner  should  be  assisted  or 
represented  by  a  'friend',  who  might  even  in  certain  circumstances  be 
a  legal  adviser.  In  deference  to  the  feeling  of  the  House,  the  Secretary 
of  State  appointed  a  Departmental  Committee  to  examine  the  whole 
question  of  offences  and  punishments  in  prisons  and  Borstals,  and  it 

1  This  power  is  in  practice  rarely  used  by  Commissioners  or  Assistant  Commis- 
sioners, except  where  a  recaptured  escaper  has  to  be  dealt  with  in  another  prison. 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  167 

may  be  that  the  Report  of  this  Committee  will  suggest  reconsideration 
of  some  of  the  present  Rules,  or  of  the  practice  in  applying  them.1 

Pending  any  such  changes,  the  present  procedure  is  that  when  an 
officer  finds  it  necessary  to  report  a  prisoner,  he  completes  a  form, 
which  is  handed  to  the  prisoner,  setting  out  the  precise  paragraph  of 
the  Rule  under  which  the  charge  is  made  (the  prisoner  has  a  copy  of 
this  in  his  cell)  and  the  time  and  place:  there  is  a  space  on  the  form  on 
which  the  prisoner  can  make  a  written  reply  if  he  wishes.  Pending 
adjudication  the  prisoner  is  kept  in  his  cell:  this  will  not  be  for  long, 
except  at  the  week-end,  for  the  Governor  is  required  to  adjudicate  on 
reports  every  morning  except  on  Sundays  and  public  holidays. 

When  the  prisoner's  turn  comes  he  is  brought  before  the  Governor 
under  escort,  and  is  first  ordered  to  'give  your  full  name  and  number 
to  the  Governor':  this  is  done  whenever  a  prisoner  is  brought  before 
the  Governor  for  any  purpose,  and  is  not,  as  might  appear,  meaningless 
routine — it  could  happen,  and  has  happened,  that  by  some  accident 
the  man  present  is  not  the  man  named  in  the  records  before  the 
Governor.  The  Governor  then  reads  out  the  charge,  and  hears  the 
evidence  of  the  reporting  officer,  which  is  of  course  also  heard  by  the 
prisoner:  the  prisoner  is  then  invited  to  say  whatever  he  has  to  say  in 
his  defence,  and  here  the  written  statement  of  defence  may  be  helpful 
to  those  who  are  too  over-awed  or  incoherent  to  express  themselves  to 
advantage.  Usually  in  these  cases  there  is  no  question  of  difficulty  about 
the  facts,  or  of  an  alibi,  or  the  like,  and  the  Governor  has  little  difficulty 
in  making  up  his  mind  as  to  guilt,  though  there  may  be  a  certain 
amount  of  question  and  answer  between  the  prisoner  and  the  officer, 
and  it  may  even  be  necessary  to  call  other  evidence.  But  in  cases  within 
his  own  competence  the  Governor  can  usually  despatch  the  matter 
then  and  there,  perhaps  after  sending  the  prisoner  out  while  he  consults 
with  the  Chief  Officer,  in  the  light  of  the  prisoner's  record,  on  the  best 
way  to  deal  with  him.  The  proceedings  may  be  brusque,  but  one  thing 
about  which  there  is,  on  the  whole,  virtually  no  complaint  by  prisoners 
is  the  standard  of  fairness  and  justice  in  Governors'  adjudications.  The 
Governor  makes  a  full  note  of  the  proceedings,  and  these  are  sent  to 
the  Prison  Commission  weekly  for  information.  Each  Assistant  Com- 
missioner scrutinises  these  reports  from  his  prisons. 

Frequently  an  admonition  to  a  prisoner  is  sufficient,  but  when 
punishment  is  necessary  the  Governor  may  choose  from  the  following: 

(a)  forfeiture  of  remission  of  sentence  for  a  period  not  exceeding 
fourteen  days; 

(6)  forfeiture  or  postponement  of  privileges  for  a  period  not  exceed- 
ing twenty-eight  days ; 

1  For  a  summary  of  the  recommendations  of  this  Committee,  which  were  published 
in  May  1951,  see  Appendix  I. 


168      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

(c)  exclusion  from  associated  work  for  a  period  not  exceeding  four- 
teen days; 

(d)  cellular  confinement  for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  days; 

(e)  restricted  diet  No.  1  for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  days; 
(/)  restricted  diet  No.  2  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fifteen  days; 
(g)  stoppage  of  earnings  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fourteen  days. 

Where  the  misconduct  is  so  serious  or  repeated  that  the  Governor 
considers  the  punishments  within  his  power  inadequate,  he  may  report 
the  prisoner  to  the  Visiting  Committee,  and  he  must  do  so  if  the  offence 
charged  is  one  of  the  following: 

(a)  escaping  or  attempting  to  escape  from  prison  or  from  legal  custody ; 

(b)  gross  personal  violence  to  a  fellow  prisoner; 

(c)  mutiny  or  incitement  to  mutiny; 

(d)  gross  personal  violence  to  an  officer. 

Pending  adjudication  by  the  Visiting  Committee  the  prisoner  will 
again,  unless  the  Governor  orders  otherwise,  be  kept  in  his  cell,  except 
for  Chapel  and  exercise,  but  again  not  for  more  than  a  few  days  in  the 
ordinary  course,  since  except  for  mutiny  and  gross  personal  violence  to 
an  officer  the  powers  of  the  Visiting  Committee  may  be  exercised  by 
any  one  of  them,  and  a  member  visits  by  rota  every  week. 

The  investigation  by  the  Visiting  Committee  is  more  formal,  especi- 
ally when  it  is  taken  by  the  full  Committee,  though  in  normal  practice 
this  means  a  panel  of  from  three  to  five  of  the  members  presided  over 
by  the  Chairman.  The  investigation  may  be  on  oath  if  the  Committee 
so  decides.  It  is  within  the  discretion  of  the  Committee  to  decide  what 
additional  evidence  should  be  called,  and  in  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  a  prison  this  may  give  rise  to  difficulty,  and  even  to  an  appearance 
of  injustice  if  the  standards  of  the  Courts  are  applied.  In  a  conflict 
between  the  word  of  an  officer  and  that  of  a  prisoner,  without  corro- 
boration,  the  prisoner  may  well  feel  that  the  odds  are  on  the  officer, 
though  this  position  is  not  peculiar  to  a  prison — the  private  soldier 
in  the  Orderly  Room,  or  the  citizen  in  the  Magistrates'  Court,  may 
equally  gain  the  impression  that  his  word  carries  less  weight  than 
that  of  a  sergeant-major  or  a  police  constable.  If  the  officer  calls 
corroborative  evidence,  the  prisoner  may  suppose  that  the  'screws' 
will  naturally  support  each  other,  and  if  the  prisoner  wishes  to  call 
other  prisoners  to  support  his  version  he  may  be  faced  with  difficulties: 
the  natural  disposition  of  most  prisoners  is  to  'keep  out  of  trouble', 
and  unless  they  have  some  personal  axe  to  grind  they  will  not  usually 
be  anxious  either  to  give  the  lie  to  an  officer  on  oath  or  to  give  away 
a  fellow  prisoner.  The  Committee  may  also  be  unconvinced  of  the 
relevance  of  the  evidence  which  a  prisoner  claims  to  call,  and  where 
they  hear  evidence  which  remains  in  clear  conflict  with  that  of  the 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  169 

officer  or  officers  on  the  other  side,  they  are  still  faced  with  their 
original  dilemma — on  the  one  side  the  voice  of  authority,  which  should 
be  supported  unless  it  is  clearly  being  abused,  on  the  other  that  of  a 
man  or  men  of,  in  all  probability,  known  bad  character  and  dubious 
motives.  Yet  an  officer  is  not  to  be  believed  because  he  is  an  officer, 
nor  a  prisoner  disbelieved  because  he  is  a  prisoner.  In  spite  of  these 
difficulties,  no  ground  has  been  given  for  supposing  that,  on  the  whole, 
the  magistrates  who  undertake  these  difficult  duties  do  not  succeed  in 
doing  substantial  justice,  and  the  Chairman  usually  regards  it  as  his 
duty  to  assist  the  accused  in  making  the  best  of  his  defence  and  in 
questioning  the  evidence  against  him. 

The  punishments  which  a  Visiting  Committee  may  award  are  as 
follows : 

(a)  forfeiture  of  remission  of  sentence; 

(b)  forfeiture  or  postponement  of  privileges; 

(c)  exclusion  from  associated  work  for  a  period  not  exceeding 
twenty-eight  days ; 

(d)  restricted  diet  No.  1  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fifteen  days; 

(e)  restricted  diet  No.  2  for  a  period  not  exceeding  forty-two  days; 
(/)  cellular  confinement  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fourteen  days  or, 

where  the  prisoner  is  found  guilty  of  mutiny  or  incitement  to 
mutiny,  or  of  gross  personal  violence  to  an  officer,  not  exceeding 
twenty-eight  days ; 
(g)  stoppage  of  earnings  for  a  period  not  exceeding  twenty-eight  days. 

For  the  two  offences  of  mutiny  or  incitement  to  mutiny,  and  gross 
personal  violence  to  an  officer,  there  are  special  provisions  in  view  of 
their  gravity  and  of  the  fact  that  they  may,  by  the  provisions_qf  the 
Criminal _ Justice _  Act^  1^948^  be^punished  J^^jcorporal  punishment.  This 
is  now  the  sole  relic  of  flogging  as  a  legal  punishmOTrin~EngIan37and 
since  its  retention  in  support  of  prison  discipline  has  so  recently  been 
approved  by  Parliament,  discussion  of  merits  in  a  matter  of  so  much 
controversy  would  here  be  out  of  place.  The  grounds  on  which  it  has 
been  defended  have  been  clearly  and  fairly  stated  by  a  prominent 
opponent  of  corporal  punishment  as  follows :  'The  case  for  the  retention 
of  flogging  for  breaches  of  prison  discipline  rests  upon  the  need  of 
defending  prison  officers  against  violence  in  the  particular  circum- 
stances in  which  they  are  placed.  An  outstanding  feature  of  the  English 
Prison  Service  is  the  absence  of  brutality,  or  of  the  manhandling  of 
prisoners  by  warders.  The  rule  against  brutality  is  rigidly  enforced 
even  in  cases  of  violent  attack.  It  is  held  that  as  individual  retaliation 
is  forbidden  to  the  officer  he  must  be  specially  protected,  not  so  much 
for  his  own  safety  as  in  the  interests  of  good  discipline  in  the  service.'  l 

1  Corporal  Punishment — An  Indictment,  George  Benson  and  Edward  Glover 
(Howard  League  for  Penal  Reform.  Price  6d.)>  p.  12. 


170      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

The  procedure  of  the  Visiting  Committee  on  these  charges  is  the 
same,  except  that  a  special  meeting  must  be  summoned  at  which  not 
more  than  five  nor  less  than  three  members,  two  at  least  being  magis- 
trates, must  be  present,  and  the  proceedings  must  be  on  oath. 

If  corporal  punishment  is  awarded,  the  number  of  strokes  is  by 
statute  restricted  to  18  with  the  cat  o'  nine  tails  or  birch  rod  19  the 
former  being  inflicted  on  the  back,  the  latter  on  the  buttocks;  and 
cellular  confinement  or  restricted  diet  may  not  be  awarded  in  addition. 
Only  male  prisoners  serving  sentences  of  imprisonment,  corrective 
training  or  preventive  detention  are  eligible  for  corporal  punishment. 

All  awards  of  corporal  punishment  must  be  confirmed  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  who  sees  all  such  cases  personally.  When  they  are 
not  confirmed,  an  alternative  punishment  is  substituted  by  the  Visiting 
Committee. 

Corporal  punishment  may  not  be  awarded  unless  the  Medical 
Officer  has  examined  the  prisoner  and  certified  that  he  is  medically  and 
physically  fit  for  it,  and  he  must  again  examine  him  immediately  before 
the  punishment  is  inflicted  and  be  present  during  its  infliction :  if  on 
medical  grounds  the  Medical  Officer  advises  that  it  should  stop,  the 
Governor,  who  must  also  be  present,  must  remit  the  remainder. 

A  note  in  conclusion  of  this  section  on  the  nature  of  the  various 
punishments  permitted. 

Forfeitures  of  remission  and  privileges  have  been  discussed  else- 
where, though  it  may  be  added  that  privileges  need  not  be  forfeited 
en  bloc — any  one  may  be  forfeited  if  it  has  been  abused  or  if  that 
seems  the  most  appropriate  punishment,  and  Governors  are  advised 
that  such  privileges  as  letters  and  visits,  use  of  the  library,  and  education 
facilities  should  be  forfeited  in  the  ordinary  course  only  if  they  are 
abused. 

Exclusion  from  associated  work  is  usually  awarded  in  the  prisoner's 
own  interests  to  keep  him  out  of  trouble:  he  then  works  in  his  cell. 

Cellular  confinement  does  not  conaote  a  dark  cell  or  a  dungeon: 
there  is  nothing  of  this  sort  in  English  practice.  The  prisoner  works 
in  his  cell  and  is  deprived  of  all  forms  of  association:  in  some  prisons, 
for  convenience,  a  separate  block  of  cells  or  part  of  a  landing  is  set 
aside  for  prisoners  undergoing  punishment,  but  these  do  not  differ  in 
construction  or  equipment  from  ordinary  cells.  There  are  advantages 
in  keeping  these  prisoners  away  from  the  normal  life  of  the  prison. 

Although  not  relevant  to  the  heading  of  punishment,  it  is  con- 
venient to  mention  here  that  as  distinct  from  the  foregoing  'separate' 
cells  there  are  also  'special'  cells,  which  again  are  not  dark  though 
they  are  silent,  or  as  near  so  as  may  be,  with  double-doors  and  a 
minimum  of  fixed  unbreakable  furniture  with  the  window  well  out  of 
reach.  These  are  for  the  temporary  confinement  of  violent,  noisy  or 
2  For  a  person  under  21,  twelve  strokes  with  the  birch  rod. 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  171 

hysterical  prisoners  who  would  otherwise  smash  up  their  cells,  possibly 
injure  themselves  or  others,  keep  the  prison  awake  with  their  noise, 
or  otherwise  violently  disturb  the  peace.  The  Statutory  Rules  provide 
that ''no  prisoner  shall  be  confined  in  such  a  cell  as  a  punishment  or 
after  he  has  ceased  to  be  refractory  or  violent'. 

Restricted  Diet  No.  1  is  one  pound  of  bread  per  diem  with  water. 
If  given  for  more  than  3  days,  the  first  3  days  bread  and  water  are 
followed  by  3  days  ordinary  diet,  then  3  more  days  bread  and  water, 
and  so  on,  so  that  the  maximum  period  of  15  days  means  9  days  bread 
and  water  and  6  days  ordinary  diet.  A  prisoner  on  this  diet  is  not 
required  to  work,  but  may  work  in  his  cell  if  he  so  wishes. 

Restricted  diet  No.  2  consists  of  8  oz.  of  bread  with  water  for  break- 
fast and  supper,  and  1  pint  of  oatmeal  porridge,  8  oz.  of  potatoes,  and 
8  oz.  of  bread  with  water  for  dinner.  If  given  for  more  than  21  days, 
it  must  be  interrupted  after  21  days  by  7  days  ordinary  diet.  This 
prolonged  excess  of  carbo-hydrates  is  now  regarded  as  unsatisfactory, 
and  alternatives  are  under  consideration. 

No  prisoner  may  be  awarded  cellular  confinement  or  dietary  punish- 
ment unless  he  has  been  certified  fit  for  such  punishment  by  the  Medical 
Officer,  and  the  Governor,  Chaplain  and  Medical  Officer  are  required 
to  pay  a  daily  visit  to  every  prisoner  undergoing  cellular  confinement 
or  No.  1  diet. 

(6)    INFORMATION  AND  COMPLAINTS 

The  Statutory  Rules  are  explicit  as  to  the  necessity  of  informing 
prisoners  fully  about  the  Rules  governing  their  treatment  and  generally 
as  to  their  rights  and  obligations,  and  ensuring  that  this  information 
has  been  read  and  understood.  This  is  done  by  a  series  of  cell-cards. 
The  prisoner  meets  the  first  of  these  in  the  reception-cell,  its  purpose 
being  to  assure  him  that  he  is  not  going  to  serve  his  sentence  in  this 
bleak  cubicle,  and  to  instruct  him  as  to  the  processes  through  which  he 
will  pass  in  the  reception  block.  On  the  wall  of  his  cell,  when  he  reaches 
the  main  prison,  he  will  find  a  collection  of  cards  dealing  with  all 
contingencies.  For  the  untried  and  recently  convicted  there  will  be  a 
batch  dealing  with  Bail,  Legal  Aid  and  Appeals:  for  more  sustained 
reading  there  are  four  cards,  one  giving  'Notes  for  Guidance'  on  most 
aspects  of  prison  life  not  covered  by  the  other  three,  which  deal  with 
Discipline,  Privileges  and  Stage;  Diet;  and  Aid  on  Discharge.  These 
large  and  closely-printed  cards  make  neither  for  convenient  reading  nor, 
after  a  time,  for  amenity  as  a  wall-decoration,  and  their  combination  in 
some  form  of  booklet  or  folder  is  under  consideration:  the  variety  of 
cards  required  for  different  categories  and  classifications  will,  however, 
make  it  difficult  to  secure  a  system  at  once  effective  and  economical. 

1  See  Appendix  I. 


172       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

One  matter  to  which  a  prisoner's  attention  is  fully  and  precisely 
directed  in  his  'Notes  for  Guidance'  is  his  right  to  make  complaints 
and  the  channels  through  which  he  may  make  them,  which  are  both 
numerous  and,  in  time  and  trouble  expended  from  the  landing  officer 
up  to  the  Home  Secretary  himself,  costly.  The  English  prison  system 
is  especially  sensitive  to  any  possibility  of  abuse  of  authority  without 
redress. 

The  care  taken  here  can  perhaps  be  best  shown  by  quoting  the 
information  actually  given  to  the  prisoner,  which  reads  as  follows: 

'2.  (a)  If  you  want  to  make  a  request  or  complaint,  you  can  have 
an  interview  with  any  of  the  following: 

Governor,  Chaplain  or  Medical  Officer. 

Member  of  the  Visiting  Committee  or  Board  of  Visitors  at  his  next 

visit. 
Commissioner  or  Assistant  Commissioner  at  his  next  visit. 

'If  you  want  to  see  any  of  the  first  three  you  should  ask  your  landing 
officer  when  your  cell  is  opened  in  the  morning:  to  see  the  others  you 
should  apply  to  the  Governor. 

'(b)  If  you  are  taken  suddenly  ill,  you  may  ask  for  the  Medical 
Officer  at  any  time. 

\c)  You  may  if  you  wish  submit  a  petition  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
but  before  doing  so  you  should  enquire  of  the  Governor  whether  the 
matter  about  which  you  desire  to  petition  is  one  which  which  the 
Governor  or  the  Visiting  Committee  or  the  Board  of  Visitors  are 
authorised  to  deal.  If  it  is  such  a  matter  you  should  take  steps  to  bring 
it  to  the  notice  of  the  Governor  or  the  Visiting  Committee  or  the  Board 
of  Visitors  and  should  await  their  decision  before  submitting  a  petition. 

'3.  If  you  wish  to  write  to  a  Member  of  Parliament  to  complain 
about  your  conviction  or  sentence  or  your  treatment  in  prison,  you 
may  do  so  on  the  following  conditions : 

"(a)  If  your  complaint  is  about  your  treatment  in  prison  you  must 
first  make  it  through  the  usual  channels  set  out  in  Note  2  above.  You 
will  not  be  allowed  to  write  to  a  member  of  Parliament  about  a  com- 
plaint of  this  sort  on  which  you  have  written  a  petition  till  you  have 
had  a  reply  to  the  petition. 

'(£)  You  must  use  one  of  your  ordinary  letters  unless  you  have  been 
2  months  in  prison,  when  you  may  on  application  be  allowed  one 
special  letter. 

'(c)  You  must  not  put  in  the  letter  any  enclosures  for  the  M.P.  to 
send  to  the  Home  Office,  or  any  matter  intended  for  insertion  in  the 
Press. 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  173 

'(W)  You  must  not  ask  the  M.P.  to  approach  on  your  behalf  any 
Judge,  Foreign  Minister  or  Consul,  or  other  public  department  or 
authority  at  home  or  abroad. 

'(V)  Your  letter  must  comply  with  the  regulations  as  to  outgoing 
letters:  in  particular,  you  must  not  use  any  threatening  or  improper 
language.' 

As  further  evidence,  one  may  note  the  care  with  which  the  Secretary 
of  State  thought  it  necessary  to  justify  to  the  House  of  Commons 
certain  restrictions  on  the  right  of  prisoners  to  communicate  with 
Members  of  Parliament:  in  reply  to  a  Question  on  29  July  1949,  Mr. 
Chuter  Ede  said : 

'In  July  of  last  year,  after  consultation  with  my  right  hon.  Friend 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland,  I  decided,  as  I  announced  to  the 
House  at  the  time,  to  issue  instructions  that  prisoners  might  be  per- 
mitted to  use  letters  from  their  ordinary  allowance  to  write  to  a  Member 
of  Parliament  of  their  choice,  and  that  such  letters  might  be  permitted 
in  certain  circumstances. 

4 1  am  anxious  to  maintain  this  concession,  which  I  think  is  right  in 
principle,  and  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  House,  but  experi- 
ence of  its  working  has  shown  that  certain  limitations  are  necessary 
in  the  interests  of  the  maintenance  of  discipline  and  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  prisons.  Under  the  Prison  Standing  Orders  a  prisoner  is  not 
permitted  to  make  complaints  in  his  letters  to  friends  and  relatives 
about  his  treatment  in  prison,  because  there  are  appointed  channels  by 
which  grievances  of  this  kind  can  be  considered  and  redressed.  A 
prisoner  can  ask  to  see  the  Governor,  and  if  dissatisfied  with  the 
Governor's  decision,  can  ask  to  see  the  Visiting  Committee  or  Board 
of  Visitors,  and  he  has  the  further  remedy  of  petitioning  the  Secretary 
of  State.  He  can  also  request  an  interview  with  one  of  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners or  Assistant  Commissioners  or  in  Scotland  with  an  officer 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  his  next  visit  to  the  prison.  Moreover,  if  a 
prisoner  makes,  either  to  the  visiting  magistrates  or  in  a  petition, 
allegations  against  a  prison  officer,  which  are  established  to  be  false 
and  malicious,  he  is  liable  to  be  punished. 

'Hon.  Members  will  appreciate  that  if  a  prisoner  is  to  be  allowed  to 
use  a  letter  to  a  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  purpose  of  making 
complaints  about  his  treatment,  which  he  would  not  be  allowed  to 
make  in  an  ordinary  letter,  and  which  he  has  never  made  to  the  prison 
authorities,  the  result  would  be  that  a  prisoner  could  by-pass  the 
appointed  channels  for  the  investigation  of  such  complaints,  and  could 
make  with  impunity  the  most  malicious  and  unfounded  allegations 
against  particular  officers.  This  seems  to  be  most  undesirable  and  likely 
eventually  to  undermine  the  authority  of  the  Visiting  Committee  or 


174       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Board  of  Visitors  who  are  the  independent  check  on  prison  administra- 
tion for  which  Parliament  has  made  provision.  My  right  hon.  Friend 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland  and  I  therefore  propose  to  issue 
instructions  that  a  prisoner  shall  not  be  allowed  to  make  complaints 
about  his  prison  treatment  in  a  letter  to  a  Member  unless  he  has 
already  exhausted  his  right  of  making  the  complaint  through  the  proper 
channels  in  one  or  other  of  the  ways  I  have  mentioned. 

'Under  the  Prison  Standing  Orders  there  are  certain  matters  which 
may  not  be  included  in  letters  written  by  prisoners.  These  are: 

'(1)  Discussion  of  methods  of  committing  crime,  instigation  of 
criminal  offences,  attempts  to  defeat  the  ends  of  justice  by 
suborning  witnesses  or  tampering  with  evidence,  or  attempts  to 
facilitate  escapes. 

'(2)  Complaints  about  the  courts  and  the  police  which  are  deliber- 
ately calculated  to  hold  the  authorities  up  to  contempt. 

'(3)  Threats  of  violence. 

'(4)  Matter  intended  for  insertion  in  the  Press. 

*(5)  Grossly  improper  language. 

'(6)  Attempts  to  stimulate  public  agitation  about  matters  other  than 
the  prisoner's  own  conviction  and  sentence. 

There  can  be  no  grounds  upon  which  it  would  be  justifiable  to 
allow  a  prisoner  to  include  in  a  letter  to  a  Member  of  Parliament  any 
of  these  matters,  which  are  objectionable  in  themselves,  irrespective 
of  the  person  to  whom  the  letter  is  addressed,  and  my  right  hon.  Friend 
and  I  propose,  therefore,  to  issue  instructions  that  the  rule  prohibiting 
ihe  inclusion  of  such  matters  in  prisoners'  letters  shall  be  applied  to 
letters  addressed  to  Members  of  Parliament.' l 

This  statement  by  the  Secretary  of  State  gives  a  sufficient  explanation 
of  the  principles  and  practice  in  this  matter,  but  a  few  foot-notes  may 
be  of  interest. 

If  a  prisoner  puts  himself  down  to  see  the  Governor,  Chaplain, 
Medical  Officer,  Visiting  Magistrate  or  Commissioner,  he  does  not 
have  to  explain  why — he  sees  the  members  of  the  staff  that  day  or  (on 
a  late  application)  the  next,  and  the  visitors  on  their  next  visit,  without 
question. 

If  he  asks  for  a  petition  form  he  is  given  one,  unless  he  already  has 
an  unanswered  petition  outstanding,  and  he  can  petition  about  anything 
he  likes  so  long  as  he  does  not  use  improper  language.  If  the  matter  is 
one  with  which  the  Visiting  Committee  is  competent  to  deal  the  petition 
is  first  laid  before  them,  and  if  the  prisoner  is  then  satisfied  he  may 

i  Hansard,  Vol.  467,  No.  160,  Cols.  181-183. 


SECURITY  AND  CONTROL  175 

withdraw  it:  otherwise  it  is  posted  at  once  with  all  relevant  information 
and  reports,  and  dealt  with  by  the  administrative  staff  of  the  Prison 
Commission  or  of  the  Criminal  Division  of  the  Home  Office,  according 
to  its  subject-matter,  in  consultation  as  necessary  with  the  appropriate 
Directorate  of  the  Commission.  If  necessary,  a  petition  may  well  be 
considered  by  the  Permanent  Under  Secretary  of  State  or  by  Ministers. 
It  is  desirable  to  state  this  in  view  of  a  commonly  expressed  belief 
by  prisoners  that  their  petitions  are  answered  by  the  Governor's  clerk! 
The  Home  Secretary's  statement  referred  to  one  question  which 
from  time  to  time  causes  particular  difficulty — the  making  of  complaints 
against  officers  by  prisoners.  It  is  important  to  protect  prisoners  against 
abuse  of  authority,  but  it  is  equally  important  to  protect  the  staff, 
in  the  proper  discharge  of  their  difficult  duties,  against  accusations 
which  are  malicious  and  unfounded  and  likely  to  damage  their  reputa- 
tion or  even  their  livelihood.  Prisoners  are,  therefore,  advised  on  their 
cell-cards  that  they  should  always  consult  the  Governor  before  com- 
mitting themselves  to  any  serious  accusation  against  a  member  of  the 
staff.  A  Governor  so  consulted  will  advise  the  prisoner  that  he  should 
consider  carefully,  before  he  makes  his  charge,  whether  he  will  be  able 
to  prove  it,  because  it  will  be  carefully  investigated  and,  if  it  is  found 
to  be  false  and  made  with  malice  knowing  it  to  be  false,  he  is  liable  to 
punishment.  If  he  wishes  to  go  on,  the  prisoner  is  then  told  to  put  it 
in  writing,  and  a  copy  is  sent  to  the  officer  concerned.  The  subsequent 
proceedings  depend  on  the  facts  and  circumstances,  but  a  full-dress 
inquiry  by  the  Visiting  Committee,  and  if  necessary  by  the  Com- 
missioners, may  well  follow.  It  is  an  inevitable  feature  of  imprison- 
ment that  men  and  women,  especially  the  more  unbalanced,  brood 
excessively  over  trifles  and  make  mountains  out  of  every  molehill. 
The  last  thing  wanted  is  the  appearance  of  frightening  them  out  of 
what  may  be  mere  'blowing  off  steam'  or  the  making  of  legitimate 
complaints.  To  steer  a  fair  and  sympathetic  course  between  this  evil 
and  the  equal  evil  of  leaving  the  staff  a  prey  to  the  malice  of  some  of  the 
cunning  and  wicked  people  in  their  charge  is  not  easy. 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 
WORK 


(1)    PRINCIPLES  AND  PROBLEMS 

SHOULD  prisoners  work?  The  fact  that,  as  recently  as  1931,  an 
authoritative  work  l  should  have  been  published  under  this  title 
implies  all  the  still  unresolved  questions  surrounding  this  central 
problem  of  prison  administration.  Should  prisoners  be  required  to 
work?  If  so,  for  what  purpose?  What  sort  of  work  should  they  do? 
On  what  economic  basis  should  the  work  be  found  and  organised? 
What  incentives,  if  any,  should  be  offered  to  induce  them  to  work  well? 
Any  or  all  of  these  questions  may  still  be  asked  today  in  the  penal 
systems  of  the  world  without  finding  answers  of  general  acceptance  in 
principle  or  applicability  in  practice.2  The  integration  of  social,  econ- 
omic and  penal  theory  required  for  a  clear  and  consistent  set  of 
principles  on  which  such  answers  could  be  based  is  far  from  complete, 
in  England  or  elsewhere. 

As  before,  consideration  starts  from  the  basic  fact  that  imprison- 
ment at  common  law  is  deprivation  of  liberty  in  a  lawful  prison  and 
no  more.  While  the  function  of  the  prison  was  no  more  than  custodial, 
therefore,  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  answer  to  the  first  question — 
prisoners  could  not  be  required  to  work:  nor  is  the  position  different 
today  in  respect  of  the  custodial  function.  By  the  Statutory  Rules  of 
1949  neither  untried  prisoners  nor  those  'convicted  of  sedition  etc.' 
may  be  required  to  work  in  the  service  or  industries  of  the  prison  with- 
out their  consent,  and  if  they  do  so  work  they  must  be  paid  for  it. 
The  same  held  good  until  recent  years  in  respect  of  the  coercive  function 
in  its  application  to  debtors.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  right  to 
exact  work  is  to  be  considered  as  inherent,  if  at  all,  in  the  corrective 
function  of  the  prison  and  not  in  imprisonment  as  such :  if  the  State 
does  not  claim  the  right  to  exact  from  all  whom  it  commits  to  its  penal 
institutions  that  they  should  work,  whether  for  their  keep  or  on  other 

1  Should  Prisoners  Work,  L.  N.  Robinson.  Philadelphia,  1931. 

2  See  however  Resolution  II  (3),  Appendix  F. 

176 


WORK  177 

grounds,  the  principles  on  which  work  is  to  be  exacted  from  those  who 
are  subject  to  the  corrective  function  are  still  to  seek. 

During  the  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  centuries,  when  the  local 
prison  authorities  were  under  no  liability  to  maintain  their  prisoners, 
they  might  be  allowed  to  work  to  keep  themselves  from  starvation, 
and  at  a  later  stage  the  authorities  might  be  glad  to  ease  the  burden  of 
prisons  on  the  rates  by  providing  industries  in  the  prisons  and  even 
paying  the  prisoners  well  for  working  in  them;  but  these  practices 
derived  from  economic  considerations,  not  from  penal  theory.  Setting 
aside  the  early  practice  of  Houses  of  Correction,  which  again  did  not 
derive  from  penal  theory,  the  first  clear  principle  of  work  generally 
applied  in  English  prisons  was  that  of  1865 — hard  labour  as  a  form  of 
punishment  over  and  above  the  punishment  by  deprivation  of  liberty: 
the  derivation  here  was  entirely  from  penal  theory  divorced  from  social 
or  economic  principles,  since  its  essence  was  that  the  labour  should  be 
unproductive — it  aimed  at  punishment  of  the  body  and  spirit  by  mono- 
tony and  fatigue  and  nothing  more.  This  principle,  though  in  historical 
perspective  it  now  seems  no  more  than  a  temporary  deviation  from  the 
true  line  of  development,  did  have  the  effect  of  importing  into  the 
prison  system  the  idea  of  'work  as  a  part  of  the  punishment'  which  has 
never  since  been  wholly  exorcised  from  consideration  of  the  question. 
This  conception  was  limited  in  its  application  to  persons  sentenced  to 
penal  servitude  or  to  imprisonment  with  hard  labour:  for  those  not  so 
sentenced,  productive  work  was  still  provided,  but  after  1865,  the 
liability  of  the  county  to  maintain  all  criminal  prisoners  having  been 
established,  it  was  forbidden  to  pay  the  prisoners  for  their  work. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  there  seems  still  to  have  lingered  a 
doubt  as  to  whether  such  prisoners  should  be  forced  to  work,  since  for 
neglect  of  work  the  Rules  specifically  limited  punishment  to  alteration 
of  diet :  the  implication  seems  to  be  that  the  governing  principle  here, 
expressed  or  not,  was  the  social-economic  fche  who  does  not  work, 
neither  shall  he  eat'. 

But  as  to  any  principle  governing  productive  work  in  penal  theory, 
serious  consideration  is  lacking  until  1895;  the  thought  of  Howard, 
Bentham  and  Mrs.  Fry  in  relation  to  prisoners'  work,  valuable  and 
constructive  as  it  was,  was  not  concerned  with  the  prison  as  a  primary 
instrument  of  legal  punishment:  the  prisoners  with  whom  they  were 
concerned,  saving  the  untried,  debtors  and  minor  offenders,  were  to 
be  punished  not  by  imprisonment  but  by  transportation  or  death.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  matter  for  continuing  regret  that,  when  it  had  become 
not  only  possible  but  essential  to  define  the  function  of  work  in  the 
regime  of  the  prison,  the  examination  of  the  question  by  the  Gladstone 
Committee  was  neither  exhaustive  nor  convincing. 

The  Committee  opened  its  observations  under  the  heading  of 
Prison  Labour  by  pointing  out  that  notwithstanding  its  'great  intrinsic 

E.P.B.S — 12 


178      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

importance  ...  in  previous  inquiries  it  has  been  passed  over  with  but 
little  notice':  but  although  their  own  consideration  started  from  the 
principle,  revolutionary  in  its  time,  'that  prison  treatment  should  have 
as  its  primary  and  concurrent  objects  deterrence  and  reformation', 
their  conclusions  were  still  conditioned  by  the  conception  of  'work  as 
part  of  the  punishment'.  'It  follows,  therefore,'  they  continued,  'that 
it  is  desirable  to  provide  labour  which  in  conjunction  with  the  general 
prison  discipline  does  not  impair  the  one,  and  which  does  include  the 
other.'  From  this  somewhat  Delphic  utterance  of  principle  one  clear 
recommendation  only  resulted,  that  'the  mechanical  labour  should  be 
discontinued  wherever  practicable'  and  replaced  by — what?  Here  was 
the  crux,  the  test  of  the  Committee's  faith  in  the  principle  from  which 
they  started.  But  here  they  faltered:  the  authority  of  the  idea  of  deter- 
rence was  still  too  great  for  them  to  separate  it  altogether  from  the 
function  of  work,  and  instead  of  a  courageous  statement  of  the  place 
of  work  in  a  regime  intended  to  be  reformative,  the  conclusion  is  that 
'we  recommend  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  find  work  for 
prisoners  which  would  be  a  fitting  equivalent  to  hard  labour  of  the 
1st  class  as  now  defined'. 

In  England,  therefore,  the  first  phase  of  the  twentieth-century  system 
opened  without  benefit  of  real  examination  of  the  place  of  work  in  a 
prison  regime  which  included  reformation  in  its  objects,  and  so  with 
no  clear  view  of  a  purpose  behind  the  requirement  that  its  prisoners 
should  be  set  to  productive  work.  The  provision  of  useful  work  was 
regarded  as  in  itself  a  'reformative  element',  and  indeed  that  provision 
was  and  is  basic,  on  many  grounds.  The  first  was  put  by  Elizabeth 
Fry  when,  in  answer  to  the  question  'Do  you  think  any  reformation 
possible  without  employment?'  she  said  'I  should  believe  it  impossible. 
We  may  instruct  as  we  will,  but  if  we  allow  them  . . .  nothing  to  do  they 
must  return  to  their  evil  practices.' l  To  the  mere  avoidance  of  Satan's 
mischief  the  Gladstone  Committee  had  added  the  value  of  'training  in 
orderly  and  industrial  habits',  and  a  third  and  most  cogent  point  was 
well  put  by  Mr.  E.  R.  Cass  2  when  he  said  'idleness  in  a  prison  is 
subversive  of  discipline  and  hurtful  to  the  moral,  intellectual  and 
physical  well-being  of  the  inmates.  No  greater  cruelty  can  possibly  be 
inflicted  on  prisoners  than  enforced  idleness.'  No  prison  treatment 
can  hope  to  reform  a  person  on  whom  it  inflicts  this  cruelty  as  an 
addition  to  the  punishment  of  deprivation  of  liberty.  But  at  this  stage 
perception  of  the  reformative  value  of  useful  work  was  still  balanced 
by  the  feeling  that,  deterrence  being  a  'primary  and  concurrent  object', 
work  must  also  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  punishment,  'the  fitting 
equivalent  of  1st  class  Hard  Labour'. 

The  true  line  of  development,  from  the  original  principle  of  the 

1  Whitney,  p.  167. 

2  General  Secretary  of  the  American  Prison  Association,  cit.  L.  N.  Robinson,  p.  2. 


WORK  179 

Houses  of  Correction  that  work  should  be  the  instrument  of  restoration 
of  offenders  to  good  citizenship,  was  not  resumed  till  that  integration 
of  deterrence  and  reform  in  the  conception  of  training  which  marked 
the  second  phase  of  the  twentieth-century  system.  This  principle, 
expressed  by  the  Commissioners  in  those  passages  which  have  been 
quoted  from  their  Annual  Reports  in  Chapter  4,  was  fully  endorsed 
by  a  Departmental  Committee  appointed  in  1933  to  report  on  the 
whole  question  of  employment  of  prisoners.  'We  cannot,'  said  the 
Committee,  'stress  too  strongly  .  .  .  that  suitable  employment  is 
the  most  important  factor  in  the  physical  and  moral  regeneration  of 
the  prisoner.'1  While  one  might  linger  over  possible  qualifications  of  this 
robust  declaration,  the  Commissioners  themselves  had  already  made  it 
clear  at  least  that  a  full  working-day  of  useful  and  interesting  work  was 
central  to  the  scheme  of  training,  and  the  Statutory  Rules  of  1949 
provide  that  'Every  prisoner  shall  be  required  to  engage  in  useful  work 
for  not  more  than  ten  hours  a  day,  of  which  so  far  as  practicable  at 
least  eight  hours  shall  be  spent  in  associated  or  other  work  outside  the 
cells.' 

From  this  Rule,  read  in  conjunction  with  that  which  lays  down  that 
the  purpose  of  the  training  and  treatment  of  prisoners  is  'to  establish 
in  them  the  will  to  lead  a  good  and  useful  life  on  discharge  and  to  fit 
them  to  do  so9,  may  be  derived  the  second  clear  statement  of  the  purpose 
of  prison  work  in  English  penal  theory,  well  put  by  Dr.  Grunhut  (p.  209) 
as  follows,  'the  object  of  prison  labour  in  a  rehabilitative  programme  is 
twofold:  training  for  work  and  training  by  work'. 

It  does  not  appear  to  derogate  from  this  principle  to  suggest  that, 
in  so  far  as  a  prisoner  has,  by  his  offence,  caused  loss  or  damage  to  the 
community,  it  is  right  that  he  should  make  some  restitution  by  his 
labour;  for  an  appreciation  of  this  as  a  moral  obligation  would  also 
mark  some  advance  in  moral  training.  Nor  is  it  inconsistent  to  advance 
the  economic  argument  that  the  burden  on  the  community  of  maintain- 
ing prisons  should  be  eased  so  far  as  possible  by  the  product  of  prison 
labour,  so  long  as  the  argument  is  not  pressed  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
true  purpose  of  the  prison,  which  is  to  prevent  crime:  elsewhere,  though 
not  hitherto  in  this  country,  the  demand  that  prisons  should  at  all  costs 
be  self-supporting  has  led  to  distortion  of  their  function  and  gross 
exploitation  of  prison  labour. 

In  the  English  system  of  today,  therefore,  the  answers  to  the  first 
two  questions  posed  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  are,  in  principle, 
clear  and  settled:  they  are  the  fruits  of  long  practical  experience,  fully 
endorsed  by  the  report  of  a  Departmental  Committee,  and  finally 
translated  into  statutory  form  by  an  act  of  the  legislature.  But  when  we 
come  to  consider  the  further  questions,  which  concern  the  translation 

i  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Employment  of  Prisoners,  1933, 
Part  I,  p.  64. 


180      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

of  the  principle  into  practice,  we  shall  unfortunately  find  that  this  is 
no  more  than  'the  end  of  the  beginning'.  Before  practice  becomes  wholly 
consistent  with  principle  there  are  many  and  major  difficulties  still 
to  be  overcome.  Some  of  these  are  internal,  in  that  they  are  (or  at 
present  seem  to  be)  inherent  in  the  conditions  of  work  in  prisons ;  some 
are  external,  in  that  they  concern  the  integration  of  that  work  into  the 
economic  framework  of  society — prisons  do  not  produce  in  an  economic 
vacuum. 

Of  the  internal  difficulties,  the  first  is  that  the  prison  management  has 
absolutely  no  control  over  its  labour  force  in  respect  of  either  quantity 
or  quality.  As  to  quantity,  it  must  accept  and  employ  whatever  numbers 
are  received  from  the  Courts :  it  may  be  that  it  has  been  organised  for 
some  years  to  provide  industrial  work  for  5,000,  and  then  finds  its 
numbers  have  grown,  for  reasons  it  could  not  foresee  or  provide 
against,  to  10,000:  should  it  undertake  capital  expansion  of  workshops 
and  machinery  to  meet  this  situation,  it  may  find  the  numbers  sink 
again  to  7,000  or  4,000.  As  to  quality,  the  situation  has  not  substantially 
changed  since  the  Gladstone  Committee  said,  The  capacities  of 
prisoners  range  from  a  high  standard  to  the  lowest  to  be  found  any- 
where in  an  almost  endless  variety.  .  .  .  (The  population)  is  of  a  low 
order  of  physical  and  mental  development,  it  is  constantly  changing, 
and  in  short  presents  no  favourable  feature  whatever  for  the  develop- 
ment of  industrial  work'  (p.  22) :  or,  as  Dr.  Griinhut  puts  it  (p.  223), 
'Prisoners,  though  not  different  from  people  at  large,  are  a  negative 
selection  with  regard  to  ability  and  inclination  for  regular  work.' 
The  Departmental  Committee  of  1933,  in  illustration  of  the  same  point, 
quoted  Sir  Norwood  (then  Dr.)  East,  the  Medical  Commissioner,  as 
saying  'Many  prisoners  purposely  avoid  hard  work  and  have  lost 
permanently  the  capacity  for  sustained  effort,  others  are  untrained  or 
cannot  be  trusted  to  work  with  machines  or  tools.  Thirty-seven  per 
cent  of  the  male  admissions  in  1930  were  40  years  of  age  or  over. 
Some  are  of  poor  physique,  indifferent  mental  capacity  or  tempera- 
mentally unstable.  In  short  the  human  material  in  prison  differs  con- 
siderably from  that  in  the  general  labour  market.  It  is  seldom  efficient, 
it  is  often  indifferent  and  is  sometimes  useless.  No  doubt  many  of  the 
first  offenders — 30  per  cent  of  the  admissions  in  1930 — would  be 
retained  by  a  private  employer  working  for  profit.  Only  few  recidivists 
would  escape  dismissal  if  staffs  were  being  reduced,  (p.  14). 

This  situation  is  further  complicated  by  the  special  care  which  the 
prison  authorities  must  exercise  to  see  that  no  prisoner  suffers  injury 
to  his  health  through  being  put  to  work  unsuitable  to  his  physical 
condition.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  strongest  traditions  of  the 
English  prisons,  deriving  in  part  from  the  days  of  Hard  Labour,  in 
part  from  a  real  care  for  the  rights  and  welfare  of  those  so  completely 
subject  to  authority.  The  Statutory  Rules  provide  that  The  Medical 


WORK  181 

Officer  may  excuse  a  prisoner  from  work  on  medical  grounds,  and  no 
prisoner  shall  be  set  to  any  work  unless  he  has  been  certified  as  fit  for 
that  type  of  work  by  the  Medical  Officer.'  So  all  prison  work  is  roughly 
classified,  for  medical  purposes,  into  No.  1,  No.  2  and  Light,  and  the 
Departmental  Committee  found  that,  in  1932-33,  the  percentage  of 
admission  to  each  of  these  categories  was  74  to  No.  1,  17  to  No.  2,  6  to 
Light  and  3  unfit  for  any  work. 

The  next  factor  is  that  a  high  proportion  of  the  prisoners  received 
have  sentences  so  short  that  there  is  no  question  of  teaching  them  in 
the  time  available  more  than  the  simplest  operations,  even  when  they 
are  both  able  and  willing  to  learn.  The  proportions  of  this  problem 
have  been  dealt  with  in  Chapter  8. 

The  effect  of  these  various  factors  is  that  one  of  the  gravest  and  most 
persistent  problems  of  prison  work  is  not  strictly  concerned  with  work 
as  training  at  all:  it  is  the  problem  of  finding  sufficient  work  suitable 
for  this  large  number  of  unskilled  short-sentence  prisoners.  It  must  be 
work  that  can  be  easily  taught  in  a  short  time,  does  not  require  valuable 
material  or  delicate  machines  that  can  be  spoiled  through  ignorance, 
carelessness  or  malice  and  does  not  require  much  skilled  supervision. 
Further,  on  the  economic  side,  it  must  be  work  for  the  product  of 
which  a  regular  demand  can  be  foreseen  and  a  steady  flow  of  orders 
relied  on.  So  it  happens  that  in  most  prison  systems  there  is  a  traditional 
occupation,  of  a  low  industrial  grade,  which  comes  to  bear  particularly 
the  stigma  of  prison :  on  the  Continent,  it  is  sticking  paper-bags,  in 
England  it  is  making  or  repairing  mailbags.  This  is  one  of  the  sore 
spots  of  our  prison  administration.  Nobody  likes  it,  inside  or  outside 
the  prisons.  It  fits  a  man  for  no  form  of  work  he  is  likely  to  do  outside, 
and  few  are  likely  to  feel  anything  but  dislike  for  doing  it  inside.  And 
you  do  not  even  train  men  in  'orderly  and  industrial  habits'  by  setting 
them  to  work  in  which  they  do  not  take  and  can  scarcely  be  expected 
to  take  any  intelligent  interest.  But  not  even  the  Departmental  Com- 
mittee was  able  to  make  a  concrete  suggestion  for  a  better  alternative, 
and  continuous  criticism  since  1933  has  equally  produced  no  con- 
structive suggestion  which  meets  all  the  conditions. 

There  could  be  a  brighter  side  even  to  this  picture.  Given  a  sufficient 
flow  of  orders  in  relation  to  the  labour  potential,  the  making  of  new 
bags  could  be  carried  out  entirely  on  machines,  with  which  the  prisons 
are  well  equipped,  and  this  is  reasonably  skilled  and  interesting  work. 
But  all  too  often,  for  long  periods,  expensive  batteries  of  power  machines 
stand  idle  while  the  work  is  done  by  hand  to  make  the  order  last  out 
till  the  next  one  is  received.  The  prisons  cannot  stand  men  off  when 
orders  fall  off,  and  'redeployment'  is  no  easier  inside  than  outside. 
The  worst  features  of  this  situation  can  only  be  mitigated  by  offering 
incentives  for  work  of  good  quality  and  quantity:  this  question  will 
be  discussed  separately,  but  it  may  be  said  here  that  on  the  one  hand 


182      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

the  present  piece-work  earnings  scheme  does  ensure  that  even  when 
employed  on  no  more  arduous  and  interesting  work  than  sewing  or 
patching  canvas  by  hand  the  prisoners  on  the  whole  work  fast  and  well, 
and  that  is  not  without  training  value;  but  on  the  other  hand  if  work 
is  really  short  the  application  of  this  incentive  is  obviously  difficult. 

There  are  certain  other  internal  difficulties  which  are  not  inherent 
but  are  the  result  of  conditions  which  are,  it  may  be  hoped,  trans- 
itory. 

The  first  of  these  is  shortage  of  work  shops.  The  prisons  were  not 
built  with  the  intention  of  employing  prisoners  in  association,  and 
workshop  construction  in  local  prisons,  with  some  exceptions,  began 
in  the  early  years  of  the  century.  The  Departmental  Committee  found 
that  in  1933  there  were  94  shops  employing  42-9  per  cent  of  the  total 
prison  population  out  of  some  60-5  per  cent  employed  in  manufacturing 
work  (as  distinct  from  farm  and  building  work  and  domestic  services). 
Additional  workshops  were  built  after  that  date,  and  the  position 
before  the  Second  World  War  was  reasonably  satisfactory  and  would 
have  become  entirely  so  had  it  not  been  for  the  post-war  increase  of 
population:  in  1947-8  the  Commissioners  reported  8,992  prisoners 
engaged  in  manufacturing  work  as  compared  with  5,925  ten  years 
earlier.  Several  workshops  had  been  lost  by  enemy  action  in  the  war, 
and  a  major  effort  was  therefore  necessary  to  keep  pace  with  the  situa- 
tion, within  the  limits  of  new  construction  permitted  by  the  economic 
situation.  In  their  Report  for  1948  the  Commissioners  reported  that 
8  industrial  workshops  and  23  vocational  training  shops  l  had  been 
completed  during  the  year,  and  others  were  in  progress.  Nevertheless 
it  was  still  no  uncommon  sight  in  1949  to  see  the  narrow  space  of  a 
long  prison  wing  filled  with  men,  elbow  to  elbow  on  their  stools, 
sewing  their  dreary  canvas.2 

After  shortage  of  shops  shortage  of  staff  ranks  next  as  an  obstacle 
to  the  full  development  of  work.  The  effect  of  being  able  to  employ 
only  one  shift  of  staff  is  to  make  it  impossible  (except  in  training  prisons 
and  a  few  special  shops)  to  preserve  the  8-hour  workshop  day  predicated 
by  the  Rules  and  always  sought  by  the  administration.  The  Committee 
of  1933  said  on  this  question,  after  quoting  the  Statutory  Rule  then  in 
force  (which  was  of  similar  effect  to  the  Rule  of  1949),  This  Rule 
gave  effect  to  what  had  become  at  that  time  the  general  practice  in  all 
prisons,  viz.  the  employment  of  all  prisoners  in  association  for  as 
nearly  as  practicable  8  hours  a  day.  In  practice  it  was  not  found  possible 
to  secure  that  prisoners  were  actually  employed  in  association  for 
eight  hours  since  this  period  included  the  time  spent  in  getting  men  to 
and  from  their  cells,  a  time  which  varied  according  to  the  size  and 
construction  of  the  prison,  and  it  was  further  liable  to  be  interrupted 

*  Some  of  these  would  be  in  Borstals. 

2  This  situation  had  notably  improved  in  1951. 


WORK  183 

by  intervals  for  attendance  at  chapel,  exercise,  bathing,  visits,  etc. 
On  an  average  the  period  of  actual  employment  might  be  fairly  stated 
as  6^  hours  daily.  The  rule  giving  statutory  authority  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  an  eight-hour  associated  working  day  had  only  been  made 
three  months  when  the  financial  crisis  forced  upon  the  Commissioners 
in  July,  1 93 1 ,  a  reduction  of  the  staff  of  the  prisons  in  England  and  Wales. 
This  reduction  made  it  impossible  to  continue  to  employ  all  prisoners 
for  a  nominal  eight-hour  day  of  associated  labour  (6^  hours  actual 
work)  and  in  most  prisons  the  actual  period  of  associated  labour  was 
reduced  to  under  5  hours  daily.  A  longer  period  continues  to  be  worked 
in  the  Borstal  Institutions,  in  certain  specialised  prisons  such  as  Wake- 
field  and  by  certain  parties  of  prisoners  in  other  prisons.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  reduction  in  the  hours  of  associated  labour  a  corres- 
ponding increase  was  made  in  the  hours  of  cell  labour  when  work 
was  available.' 

By  1939  the  position  had  been  almost  restored,  and  with  a  full  shift- 
system  the  approximate  8-hour  day  was  general.  Then,  substituting 
'war'  for  'financial  crisis',  history  repeated  itself  almost  precisely,  and 
with  minor  variations  the  foregoing  will  serve  for  a  description  of  the 
position  today:  one  variation  would  be  to  underline  'when  work  was 
available'  at  the  end  of  the  quotation,  for  in  recent  years,  in  order  to 
keep  the  shops  working,  the  cell-task  has  become  almost  a  matter  of 
history. 

Other  writers  on  this  subject  have  dealt  with  the  classification  sys- 
tem as  an  internal  obstacle  to  the  best  organisation  of  work,  but  this 
and  similar  considerations  are  relevant  only  to  the  economic  aspects  of 
prison  industry.  If  a  prison  were  a  factory  and  nothing  else  much  might 
be  more  efficiently  and  economically  done.  But  a  prison  is  a  prison 
first,  and  the  proper  treatment  and  training  of  the  prisoners  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Statutory  Rules,  and  the  maintenance  of  good  order 
and  safe-custody,  cannot  be  subordinated  to  considerations  of  good 
business. 

We  now  pass  to  those  external  considerations  which  affect  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  the  work  that  can  be  provided  for  prisoners;  and  on 
this  one  may  begin  by  saying  that  he  who  wills  the  end  may  be  supposed 
to  will  the  means,  and  that  if  society,  expressing  its  will  through  the 
elected  legislature  in  statutory  form,  has  decided  that  prisoners  should 
be  employed  for  8  hours  a  day  in  useful  productive  work,  which 
should  so  far  as  possible  be  such  as  to  assist  both  in  the  character- 
formation  of  the  prisoner  inside  and  in  fitting  him  to  earn  an  honest 
living  outside,  then  society  should  be  prepared  to  modify  its  economic 
and  social  practices,  so  far  as  may  be  reasonable  and  necessary,  to 
assist  in  securing  these  ends.  Prison  managements  in  general  have 
not  found,  and  do  not  find  today,  that  that  position  has  been  reached: 
as  Dr.  Mannheim  puts  it,  'Nowhere  else  has  the  inconsistency  between 


184      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

penological  progress  and  real  or  imagined  demands  of  national  econ- 
omy become  so  glaringly  unmasked.  This  is  true  not  only  of  the  funda- 
mental problem  whether  prisoners  should  be  given  work  at  all,  but 
also  of  the  further  question  of  how  they  should  be  employed.' l  Here 
again  the  principle  of  less  eligibility  is  found  operating  in  many  direc- 
ions;  prisoners  should  work,  no  doubt,  but  only  in  such  a  way  that 
the  product  of  their  work  does  not  compete  with  that  of  free  workers; 
indeed,  as  Dr.  Griinhut  points  out,2  in  social-economic  conditions 
where  work  has  come  to  be  regarded  not  as  a  'damned  duty'  but  as  a 
fundamental  right,  the  question  may  even  be  raised  of  a  prisoner's 
right  to  work  if  that  right  cannot  be  enjoyed  by  honest  men  at  liberty; 
and  where  it  has  been  proposed  to  give  prisoners  vocational  training 
in  a  skilled  trade,  objection  has  been  raised  both  in  England  3  and 
abroad  on  the  grounds  that  such  training  may  not  be  available  to 
honest  citizens  who  might  profit  by  it.  It  is  still  necessary  in  England  to 
face  fairly  and  openly  all  the  implications  of  'less  eligibility',  and  of 
complaints  of  unfair  competition  by  prison  industries,  if  the  intentions 
of  Parliament  in  regard  to  'the  training  of  prisoners  by  work  and  for 
work'  are  to  be  properly  fulfilled. 

One  problem  has  been  recurrently  posed  and  left  unsolved  ever  since 
serious  attention  was  first  given  to  it.  In  1895  the  Gladstone  Committee 
said,  'Difficulty  of  a  greater  or  less  extent  is  experienced  almost  in  every 
prison  in  getting  a  sufficiency  of  suitable  work  for  the  male  prisoners' 
(p.  21);  in  1933  the  Departmental  Committee  said,  'The  root  of  all 
evil  in  the  employment  of  prisoners  is  the  definite  shortage  of  work' ; 
in  1948  Dr.  Grunhut,  writing  not  only  of  England,  said,  'It  is  the  over- 
whelming problem  of  prison  management  to  provide  penal  institutions 
constantly  with  useful  work.'  The  nature  of  these  difficulties  still,  in 
1951,  conditions  the  answers  to  questions  as  to  what  sort  of  work 
prisoners  in  English  prisons  should  do,  and  how  it  should  be  found 
and  organised. 

The  story  is  not  a  new  one:  indeed,  Mrs.  Fry,  as  so  often,  said  most 
of  what  needs  saying  about  it — 'The  benefit  which  society  derives 
from  the  employment  of  criminals  greatly  outweighs  the  inconvenience 
which  can  possibly  arise  to  the  mass  of  our  labouring  population 
from  the  small  proportion  of  work  done  in  our  prisons.'  4  'My  idea 
with  regard  to  the  employment  of  women  is  that  it  should  be  a  regular 
thing,  undertaken  by  Government;  considering  that  there  are  so  many 
to  provide  for;  there  is  the  Army  and  the  Navy  and  so  many  things 
required  for  them;  why  should  not  Government  make  use  of  the 
prisoners?'  5  The  Gladstone  Committee,  on  the  same  subject,  said, 

i  Mannheim,  p.  75.  2  Griinhut,  p.  197. 

3  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Employment  of  Prisoners,  1933, 
Part  I,  pp.  82-84. 

4  Whitney,  p.  161.  5  Whitney,  p.  167. 


WORK  185 

'This  difficulty  (shortage  of  work)  has  been  largely  added  to  by  outside 
agitation  against  competition  of  prisoners  with  free  labour.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  agitation,  and  of  proceedings  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
some  suitable  industries  and  in  particular  mat-making  have  been  to  a 
large  extent  given  up' l :  yet  they  accepted  evidence  that  the  conversion, 
of  all  prisoners  from  non-productive  to  productive  labour  'would  only 
increase  the  interference  of  prison  with  outside  labour  in  the  proportion 
of  1  to  2,500'.  Dr.  Griinhut,  surveying  the  international  position  in 
1948,  says  '.  .  .  almost  throughout  its  whole  history  prison  labour  has 
been  denounced  by  trade  and  free  labour  as  unfair  competition'.  Yet 
in  America,  he  points  out,2  'in  1923  prison-made  goods  reached  the 
volume  of  0-12  per  cent  of  all  goods  manufactured  in  establishments 
doing  business  of  5,000  dollars  or  more.'  And  he  adds,  The  economic 
loss  through  crime  is  considerable,  and  far  surpasses  the  alleged  detri- 
mental effects  of  prison  labour  on  private  enterprise.  What  is  indispens- 
able for  social  readjustment  must  be  accepted.  But  apart  from  rational 
weighing-up,  men  and  women  in  prison  are  members  of  a  wider  com- 
munity. Neither  crime  nor  punishment  would  justify  forfeiture  of  the 
right  to  work.' 

The  Departmental  Committee  of  1933  started  from  the  propositions 
that  'Continuous  and  useful  employment  must  be  regarded  not  as  a 
punishment  but  as  an  instrument  of  discipline  and  reformation.  In 
order  that  this  idea  may  be  achieved,  the  first  requirement  is  that  useful 
and  suitable  work  should  be  provided  and  that  there  should  be  plenty  of 
it'  (para.  128).  'But  the  most  serious  problem  which  the  Prison  Authori^ 
ties  have  to  face  is  the  shortage  of  simple  work  suitable  for  unskilled 
and  short-term  prisoners'  (para.  122). 

As  remedies  for  this  difficulty  they  proposed  that  (1)  The  maximum 
amount  of  suitable  Government  work  should  be  allocated  to  the 
prisons.'  They  did  not  recommend  'a  compulsory  system  of  state  use 
as  in  certain  American  States'  but  that  'where  it  is  known  that  goods 
required  by  Government  Departments  can  be  made  satisfactorily  by 
prison  labour,  the  Prison  Department  should  be  given  the  opportunity 
in  all  cases  of  undertaking  the  work  at  a  price  based  on  that  ruling  in 
the  outside  market',  and  that  in  order  that  prison  work  could  be  planned 
ahead  such  orders  should  be  given  on  a  regular  annual  programme, 
with  manufactures  for  stock  of  goods  in  regular  use  (133-136). 

(2)  That  the  requirements  of  local  authorities  should  be  met  in  the 
same  way  as  those  of  Government  Departments  (140). 

(3)  'Work  for  prison  purposes  and  for  Government  Departments 
provides  practically  the  entire  occupation  of  the  English  prisoners 
today,  and  the  Commissioners  have  hitherto  been  deterred  by  the  fear 
of  objection  from  outside  manufacturers  or  workpeople  from  under- 
taking any  considerable  volume  of  outside  work. 

1  Pp.  21  and  22.  2  P.  53,  quoting  L.  N. 'Robinson,  op.  cit. 


186      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

'In  principle  the  competition  of  prison  labour  with  free  labour  is  the 
same  whether  the  articles  made  are  for  Government  Departments  or 
for  sale  in  the  outside  market,  though  the  effects  of  prison  competition 
in  the  outside  market  are  more  obvious.  We  think  it  desirable  that  so 
far  as  possible  prisoners  should  be  employed  on  Government  work, 
but  in  so  far  as  such  work  may  be  found  insufficient  to  keep  prisoners 
fully  employed  we  see  no  objection  to  outside  work  being  undertaken 
subject  to  the  conditions  laid  down  in  the  Report  of  the  Gladstone 
Committee  of  1895,  viz.  that  prison  goods  are  not  sold  below  the  market 
price,  and  that  every  consideration  is  shown  to  the  special  circumstances 
of  particular  industries  outside  so  as  to  avoid  undue  interference  with 
wages  or  the  employment  of  free  labour. 

'The  number  of  prisoners  likely  to  be  employed  on  such  work  at 
any  time  is  so  small  in  comparison  with  the  outside  labour  market 
that  the  effect  of  their  competition  will  be  negligible  provided  there 
is  a  careful  avoidance  of  concentration  on  a  particular  industry  in  a 
particular  district'  (141). 

(4)  'Wherever  it  is  possible  to  obtain  suitable  land  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  prison  on  reasonable  terms  we  are  strongly  of  opinion  that  it 
should  be  acquired  and  brought  under  cultivation  with  a  view  both 
to  the  provision  of  employment  and  to  making  the  prisons,  so  far  as 
possible,  self-supporting  in  the  matter  of  vegetables'  (143). 

(5)  As  regards  works  of  public  utility  such  as  drainage  work,  land 
reclamation,  afforestation,  etc.,  'we  are  impressed  by  the  importance  in 
the  existing  state  of  unemployment  of  avoiding  any  step  which  might 
give  to  prisoners  work  which  might  otherwise  be  allocated  to  the 
unemployed.  We  are  satisfied,  however,  that  there  is  a  considerable 
volume  of  useful  work  of  this  kind  available  and  it  seems  probable  that 
in  many  cases  it  will  not  be  put  in  hand  even  as  a  scheme  for  alleviating 
unemployment.  We  recommend  that  such  work  should  be  considered 
available  for  prison  labour  in  suitable  cases'  (144). 

The  effect  of  these  recommendations,  so  far  as  they  were  applied, 
and  especially  of  the  new  system  of  industrial  management  instituted 
on  the  Committee's  recommendation,  was  such  that  Dr.  Griinhut,  sur- 
veying the  international  position  as  it  was  in  1938,  was  able  to  say 
'the  percentage  of  prisoners  productively  employed  varies  between 
74-2  in  England  and  Wales  and  43-5  in  the  United  States,  where  one- 
fifth  of  the  prisoners  have  no  work  at  all.  .  .  .  England  with  a  pre-war 
ratio  of  less  than  10  per  cent  of  prisoners  without  work,1  comes  very 

1  In  1950,  in  U.S.A.,  'probably  less  than  thirty  per  cent  of  the  prisoners  in  State 
prisons  and  reformatories  are  gainfully  employed'  (Report  of  the  Federal  Bureau 
of  Prisons,  1950,  p.  3).  The  position  in  the  English  prisons  in  1949,  as  stated  on 
p.  233,  shows  that  all  prisoners  available  for  work  were  employed.  The  10  per  cent 
quoted  by  Dr.  Griinhut  refers  to  'ineffectives',  not  to  unemployment  among  prisoners 
available  for  work. 


WORK  187 

near  to  the  optimum  of  full  employment The  good  record  of  English 

prisons  not  only  testifies  to  successful  labour  management,  but  is  also 
one  of  the  beneficial  results  of  the  centralisation  of  administration,  the 
reduction  of  local  gaols,  and  the  small  number  of  remand  prisoners.' 
(P.  200.) 

The  war,  naturally,  solved  all  problems  of  underemployment  in 
prisons  as  elsewhere.  Prison  industries  played  their  full  part  in  the 
industrial  war  effort,  and  responded  magnificently  to  the  various  and 
urgent  calls  made  on  them,  including — in  preparation  for  'D  Day' — 
'the  work  of  anti-rust  treating,  wrapping  and  cartoning  of  military 
spare  parts  for  the  Royal  Army  Ordnance  Corps  (approx.  2,000,000 
cartons).'1  But  in  the  post-war  contraction  of  demand  by  Government 
Departments  this  record  was  of  little  avail.  Before  long  the  principle  of 
less  eligibility  was  ironically  illustrated  when  English  prisoners  were 
refused  permission  to  prepare  a  site  for  housing  prison  staff,  on  prison 
land,  in  favour  of  German  war-prisoners ;  and  in  their  Annual  Report 
for  1949  (p.  41)  the  Commissioners  reported  that,  'In  the  latter  part  of 
1949  there  was  a  marked  decline  in  the  orders  from  Government 
Departments.  This  affected  particularly  the  simpler  types  of  work 
required  for  short-sentence  prisoners,  and  caused  a  curtailment  of  the 
cellular  work.  The  mat-making  industry,  which  had  been  greatly 
expanded  since  the  war,  has  also  suffered  a  serious  set-back  through 
the  competition  of  cheap  imported  mats,  and  much  useful  work  has 
been  lost  here.  There  is  also  a  shortage  of  more  skilled  work  suitable 
for  the  training  of  long-term  prisoners,  which  is  particularly  unfortun- 
ate at  a  time  when  the  introduction  of  Corrective  Training  requires  an 
increase  in  that  class  of  work.  There  is  a  prospect  of  serious  under- 
employment in  the  prisons  in  1950,  and  the  position  is  under  review, 
with  the  Departments  concerned,  with  a  view  to  preventing  such  a 
situation  and  to  securing  the  position  for  the  future.' 

As  a  result  of  this  review,  a  more  satisfactory  appreciation  of  the 
principles  of  1933  was  reached,  and  methods  were  devised  for  their 
practical  application — so  far  as  concerned  government  contracting 
departments — which  marked  a  distinct  advance.  There  was  under- 
employment in  1950,  but  it  never  became  so  serious  as  had  been  antici- 
pated. Nevertheless,  if  this  is  the  position  in  a  period  of  full  employment 
nationally,  when  the  great  majority  of  prisoners  are  working  no  more 
than  25  hours  a  week  instead  of  44,  it  is  sufficiently  clear  that  the  pro- 
vision of  useful  work  is  still,  as  ever,  'the  overwhelming  problem  of 
prison  management'.2 

(2)    PROVISION  AND  ORGANISATION  OF  WORK 

Many  different  systems  of  employing  prisoners  have  been  and  are 
in  use  in  the  penal  systems  of  the  world:  Dr.  L.  N.  Robinson  in  1931 
1  Annual  Report,  1945,  p.  33.    2  See  Appendix  K. 


188       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

listed  five  as  being  in  use  in  the  U.S.A.,  and  most  of  these,  or  combina- 
tions or  modifications  of  them,  may  still  be  found  in  the  systems  of 
Europe.  They  are  as  follows.1 

Lease  System. — The  State  contracts  with  a  lessee  to  feed,  clothe, 
house  and  guard  the  prisoners,  subject  to  inspection,  the  lessee  paying 
an  agreed  amount  for  the  prisoners'  labour. 

Contract  System. — The  State  keeps  the  prisoners  but  lets  their  labour 
to  a  contractor,  who  manages  the  business  side  and  superintends  the 
work. 

Piece-price  System. — This  is  a  variation  of  the  contract  system  under 
which  the  contractor  pays  for  output  by  the  piece  or  article.  The 
supervision  of  the  work  is  generally  performed  by  a  prison  official, 
although  sometimes  by  the  contractors.  The  officials  of  the  prison  not 
only  maintain  discipline,  but  also  dictate  the  daily  quantity  of  work 
required.' 

State-account  System. — The  State  enters  the  field  of  manufacturing 
on  its  own  account  .  .  .  has  the  entire  care  and  control  of  the  convicts 
and  with  them  conducts  an  ordinary  factory.' 

State-use  System. — As  in  the  State-account  system,  but  manufacture 
is  for  use  of  State  institutions  only.  The  principle  ...  is  that  the  State 
shall  produce  ...  for  its  own  consumption  alone  and  shall  not  compete 
directly  with  the  business  of  manufacturers  employing  free  labour.' 

The  first  of  these  systems  may  be  disregarded;  Dr.  Robinson  indi- 
cated that  it  had  virtually  fallen  into  disuse,  or  had  been  pronounced 
illegal,  in  most  of  the  States  of  America.  The  second,  though  it  would 
be  regarded  as  incompatible  with  the  requirements  of  the  English 
system,  was  legal  in  some  States  of  America  and  has  been  used  in 
Europe  since  the  late  war. 

The  English  system  may  be  said  to  be  primarily  'State-use'  as  above 
defined,  though  it  should  be  noted  that  this  term  is  sometimes  applied 
also  to  a  system  whereby  States  are  required  by  law  to  purchase  certain 
manufactures  of  prison  industries — this  is  'compulsory  State-use'  as 
considered  and  rejected  by  the  Departmental  Committee  of  1933 
(p.  185  above),  and  there  is  no  such  provision  in  English  law  or  practice. 
But  in  so  far  as,  in  a  few  industries  and  on  a  small  scale,  English 
prisons  make  goods  for  sale  on  the  outside  market,  they  may  be  said 
to  operate  also  the  State-account  System.  During  the  late  war  they  also 
made  substantial  use  of  the  Piece-price  System — the  prisons  acted  as 
sub-contractors  to  Government  contractors,  who  supplied  the  tools, 
materials  and  technical  supervision,  paying  for  the  output  on  pricing 
systems  agreed,  usually,  through  the  Ministry  of  Supply :  this  system 
may  still,  in  principle,  be  used,  and  a  certain  number  of  workshops 
today  are  employed  on  doing  work  for  outside  contractors  though 
entirely  under  prison  supervision.  During  the  war  much  highly  skilled 
1  See  Should  Prisoners  Work,  pp.  79,  80. 


WORK  189 

work,  such  as  assembly  of  radio-sets,  electrical  equipment  for  tanks 
and  the  like  was  carried  out  on  this  system. 

Somewhere  between  'Piece-price'  and  'Contract'  falls  the  system, 
originated  during  the  war  and  still  continued,  of  extra-mural  employ- 
ment of  prisoners  by  farmers,  public  bodies  and  private  firms  in 
suitable  industries.  Here  we  have  a  somewhat  paradoxical  position. 
No  system  of  employing  prisoners  is  more  open  to  abuse  and  has  been 
more  roundly  condemned  than  the  Contract  System.  Yet  no  step  by 
the  English  administration  in  recent  years  has  given  more  cause  for 
satisfaction,  both  to  the  administration  and  to  the  interested  public, 
than  its  moves  towards  a  system  of  this  type.  The  explanation  may  lie 
in  the  strictness  of  the  safeguards  to  ensure  on  the  one  hand  that  no 
interest  of  normal  labour  is  prejudiced,  and  on  the  other  that  no  em- 
ployer is  at  any  financial  advantage  through  the  employment  of  prison 
labour.  No  such  labour  may  be  employed  without  the  prior  consent 
of  the  local  office  of  the  Ministry  of  Labour,  who  ensure  that  no  local 
labour  is  available  for  the  job  and  that  there  is  no  Trade  Union  objec- 
tion; and  every  employer  must  pay  over  to  the  prison  the  full  local 
rate  for  the  job  for  every  man-hour  worked. 

But  so  far  as  concerns  industrial  work,  the  prisons  must  rely  for 
the  great  bulk  of  their  work  on  making  what  they  need  for  themselves — 
clothing,  underclothing  and  shoes;  beds  and  bedding;  furniture  and 
equipment  of  all  kinds — and  on  orders  from  other  Government  De- 
partments for  such  articles  as  the  prisons  can  make.  The  methods  of 
allocating  such  orders,  and  of  extending  their  volume  and  variety  to 
meet  the  growing  shortage  of  work  in  prisons,  have  recently  been  much 
improved  in  consultation  with  all  the  departments  concerned. 

The  responsibility  for  finding  the  orders  and  organising  production 
in  workshops  and  farms  falls  to  the  Director  of  Industries  in  the  Prison 
Commission.  He  is  assisted  by  a  staff  of  Industrial  Supervisors  and  a 
Supervisor  of  Farms  and  Gardens,  with  other  technical  staff,  at  the 
Head  Office,  and  by  Industrial  Managers  at  the  larger  prisons  and  groups 
of  smaller  prisons. 

In  their  Annual  Report  for  1949,  the  Commissioners  reported  that  of 
a  daily  average  population  of  20,043  l  there  were  16,932  available  for 
employment  and  3,111  non-effectives,  i.e.  untried  who  did  not  choose 
to  work,  sick,  under  punishment,  in  transit,  etc.  The  labour  available 
was  utilised  as  follows: 

(1)  Domestic  Services  .  3,618 

(2)  Farms  and  gardens .  538 

(3)  Building  Services    .  1,622 

(4)  Manufactures         .  10,158 

(5)  Outside  work.         .  996 

1  This  and  the  subsequent  figures  include  Borstal  inmates;  the  figures  for  prisons 
are  not  published  separately. 


190       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

A  survey  of  these  categories  one  by  one  will  give  a  complete  picture  of 
the  work  now  done  in  prisons. 

Domestic  services  include  much  more  than  the  unskilled  work  of 
cleaning  the  prison  and  working  in  the  grounds.  There  are  parties 
doing  fairly  skilled  and  interesting  work  in  the  kitchens  and  laundries: 
the  latter  over  a  period  of  years  have  been  gradually  centralised  and 
modernised,  and  are  conducted  either  by  a  civilian  or  a  prison  officer 
who  has  been  through  a  course  of  training  in  laundry  methods.  Where 
there  is  a  women's  section  they  usually  do  the  laundry  work.  Some  of 
the  larger  power  laundries  take  in  work  from  other  Government 
establishments. 

There  is  also  in  this  category  a  number  of  individual  jobs  as  orderlies, 
stokers  and  the  like  which  are  usually  assigned  to  'red-band  men'  who 
are  allowed  to  move  about  the  prison  and  do  their  work  without  con- 
stant supervision. 

The  amount  of  work  provided  by  the  gardens  varies  from  prison  to 
prison.  All  have  flower-beds  or  vegetable  gardens  in  any  cultivable 
space  within  the  walls,  and  a  few  have  market-gardens  outside  the  main 
wall.  At  Dartmoor  and  Parkhurst  there  are  substantial  mixed  farms, 
but  farming  is  not  carried  out  at  the  local  or  regional  prisons  except  on 
the  land  reclaimed  at  New  Hall  Camp,  Wakefield.  It  is  often  suggested 
that  it  would  be  beneficial  to  extend  the  employment  >of  prisoners  on 
farms,  but  there  are  certain  practical  objections:  local  prisons  are  in 
towns,  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  buy  land  at  some  distance  for 
cultivation;  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  most  cultivable  land  is  already 
under  cultivation  by  farmers  who  would  not  necessarily  be  willing  to 
be  dispossessed,  while  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  would  require  to  be 
convinced  that  the  interests  of  food  production  would  be  served  by  such 
a  change;  and  it  would  require  some  hundreds  of  acres,  with  substantial 
capital  expenditure  in  buildings  and  machinery,  to  employ  more  than 
a  handful  of  men  except  for  seasonal  periods. 

The  employment  provided  at  all  prisons  by  the  Works  Department  is 
various,  interesting  and  often  skilled.  Except  for  an  occasional  special- 
ised job  the  maintenance  of  the  buildings  and  equipment  of  the  prisons, 
and  the  erection  of  all  new  buildings  and  installations  (including 
electrical  installations)  within  the  walls  is  carried  out  entirely  by 
prisoners  working  under  the  engineers  and  tradesmen  of  the  Works 
Department.  Considerable  works  have  also  been  undertaken  outside  the 
walls,  including  the  erection  of  staff  quarters  1  and  such  substantial 
buildings  as  the  Imperial  Training  School  at  Wakefield  and  the  Borstal 
Institution  at  Lowdham  Grange.  The  provision  of  doors,  window- 
frames  and  other  wooden  and  metal  fittings  for  the  Works  Department 

1  At  the  end  of  1949  over  800  additional  quarters  had  been  completed  or  were 
under  construction  since  the  war,  but  the  greater  part  of  this  large  programme  was 
completed  by  contractors. 


WORK  191 

provides  skilled  work  for  the  carpenters,  joiners  and  metal  shops  on 
the  industrial  side.  At  several  prisons  where  there  are  large  new  building 
programmes  the  Works  Department  maintain  training  classes  in  brick- 
laying and  painting  from  which  men  pass  out  to  practical  work  on  the 
job.  During  and  since  the  war  women  have  also  been  extensively 
employed  on  painting  and  decorations :  the  whole  of  the  redecoration 
of  Askham  Grange,  including  a  good  deal  of  such  complicated  detail 
as  may  be  expected  in  an  Edwardian  mansion,  was  recently  completed 
by  the  women  with  equal  satisfaction  and  skill. 

The  list  of  manufactures  in  Appendix  6  to  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Prison  Commissioners  for  1949  includes  36  different  trades,  and  of 
over  11,150  persons  engaged  in  them  rather  less  than  half  are  making 
or  repairing  mailbags :  the  implications  of  this  have  already  been  dis- 
cussed. Other  trades  in  this  unskilled  category,  such  as  bed-making, 
sack-making  and  rope-making,  employ  some  250;  but  the  largest 
group,  of  over  650,  under  the  heading  Pickers  &  Sorters,  is  engaged  for 
the  most  part  in  the  transitory  post-war  work  of  stripping  and  sorting 
into  its  component  parts  surplus  government  stores  of  many  kinds  from 
telephone  equipment  to  bandages — useful  work  and  not  uninteresting, 
though  of  little  constructive  or  vocational  value.  This  is  the  pathetic 
obverse  of  the  high  and  strenuous  days  of  1944,  when  prisoners  worked 
long  hours  packing  such  stores  for  the  invasion  of  Europe. 

First  of  the  semi-skilled  trades  is  the  making  of  coir  mats — door 
mats,  gymnasium  mats,  floor-matting,  small  coloured  mats.  These 
are  made  either  on  frames  or  looms ;  the  methods  are  not  those  of  an 
outside  factory,  but  the  work  is  harder,  more  skilful,  and  more  interest- 
ing than  sewing  canvas.  After  the  late  war  this  industry  was  rapidly 
expanded  to  meet  both  the  increased  prison  population  and  the  in- 
creased demand,  and  in  1949  employed  nearly  1,000.  Today,  much  of 
this  market  has  been  lost  to  foreign  competition,  and  many  mat-shops 
are  dwindling  to  stagnation.  Basket-making  and  brush-making  are  two 
valuable  trades  employing  over  230,  while  knitting,  shoe-making  and 
shoe-repairing  absorb  over  370.  Needleworkers  and  dressmakers  (some 
420),  mostly  women,  include  all  grades  of  work  from  unskilled  to  skilled, 
as  do  over  420  tailors :  between  them  they  make  and  repair  all  the  cloth- 
ing, both  under  and  outer,  for  the  use  of  men  and  women  prisoners, 
and  in  some  shops  do  high-grade  work  in  making  clothing  for  other 
Government  departments. 

Of  the  more  skilled  trades  the  largest  are  the  carpenters  (245);  the 
metal-workers — moulders,  smiths,  fitters  and  tinsmiths  (118);  and 
weavers  (126),  who  make  all  the  cloth,  calico,  sheeting,  blankets,  etc. 
required  for  prison  dress  and  bedding.  There  is  a  printing  shop  at 
Maidstone  where  most  of  the  forms  and  internal  publications  of  the 
department  are  printed.  Over  100  prisoners  are  also  engaged  in  book- 
binding; this  is  at  present  confined  to  the  needs  of  prison  libraries, 


192      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

but  arrangements  have  recently  been  made  for  prisoners  to  undertake 
the  binding  of  Government  papers  for  the  official  libraries,  which  will 
provide  a  skilled  and  interesting  occupation  for  a  number  of  long-term 
men. 

The  last  group  of  workers  to  be  considered  is  those  who  work  outside 
the  walls,  not  on  the  prison  lands  and  buildings  but  on  work  of  public 
value  through  or  for  public  authorities.  This  development  was  first 
described  by  the  Commissioners  in  their  Annual  Report  for  1942-44  as 
follows : 

The  work  done  for  private  farmers  by  boys  from  the  Usk  Borstal 
Institution  was  described  in  the  previous  report.  Since  that  time  the 
original  idea  has  developed  in  a  remarkable  manner.  In  co-operation 
with  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  and  the  local  County 
War  Agricultural  Executive  Committees  in  26  counties,  men  and 
women,  boys  and  girls,  from  nearly  every  prison  and  Borstal  Institution 
in  the  country  have  been  regularly  working  on  farms  far  from  the 
prisons  and  have  made  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  country's  food 
production.  The  quality  and  quantity  of  their  work  has  received  high 
praise  from  their  employers,  and  though  only  token  supervision  was 
provided  by  the  prisons,  escapes  and  unfortunate  incidents  were  rare 
in  proportion  to  the  numbers  employed.  Wage  Board  rates  are  paid  to 
the  Commissioners  in  all  cases,  the  workers  receiving  the  normal 
payments  under  the  prison  or  Borstal  earnings  schemes.  The  approxim- 
ate revenue  was  £67,500  for  1943  and  £92,000  for  1944. 

'Further  work  by  outside  parties  was  arranged  with  the  Timber 
Control  Section  of  the  Ministry  of  Supply.  These  operated  in  timber 
yards  and  colliery  pit  prop  sites,  and  even  unloaded  barges  in  London 
Docks.  A  small  number  of  selected  men  were  allowed  to  work  in  power 
saw  mills.  As  in  the  case  of  land  workers  they  had  the  minimum  of 
supervision.  The  arrangements  for  pay  were  the  same  as  for  land 
workers.  The  approximate  revenue  was  £30,000  in  1943  and  £28,000  in 
1944.' 

In  1945  the  daily  average  numbers  employed  in  this  way  were  985, 
and  this  sort  of  level  was  maintained  in  the  next  three  years.  In  1948 
the  Commissioners  reported  that  work  was  being  done  in  this  way  in 
agriculture  (through  the  County  Committees);  river  drainage;  laying 
of  gas  and  water  mains  and  drains  for  housing;  and  at  store-depots, 
etc.,  for  the  Service  Departments:  £120,560  was  credited  to  the  Com- 
missioners foe  wages,  and  407,500  hours  were  worked  free  of  charge  for 
other  Government  Departments. 

Two  things  were  perhaps  surprising  about  these  developments :  first, 
the  high  reputation  earned  by  prison  labour,  which  was  always  in  strong 
demand  and  usually  described  by  farmers  as  the  best  labour  they  had 


WORK  193 

had  from  any  source;  second,  the  very  small  number  of  abscondings  or 
misbehaviour  in  relation  to  the  number  of  man-hours  worked — and  a 
high  proportion  of  these  workers  have  been  prisoners  of  the  Ordinary 
Class.  A  typical  report  from  one  Governor,  quoted  by  the  Com- 
missioners in  their  Annual  Report  for  1948  (p.  73)  was  as  follows: 

'During  most  of  the  year  30  prisoners  were  employed,  in  three  parties, 
on  agricultural  work,  land  drainage  etc.  for  the  Local  Agricultural 
Executive  Committees.  During  November  a  further  party  of  14  pris- 
oners was  started  on  potato  picking.  I  have  received  several  letters  from 
farmers,  for  whom  these  parties  were  working,  speaking  very  highly  of 
their  work,  conduct  and  industry.  One  such  letter  is  reproduced  below 
for  information : 

'Sir, 

'A  party  of  prisoners  working  for  the  A.E.C.  have  just  completed 
the  picking  of  12  acres  of  potatoes  on  the  farm  and  my  father  and  I 
felt  that  we  could  not  let  the  way  they  did  the  job  pass  unnoticed. 

They  tackled  the  job  wholeheartedly,  quickly  and  thoroughly, 
and  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  see  the  cheerful  spirit  in  which  they  set 
about  their  work  and  were  always  willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand, 
besides  being  so  well  mannered  and  well  behaved. 

Yours  faithfully. 

'This  type  of  work  is  appreciated  by  the  men  and  the  privilege  of 
working  outside  the  prison  is  seldom  abused.  During  the  year  under 
review  there  have  been  no  absconders  from  any  of  these  parties.' 

What  was  not  surprising  was  the  remarkable  benefit  not  only  to  the 
physical  and  mental  health  of  the  men  so  employed,  and  to  their  morale, 
but  to  the  general  morale  of  the  prison:  competition  to  get  into  an  out- 
side party  was  keen,  and  only  to  be  earned  by  proof  of  trustworthiness 
— there  was  no  better  culmination  to  a  system  of  training  in  self-respon- 
sibility, for  it  must  be  emphasised  that  the  supervision  by  one  officer 
of  a  dozen  or  twenty  men  spread  over  a  tract  of  farmland  could  only  be 
nominal.  Many  stories  to  illustrate  this  are  recorded:  a  party  whose 
lorry  broke  down,  and  remained  for  some  hours  in  the  dark  while  the 
officer  went  to  see  about  repairs — another  caught  by  fog  and  benighted 
as  the  guests  of  a  golf-club — another  party  (recidivists)  lost  four  of  its 
members  and  reported  them  as  absconders;  shortly  the  Governor 
received  a  'transferred  trunk-call'  from  one  of  them  asking  to  be 
fetched — they  had  strayed  to  pick  chestnuts  and  missed  the  bus! 

There  have  been  variations  of  the  normal  procedure  of  work  in 

parties  of  10-20  going  out  daily  from  the  prison  with  an  officer.  At 

Leyhill,  following  a  Borstal  precedent,  selected  men  go  out  singly  on 

bicycles  to  work  for  local  farmers,  and  when  this  valuable  form  of 

E.P.B.S.— 13 


194       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

training  was  temporarily  discontinued  when  local  labour  was  found  to 
be  available,  the  farmers  publicly  voiced  their  disappointment. 

Another  variation  was  the  location  of  a  party  on  the  site,  in  camp 
conditions,  to  carry  out  a  specific  job.  This  is  a  method  of  which  much 
valuable  use  may  yet  be  made  in  suitable  conditions,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  description  by  the  Commissioners  of  their  first 
essay  in  this  mode  of  operation. 

'A  development  at  Stafford  Prison  during  the  year  provides  a  classic 
example  of  the  use  of  prison  labour  to  the  maximum  advantage  of  the 
public,  both  direct,  in  that  it  gets  necessary  work  done  which  would  in 
all  probability  not  get  done  otherwise,  and  indirect,  in  that  it  provides 
precisely  that  form  of  training  most  likely  to  lead  to  the  social  re- 
adaptation  of  the  prisoner  and  therefore  to  the  protection  of  the  public 
which  is  the  purpose  of  imprisonment.  This  might  also  have  been  said 
of  the  employment  of  women  in  hospitals,  and  of  all  other  schemes  for 
employing  prisoners  outside  the  prison  on  work  of  public  importance 
where  normal  labour  interests  are  not  prejudiced. 

'The  Governor,  in  his  Annual  Report,  describes  this  scheme  as 
follows: 

'Hanbury  and  the  Camp. 

'In  November  1944  an  explosion  took  place  in  the  R.A.F.  Bomb 
Store  at  Fauld,  near  Burton-on-Trent,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of 
some  100  lives  and  the  devastation  of  some  350  acres  of  the  best 
grazing  land  in  the  County. 

'In  February  1945  I  was  asked  to  provide  a  small  party  to  do  some 
drainage  work  there  and  on  March  14th  the  first  party  of  men  started 
work  in  a  setting  of  appalling  desolation. 

'I  do  not  think  the  full  significance  of  what  their  work  really 
meant  came  to  them  until  1  took  the  party  to  a  memorial  service  to 
the  18  who  were  still  missing  from  the  explosion,  when  they  realised 
that  this  was  more  than  a  job  of  just  clearing  up  a  mess  and  that  it  had 
deeper  possibilities  for  each  man  on  the  job.  Much  has  been  done 
since  then,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  some  100  acres  had  been 
restored  and  were  under  cultivation,  some  miles  of  fencing  and 
ditching  had  been  completed,  and  a  start  had  been  made  on  a  large 
afforestation  scheme. 

'With  the  progress  of  the  work  the  Air  Ministry  were  good  enough 
to  provide  and  the  Commissioners  to  sanction  a  Camp,  and  on  July 
23rd  the  first  party  of  men  moved  into  a  series  of  huts  some  two  miles 
from  the  job.  At  the  end  of  the  year  36  men  were  living  in  the  Camp 
and  80  others  were  coming  out  from  Stafford  daily  to  the  working 
site. 

'Here  in  the  Camp  are  all  the  needs  of  civilian  training  met  under 


WORK  195 

rational  conditions,  from  the  huts  to  the  attendance  at  the  village 
Church  at  Hanbury  each  Sunday  evening  as  part  of  an  ordinary 
congregation.  Freed  from  the  prison  machine  men  behave  naturally 
and  the  good  can  be  sifted  from  the  bad.  I  hope  to  see  the  whole  of 
my  working-out  parties  living  under  similar  conditions. 

'Those  100  acres  of  green  pasture  and  fertile  ploughland,  set  against 
the  200  acres  of  remaining  devastation  reminiscent  of  the  Ypres 
salient  in  1918,  were  indeed  to  the  Commissioners,  as  to  the  Governor 
and  his  staff,  a  source  both  of  pride  and  of  inspiration.' l 

In  1948  the  Commissioners  reported  that  There  is  a  tendency  for 
this  employment  to  decline  owing  to  the  use  of  European  Voluntary 
Workers,  Government  efforts  to  encourage  youths  to  take  up  land  work 
as  a  career  and  also  the  slight  rise  in  unemployment  in  some  districts. 
The  Commissioners  are  taking  such  steps  as  are  open  to  them  to 
maintain  the  volume  of  this  valuable  form  of  employment.' 2  Un- 
happily this  tendency  continued  during  1949,  when  the  number  fell  to 
826. 

On  occasion  by  arrangement  with  the  Ministry  of  Labour  extra- 
mural parties  have  been  employed  on  suitable  work  for  private  em- 
ployers, e.g.  quarrying:  this  differs  in  principle  from  other  such  work 
only  in  that  it  is  not  work  for  a  public  authority.3 

(3)    VOCATIONAL  TRAINING 

In  recent  years  the  training  value  of  work  has  been  increased  by 
the  installation  at  certain  prisons  of  vocational  training  classes  in 
skilled  trades.  These  had  for  some  time  been  active  in  the  regional 
prisons  at  Wakefield  and  Maidstone,  which  during  the  war  discharged 
hundreds  of  men  direct  to  skilled  work  in  the  engineering  trades  for 
which  they  had  been  trained  in  the  prisons.  Later  an  engineering  course 
was  started  at  Wormwood  Scrubs,  and  since  the  war  courses  in  mould- 
ing, weaving,  bricklaying  and  painting  and  decoration  have  been 
started  at  Wakefield  and  Maidstone.  Similar  courses  have  been  or  will 
be  opened  at  all  regional  or  corrective  training  prisons,  including  among 
other  trades  taught  carpentry,  black-smithing,  shoe-making  and  tin- 
smithing.  All  these  courses  are  based  on  the  Ministry  of  Labour  syllabus 
for  civilian  training  courses,  last  for  26  weeks,  and  include  both 
theoretical  and  practical  training  under  skilled  civilian  instructors 
recruited  from  the  trades.  There  are  also  courses  in  bricklaying  and 
painting  and  decorating  at  certain  local  and  central  prisons  where 
the  men  after  training  can  be  employed  in  these  trades  by  the  Works 

1  Annual  Report  for  1945,  para.  78.  This  work  is  now  virtually  complete. 

2  Annual  Report  for  1948,  p.  37.        3  See  Appendix  K. 


196      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Department.  In  1949  the  Commissioners  reported  that  there  were  24 
classes  in  operation  for  adult  prisoners  engaging  320  men. 

At  the  end  of  1950  it  was  decided  to  make  a  fresh  approach  to  this 
question  of  industrial  training.  Instead  of  having  the  training  courses 
quite  separate  from  the  production  shops  of  the  same  trade,  they  will 
now  be  amalgamated,  and  instead  of  a  separate  six  months  course  each 
man  selected  for  a  trade  will  get  'on-the-job'  training  over  a  longer 
period.  He  will  begin  with  10  weeks'  training  before  he  starts  on  pro- 
duction, so  that  he  knows  the  use  of  tools  and  materials:  the  rest  of  the 
present  26-week  syllabus  will  not  be  lost,  but  will  be  given  at  intervals 
by  withdrawing  a  certain  number  of  men  from  the  production  end  of 
the  shop  for  a  short  period  of  special  training,  practical  or  theoretical. 

It  is  unfortunate  that,  despite  careful  enquiry,  it  has  not  so  far  proved 
possible  to  find  trades  in  which  it  would  be  both  useful  and  practicable 
to  train  women  in  prison :  at  Askham  Grange,  however,  the  work  is  so 
arranged  as  to  give  the  women  a  complete  course  of  training  in  the 
domestic  arts,  each  woman  doing  a  period  of  training  in  the  kitchen, 
the  laundry,  the  sewing-room,  the  gardens  and  the  care  of  the  house, 
with  periodical  examinations  by  the  Local  Education  Authority  in 
cookery  and  housewifery.  In  the  evenings  there  are  classes  in  fine  dress- 
making, toy-making,  leather-work  and  other  handicrafts,  and  many 
women  are  known  to  have  established  flourishing  little  businesses  on 
the  basis  of  a  craft  learned  in  the  prison. 

From  time  to  time  the  question  is  raised  whether  men  who  have  been 
trained  in  a  trade  can  be  placed  in  that  trade  on  discharge,  and  if , not 
whether  the  training  is  really  worth  while.  There  can  be  no  general 
answer  to  the  first  part  of  the  question:  a  prison  course  is  not  recognised 
by  the  Trade  Unions  as  qualifying  a  man  for  entry  to  the  trade  as  a 
skilled  worker,  nor  as  counting  towards  the  apprenticeship  of  a 
younger  man,  and  on  occasion  hostility  has  been  shown  by  par- 
ticular Unions  both  to  the  principle  of  giving  such  training  in  prisons 
and  to  the  employment  of  such  men  in  their  trades  after  discharge: 
nevertheless,  many  men  trained  in  prison  have  found  work  in  their 
trades,  especially  where  the  local  Employment  Exchange  manager 
understands  the  difficulties  and  co-operates  in  removing  them.  Even  if 
they  do  not,  the  training  is  still  worth  while;  it  wholly  enlists  a  man's 
interest ;  to  acquire  a  new  skill  is  a  valuable  piece  of  character  forma- 
tion, making  for  increased  self-control  and  self-respect;  and  at  least 
it  gives  the  man  a  skill  which  he  may  be  able  to  turn  to  advantage  after 
discharge. 

(4)    INCENTIVES  TO  WORK 

Once  work  is  treated  as  part  of  the  training  and  not  as  part  of  the 
punishment,  it  follows  that  prisoners  should  work  fast  and  work  well. 


WORK  197 

True,  a  certain  level  of  industry  can  be  maintained  by  the  discipline  of 
fear,  but  there  is  a  wide  gap  between  the  quality  and  quantity  of  work 
a  man  will  do  to  escape  punishment,  and  what  he  will  do  when  doing 
his  best:  and  to  get  the  best  out  of  a  man  requires  the  discipline  not  of 
fear  but  of  interest — in  prison  this  will  not  always  come  from  the 
nature  of  the  work  itself,  but  it  may  well  come  from  normal  economic 
self-interest  if  suitable  incentives  can  be  offered. 

This  question  has  been  approached  from  many  angles.  In  some 
countries  hunger  has  been  used  as  the  spur:  the  basic  ration  is  bare  and 
unappetising,  but  may  be  supplemented  by  a  variety  of  additional  food 
to  be  bought  with  earnings.  At  the  other  extreme  lies  the  conception 
of  an  'economic  wage',  out  of  which  a  prisoner  will  keep  both  himself 
and  his  family,  maintain  his  insurances,  compensate  those  he  has 
wronged,  and  do  as  he  will  with  the  balance — if  any.  This  has  advan- 
tages in  principle,  as  making  both  for  self-respect  and  self-responsibility, 
as  well  as  for  interest  and  industry  at  work.  But  imagination  and  reason 
alike  recoil  from  the  prospect  of  trying  to  realise  this  conception.  It 
is  difficult  to  visualise  a  system  of  this  sort  which  would  not  in  practice 
be  wholly  artificial  and  unrelated  to  actual  economic  conditions,  honey- 
combed with  anomaly  and  inequity,  almost  impossible  to  administer, 
and  unduly  costly  to  the  taxpayer :  nor,  in  the  opinion  at  least  of  the 
present  writer,  wouM  it  be  likely  to  produce  in  practice  the  advantages 
attributed  to  it  in  theory.  This  view  would  appear  to  have  been  shared 
by  the  Departmental  Committee  of  1933,  which  briefly  considered  the 
idea  and  rejected  it,  adding  that  their  enquiries  showed  that  in  certain 
countries  where  'in  theory  wages  are  paid  on  the  basis  of  outside  scales, 
in  practice  the  prisoner  receives  only  a  much  smaller  sum  arbitrarily 
fixed  by  the  prison  authority'  (para.  166).1 

In  England,  at  least  after  the  Act  of  1865,  the  only  incentive  to 
industry  was  the  marks  system,  under  which  both  'stage'  and  're- 
mission' were  earned  on  the  basis  of  a  daily  allocation  of  marks  which 
in  theory  were  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  industry  shown.  But  in 
the  course  of  years  the  award  of  marks  became  a  time-wasting  formal- 
ity, and  during  the  late  war  it  was  abolished  as  a  measure  of  economy. 
The  prisoner  was  then  credited  with  full  remission  from  the  beginning, 
and  if  he  had  to  be  reported  for  idleness  or  other  misconduct  some  of 
it  might  be  forfeited — the  discipline  of  fear.  But  before  the  war  other 
methods  had  been  tried :  the  Departmental  Committee  expressed  itself 
(para.  167)  as  'greatly  impressed  by  the  good  results  of  the  experimental 
systems  of  payment  in  force  at  Wakefield  and  Lowdham,  and  we  think 
that  the  extension  of  a  system  of  payment  to  other  establishments  on 

1  See  however  para.  6.  of  Resolution  II  (3)  of  The  Hague  Congress  (Appendix  F). 
In  view  of  the  recommendation  of  the  Congress,  and  of  a  similar  recommendation 
by  the  Scottish  Advisory  Council  on  the  Treatment  of  Offences  in  1949,  this  question 
is  further  considered  in  Appendix  K. 


198       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

similar  lines  should  be  made.'  Before  the  war  this  system  had  been 
extended  to  all  establishments,  and  the  present  scheme  has  developed 
out  of  it  with  little  change  of  principle. 

Although  the  earnings  scheme  has  in  fact  acted,  and  still  acts,  as  a 
considerable  incentive  to  industry,  it  may  be  said  at  once  both  that  it 
has  other  purposes  and  justifications,  and  that  it  is  open  to  many  valid 
criticisms,  the  nature  of  which  reflects  the  difficulties  that  would  be 
met  in  attempting  to  apply  a  system  based  on  economic  wage  fates  in 
outside  industry.  Try  as  one  may  to  'normalise'  prison  life,  the  fact 
remains  that  a  prison  is  a  wholly  artificial  community,  in  which  the 
economic  conditions  of  outside  life  can  no  more  easily  be  reproduced 
than  its  social  conditions.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  it  is  a  basic  principle  of 
the  English  system  that,  subject  to  such  variations  and  privileges  as 
may  be  accorded  to  defined  groups  in  accordance  with  stated  principles 
known  to  all  prisoners,  every  prisoner  should  be  treated  alike  in  respect 
of  the  material  conditions  of  life  and  the  grant  of  specific  concessions 
or  privileges :  absolute  fairness  as  between  man  and  man  is  the  essence 
of  successful  management  of  a  community  where  small  things  count 
for  so  much.  Again,  a  prisoner  is  not  free  to  choose  his  work,  or  to 
change  it  when  he  wishes:  the  management,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
bound  to  employ  him  for  so  long  as  he  is  there,  however  stupid, 
malicious  or  incompetent  he  may  be — and  a  considerable  number  are 
virtually  unemployable.  Yet  another  peculiar  feature  of  prison  life  is  that 
skill  in  normal  prison  trades,  which  may  result  in  high  output,  will 
usually  result  from  experience  born  of  long  years  in  prison — the  novice 
for  all  his  effort  will  never  make  so  much:  and  as  for  specialist  trades, 
a  serious  offender  may  have  a  trade  at  his  finger-tips  that  he  happens 
to  be  able  to  follow  in  prison,  while  a  minor  offender  has  another 
trade  which  he  cannot  follow  in  prison.  These  are  random  examples 
of  the  many  conditions  peculiar  to  a  prison  which  inevitably  create 
anomalies  in  any  system  of  payment  for  work.  Two  other  considerations 
may  be  mentioned.  First,  wages  may  be  expressed  in  terms  of  cash,  but 
the  true  currency  is  the  tobacco  into  which  the  great  majority  at  once 
convert  the  cash:  the  real  value  of  earnings  varies  exactly  with  the 
price  of  tobacco.  Second,  when  the  value  of  a  prisoner's  work  is  not 
enough  to  pay  the  cost  of  keeping  him  in  prison,  any  sum  paid  to  him 
is  by  way  of  an  unconvenanted  benefit,  the  cost  of  which  to  the  taxpayer 
should  not  become  unduly  high. 

The  system  at  present  in  force  is  as  follows.  Work  is  divided  into 
what  can  be  measured  and  therefore  paid  at  piece-rates,  and  what  can- 
not be  measured  and  must  therefore  be  paid  at  flat-rates.  The  majority 
of  prisoners,  including  many  skilled  tradesmen,  are  employed  in  flat- 
rate  parties;  the  scheme  must  therefore  seek  to  preserve  an  approxima- 
tion to  equality  as  between  the  two  rates  of  earning. 

All  prisoners  for  the  first  eight  weeks  of  their  sentences  are  paid  the 


WORK  199 

'beginners'  rate'  of  lOd.  a  week.  Thereafter,  piece-workers  go  on  to  a 
basic  rate  of  Is.  8d.  a  week  for  a  minimum  output  of  approved  quality: 
sums  in  excess  of  15-.  8d.  may  be  earned  by  increased  output  according  to 
the  rates  fixed  in  the  different  trades,  but  though  there  is  no  ceiling  for 
piece-rate  earnings  the  rates  are  fixed  in  the  expectation  that  they  will 
produce  an  overall  average  of  about  3s.  a  week — an  exceptional 
worker  may  earn  45-.,  but  more  would  be  rare.  Flat-rate  workers 
after  the  initial  eight  weeks  go  into  grade  C  at  Is.  M.  a  week,  and 
from  this  semi-skilled  and  particularly  useful  men  may  be  promoted 
to  grade  B  in  which  they  can  earn  supplements  up  to  Is.  3d.  a  week  on 
the  basis  of  the  party  officer's  assessment  of  their  skill  and  effort. 
Fully  skilled  tradesmen  placed  in  grade  A  may  earn  from  3s.  to  49. 
on  the  same  basis.  Prisoners  who  through  no  fault  of  their  own  are 
unable  to  work  are  paid  Wd.  a  week. 

While  it  is  the  expressed  intention  of  the  scheme  that  workers  should 
be  paid  according  to  their  merits,  and  that  payments  should  be  related 
rather  to  genuine  endeavour  than  to  dexterity,  it  is  difficult  to  realise 
these  intentions  in  practice:  flat-rates  may  tend  to  become  automatic, 
and  piece-rates  to  be  proportioned  to  quantity  rather  than  to  quality 
or  effort.  Certainly  piece-rates  have  had  a  remarkable  effect  on  output, 
but  it  is  a  minority  who — beyond  the  original  eight  weeks — are  so 
employed:  the  flat-rates,  if  flexibly  and  intelligently  administered, 
should  have  the  effect  of  keeping  the  workers  'on  their  toes',  but 
cannot  of  course  influence  output  in  the  same  way  as  piece-rates. 

It  may  well  be  that  over  all  the  true  value  of  earnings  lies  rather  in 
their  contribution  to  the  training  scheme  as  a  whole  than  in  their 
direct  stimulus  to  industry.  It  makes  for  self-responsibility  and  self- 
respect  that  a  man  should  have  some  reward  for  his  effort,  that  he 
should  have  something  to  spend  in  his  pocket  and  have  to  think  about 
how  he  should  spend  it.  There  is  a  humanising  influence  too:  many  a 
father  and  mother  in  prison  regularly  save  their  earnings  to  buy 
chocolates  for  their  children.  Certainly  it  was  the  general  opinion  of 
Governors  that  the  revision  of  the  scheme  in  1949,  with  its  increased 
rate  of  earnings  and  closer  assimilation  of  flat-rates  to  piece-rates, 
had  a  beneficial  effect  not  only  on  output  but  on  morale.  Finally,  it  is 
not  to  be  denied  that  another  of  the,  so  to  speak,  uncovenanted  benefits 
of  an  earnings  scheme  is  to  place  a  potent  disciplinary  sanction  in  the 
hands  of  authority,  for  there  is  nothing  that  touches  the  recalcitrant 
more  than  stoppage  of  earnings,  which  means  stoppage  of  tobacco. 

The  criticism  may  well  be  made  that  the  level  of  earnings  under 
this  scheme  is  too  low — even  that  it  is  derisory.  But  to  assess  the  validity 
of  this  argument,  it  is  necessary  to  establish  some  criterion  by  which 
the  suitability  of  any  level  can  be  judged.  There  is  no  contract  of 
service  and  no  legal  entitlement.  No  ordinary  economic  considerations 
apply.  The  prisoner,  and  as  may  be  necessary  his  family  also,  are 


200      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

maintained  at  the  public  expense,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  the  product  of 
the  prisoner's  work  approaches  that  expense  in  value.  Any  payment  at 
all  is  by  way  of  an  act  of  grace,  and  its  purpose  must  be  considered  in 
the  more  general  light  indicated  above  rather  than  in  relation  to 
economic  considerations.  The  conclusion  would  seem  to  be  that  the 
least  amount  necessary  to  effect  that  purpose  is  the  most  that  the  tax- 
payer should  be  asked  to  pay. 

However  that  may  be,  since  in  fact  the  average  prisoner  has  only  a 
shilling  or  two  to  dispose  of  each  week,  his  normal  disposition  will  be 
to  spend  it,  and  arrangements  are  made  to  ensure  that  he  or  she  shall 
have  a  reasonable  range  of  choice  in  the  weekly  shopping.  Every 
prison  has  a  canteen,  in  which  are  displayed  for  sale  tobacco,  sweets, 
jams  and  pickles,  hair-cream,  cosmetics  and  such  other  articles  as 
may  be  in  demand. 

Before  leaving  the  question  of  industrial  conditions  in  prisons,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  all  workshops  are  inspected  to  secure  com- 
pliance with  the  Factory  Acts  as  to  health  and  safety,  and  that  prisoners 
are  fully  compensated  for  industrial  injury  (see  p.  221), 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 
THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT 


<r  |  THROUGHOUT  history  the  better  part  of  what  has  been  done  for 
I  prisoners  beyond  the  maintenance  of  a  marginal  existence  and 

JL  the  provision  of  work  originated  in  pastoral  work.  Education 
and  welfare  work  in  prison — even  more  than  in  the  world  at  large — 
are  a  secularisation  of  tasks  undertaken  originally  by  the  Church  and 
her  ministers.  The  prison  chaplain's  original  importance  was  that  he 
was  the  one  neutral  force  in  an  otherwise  impersonal  and  repressive 
regime.'  1  This  statement  is  true  both  of  the  historical  development  of 
education  and  welfare  in  English  prisons  and  of  their  present  practice: 
all  the  matters  dealt  with  in  this  chapter  fall,  in  principle,  within 
'the  Chaplain's  Department',  though  developments  in  spheres  other 
than  that  of  religion  tend  increasingly  and  necessarily  to  their  'secular- 
isation'. As  more  importance  is  given  to  education  and  libraries,  it 
becomes  increasingly  difficult  in  the  larger  or  more  specialised  prisons 
for  the  Chaplain  to  manage  them  without  detraction  from  his  first 
duty — the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  prisoners. 

Nor  is  the  Chaplain  today  the  only  'neutral  force'  in  a  prison  regime. 
The  normal  agencies  of  society  are  active  in  all  the  prisons,  so  that 
education  becomes  the  business  of  the  Local  Education  Authority, 
and  the  library  that  of  the  County  or  City  Public  Library,  while  the 
Prison  Visitors  represent  the  generalised  good-will  of  the  community. 

This  dichotomy  is  now  carried  into  the  Head  Office  organisation. 
The  Assistant  Commissioner  (Education  and  Welfare)  is  responsible 
to  the  Board  for  all  secular  aspects  of  the  work  of  'the  Chaplain's 
Department'  in  prisons  and  Borstals.  In  matters  of  religion  and  of  the 
organisation  and  work  of  Ministers  of  religion  the  Board  receives  the 
advice  and  reports  of  the  Chaplain  Inspector. 

(1)    RELIGION 

It  is  not  enough  that  Statutory  Rules  should  require  that  all  the 
formal  necessities  of  the  practice  of  religion  be  at  a  prisoner's  disposal 

i  Griinhut,  p.  253. 
201 


202       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

— a  Minister  of  his  denomination,  a^chapel,  a  regular  service,  books  of 
devotion  and  instruction  in  his  cell,  pastoral  visits  and  even  the  right 
— on  good  grounds — to  change  his  religious  denomination.  All  this  is 
ensured,  and  whether  the  offender  wishes  it  or  not  at  least  he  will  find 
his  feet  more  firmly  set  on  this  road  in  prison  than  in  any  other  situation 
in  which  he  is  likely  to  find  himself.  But  whether  he  will  follow  it,  and 
in  what  spirit,  and  to  what  end,  will  depend  on  more  than  this.  If  a 
Minister  is  to  preach  Christ  in  prison,  the  whole  ethos  of  the  prison 
should  sustain  and  justify  his  work.  Nor  are  the  purposes  of  English 
prisons  dissonant  from  an  aspiration  to  this  condition,  however  far 
they  may,  at  times  and  places,  fall  short  in  practice.  Let  us  now  consider 
how  they  are  applied  to  the  particular  questions  of  religious  practice 
and  instruction. 

The  care  taken  in  the  selection  of  full-time  Chaplains,  particularly 
in  order  to  preserve  their  freshness  and  zeal,  has  already  been  described 
(Chapter  6),  and  the  more  numerous  body  of  part-time  Chaplains 
and  Ministers  of  other  denominations  than  the  Established  Church 
bring  to  the  work  no  less  devotion  and  interest.  In  the  larger  prisons 
the  Chaplains  are  assisted  by  Church  Army  Evangelists,  on  a  full-time 
basis,  selected  by  the  Church  Army  and  changed  from  time  to  time: 
their  work  is  invaluable  on  every  side  of  the  Chaplain's  department. 

Prison  chapels  vary  in  the  possibilities  they  offer  of  providing  an 
inspiring  centre  for  the  spiritual  life  of  the  prison.  Many  are  perhaps  as 
beautiful  as  the  average  Victorian  parish  church,  others  are  neutral, 
some  an  affront  to  beauty  and  piety  alike.  A  real  effort  is  being  made 
to  bring  the  decorations,  furniture  and  fittings  up  to  the  level  of  their 
purpose — sometimes  with  outstanding  success — but  this  programme 
will  take  some  years  to  complete.  The  officers  are  no  longer  placed  on 
high  seats  facing  the  prisoners,  and  though  they  are  definitely  there  on 
duty  and  not  as  voluntary  members  of  the  congregation,  this  marks 
at  least  an  advance  from  the  chapel  of  Walnut  Street  Prison,  Phila- 
delphia, where  the  first  preacher  in  1790  is  said  to  have  been  protected 
by  a  guard  with  a  lighted  torch  beside  a  loaded  cannon!  l 

In  most  prisons  there  is  a  separate  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  and  in  a 
few  a  Jewish  synagogue.  It  can  only  be  deplored  that  the  absence  of 
any  other  suitable  hall  makes  it  necessary  in  most  prisons  to  use  the 
chapel  for  such  secular  entertainment  as  is  provided. 

The  Rules  require  the  Chaplain  to  conduct  Divine  Service  for  the 
prisoners  of  the  Church  of  England  at  least  once  on  every  Sunday,  on 
Christmas  Day  and  Good  Friday,  and  'such  celebrations  of  Holy 
Communion  and  such  services  on  weekdays  as  may  be  arranged'. 
Prison  Ministers  conduct  Divine  Service  for  prisoners  of  their  denomin- 
ations at  convenient  times.  There  is,  therefore,  no  question  that  every 
prisoner  has  the  opportunity  of  attending  a  service  once  a  week :  what 

*  Grunhut,  p.  257. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  203 

is  still  to  some  extent  in  question  is  how  far  he  should  be  compelled  to 
take  advantage  of  it.  The  arguments  against  compulsory  worship  are 
strong,  and  have  prevailed  more  completely  elsewhere  than  in  our 
prisons:  here  opinion  has  been  divided,  the  balance  falling  hitherto 
in  favour  of  a  compromise  under  which  all  must  attend  the  Sunday 
morning  services  unless  they  have  formally  'opted  out'  with  the  Gover- 
nor's consent.  Thus  no-one  is  compelled  to  attend  against  his  con- 
science, but  it  is  not  open  to  a  man  who  has  not  opted  out  to  decide 
on  any  Sunday  that  he  would  rather  do  something  else. 

There  is  usually  a  voluntary  service  on  Sunday  afternoons  and 
another  during  the  week:  sometimes  the  Sunday  afternoon  service  is 
replaced  by  a  suitable  concert  or  band  performance.  The  mid-week 
service  is  held  after  work  in  the  evening,  except  in  a  few  prisons  where 
at  present  staff  shortages  preclude  this,  and  it  has  to  be  held  in  the 
morning.  These  are  usually  well  attended. 

The  Chaplains  regularly  celebrate  Holy  Communion,  and  the  major- 
ity prepare  candidates  for  confirmation  and  arrange  for  Confirmation 
Services  in  the  prison  chapels.  Some  Chaplains  however  take  the  view 
that  it  is  better,  after  preparing  a  candidate,  to  recommend  him  to 
his  parish  priest  on  discharge:  they  believe  this  to  be  a  better  test  of  a 
man's  sincerity,  and  a  safeguard  against  a  sort  of  opportunist  formalism 
known  as  'prison  religion'.  This  manifestation  may  be  more  emotional 
than  spiritual,  but  at  least  it  does  no  harm:  what  is  more  dangerous  is 
the  hypocritical  approach  which  looks  for  some  material  advantage 
from  playing  up  to  the  Chaplain — not  always  perhaps  so  naive  as  that 
of  the  candidate  for  confirmation  who,  on  being  told  that  he  would 
be  given  a  course  of  preparation,  replied  'Why,  Chaplain,  /don't  need 
no  preparation!  I've  been  confirmed  three  times  already — Borstal, 
Dartmoor,  and  Wormwood  Scrubs!' 

There  is  no  prescribed  form  of  Service:  each  Chaplain,  on  the  basis 
of  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  seeks  in  his  own  way  to  bring 
beauty,  variety  and  conviction  into  the  different  forms :  it  is  common 
to  seek  freshness  by  inviting  an  outside  clergyman  to  take  the  Service 
now  and  then.  There  are  also  occasional  Mission  Services,  and  the 
Film  Mission  conducted  by  the  Rev.  W.  Upright  of  the  Methodist 
Church  has  often  been  welcomed.  Since  the  war  it  has  become  a 
general  practice,  either  in  place  of  or  as  well  as  one  of  the  voluntary 
services,  to  have  a  'Chaplain's  Hour'  when  questions  are  answered  and 
points  of  doctrine  and  ritual  explained  and  discussed.  And  some  Chap- 
lains, realising  that  the  minds  of  most  of  their  congregation  are  virtually 
a  blank  on  any  question  of  Christian  practice  or  belief,  start  patiently 
at  the  beginning  with  classes  of  elementary  instruction.  In  the  end  the 
Chaplain's  Annual  Report  usually  states  that  his  congregation  is 
encouragingly  reverent,  attentive  and — especially  in  the  North — 
harmonious,  and  it  may  well  be  right  to  believe  that  whatever  a  man's 


204      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

motives  his  presence  once  a  week  in  this  place  and  this  atmosphere 
may  give  him  something  of  lasting  value. 

In  several  Borstals  and  open  prisons,  where  there  is  no  chapel,  the 
inmates  go  to  the  parish  church  as  ordinary  members  of  the  congre- 
gation. All  the  Chaplains  concerned  find  much  good  in  this.  The 
prisoners  feel  that  they  are  taking  part  in  a  normal  activity  of  the 
community  in  which  they  share  like  anyone  else,  and  many  realise 
perhaps  for  the  first  time  that  corporate  worship  is  a  normal  activity, 
in  which  they  can  go  on  sharing  after  their  release,  and  not  a  peculiar 
feature  of  prison  life.  They  will  not  be  shy  of  entering  a  church.  And 
it  is  pleasant  to  learn  how  they  are  welcomed  and  made  to  feel  at 
home  by  the  congregations. 

Music  in  chapel  presents  less  difficulty  than  might  be  supposed  with 
a  congregation  of  this  sort,  thanks  to  the  devotion  of  organists,  choir- 
masters and  Chaplains.  An  organ,  or  at  worst  a  harmonium,  is  pro- 
vided, and  the  central  and  regional  prisons  at  least  seem  to  be  fortunate 
in  finding  a  succession  of  competent  organists  and  choirmasters 
among  their  prisoners,  though  usually  this  work  is  done  by  a  local 
gentleman  for  a  small — a  surprisingly  small — fee.  The  prison  choir 
often  forms  the  basis  of  a  musical  society  in  the  prison. 

Apart  from  prayer-books  and  hymn-books  for  use  in  chapel,  the 
Rules  require  that,  so  far  as  practicable,  every  prisoner  shall  have 
available  for  his  personal  use  'such  of  the  Scriptures  and  books  of 
religious  observance  and  instruction  recognised  for  his  denomination 
as  are  accepted  by  the  Commissioners  for  use  in  prisons'.  For  Protest- 
ants, the  present  application  of  this  Rule  is  conditioned  to  some 
extent  by  war  experience.  Under  the  Rules  then  in  force,  a  Bible  was 
provided  in  every  cell  as  a  normal  piece  of  cell  equipment,  and  was 
so  regarded  and  treated  by  most  of  the  prisoners — indeed  it  seemed 
that  many,  in  the  general  shortage  of  paper,  used  it  principally  as  a 
source  of  cigarette  and  toilet  paper.  When  this  situation  was  taken  in 
hand,  all  the  mutilated  Bibles  were  withdrawn,  and  a  new  system  was 
instituted.  Chaplains  were  asked  to  give  each  prisoner  personally  a 
New  Testament  at  his  reception  interview,  and  to  tell  him  that  if  later 
he  wished  for  a  complete  Bible  he  might  come  and  ask  for  one:  if  a 
prisoner  does  not  wish  to  have  the  Testament  it  is  not  pressed  on  him, 
and  his  refusal  is  noted.  In  addition  to  the  Scriptures,  the  Chaplain 
gives  to  Church  of  England  prisoners  who  will  profit  by  them  suitable 
books  from  'the  Chaplain's  Library',  and  for  prisoners  of  other 
denominations  devotional  and  instructional  books  are  allowed  from 
lists  agreed  between  the  Commissioners  and  the  church  authorities. 
The  general  effect  of  the  present  practice  is  that  Scriptures  and  other 
devotional  books  are  treated  with  respect :  it  is  no  longer  a  matter  for 
pleased  surprise  to  find  a  complete  Bible  in  a  cell,  for  it  is  there  because 
the  prisoner  wants  to  have  it  there — to  read. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  205 

Many  Chaplains  feel  that  much  of  their  most  valuable  and  rewarding 
work  is  done  not  in  the  chapel  but  in  the  cells,  or  wherever  they  may 
find  opportunity  for  quiet  private  talks  with  those  who  can  be  helped. 
This  work  is  naturally  selective — the  Chaplain  sees  every  prisoner  on 
reception,  but  there  is  no  regulation  visit  to  all  and  sundry  thereafter. 
Indeed  in  the  active  evening  life  of  many  prisons  it  becomes  increasingly 
difficult  to  make  opportunities  for  these  talks,  though  the  Chaplain 
may  make  his  influence  felt  and  valued, by  being  about  and  accessible 
during  periods  of  associated  activity. 

(2)    PRISON  VISITORS 

Prison  Visitors  started  with  Elizabeth  Fry  and  her  Quaker  Ladies, 
and  though  after  her  time  they  did  not  last  long,  the  idea  was  not  dead. 
Sir  E.  du  Cane  must  have  allowed  some  limited  revival,  for  the  Glad- 
stone Committee  reported  (para.  33)  that  'the  governor  of  the  female 
Convict  Prison  was  of  the  decided  opinion  that  lady  visitors  to  female 
prisoners  did  good' :  and  they  evidently  contemplated  an  extension  of 
the  system,  and  not  only  for  women,  for  in  discussing  the  necessity 
for  'adequate  individual  attention'  and  for  'power  to  give  or  obtain 
for  an  individual  prisoner  that  guidance,  advice  or  help  which  at  such 
a  crisis  in  his  life  may  make  a  priceless  change  in  his  intentions  or 
disposition',  they  thought  that  'under  proper  rules  and  regulations 
outside  helpers  could  be  brought  in  to  supplement  the  work  of  the 
prison  staff  .  .  .  There  are  many  men  and  women  .  .  .  who  by  training 
and  temperament  are  amply  competent  to  render  valuable  assistance' 
(para.  27)' 

Although  it  was  not  until  1922  that  the  Commissioners  began  to 
develop  the  full  implications  of  this  idea,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
century  there  was  a  great  extension  of  Visitors  to  women.  In  1901  the 
Lady  Visitors  Association  (later  the  National  Association  of  Visitors  to 
Women  Prisoners)  was  constituted  under  the  presidency  of  Adeline, 
Duchess  of  Bedford,  and  first  under  her  guidance  and  later  under  that 
of  Lady  Ampthill,  the  lady  members  did  valuable  work  at  all  prisons 
for  women.  Visitors  to  men  prisoners  started  in  1922,  and  in  1924 
followed  the  example  of  their  women  colleagues  by  forming  the 
National  Association  of  Prison  Visitors.  The  two  Associations  worked 
side  by  side  for  some  twenty  years  in  happy  collaboration,  but  in  1944 
a  marriage  was  arranged  and  the  N.A.P.V.  (as  we  shall  hereafter  call 
it),  with  a  Women's  Committee,  now  manages  the  affairs  of  all  the 
Prison  Visitors.  The  Association  has  a  branch  in  each  prison,  with  a 
local  Secretary,  and  manages  its  affairs  centrally  through  the  good 
will  of  those  members  who,  by  election  to  office,  voluntarily  shoulder 
an  administrative  burden  on  top  of  their  work  in  the  prisons :  it  keeps 
its  members  in  touch  by  a  monthly  News-letter,  and  by  an  annual 


206       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

general  meeting  which  is  devoted  in  part  to  the  business  of  the  Associa- 
tion and  in  part  to  discussion  of  matters  of  interest  with  the  Com- 
missioners, who  attach  real  value  to  views  based  not  on  theory  but  on 
knowledge  of  the  problems  of  the  individual  prisoner  and  the  ways 
in  which  imprisonment  affects  him.  The  Commissioners  reported  that 
in  1949  there  were  some  720  men  and  women  Visitors  engaged  in  this 
valuable  social  service,  organised  in  39  Branches. 

Perhaps  at  this  point  we  should  stop  to  consider  why  this  service  is 
valuable,  and  how  it  fits  into  the  general  scheme  of  training.  We  should 
remember  first  that,  except  in  the  regional  training  prisons  and — to  a 
certain  extent — in  the  later  stages  of  a  long  sentence,  the  normal  fate 
of  an  Ordinary  Class  prisoner  is  to  be  locked  in  his  cell  by  5  p.m.,  and 
unless  it  is  his  night  for  a  class  he  may  not  see  anybody  to  speak  to 
again  till  he  is  unlocked  next  morning.  Even  those  out  in  association 
will  usually  be  locked  up  by  7  p.m.  This  is  a  bleak  and  lonely  period 
for  many,  since  not  all  are  capable  of  concentrated  reading,  and  the 
cell  task  is  monotonous  and  easily  disposed  of  by  the  experienced 
prisoner.  It  is  at  this  time  that  a  visit  from  someone  from  the  outside 
world,  quite  unconnected  with  the  prison  staff— someone  to  talk  and 
listen  l  about  ordinary  matters  of  everyday  interest,  to  take  an  interest 
in  his  family,  perhaps  to  help  him  to  understand  how  he  has  gone  wrong 
and  to  discuss  the  future — may  not  only  prevent  the  prisoner  from 
solitary  brooding  over  real  or  fancied  grievances,  but  may  actively 
direct  his  thoughts  in  profitable  directions,  give  him  fresh  hopes  and 
interests,  and  assist  to  restore  his  self-respect  by  letting  him  see  that 
someone  thinks  it  worth  while  to  come  and  talk  to  him  and  take  an 
interest  in  his  affairs. 

There  is  a  considerable  value  in  this  last  aspect,  which  is  well  assessed 
by  Mr.  John  Watson  when  he  says,  'The  visitor's  position  is  that  of 
one  man  paying  a  friendly  call  on  another  and  he  is  anxious  to  show 
himself  in  that  light  from  the  beginning.  Prison  visitors  are  sometimes 
called  the  'unofficial  visitors'  and  there  is  more  meaning  in  the  adjective 
than  a  mere  distinction  between  the  voluntary  workers  and  the  official 
panel  of  visiting  justices.  The  deeper  significance  of  the  word  'un- 
official' makes  its  most  obvious  appeal  to  the  prisoner  himself.  He  knows 
that  the  visitor  has  no  official  status,  is  unpaid  and  comes  to  the  prison 
because  he  wants  to  and  for  no  other  reason.'  2  In  short,  the  visitor 
provides  that  element  of  social  conversation  which  is  necessary  to  the 
ordinary  life  of  most  of  us;  he  restores  and  confirms  the  prisoner's 
sense  of  community  with  what  is  good  and  valuable;  he  refreshes  his 
mind  with  topics  outside  the  stagnant  and  often  unhealthy  flow  of 

1  'Mathilde  Wrede,  the  Finnish  pioneer  of  prison  welfare,  when  asked  what  she 
told  the  prisoners,  replied,  "So  many  people  talk  to  them;  what  they  want  is  someone 
who  listens  to  what  they  are  saying."  Griinhut,  p.  249. 

2  Meet  the  Prisoner,  John  A.  F.  Watson.  Jonathan  Cape,  1939. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  207 

normal  prison  talk,  and  perhaps  gets  him  to  see  his  prison  problems 
in  better  balance  and  perspective;  he  may,  by  showing  interest  and 
sympathy  in  a  prisoner's  private  affairs,  improve  his  attitude  towards 
his  present  situation;  he  may  help  and  advise  him  in  his  studies  and 
his  reading;  and  he  may  direct  his  mind  to  the  future.  In  this  last  con- 
nection, the  closest  co-operation  is  encouraged  between  visitors  and 
Aid  Societies  or  After-Care  agencies,  and  at  every  local  prison  the 
visitors  are  represented  on  the  committee  of  the  Aid  Society. 

Work  of  this  sort  is  not  for  everybody.  It  needs  particular  qualities, 
and  to  learn  what  these  are  we  cannot  do  better  than  consult  Mr. 
John  Watson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  prison  visiting  to  men,  Hon. 
Secretary  of  the  N.A.P.V.  from  1928  to  1938  and  its  Chairman  for 
some  years  thereafter.  The  allocation  of  prisoners  to  a  visitor  demands 
much  care,  for  the  visitors  vary  between  one  and  another  as  greatly 
as  do  the  prisoners  themselves,  arfd  both  need  grouping  according  to 
their  individual  qualities.  Socially,  visitors  are  drawn  from  every  class. 
But  whether  the  prison  visitor  graduated  in  the  Board  School  or  at 
Balliol,  there  are  certain  qualities  he  must  possess — breadth  of  outlook, 
sympathy  and,  above  all,  a  sense  of  humour.  He  should  not  be  too 
young;  most  certainly  he  must  not  be  too  old.  He  must  have  a  hard 
head — which  is  quite  unrelated  to  a  hard  heart — and  be  devoid  of  all 
false  sentiment  or  morbidity  ...  he  will  (not)  sentimentalise  with  the 
prisoner  on  his  present  situation  and  seek  his  confidence  by  seeming 
to  side  with  him  in  his  antagonism  to  society.  Equally  he  will  refrain, 
particularly  in  the  early  stages,  from  delivering  any  kind  of  moral 
homily;  for  no  one  likes  to  be  preached  at.  ...  Obviously  the  visitor 
will  not  embroil  himself  in  political  argument — indeed  he  should  bear 
no  political  label — and  in  any  case  he  will  find  that  the  average  prisoner 
is  much  more  interested  in  the  fortunes  of  the  'Arsenal'  than  in  the 
Government's  foreign  policy.  The  visitor  should  look  upon  it  as  part  of 
his  job  to  know  enough  about  the  principal  forms  of  sport  to  be  able 
to  discuss  any  of  them  with  reasonable  intelligence.  ...  It  is  objected 
that  the  prison  visitor  is  not  there  to  make  light-hearted  conversation 
on  frivolous  topics.  I  venture  to  disagree.  Conversation  on  any  topic  is 
justified  if  it  helps  to  lift  the  prisoner  out  of  himself  and  enables  his 
visitor  to  get  to  know  him.  I  have  little  faith  in  the  prison  visitor  with 
the  long  face  and  the  pocket  full  of  tracts.  Prisons  are  gloomy  enough 
without  long-faced  prison  visitors,  and  I  believe  that  Christianity 
needs  to  be  something  more  live  and  vital  than  can  be  proffered  second- 
hand in  a  pamphlet.  Only  cheerful  people  should  be  prison  visitors, 
for  there  is  dire  need  for  brightness  and  laughter — especially  laughter. 
In  prison  life  there  is  little  to  laugh  at.' l  The  official  advice  to  visitors 
underlines  two  of  Mr.  Watson's  points.  Visitors  should  not  discuss 
with  prisoners  their  grievances  about  their  convictions  and  sentences — 

1  Meet  the  Prisoner,  pp.  101-109. 


208       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

there  are  other  channels  for  these,  and  the  visitor's  purpose  is  to  shake 
the  prisoner  out  of  the  mood  of  morbid  brooding  over  real  or  imaginary 
grievances,  not  to  encourage  it:  and  they  should  not  discuss  religion 
— that  approach  is  for  the  Chaplains  and  Ministers.  This  is  not  work 
for  those  who  are  'interested  in  crime'  or  whose  primary  motive  is  the 
saving  of  souls. 

It  follows  that  great  care  must  be  taken  in  selecting  men  and  women 
for  the  work,  and  that  if  they  turn  out  to  be  unsuitable  they  should 
not  go  on  with  it.  Recommendations  are  made  to  the  Commissioners 
by  Governors  with  the  advice  of  their  Chaplains,  and  if  they  approve 
the  Commissioners  invite  the  visitor  to  serve  for  a  year.  There  is  an 
annual  review,  after  which  each  visitor  receives  a  letter  which  either 
invites  him  to  serve  for  another  year  or  thanks  him  for  his  services, 
but  does  not  renew  the  invitation.  The  Commissioners,  in  agreement 
with  the  N.A.P.V.,  make  it  a  rule  never  to  tell  visitors  why  they  are 
not  again  invited  to  serve:  it  is  difficult  to  explain  their  shortcomings  to 
voluntary  workers  without  giving  offence,  and  the  Commissioners  feel 
that  their  discretion  must  not  be  limited  by  the  necessity  of  embarrassing 
explanations.  The  case  is  of  course  different  when  a  visitor's  services 
are  discontinued  because  of  some  grave  indiscretion  or  breach  of  the 
rules  1  laid  down,  by  agreement  with  the  N.A.P.V.,  for  the  proper 
conduct  of  their  work. 

Two  points  in  conclusion.  Every  prisoner  does  not  have  a  visitor — 
720  visitors  with  some  10  prisoners  each  on  their  lists  would  cover  less 
than  half  of  the  eligible  prisoners.  They  are  not  necessary  for  most 
short-sentence  prisoners,  and  would  be  wasted  on  many  recidivists — 
though  cases  have  been  known  of  most  intractable  prisoners,  whose 
hostile  attitude  no  efforts  of  the  staff  could  affect,  having  been  com- 
pletely changed  by  the  insight  and  patience  of  a  visitor.  It  is  one  of  the 
functions  of  the  Reception  Board  to  allocate  visitors  to  prisoners.  And 
finally,  though  we  have  spoken  of  women  visitors  to  women  and  men 
to  men,  there  are  also  women  visitors  to  young  men:  it  has  been  found 
that  well-chosen  women  may  have  a  most  helpful  influence  on  young 
prisoners,  and  though  the  experiment  was  at  first  thought  rash,  their 
presence  is  now  as  welcome  to  the  Governors  as  to  the  boys. 

(3)    EDUCATION  AND  RECREATION 

The  linking  of  education  and  recreation  suggests  both  the  virtues 
and  the  defects  of  education  in  prison.  The  purpose  of  prison  training 
is  not  primarily  to  inculcate  particular  skills,  but  to  train  the  whole  man. 
So  education  is  not  to  be  treated  as  a  thing  apart,  but  must  be  related 
to  the  whole  scheme.  In  its  relation  to  work,  therefore,  the  general 

i  Breaches  of  this  sort  are  fortunately  rare,  and  may  generally  be  ascribed  to  the 
heart  being  stronger  than  the  head. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  209 

purpose  will  be  to  produce  in  the  prisoner  an  attitude  of  mind,  a 
desire  to  work  well  for  the  sake  of  good  work  rather  than  a  vocational 
skill,  though  for  persons  who  want  them  vocational  courses  l  will  be 
arranged.  Nor  does  formal  education  in  academic  subjects  take  a 
primary  place,  though  it  may  be  there  for  those  who  need  it,  particu- 
larly the  illiterate  and  backward  on  the  one  hand  and  serious  students 
of  superior  education  on  the  other. 

Many  prisoners,  too,  cannot  easily  profit  by  normal  educational 
processes,  but  can  find  satisfaction  and  often  obtain  mental  relief  by 
acquiring  a  manual  skill  or  learnng  to  express  themselves  through 
some  sort  of  creative  work,  such  as  drawing  or  singing — the  writer 
has  heard  of  more  than  one  case  of  intractable  and  inaccessible  pris- 
oners whose  attitude  to  life  was  completely  changed  by  a  box  of 
paints,  though  they  had  never  handled  a  brush  before.  So  hobby  and 
handicraft  classes,  and  the  encouragement  of  any  form  of  creative 
expression,  must  hold  an  important  place. 

Again,  since  it  is  often  through  failure  in  some  sort  of  social  adapta- 
tion that  delinquency  has  occurred,  prison  education  should  have  a 
social  content,  and  that  aimed  not  only  at  normal  life  outside  but  at 
the  abnormal  life  inside:  if  prisoners'  relations  with  each  other  are  to 
be  tolerable,  and  if  their  conversation  is  to  be  of  anything  but  the  usual 
dark  and  dirty  topics  of  prison  life,  they  must  be  given  some  healthy 
food  for  their  starved  minds.  A  prison  syllabus,  therefore,  is  likely  to 
show  as  many  hours  devoted  to  discussion  groups,  debates,  play- 
readings  and  musical  appreciation  classes  as  to  arithmetic,  shorthand 
and  French. 

There  will,  too,  be  regular  lectures,  concerts  and  cinematograph 
shows :  there  will  be  the  wireless,  the  library  and  the  newspaper.  Who 
is  to  say  where,  in  all  this,  education  and  recreation  divide?  To  read  a 
good  book,  to  take  part  an  producing  a  play,  to  hear  a  symphony,  to 
see  an  interesting  documentary  film,  to  listen  to  an  expert  lecture — is 
it  education,  or  is  it  recreation? 

the  origins  of  the  Adult  Education  Scheme  in  our  prisons  in  1922, 
and  its  development  up  to  the  late  war,  have  already  been  described 
(pp.  68,  69).  Trom  the  operation  of  this  scheme  much  was  learned.  It 
was  found  that  the  prisoner  generally  responded  well.  He  was  willing 
and  anxious  to  learn,  and  it  was  remarkable  that  in  the  thousands  of 
classes  taken  by  outside  teachers  scarcely  a  single  case  of  indiscipline 
had  been  reported,  although  no  prison  officers  were  present.  The  pris- 
oner was  generally  ill-nourished  mentally,  however,  with  no  reserves 
for  meditation,  his  taste  untrained  and  with  little  equipment  mentally 
for  learning  and  temperamentally  for  self-discipline  and  concentration. 
It  was  found  too  that  the  voluntary  teacher  had  great  value,  coming  as 

1  The  reference  here  is  to  evening  education  courses,  not  to  Vocational  Training 
as  part  of  the  day's  work,  though  the  two  may  naturally  be  related. 
E.P.B.S. — 14 


210       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

he  did  to  the  prisoner  as  one  who  approached  him  simply  as  a  member 
of  the  community  wishing  to  make  the  prisoner  feel  that  the  com- 
munity still  interested  itself  in  him  and  wished  to  help  him.  The  volun- 
tary teacher  was  also  in  the  happy  position,  owing  to  his  individual 
approach,  of  acting  in  some  sense  as  a  personal  tutor  rather  than  a 
class  teacher,  and  the  prisoner  above  all  needed  and  responded  to  this 
form  of  approach.  On  the  other  hand  the  system  had  its  limitations. 
The  curriculum  at  any  prison  was  apt  to  depend  on  what  the  available 
teachers  had  to  offer  at  any  given  time,  and  it  therefore  lacked  cohesion 
and  continuity.  So  the  intellectually  undernourished  prisoner  was  offered 
not  a  diet  prescribed  by  experts  for  his  condition,  but  an  assortment  of 
dishes  that  happened  to  be  on  the  menu  at  the  moment/  l 

This  scheme  was  virtually  killed  by  the  war,  and  in  1946  the  Com- 
missioners had  to  consider  what  to  put  in  its  place.  They  began  by 
obtaining  authority  for  the  appointment  in  their  office  of  a  Director  of 
Education  and  Welfare,  and  by  seeking  the  advice  of  a  small  informal 
committee  of  educational  experts  whose  first  Report  was  discussed  in 
the  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioners  for  1948. 

The  Committee  had  before  it  information  about  various  expedients 
adopted  during  and  since  the  war  in  order  to  fill  the  educational  gap. 
Much  use  had  been  made  of  correspondence  courses  for  individual 
prisoners  provided  by  various  organisations;  these  were  in  some  ways 
more  valuable  than  classes  and  lectures,  since  prisoners  could  choose 
the  subjects  nearest  to  their  needs;  and  to  work  at  them  in  their  cells 
suggested  a  serious  wish  to  learn,  whereas  it  may  be  that  many  prisoners 
go  to  classes  mainly  to  get  out  of  their  cells  for  an  hour  in  the  evening. 
These  courses  had  the  additional  value  that  a  prisoner  on  transfer  or 
discharge  could  take  his  course  with  him.  This  method  has  continued 
to  develop  since  the  war.  In  their  1948  Report  the  Commissioners  said 
that  some  2,000  prisoners  had  entered  for  courses.  Many  had  gained 
diplomas,  and  some  have  been  enabled  to  get  work  through  the 
knowledge  thus  acquired.  ^ 

A  by-product  of  correspondence  courses  was  the  tutorial  system, 
under  which  a  teacher,  instead  of  taking  a  class,  coaches  a  small 
group  of  prisoners  engaged  in  private  study  either  as  a  group  or 
individually  in  their  cells. 

The  use  of  suitably  qualified  prisoners  as  teachers  had  also  extended 
and  has  continued  since  the  war:  in  their  Report  for  1948  the  Com- 
missioners remarked  that  of  63  classes  a  week  held  in  one  prison  14 
were  taken  by  prison  teachers. 

But  the  most  notable  and  pregnant  development  was  initiated  at 
Durham  Prison  in  1945.  Informal  conversations  between  the  Director 
of  Education  for  the  County  and  the  Governor  led  to  the  suggestion 
that  the  County  Education  Authority  should  take  over  responsibility 

i  Extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Prisoners'  Education  Advisory  Committee. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  211 

for  the  provision  of  evening  education  in  the  prison.  The  Commissioners 
and  the  Ministry  of  Education  cordially  welcomed  the  idea.  There 
was  little  equipment  and  no  class-rooms,  but  plenty  of  enthusiasm,  and 
soon,  on  any  evening,  the  dim  lengths  of  the  prison  halls  were  punctu- 
ated at  regular  intervals  by  groups  of  prisoners  seated  round  a  teacher 
and  a  blackboard.  The  success  of  this  scheme  was  such  that  in  their 
Report  for  1946  the  Commissioners  said  'it  was  agreed  in  principle 
between  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  the  Commissioners  that  it  was 
a  proper  function  of  an  Education  Authority  to  provide  Further  Educa- 
tion for  the  citizen  in  prison  as  for  the  citizen  outside,  and  plans  were 
prepared  for  future  development  on  these  lines.'  The  Advisory  Com- 
mittee encouraged  these  plans,  which  are  now  in  force  at  all  prisons  and 
Borstals.1  At  the  end  of  1949  over  700  regular  classes  were  in  progress. 

The  normal  arrangement  is  for  the  Education  Authority  to  establish 
in  the  prison  an  Evening  Institute  with  a  Supervising  Teacher,  the 
classes  being  staffed  by  qualified  teachers  supplied  by  the  Authority. 
In  the  larger  prisons  blocks  of  class-rooms  in  huts  are  gradually  being 
supplied  where  possible :  otherwise  the  teachers  make  the  best  of  what 
rooms  there  are,  or  the  floors  of  the  prison  halls.  The  work  is  regularly 
inspected  by  divisional  inspectors  of  the  Ministry  of  Education,  at 
whose  headquarters  a  controlling  inspector  keeps  in  close  touch  with 
the  Assistant  Commissioner  charged  with  education  in  the  Prison 
Commission. 

The  extent  to  which  prison  education  may  be  taken  in  favourable 
conditions  is  shown  by  the  reference  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1949  to 
Wormwood  Scrubs  Prison,  which  then  housed  over  1,000  prisoners  of 
the  Star  and  Young  Prisoner  classes.  There  were  62  classes  each  week 
of  1 5-20  men  each.  These  were  taken  by  37  professional  teachers  pro- 
vided by  the  London  County  Council,  4  voluntary  teachers,  8  members 
of  the  staff  and  13  prisoners.  In  addition  45  men  were  taking  corres- 
pondence courses  and  1 1  diplomas  in  such  courses  were  gained  in  the 
year. 

There  are  two  features  of  this  scheme  that  should  be  emphasised. 
Education  in  prison,  as  for  workers  in  ordinary  life,  takes  place  in  the 
workers'  own  time  when  the  working  day  is  over,  and  it  is  entirely 
voluntary.  In  training  prisons  especially  a  certain  amount  of  encourage- 
ment, even  pressure,  may  be  used,  since  the  prisoners  are  there  to  be 
trained  and  this  is  an  important  part  of  the  training:  but  no  teacher 
would  welcome  a  conscript  class.  Usually,  there  are  waiting  lists  for 
vacancies. 

These  arrangements  are  elastic  enough  to  cover  special  tuition  for 
the  illiterate  and  backward  at  one  end  of  the  scale,2  and  for  the  more 

1  Similar  arrangements  had  been  provided  before  the  war  at  two  Borstals  by  the 
L.E.As.  concerned. 

2  This  may  be  during  working  hours,  and  may  be  compulsory. 


212      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

advanced  at  the  other:  for  the  latter,  the  University  of  London  has 
kindly  allowed  long-sentence  prisoners  to  enter  for  its  Matriculation, 
Intermediate  and  Degree  courses. 

The  Commissioners  communicated  to  all  Governors  the  Report  of 
the  Advisory  Committee,  'and  expressed  the  desire  that  its  recom- 
mendations should  be  brought  into  effect  as  soon  as  practicable'. 
(Annual  Report  1948.)  Broadly,  {his  has  now  been  done,  and  it  is  fitting 
to  leave  this  aspect  of  education  with  a  quotation  from  the  Report: 

'The  social  education  of  a  prisoner,  in  its  widest  sense,  should  be 
taken  to  cover  everything  that  is  concerned  with  living  as  a  member  of 
society  including  the  proper  use  of  leisure. 

'We  agreed  that  the  basis  for  all  prisoners  should  be  training  in  the 
use  of  English,  both  written  and  spoken;  citizenship,  in  its  widest 
sense;  and  creative  work  of  some  sort  whether  in  crafts,  art  or  music. 

'Training  in  English  should  include  both  basic  training  and  play- 
readings,  discussions,  etc. 

'We  attach  particular  importance  to  the  treatment  of  the  illiterate, 
by  whom  we  mean  those  who  can  not,  or  can  only  with  difficulty,  read, 
write  or  interpret  drawings.  In  our  view  every  effort  should  be  made 
to  bring  the  illiterate  up  to  the  best  possible  standard  in  the  time  avail- 
able, and  we  suggest  that  where  necessary  and  practicable  time  should 
be  taken  from  the  working  day  for  this  purpose:  where  this  is  done  the 
evening  period  might  be  devoted  to  handicrafts. 

'For  more  advanced  training,  both  in  English  and  in  what  we  have 
called  citizenship,  we  consider  that  the  most  fruitful  methods  will  be 
not  so  much  formal  classes  as  discussion  groups,  lectures  followed  by 
discussion,  Brains  Trusts,  the  following  of  B.B.C.  discussion  series  and 
the  like.' 

And  now  we  approach  the  boundary  line  between  education  and 
recreation,  around  which  may  be  found  both  the  cinema  and  the  wire- 
less. As  to  the  former,  every  prison  has  a  projector,  which  is  used  to 
provide  a  show  as  often  as  the  limited  funds  available  for  film-hire 
permit:  since  'documentary'  and  'educational'  films  come  cheaper 
than  more  popular  features,  it  may  be  that  to  the  audience  the  educa- 
tional rather  than  the  entertainment  value  of  many  film  shows  seems  to 
predominate.  Film-strips  are  also  a  recognised  visual-aid  adjunct  of 
education. 

Each  prison  also  has  a  wireless  equipment,  but  on  the  use  of  this 
the  Commissioners  in  their  Annual  Report  for  1944  gave  a  rather 
pessimistic  view.  'In  1943  the  Commissioners  decided  to  collect  informa- 
tion about  the  use  of  wireless  in  prisons,  and  subsequently  issued  the 
following  circular: 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  213 

'On  consideration  of  the  information  recently  obtained  from  Gover- 
nors on  the  use  of  wireless  sets  in  prisons,  the  Commissioners  think  it 
desirable  to  give  some  guidance  as  to  the  policy  they  wish  to  be  followed. 

The  introduction  of  wireless  into  prisons  is  not  intended  to  provide 
entertainment  for  the  general  body  of  prisoners,  but  to  keep  them  in 
touch  with  the  outside  world,  and  to  serve  as  a  supplement  to  the 
educational  and  recreational  programme  of  the  prison.  For  the  prison 
as  a  whole,  therefore,  it  should  only  be  used  for  broadcasting  the  news 
bulletins  (not  more  than  once  a  day)  and  any  important  speeches  or 
events  of  national  importance. 

'Where  its  separate  use  is  allowed  by  prisoners  who  have  the  privilege 
of  association,  it  may  be  used  as  those  prisoners  wish  during  the  hours 
of  association,  subject  to  such  control  as  Governors  may  think 
necessary. 

In  hospitals  it  may  be  used  at  the  discretion  of  the  Medical  Officer. 

'No  doubt  it  will  also  be  found  valuable  in  connection  with  educa- 
tional classes  (e.g.  for  discussion  groups)  and  on  occasion  it  may  well 
be  used,  when  a  suitable  programme  is  available,  to  give  a  concert 
under  the  conditions  of  S.O.  426.' 

In  1944,  in  the  hope  of  reaching  more  definite  conclusions  as  to  how 
wireless  could  best  be  made  to  fit  into  the  scheme  of  training,  they 
made  further  inquiries,  but  found  the  subject  so  beset  with  difficulties 
that  no  clear  opinions  could  easily  be  formed.  There  are  considerable 
technical  difficulties,  which  even  the  latest  sets  have  not  entirely  over- 
come, in  obtaining  effective  broadcasting  in  the  special  acoustic  con- 
ditions of  a  prison,  and  it  does  not  yet  appear  practicable,  even  if  it 
were  desirable,  to  provide  a  broadcast  to  penetrate  a  closed  cell. 
Effective  use  is  therefore  limited  to  times  when  prisoners  are  out  of 
their  cells,  which  means  that  generally  speaking  the  only  'all  prisoners' 
broadcast  is  the  news.  At  a  number  of  establishments  the  wireless  is 
used  during  the  association  hours  of  stage  prisoners;  but  save  in  a  few 
special  establishments,  this  tends  to  be  no  more  than  'background 
noise',  and  may  be  the  cause  of  more  discord  than  harmony.  There  are, 
it  seems,  still  those  who  prefer  their  books,  chess,  or  conversation 
without  a  musical  background;  mutual  agreement  in  a  mixed  company 
on  a  programme  to  be  listened  to  rather  than  heard  would  be  difficult 
to  achieve;  and  any  attempt  to  require  attention  to  officially  selected 
programmes  would  probably,  and  properly,  meet  with  small  success. 
Loudspeakers  in  the  hospitals  present  obvious  difficulties,  and  head- 
phones would  seem  to  be  the  only  practicable  method  here.  There 
remains  the  use  for  educational  purposes,  including  in  this  not  only 
discussion  groups  but  selected  talks,  plays  and  musical  programmes. 
'This  seems  to  be  the  most  hopeful  approach  to  a  really  constructive 


214       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

use  of  wireless  in  prisons,  and  along  these  lines  the  Commissioners 
propose  to  explore  the  subject  further,  so  soon  as  staffing  and  other 
conditions  make  it  possible  to  resume  a  full  programme  of  evening 
activities.'  Nor,  it  is  to  be  feared,  has  the  position  substantially  changed 
since  then. 

The  newspaper  also  occupies  a  marginal  place.  Daily  papers  to  meet 
most  tastes  and  opinions  are  supplied  to  the  association  messes.  The 
primary  purpose  is  to  keep  the  prisoners  informed  of  what  goes  on  in 
the  outside  world,  but  authority  does  not  concern  itself  with  the  relative 
attention  paid  by  readers  to  the  parliamentary  and  sporting  reports. 
Before  the  late  war  a  small  prison-service  news-sheet  was  printed  and 
distributed  to  all  prisoners.  When  this  had  to  be  discontinued,  the 
Chaplains  used  to  read  a  news-bulletin  after  the  Sunday  service.  With 
the  general  introduction  after  the  war  of  wireless  and  newspapers  this 
unhappy  expedient  came  to  an  end :  it  was  less  than  seemly  that  Divine 
Service  should  be  looked  forward  to  as  the  time  for  checking  one's 
football  pools.  In  general,  with  the  present  arrangements,  all  prisoners 
are  sufficiently  in  touch  with  the  news  of  the  day.  Prisoners  may  also 
have  sent  in  to  them  by  their  friends  the  weekly  editions  of  local  and 
national  newspapers,  and  such  periodicals  as  may  help  to  keep  them 
in  touch  with  current  thought  and  events  or  with  any  hobbies  or 
specialised  interests. 

From  the  Press  we  pass  to  the  Library.  Since  the  War,  everything 
has  been  done  to  encourage  a  full  and  intelligent  use  of  the  prison 
library.  The  divorce  of  reading  matter  from  the  Stage  System  has 
already  been  noted:  the  present  wish  is  to  encourage  reading,  not  to 
restrict  it.  With  few  exceptions  the  County  or  Borough  Libraries  now 
run  the  prison  library  as  a  branch  of  their  own,  and  the  prisoners  are 
given  direct  access  to  the  books  on  the  shelves  except  where  the  physical 
conditions  forbid.  The  libraries  are  on  the  whole  well  stocked  with  an 
adequate  selection  of  all  categories  of  books,  new  and  old,  in  normal 
demand,  and  will  usually  take  considerable  trouble  to  meet  special 
demands.  There  is  at  Wakefield  Prison  a  central  library  of  technical 
and  foreign  books.  Although  in  a  few  prisons  with  specially  unfavour- 
able conditions  traces  of  the  older  system  may  still  persist,  these  are 
gradually  being  eliminated,  and  it  ought  to  be,  and  in  no  long  time  will 
be,  possible  to  say  that  (saving  the  often  unsuitable  premises)  any 
prisoner  may  get  as  good  a  library  service  inside  a  prison  as  out.  And 
in  addition  they  may  have  books  sent  to  them  from  outside  on  condition 
that  they  become  the  property  of  the  prison  library  when  done  with. 
There  is,  therefore,  every  facility  for  both  educational  and  recreational 
reading,  and  much  is  done  to  encourage  and  help  those  who  need  it.4" 
Many  a  man  who  had  never  read  anything  but  a  certain  type  of  Sunday 
paper  has  left  prison  with  a  taste  for  good  reading.  An  encouraging 
lesson  from  this  development  of  prison  libraries  has  been  that  it  has 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  215 

practically  killed  the  nasty  and  endemic  prison  disease  of  mutilating 
and  scribbling  in  library-books,  perhaps  because  these  outlets  for 
repressed  resentments  are  no  longer  needed,  perhaps  because  prisoners 
will  live  up  to  a  good  standard  as  easily  as  down  to  a  bad  one. 

Prison  libraries  are  under  the  control  of  a  selected  prison  officer 
who,  after  a  short  course  at  the  local  library,  is  paid  an  allowance 
for  this  specialised  work.  The  best  of  these  take  great  trouble  to  see 
that  the  prisoners  get  what  they  want,  or  where,  as  often,  they 
do  not  know  what  they  want,  to  help  and  advise  them.  But  it  is  an 
interesting  question  whether  at  the  largest  prisons  a  professional 
librarian  might  not  be  employed  with  advantage.  Prisoners  are  also 
employed  in  the  libraries,  and  this  work  is  usually  reserved  for  the  better 
type  of  Star.1 

Still  in  the  borderland  we  find  the  regular  concerts  and  lectures, 
varied  sometimes  by  an  amateur  dramatic  performance,  that  have  at 
least  since  the  days  of  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise  been  a  regular  feature 
of  prison  life.  These  in  general  are  held  about  once  a  month,  and  in 
the  local  prisons  are  open  to  every  prisoner  'in  stage',  and  to  those 
'out  of  stage'  too  if  there  is  room  for  them.  One  cannot  generalise  about 
the  scope  and  nature  of  these.  Governors  and  Chaplains,  according 
to  their  initiative,  imagination  and  connections,  get  the  best  they  can 
find — and  many  a  well-known  concert  artiste,  actor  or  actress,  or  music- 
hall  star,  as  well  as  kind-hearted  'local  talent',  have  come  into  the 
prisons  and  given  their  best.  The  variety  of  lectures  too  is  surprisingly 
rich,  and  first-class  authorities  may  be  heard  on  most  aspects  of  life 
and  thought:  here  the  Commissioners  have  acknowledged  special 
debts  of  gratitude  to  Mrs.  J.  W.  Field,  who  has  for  long  organised 
regular  fortnightly  lectures  in  the  London  Prisons,  and  to  the  Central 
Office  of  Information,  who  have  given  constant  help  in  the  supply 
both  of  lectures  and  of  film  shows. 

But  even  more  important  than  hearing  plays  or  music  is  that  prisoners 
should  be  encouraged  to  make  their  own  plays  and  music.  Mr.  John 
Watson  has  given  a  vivid  account  of  the  first  play-readings  at  Worm- 
wood Scrubs  in  1922,  and  the  help  the  volunteer  teachers  were  given 
by  well-known  actors  and  actresses,  leading  to  'an  excellent  production 
of  Julius  Caesar  with  Leslie  Banks  as  Cassius  against  Claude  Rains' 
Brutus'.2  Today  at  many  regional  and  central  prisons  there  are 
flourishing  Dramatic  Societies  staging  one  or  two  performances  a  year. 
In  such  prisons  too,  and  in  not  a  few  local  prisons,  music-making  and 
appreciation  of  music  are  fostered  through  choirs,  bands,  gramophone 
clubs,  musical  appreciation  classes  and  the  like. 

It  is  desirable  for  completeness  to  mention  one  small  matter,  which 
has  nevertheless  occasioned  no  small  controversial  heat.  Prisoners  had 
long  been  allowed  note-books  to  use  in  connection  with  any  educational 

i  See  Appendix  K.    2  Meet  the  Prisoner,  J.  F.  Watson,  Jonathan  Cape,  p.  137. 


216      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

class  or  study  in  which  they  might  be  engaged,  and  these  (if  properly 
used)  they  could  take  out  on  discharge:  in  1947,  however,  there  was  a 
development  described  by  the  Commissioners  on  pp.  37  and  38  of 
their  Annual  Report  for  that  year  as  follows: 

'The  Standing  Orders  required  the  use  of  the  notebooks  to  be  strictly 
limited  to  the  technical  or  educational  purpose  for  which  they  were 
issued,  and  specially  prohibited  verse  or  prose  compositions,  drawings, 
etc.  "for  the  purpose  of  subsequent  publication  or  sale".  On  condition 
that  the  regulations  were  complied  with,  the  notebooks  might  be  taken 
out  on  discharge.  Nevertheless,  "educational  purpose"  was  liberally 
interpreted,  and  marginal  questions  of  whether  the  contents  of  a  given 
notebook  were  notes  on  English  literature  or  a  prose  composition  were 
likely  to  arise.  A  conflict — haunted  by  the  ghosts  of  Bunyan  and  of 
Wilde — also  became  evident  between  the  principle  that  a  prisoner  must 
not  be  allowed  to  use  his  leisure  to  work  for  personal  gain,  and  the 
fear  that  some  great  work  of  literature  might  be  untimely  strangled 
by  red-tape.  In  an  attempt  to  resolve  these  difficulties,  the  Commissioners 
decided  to  divide  notebooks  into  two  classes,  educational  and  general. 
The  former  may  be  issued  to  any  prisoner  at  any  time  after  reception 
to  enable  him  to  profit  by  an  approved  course  of  study,  whether  it  be 
followed  as  a  member  of  a  class  or  individually:  the  interpretation  of 
"approved  course"  is  still  liberal — anything  tending  to  improve  general 
education,  or  vocational  fitness,  or  wise  use  of  leisure  is  encouraged, 
but  "compositions  for  publication"  are  prohibited.  These  "educational" 
notebooks,  if  properly  used,  may  be  taken  out  on  discharge.  The 
"general"  notebooks  may  be  issued  to  2nd  Stage  prisoners  on  appli- 
cation, and  there  is  no  restriction,  within  the  bounds  of  propriety  and 
discipline,  on  the  use  to  which  they  may  be  put,  but  they  may  not  in 
any  circumstances  be  taken  out.  Thus  their  use  may  extend  from  idle 
jottings,  which  may  still  be  more  beneficial  to  a  man  alone  in  his  cell 
than  mental  stagnation,  to  the  work  of  some  future  Bunyan.  We  cer- 
tainly see  no  reason  why  a  man  with  an  urge  to  express  himself  creatively 
should  be  prevented  from  doing  so  because  he  is  a  prisoner,  though 
he  may  not  be  allowed  to  profit  financially  by  the  use  of  his  manu- 
script.' 

This  statement  attracted  further  attention  to  the  problem,  which 
was  eventually  referred  by  the  Home  Secretary  to  the  Advisory  Council 
on  the  Treatment  of  Offenders  for  their  advice  on  the  general  question 
of  whether  prisoners  should  be  allowed  to  take  out  of  prison  work  they 
had  done  in  their  spare  time,  and  the  particular  question  of  whether 
matter  in  notebooks  which  might  have  a  sales  value  should  be  excepted 
from  any  general  prohibition,  so  that  the  prisoners  might  be  able  to 
take  their  'general'  notebooks  out  with  them.  The  Council  advised  in 
favour  of  maintaining  the  principle  that  prisoners  should  not  work  for 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  217 

profit  in  their  spare  time,  but  felt  that  it  was  so  desirable  that  prisoners 
should  be  allowed  to  take  their  notebooks  out  with  them  that  the  very 
slight  risk  of  some  saleable  matter  going  out  might  well  be  taken, 
provided  that  control  was  exercised  to  prevent  objectionable  or  sensa- 
tional matter  being  taken  out.  The  Secretary  of  State  having  accepted 
this  advice,  matters  have  been  arranged  accordingly.  The  prisoner  can 
now  write  what  he  likes  in  his  book,  provided  it  is  not  indecent  oj  sub- 
versive of  discipline,  and  he  can  take  it  out  provided  it  contains  nothing 
against  the  security  or  good  order  of  the  prison,  and  no  autobiographical 
writing  or  other  'crime  stuff'  or  descriptions  of  prison  life.  These  note- 
books are  not  issued  for  the  preparation  of  sensational  stories  for  such 
newspapers  as  might  be  disposed  to  publish  them;  on  the  contrary  they 
are  intended,  as  part  of  the  process  of  training,  to  divert  the  prisoner's 
mind  from  his  criminal  activities  and  his  real  or  alleged  grievances  to 
more  constructive  attitudes. 

In  future,  therefore,  there  need  be  no  fear  that  any  work  of  art 
conceived  in  a  prison  cell  will  never  see  the  light.  If  it  be  retorted  that 
under  these  restrictions  'De  Profundis'  would  have  remained  buried, 
there  are  several  answers.  First,  that  'De  Profundis'  did  in  fact  emerge. 
Second,  that  Oscar  Wildes  do  not  come  into  prison  with  any  frequency: 
since  'De  Profundis'  only  one  man  of  letters  is  known  to  have  written 
anything  of  note  in  a  prison — oddly  enough,  Lord  Alfred  Douglas. 
Third,  it  has  long  been  the  rule  that  if  any  prisoner  claimed  that  his 
notebook  contained  matter  worthy  of  preservation  it  should  be  kept  for 
ten  years.  What  was  to  happen  at  the  end  of  the  ten  years  was  not,  at 
the  time,  decided;  and  it  may  be  fortunate  that  under  present  practice 
the  question  is  unlikely  to  arise.  The  Advisory  Council  examined  all 
the  notebooks  retained  in  the  prisons  over  a  long  period  of  years,  and 
found  in  them  nothing  of  the  slightest  literary  or  artistic  value. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  close  this  section  without  special  reference  to 
the  value  of  handicrafts  in  the  educational  training  scheme.  A  sub- 
stantial proportion  of  the  evening  classes  are  devoted  to  hand-work  of 
many  kinds.  Some  are  taken  by  the  Local  Education  Authority  or 
voluntary  teachers,  many  by  members  of  the  prison  staff,  who  obtain 
strikingly  attractive  results.  In  different  prisons  may  be  found  carpentry, 
rug-making,  leather  work,  plastics,  toy-making,  embroidery,  knitting, 
dress-making  and  many  other  useful  and  enjoyable  crafts.  The  results 
range  from  the  commonplace  to  the  spectacular,  as  when  the  wireless 
class  at  one  prison  made  themselves  a  television  set  which  worked. 
Apart  from  classes,  prisoners  in  stage  may  have  the  privilege  of  carrying 
on  permitted  'arts  or  crafts'  in  their  cells,  while  those  taking  part  in 
classes  may  also  carry  on  in  their  cells  where  the  work  is  suitable, 
e.g.  rug-making. 

The  economics  of  these  classes  should  be  explained.  There  is  no 
question  of  the  prisoners  making  anything  out  of  it  financially.  There 


218       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

is  a  'handicraft  fund'  at  each  prison  from  which  tools  and  raw  materials 
are  supplied,  and  this  must  be  kept  self-supporting  by  the  sale  of  the 
product.  The  prices  are  fixed  by  a  committee  at  an  approximation  to 
market  value,  and  sales  are  made  to  staff  and  the  public,  any  surplus 
going  usually  to  the  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Society.  Prisoners  are 
allowed  to  buy  articles  they  have  made  at  the  prices  so  fixed  to  send 
out  as  presents  to  their  family,  and  many  a  doll's  house  or  teddy-bear  or 
baby's  frock  has  been  sent  home  at  Christmas  or  for  birthdays. 

At  one  women's  prison  the  D.P.A.S.  will  set  up  a  released  prisoner 
with  tools  and  materials  to  carry  on  a  craft  she  has  learned,  and  more 
than  one  woman  has  in  this  way  managed  to  establish  a  useful  little 
spare-time  business. 

Altogether,  the  humanising,  vocational  and  educational  value  of 
these  classes  is  great,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  it  is  not  practicable  to  extend 
the  practice  of  handicrafts  to  any  prisoners  who  wish  to  pass  the 
evenings  usefully  in  their  cells. 

(4)    SOCIAL  RELATIONS  AND  WELFARE 

In  this  section  we  shall  consider  what  may  be  called  the  external 
relations  of  a  prisoner — the  preserving  or  fostering  of  all  those  interests  l 
outside  the  prison  wall  which  may  serve  either  his  better  adaptation  to 
his  present  situation  or  his  re-adaptation  in  due  course  to  normal  life. 
The  forcible  severance  of  an  offender  from  family  and  community 
life  raises  many  problems,  both  for  himself  and  others,  which  cannot 
be  neglected  by  a  system  which  claims  to  seek  his  social  rehabilitation. 
'An  even  more  important  question  concerns  those  needs  which  have 
been  revealed  or  caused  by  the  punishment  itself.  From  a  legal  point 
of  view  imprisonment  is  deprivation  of  liberty  in  an  enclosed  institution, 
minutely  regulated  and  strictly  limited  to  years,  months,  weeks,  or 
days.  Any  additional  hardship  for  the  prisoner's  family  or  his  future 
career  is  without  legal  foundation  and  ought  to  be  prevented  or 
removed.  From  a  social  point  of  view  imprisonment  is  not  a  forfeiture 
of  a  man's  position  in  life,  but  an  opportunity  for  adapting  him  to  the 
community  of  law-abiding  citizens.  This  cannot  be  achieved  by  indi- 
vidual persuasion  alone.  Much  has  to  be  done  to  disentangle  difficult 
family  and  other  personal  relationships,  to  protect  legitimate  economic 
interests,  and  to  prepare  the  ground  for  a  fresh  start.  All  this  is  the 
responsibility  of  the  social  services  in  penal  institutions.'  2 

The  phrase  'forfeiture  of  a  man's  position  in  life'  raises  in  the  first 
place  the  question  of  'forfeiture  of  civil  rights'  as  a  consequence  of 
imprisonment.  Dr.  Mannheim  says  of  this :  'Whilst  the  different  legal 

1  Except  those  relating  to  after-care  and  aid-on-discharge,  which  are  dealt  with 
separately  in  Chapter  16. 

2  Grimhut,  p.  245. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  219 

systems  show  wide  variations  in  detail,  certain  fundamental  character- 
istics are  common  to  most  of  them.  The  offender  who  is  convicted  of  a 
serious  crime  may  have  to  suffer,  for  instance,  loss  of  his  offices,  pro- 
fessional or  honorary,  and  of  eligibility  for  future  office,  of  his  pension, 
of  the  right  to  wear  decorations  and  to  bear  titles  and  academic  degrees, 
of  the  right  to  elect  and  to  be  elected  in  parliamentary  and  municipal 
elections,  to  act  as  guardian,  trustee  or  witness,  and  so  on.  Sometimes 
these  deprivations  follow  as  automatic  consequences  attached  to  every 
severe  sentence;  sometimes,  however,  it  is  left  to  ths  discretion  of  the 
judge  to  make  a  specific  order  to  that  effect.'  l  He  also  emphasises 
that  while  many  such  provisions  may  be  defended  as  being  for  the 
protection  of  society  their  actual  effect  is  social  defamation. 

To  define  English  practice  in  these  matters  is  difficult.  What,  in 
England,  are  our  'civil  rights'?  It  does  not  appear  to  be  possible  either 
to  give  them  the  legal  definition  which  they  receive  in  some  legal  systems 
or  to  say,  with  any  authoritative  precision,  what  is  the  effect  on  whatever 
one  may  deem  them  to  be  of  a  sentence  of  imprisonment.  So  far  as 
statute  law  takes  us,  certain  of  the  consequences  set  out  by  Dr.  Mann- 
heim may  result  from  a  conviction  of  felony,  but  not  from  imprison- 
ment per  se.  These  derive  from  the  Forfeiture  Act  1870,  as  amended 
by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948.  Prior  to  the  Act  of  1870  a  convicted 
felon,  among  other  disabilities,  forfeited  his  property  to  the  Crown: 
the  Act  was  intended  as  a  measure  of  relief,  substituting  for  forfeiture 
certain  disabilities  on  dealing  with  his  property  during  the  currency  of 
the  sentences :  these  disabilities  in  turn  were  removed  by  the  Criminal 
Justice  Act  1948.  The  effect  of  the  remaining  disabilities  may  be  sum- 
marised as  follows.  A  person  convicted  of  treason  or  felony,  who  is 
sentenced  to  death,  preventive  detention,  corrective  training,  or  any 
term  of  imprisonment  over  12  months,  must  vacate  certain  public 
offices  and  forfeit  any  pension  connected  with  them.  He  also  becomes 
incapable  of  holding  such  offices,  or  of  being  elected  or  sitting  or 
voting  as  a  member  of  either  House  of  Parliament,  or  of  exercising  any 
right  of  parliamentary  or  municipal  franchise,  until  he  has  completed 
his  punishment  or  received  a  free  pardon. 

A  further  statutory  provision  (section  59  (1)  Local  Government  Act 
1933)  disqualifies  a  person  from  being  elected  or  being  a  member  of  a 
local  authority  if  he  has  'within  five  years  before  the  day  of  election 
or  since  his  election  been  convicted  in  the  United  Kingdom,  the  Channel 
Islands  or  the  Isle  of  Man  of  any  offence  and  ordered  to  be  imprisoned 
for  a  period  of  not  less  than  three  months  without  the  option  of  a  fine'. 

Further  disabilities  and  disqualifications  may  result  from  the  action 
of  professional  associations  (e.g.  the  striking  off  the  rolls  in  certain 
circumstances  of  a  convicted  doctor  or  solicitor),  or  from  administra- 
tive action  (e.g.  forfeiture  of  honours  or  decorations).2 

1  Mannheim,  pp.  109,  110.        2  See  Appendix  K. 


220       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Where  a  prisoner  is  not  subject  to  a  statutory  disability,  the  position 
would  appear  to  be  as  follows:  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  does  not 
of  itself  impose  on  an  offender  any  'loss  of  civil  rights',  but  his  position 
as  a  prisoner  may  disable  him  from  exercising  them,  and  any  relief  of 
this  disability  rests  in  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  As  an 
example  of  the  exercise  of  this  discretion,  in  1948  a  convicted  prisoner 
petitioned  to  be  allowed  to  offer  himself  as  a  parliamentary  candidate 
at  a  bye-election,  and  the  petition  was  granted,  though  he  was  not 
nominated.  Subsequently,  he  was  further  allowed  to  petition  against 
the  election  result  and  the  Courts  accepted  his  petition:  he  was  not 
allowed  to  proceed  because  he  had  not  lodged  his  security.1  Again, 
when  in  1948  postal  voting  became  permissible  for  voters  absent  from 
their  constituencies  in  certain  conditions,  it  appeared  that  prisoners 
confined  in  prisons  outside  their  constituencies  (if  not  disqualified 
under  the  Forfeiture  Act  from  voting)  would  be  accepted  by  Returning 
Officers  as  eligible  to  vote  by  post.  It  was,  therefore,  decided  that  they 
should  be  allowed  to  post  their  votes  in  the  subsequent  General 
Election,  notwithstanding  the  anomaly  that  other  prisoners  in  the  same 
prison  who  normally  resided  in  the  constituency  in  which  the  prison 
was  situated  were  not  in  a  position  to  go  to  the  polling-booths!  2 

From  these  examples  it  is  clear  that,  so  far  at  any  rate  as  concerns 
parliamentary  franchise  and  elections,  the  Home  Office  has  not  been 
disposed  to  interfere  arbitrarily  with  the  exercise  of  a  prisoner's  'civil 
rights',  in  so  far  as  they  can  be  exercised  from  within  the  prison  walls. 
But  whether  a  prisoner  would  have  any  remedy  if  the  Secretary  of  State 
declined  to  exercise  a  discretion  in  his  favour  it  does  not  seem  possible 
to  say  until  a  case  in  point  has  been  decided  by  the  Courts. 

Within  the  category  of  what  may  be  called  for  this  purpose  civil 
rights,  the  position  of  a  prisoner  in  regard  to  marriage  is  of  interest. 
Requests  are  frequently  made  for  the  temporary  release  of  prisoners  so 
that  they  may  marry,  sometimes  on  grounds  of  considerable  force  in 
relation  to  the  welfare  either  of  the  prisoner  or  of  the  other  party. 
Hitherto,  however,  the  practice  has  been  to  refuse  such  requests.3 

Again,  any  citizen  has  a  right  to  seek  a  remedy  at  law  for  any  wrong 
that  he  may  conceive  himself  to  have  suffered,  or  at  least  to  seek  advice 
to  that  end.  This  right,  however,  is  not  conceded  to  persons  under 
sentence  of  imprisonment,  the  Commissioners  holding  themselves  free  to 
decide  on  the  merits  of  each  case  whether  a  prisoner  should  be  allowed 
to  initiate  legal  proceedings,  or  to  seek  legal  advice  to  that  end.  Their 
discretion  is,  however,  exercised  fairly  widely  in  favour  of  the  prisoners. 
Broadly  speaking,  prisoners  have  not  been  prevented  from  initiating 
proceedings  against  the  Crown  where  they  claimed  to  have  suffered 

1  Daily  Herald,  9  April  1948. 

2  Weekly  Hansard,  Vol.  163,  cols.  379,  380,  383,  384,  676.  See  also  Appendix  K. 

3  See  Appendix  K. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  221 

damage  arising  out  of  their  detention,  and  permission  has  been  given 
in  other  categories  of  actions  where  it  appeared  that  the  prisoner's  in- 
terests would  be  prejudiced  if  he  had  to  wait  until  his  release,  or  where  the 
action  was  already  under  consideration  before  committal  to  prison.  In 
such  cases  the  legal  advisers  of  a  prisoner  are,  by  Statutory  Rule,  allowed 
reasonable  facilities  for  visits  out  of  the  hearing  of  a  prison  officer. 

The  next  category  of  interests  comprises  what  may  be  called  the  social 
insurance  group,  including  health  and  industrial  insurance.  Every 
care  has  been  taken  to  ensure  that,  so  far  as  is  legally  and  administra- 
tively practicable,  the  punitive  effects  of  imprisonment  do  not  extend 
to  the  prejudice  of  this  important  aspect  of  contemporary  social  life. 

In  the  benefits  of  the  National  Health  Service,  as  will  appear  in  a 
subsequent  chapter,  every  prisoner  may  fully  participate — including 
dental,  ophthalmological  and  other  subsidiary  services. 

Although  prisoners  are  formally  outside  the  scope  of  the  Industrial 
Injuries  Acts,  not  being  persons  employed  under  a  contract  of  service, 
it  has  been  decided  that,  where  a  prisoner  is  injured  in  the  course  of  his 
prison  employment,  any  incapacity  which  persists  beyond  the  expiration 
of  his  sentence  will  attract  an  ex  gratia  grant  calculated  by  reference  to 
those  Acts.  To  ensure  the  proper  assessment  of  such  injuries,  prisoners 
are  examined  by  the  Medical  Boards  of  the  Ministry  of  National 
Insurance.  Nor  is  a  prisoner  debarred  from  taking  action  against  the 
Commissioners  at  common  law  if  he  suffers  injury  through  their  alleged 
negligence,  though  where  such  cases  arise  they  are  usually  settled  by 
negotiation  between  the  Treasury  Solicitor  and  solicitors  acting  for  the 
injured  party.  The  position  of  the  prisoner  in  both  these  respects  is 
equally  safeguarded  if  he  is  working  for  another  public  department  or 
for  a  private  employer. 

The  position  of  prisoners  under  the  National  Insurance  Act,  which 
covers  inter  alia  sickness  and  unemployment  benefits  and  old  age 
pensions,  is  less  completely  safeguarded.  Title  to  benefits  under  this 
Act  is  conditional  on  payment  of  a  minimum  number  of  contributions 
and  on  the  maintenance  of  an  annual  credit  of  at  least  fifty  contribu- 
tions :  further,  benefits  and  contribution  rates  vary  according  to  whether 
the  contributor  is  classed  as  an  employed,  self-employed,  or  non- 
employed  person.  For  the  purpose  of  the  Act  persons  in  legal  custody 
are  deemed  to  be  non-employed  persons,  but  they  are  excused  from  the 
statutory  liability  to  pay  the  contributions  appropriate  to  that  category, 
known  as  Class  3  contributions. 

This  statutory  position,  if  unmitigated,  would  have  two  potentially 
adverse  effects  on  a  prisoner's  insurance  position  after  discharge. 
In  the  first  place,  for  certain  persons  in  certain  circumstances  there 
could  be  a  loss  or  reduction  of  unemployment  or  sickness  benefits  to 
which  they  might  otherwise  become  entitled  after  release,  while  the 
amount  of  the  old  age  pension  might  also  be  affected.  In  the  second 


222       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

place,  the  state  of  the  prisoner's  insurance  card  could  be  such  as  to 
disclose  the  fact  that  he  has  been  in  prison.  Adequate  steps  have  been 
taken,  in  collaboration  with  the  Ministry  of  National  Insurance,  to 
avert  the  second  contingency.  The  first  cannot  be  wholly  averted:  it  is 
not  legally  practicable  for  prisoners  to  pay  Class  2  contributions  while 
in  custody,  and  no  sufficient  grounds  have  been  shown  for  the  State 
to  assume  the  heavy  financial  responsibility  of  paying  their  contribu- 
tions from  public  funds,  whether  direct  or  behind  the  fagade  of  in- 
creasing prisoners'  earnings  to  enable  them  to  pay.  While  the  arguments 
advanced  in  favour  of  such  a  course  have  a  certain  validity,  they  do  not 
take  account  of  two  factors :  first,  that  this  would  be  to  put  prisoners  in 
a  privileged  position  as  compared  with  many  citizens  in  Bentham's 
'state  of  innocence  and  liberty'  who  are  unable  for  various  reasons 
to  maintain  their  contributions:  second,  the  considerable  and  compli- 
cated administrative  labour  of  ascertaining  the  precise  insurance 
position  of  prisoners  on  reception  and  assessing  the  nature  and  amount 
of  the  contributions  due  in  each  case.  What  has  been  done,  after 
exhaustive  consideration  by  all  Departments  concerned  of  all  the 
possibilities,  is  to  provide  that  any  convicted  or  civil  prisoner  who  wishes 
to  maintain  his  insurance  position  to  the  extent  of  paying  Class  3  con- 
tributions may  do  so,  either  from  such  private  money  as  he  has  in  his 
possession  or  through  his  friends.  A  prisoner  who  was  self-employed 
immediately  before  being  taken  into  custody  may  also  opt  to  pay  a 
Class  1  contribution.  All  prisoners  are  informed  by  a  special  cell-card 
of  the  machinery  available  for  this  purpose.1 

Relations  with  past  and  potential  employers  being  more  conveniently 
dealt  with  in  connection  with  after-care,  we  now  pass  to  what  for  many, 
perhaps  most,  prisoners  are  the  most  necessary  and  valuable  of  the 
social  services  which  the  prison  must  seek  to  provide  for  them — those 
concerned  with  their  families.  And  here  it  may  be  that  more  remains 
to  be  done  than  in  any  other  part  of  this  field  of  work. 

If  one  fact  can  be  accepted  as  established  in  the  field  of  criminology, 
it  is  the  overwhelming  influence  of  unsatisfactory  home  conditions  in 
the  formation  of  delinquency,  and  that  not  only  among  juveniles. 
Dr.  W.  F.  Roper,  in  a  detailed  survey  of  over  1,400  adult  prisoners  at 
Wakefield  and  Dartmoor,2  found  not  only  that  faulty  home  training  and 
bad  family  relations  had  a  preponderating  influence  on  subsequent  crim- 
inality— this  was  to  be  expected :  he  also  found  that  '25  per  cent  of  the 
marriages  represented  have  been  broken  by  separation  or  divorce'  and 
that  'the  man  from  a  faulty  home  tends  to  recreate  faults  in  his  own 
home,  when  he  comes  to  found  one,  and  this  hands  evil  down  the  gen- 

1  See  Appendix  K,  note  on  p.  219. 

2  The  British  Journal  of  Delinquency,  July  1950 — 'A  Comparative  Survey  of  the 
Wakefield  Prison  Population  in  1948',  by  W.  F.  Roper,  Principal  Medical  Officer, 
Wakefield  Prison. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  223 

erations'.  These  observations  suggest  how  wide  a  field  of  work  there 
may  be,  hitherto  almost  untouched,  in  seeking  the  rehabilitation  of 
an  offender  through  his  family  as  well  as  through  his  personal  training. 

And  family  relations  may  be  of  central  importance  in  the  treatment 
of  prisoners  before  as  well  as  after  their  release.  Their  adaptation  to  their 
situation  as  prisoners  may  be  materially  eased  by  the  sorting  out  of 
domestic  tangles  and  difficulties :  this  is  work  to  which  Governors  and 
their  Assistants,  Chaplains  and  Welfare  Officers  willingly  give  much 
time  and  trouble,  knowing  how  great  the  reward  may  be  in  ease  of 
mind  among  their  charges  and  so  in  their  better  co-operation.  Many 
an  escape,  especially  from  open  prisons,  and  many  an  outburst  of  bad 
conduct  has  resulted  from  some  molehill  of  domestic  trouble  magnified 
into  a  mountain  by  the  helpless  brooding  of  the  prisoner. 

And  here  perhaps  we  may  turn  aside  to  consider  a  problem  which  is 
increasingly  engaging  attention,  though  in  this  country  hitherto  merely 
as  a  matter  of  abstract  discussion.  How  far  is  it  possible,  within  the 
limits  of  prison  treatment  as  those  are  now  understood,  to  continue  the 
'normalisation'  of  prison  life  by  filling  its  greatest  gap — the  absence  of 
all  those  normal  and  necessary  human  influences,  ties  and  responsi- 
bilities which  centre  round  the  life  of  the  family,  including  the  depriva- 
tion of  all  normal  sexual  life?  The  problems  thus  raised  are  so  various 
and  difficult  that  it  is  not  possible  here  to  do  more  than  recognise 
them.  In  their  wider  aspects  they  have  led  so  distinguished  and  experi- 
enced an  authority  as  M.  Paul  Cornil,  Secretary-General  of  the  Min- 
istry of  Justice  of  Belgium  and  for  long  head  of  the  Belgian  prison 
administration,  to  ask  l  whether  it  may  not  be  right  so  to  arrange 
prisons  that  the  family  life  of  prisoners  may  be  continued  within  their 
confines:  and  reports  from  Russia  have  told  of  certain  prisons  where 
that  is  in  fact  done.  In  certain  prison  systems  in  Europe  and  South 
America  the  narrower  sex  problem  is  recognised,  whether  or  not  it  be 
resolved,  by  regular  arrangements  in  the  prisons  for  'connubial  visits' 
between  husband  and  wife.  If  these  questions  have  assumed  less  im- 
portance in  this  country,  it  is  not  from  failure  to  recognise  their  exist- 
ence. The  problems  of  homosexuality  in  prisons  are  patent  to  all 
familiar  with  prison  life,  though  the  desirability  of  a  hetero-sexual 
antidote  has  not  hitherto  been  brought  into  discussion.2 

In  the  wider  sphere,  no  more  has  been  done  than  to  reduce  the 
limitations  on  visits  and  letters,  and  so  far  as  may  be  within  these 
limits  to  encourage  and  promote  all  valuable  ties  between  a  prisoner 
and  his  family.  But  prison  letters  and  visits  at  the  best  must  be  cold 

1  In  an  address  to  the  XII  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary  Congress  at  The 
Hague,  1950. 

2  It  has  however  been  suggested  by  an  outside  observer  that  the  efflorescence  of 
'pin-up-girls'  in  the  rooms  of  Borstal  boys  may  have,  in  this  connection,  an  effect 
as  much  therapeutic  as  decorative.  (Mark  Benney,  'Leader.'  3  December  1949.) 


224       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

channels  for  the  human  affections.  Letters  must  be  censored,  and  kept 
within  reasonable  limits  of  length.  The  conditions  in  which  visits  take 
place  at  most  prisons  are  commonly  repugnant  to  any  sensitive  mind. 
What  can  be  done  to  humanise  these  things  is  done.  For  example, 
immediate  agreement  was  given  to  the  suggestion  that  a  prisoner  writing 
to  a  child  in  the  care  of  a  school  or  foster-home  should  be  allowed  to 
use  plain  paper  and  a  'camouflage'  address.  Experiment  to  improve 
visiting  conditions  is  continuous,  and  many  different  systems  will  be 
found  in  use  in  different  types  of  prison.  At  one  end  of  the  scale  is  the 
traditional  system  of  'visiting-boxes' — a  row  of  cubicles,  in  which  the 
prisoner  sits  in  one  half  and  the  visitor  in  the  other,  separated  by  glass 
and  a  wire  grille,  so  permitting  sight  and  sound  without  the  possibility  of 
physical  contact:  at  the  other  end,  in  open  prisons  and  some  training 
prisons,  the  prisoners  and  their  visitors  may  walk  about  the  grounds 
and  have  tea  and  a  cigarette  together  under  the  trees.  Between  these 
extremes  experiments  continue,  seeking  to  devise  a  system  of  'open 
visits',  away  from  the  'boxes',  without  loss  of  essential  control  and 
supervision.  A  common  plan  is  a  long  table,  with  a  partition  down  the 
centre  to  prevent  contraband  being  flicked  across,  and  supervising 
officers  at  the  ends:  but  the  paradoxical  situation  was  reached  that, 
although  this  system  was  devised  primarily  for  Stars  and  prisoners  of 
the  better  sort,  such  prisoners  began  to  ask  for  visits  in  the  boxes  'as  a 
privilege' — they  and  their  friends  could  not  stand  the  noise  and  elbow- 
to-elbow  publicity  of  the  public  tables.  It  should  be  understood  that 
these  difficulties  are  not  due  to  mere  obtuseness  or  conservatism  in  the 
prisons,  but  to  inherent  difficulties — first,  as  in  so  many  other  things, 
inadequate  space;  second,  that  visiting  times  must  suit  the  visitors, 
and  they  all  tend  to  come  at  the  same  time,  especially  on  Saturdays; 
and  third,  that  control  must  be  kept  to  prevent  contraventions  of  the 
law  and  the  prison  Rules — it  is  a  mistake  to  think  of  all  visitors  to 
prisoners  as  innocent  and  sensitive  persons ;  many  of  them  are  them- 
selves members  or  associates  of  the  criminal  class  and  up  to  every 
trick  of  the  trade,  with  extraordinary  ingenuity  in  getting  across  a 
pound  note  or  a  packet  of  cigarettes  or  a  hack-saw  blade,  and  even 
visitors  to  Stars  will  often  go  to  some  lengths  to  circumvent  the  Rules 
in  this  way.  The  tax-payers'  bill  is  sensibly  relieved  by  the  amount  of 
contraband  annually  confiscated,  as  no  doubt  are  many  prisoners  by 
the  unknown  amount  which  escapes  detection.  The  latest  experiment  is 
to  rely  for  control  on  searching  after  the  visit,  and  to  allow  each  party 
a  small  separate  table  and  chairs,  spaced  at  reasonable  distances. 
Observation  of  the  practice  of  other  prison  systems  suggests  a  similar 
variety  of  approach:  in  the  U.S.A.,  for  example,  the  writer  has  seen 
'guest-rooms'  suggesting  the  foyer  of  the  Waldorf-Astoria,  with  up- 
holstered couches  and  chairs;  wooden  benches  and  tables  in  a  basement 
passage;  and  boxes  similar  to  our  own. 


THE  CHAPLAIN'S  DEPARTMENT  225 

One  point  to  which  criticism  has  been  directed  illustrates  the  per- 
plexities of  prison  life.  Is  it  right  that  young  children  should  be  brought 
to  visit  their  parents  in  prison,  and  in  such  conditions  as  often  prevail? 
To  many  the  answer  may  seem  at  once  to  be  a  shocked  'no'.  But  do 
the  imprisoned  parents  think  so?  And  how  if  the  mother,  or  father, 
cannot  come  unless  the  children  come  too?  The  conclusion  so  far  has 
been,  rightly  or  wrongly,  that  this  is  a  matter  for  the  parents  to  decide 
for  themselves:  it  is  not  for  authority  to  say  no. 

Certainly,  among  the  many  improvements  which  our  ancient  prisons 
still  await,  the  building  of  completely  new  blocks  for  visiting  should, 
when  the  time  comes,  have  a  high  priority. 

Before  we  leave  the  question  of  family  relations,  there  are  certain 
other  points  of  interest,  actual  and  potential.  In  their  Annual  Reports 
for  1947  and  1948  the  Commissioners  described  an  interesting  new 
scheme  as  follows : 

'The  Commissioners  were  able  during  the  year  to  help  in  filling  a 
gap  in  social  assistance  for  women  prisoners.  It  was  brought  to  their 
notice  through  the  Howard  League  that  many  women,  on  being  sent 
— perhaps  unexpectedly — to  prison,  are  faced  with  immediate  dom- 
estic problems  which  may  be  small  but  can  cause  acute  anxiety  to 
themselves  and  much  inconvenience  or  worse  to  their  families  if  they 
are  not  seen  to  at  once  and  on  the  spot.  The  Commissioners  felt  that 
there  was  a  situation  here  that  ought  to  be  dealt  with  somehow,  but 
was  beyond  the  scope  of  the  existing  welfare  agencies  in  a  prison.  They 
were  fortunate  in  being  able  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  Women's 
Voluntary  Services  an  experimental  scheme  was  started  at  Holloway. 

'Here  W.V.S.  representatives  attend  every  evening  in  the  reception, 
and  see  any  woman  who  wishes  to  see  them  soon  after  she  is  brought 
in.  The  service  is  essentially  one  of  "first-aid",  and  any  but  immediate 
difficulties  are  referred  to  the  D.P.A.S.  But  with  the  urgent  problems 
that  call  for  action  at  once  the  W.V.S. ,  with  its  wide  organisation  of 
helpful  women  on  the  spot,  is  excellently  fitted  to  deal.  These  problems 
have  included  disposal  of  keys  and  ration  books,  securing  luggage  and 
rooms,  making  arrangements  for  children  at  home  or  at  school,  looking 
after  the  dog  left  behind,  or  stopping  a  woman  in  Durham  from  leaving 
to  visit  her  sister  who  was  by  then  in  Holloway.  .  .  . 

'The  W.V.S.  "First-Aid"  scheme  for  meeting  the  immediate  domestic 
problems  of  women  on  reception  has  continued  successfully  at  Hollo- 
way.  Since  the  scheme  started  on  July  28th  1947,  2,144  women  have 
been  interviewed,  and  help  has  been  given  to  346  of  them.  It  is  apparent 
therefore,  that  although  the  need  may  not  be  frequent  it  exists,  and 
where  it  exists  it  is  usually  urgent.  A  similar  scheme  was  tried  at 
Birmingham,  Durham  and  Manchester,  but  for  reasons  which  defy 

E.P.B.S. — 15 


226      THE  TRAINING   AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

speculation  there  was  not  one  request  for  help  in  these  prisons:  the 
service  was  therefore  reduced  to  a  "shadow"  organisation. 

'In  all  these  experiments  the  Commissioners  met  with  the  most  willing 
co-operation  from  the  W.V.S.,  who  have  throughout  regarded  this 
unsensational  and  often  apparently  unwanted  service  as  amply  justified 
by  the  cases  in  which  a  real  need  has  been  met  and  a  woman  saved 
much  unnecessary  distress.' 

For  the  future,  the  power  now  available 1  to  release  prisoners  on 
parole  may  well  be  used  to  afford  to  certaiil  classes  of  prisoner  'home 
leave'  on  the  lines  long  established  for  Borstal  boys.  This  would 
enable  prisoners  to  resume  contact  with  their  homes  and  families  before 
release,  and  give  them  a  better  sense  of  the  future  and  its  respon- 
sibilities. 

Given  the  importance  of  the  family  background  as  a  factor  in  the 
causation  of  crime,  it  may  be  that  valuable  help  could  be  given  in  many 
cases  by  boldly  including  the  prisoner's  family  in  the  process  of  his 
rehabilitation.  This  would  require  a  various,  tactful  and  skilled 
approach.  In  one  case  their  understanding  co-operation  might  be  all 
that  it  was  necessary  to  secure,  in  another  the  family  itself  might  need 
rehabilitation.  The  development  of  a  professional  social-welfare  service 
in  prisons,  which  has  recently  been  advocated  (see  p.  264),  might  enable 
progress  towards  this  end. 

i  Criminal  Justice  (Scotland)  Act  1949,  llth  Schedule  and  Prison  Rules,  1951  See 
also  Appendix  K. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 
PHYSICAL  WELFARE 


(1)    HYGIENE 

THE  Statutory  Rules  under  this  heading  are  as  follows: 
'94.  The  Medical  Officer  shall  oversee  and  shall  advise  the 
Governor  upon  the  hygiene  of  the  prison  and  the  prisoners, 
including    arrangements    for    cleanliness,    sanitation,    heating, 
lighting  and  ventilation. 

'95.  Arrangements  shall  be  made  for  every  prisoner  to  wash  at  all 
proper  times,  to  have  a  hot  bath  at  least  once  a  week,  and  for  men 
(unless  excused  or  prohibited  on  medical  or  other  grounds)  to 
shave  or  be  shaved  daily  and  to  have  their  hair  cut  as  required. 
The  hair  of  a  male  prisoner  may  be  cut  as  short  as  is  necessary 
for  good  appearance  but  the  hair  of  a  female  prisoner  shall  not  be 
cut  without  her  consent,  except  by  the  direction  of  the  Medical 
officer  for  the  eradication  of  vermin,  dirt  or  disease. 

'96.  Every  prisoner  shall  be  provided  on  admission  with  such  toilet 
articles  as  are  necessary  for  health  and  cleanliness,  and  arrange- 
ments shall  be  made  for  the  replacement  of  these  articles  when 
necessary.' 

These  general  statements  of  principle  call  for  little  elaboration.  The 
washing  arrangements  and  toilet  equipment  in  cellular  prisons  have 
already  been  described  (p.  131).  Men  are  required  to  shave  every 
morning  on  getting  up,  blades  being  issued  and  collected  on  each 
occasion:  each  man  has  his  own  blade,  and  they  may  buy  blacfe- 
sharpeners,  or  have  them  sent  in.  Certain  additional  toilet  articles  may 
be  bought  in  the  canteen. 

Bathing  takes  place  once  a  week  in  the  central  bath-house,  and  is 
usually  the  occasion  for  change  of  underclothing. 

Haircutting  is  not  very  satisfactory.  This  is  one  of  the  activities 
which,  when  prisons  are  staffed  for  an  evening  shift,  should  certainly 
take  place  after  working  hours.  As  things  are,  one  may  find  in  any 

227 


228       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

workshop  a  prisoner  in  process  of  having  his  hair  cut  by  another.  The 
result  is  that  the  phrase  'as  short  as  is  necessary  for  good  appearance' 
gets  a  strikingly  elastic  interpretation,  and  the  younger  men  rival  the 
women  in  the  elaborate  complication  of  their  'hair-dos',  generally  with 
less  taste.  It  may  be  that  this  can  be  justified  as  being  the  one  expression 
of  personality  left  to  a  man  in  prison  uniform.  But  it  may  also  be  that 
the  reaction  against  the  'convict  crop'  has  gone  too  far,  and  that  the 
pendulum  could  with  aesthetic  advantage  begin  to  swing  the  other  way. 
The  proper  solution  is  undoubtedly  a  barber's  shop,  with  trained  men 
doing  the  work  under  skilled  supervision. 

This  problem  does  not  arise  for  women,  who  may  do  what  they  will 
with  their  hair,  though  they  do  not  have  the  advantage  of  'beauty- 
parlours'  as  do  many  of  their  American  cousins  in  distress.  They  are 
however  free  to  act  as  their  own  beauticians  with  such  lip-stick  and 
powder  as  they  may  bring  in  'with  them,  or  purchase  at  the  canteen. 
Much  detrition  of  crimson  book-bindings  is  thereby  saved. 

The  last  words  of  Rule  95  are  'the  eradication  of  vermin,  dirt  or 
disease',  and  it  must  be  emphasised  that  this  is  one  of  the  first  and 
nastiest  duties  of  the  reception  staff,  particularly  in  women's  prisons. 
A  considerable  number  of  prisoners,  notably  among  the  short-sentence 
class,  are  received  in  a  filthy  condition,  and  the  greatest  care  has  to  be 
taken  to  detect  and  isolate  cases  of  vermin  and  contagious  skin  disease. 
There  is  special  apparatus  for  dealing  with  women's  hair,  and  special 
baths  and  cells  are  set  aside  for  'dirt  diseases'.  Every  prisoner  of  course 
has  to  take  a  hot  bath  before  leaving  the  reception  block,  and  personal 
cleanliness  is  enforced  thereafter. 

The  high  general  standard  of  health,  the  rareness  of  epidemics  and 
the  absence  of  evidence  of  the  spread  of  contagious  disease  suggest 
that  the  precautions  taken  are  effective.  Verminous  infestations  are 
fortunately  rare  but  when  they  occur  vigorous  action  is  taken.  The 
cells  are  stripped  and  the  door  fittings  and  furniture  are  treated  in  an 
insulated  container  by  cyanide  gas,  the  floors  and  walls  being  sprayed 
with  D.D.T.  solution.'  * 

Finally,  sanitation.  On  this  many  hard  words  have  been  written 
and  spoken,  not  without  some  justification,  against  prison  arrangements. 
There  are,  for  cellular  prisons,  a  chamber-pot  in  each  cell  (with  cover), 
and  one  or  more  'sanitary  recesses'  on  each  landing:  the  recess  includes 
a  slop-sink,  running  water  (cold)  and  a  water  closet :  over  a  period  of 
years  these  have  been  and  are  being  gradually  reconstructed  and  given 
more  modern  fittings,  but  those  remaining  of  the  old  type  are  not 
pleasant  to  see.  There  are  also  ranges  of  W.Cs.  in  the  exercise  yards, 
and  a  certain  number  in  each  workshop.  The  prisoner  is  instructed  that 
he  should  normally  use  the  W.C.  during  his  exercise:  that  on  the 

1  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p.  53. 


PHYSICAL  WELFARE  229 

landing  is  intended  only  for  emergency  use  if  he  requires  it  while  he  is 
locked  in  his  cell,  when  he  should  ring  for  the  duty  officer.  In  general, 
prisoners  have  plenty  of  opportunity  to  attend  to  the  calls  of  nature 
when  they  are  out  of  their  cells,  and  again  before  locking  up;  they 
should  not  often,  therefore,  need  to  venture  a  ring.1 

Criticism  of  these  arrangements  centres  first  on  the  disadvantages  of 
the  chamber-pot,  and  then  on  the  nature  of  the  recesses  and  W.C. 
provision  generally.  As  to  this,  one  or  two  deprecatory  observations 
may  be  ventured.  Prisons  were  not  designed  for  those  from  whom  this 
sort  of  criticism  most  generally  emanates;  and  while  we  should  no 
doubt  do  better  if  we  were  building  today,  the  normal  habits  of  large 
numbers  of  the  prison  population  still  fall  short  of  refinement.  And 
making  all  due  allowance  for  this,  is  either  the  standard  of  fitting  or  the 
cleanliness  of  a  modern  prison  W.C.  much  below  the  average  of  similar 
accommodation  in — say — railway  stations  and  public  places?  As  for  the 
chamber-pot,  the  difficulties  of  dispensing  with  it  have  already  been 
discussed,  and  it  is  after  all  not  peculiar  to  a  prison  cell.  The  principal 
objection  is  to  the  unsavoury  process  of  'slopping  out'  on  morning 
unlocking,  when  the  prisoners  line  up  to  empty  their  slops  at  the 
recesses.  This  objection  must  be  sustained;  but  the  slops  must  also  be 
emptied.  The  solution  of  the  problem,  in  spite  of  constant  thought,  has 
not  yet  emerged. 

(2)  EXERCISE 
The  relevant  Statutory  Rule  provides  as  follows : 

'97.  (1)  Prisoners  who  are  not  engaged  in  out-door  work  shall  be 
given  one  hour's  exercise  in  the  open  air,  weather  permitting: 
provided  that  in  special  circumstances  the  Commissioners  may 
authorise  the  reduction  of  the  daily  period  to  half  an  hour. 

'(2)  Wherever  practicable  prisoners  of  suitable  age  and  physical 
condition  shall  receive  physical  training  under  qualified  instructors 
during  some  part  of  the  daily  exercise  period. 

'(3)  The  Medical  Officer  shall  decide  on  the  fitness  of  every  prisoner 
for  exercise  and  to  undergo  physical  training,  and  may  on  medical 
grounds  modify  the  exercise  of  a  prisoner  or  excuse  a  prisoner 
from  exercise.' 

The  exercise  period  is  divided  into  two  half-hours,  either  before  or 
after  each  period  of  work.  For  those  who  are  fit  for  physical  training, 
one  period  will  be  for  this,  the  other  for  'walking  exercise':  for  the 

1  On  this,  see  p.  106. 


230      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

others,  both  periods  will  be  walking  exercise.  This  still  takes  place,  in 
the  great  majority  of  prisons,  on  the  paved  concentric  rings  of  the 
original  Pentonville  model,  which  in  recent  years  have  been  widened 
to  allow  two  prisoners  to  walk  abreast.  There  are  usually  two  or  three 
exercise  yards,  to  allow  of  separation  of  the  different  categories,  and 
it  is  common  to  find  them  very  pleasantly  laid  out  with  flowers  and 
small  shrubs.  The  general  arrangement  is  for  the  young  and  active  to 
step  briskly  round  the  outer  rings,  while  the  old  and  infirm  potter 
gently  round  the  inner.  Supervising  officers  keep  the  circulation  flowing 
evenly  and  without  bunching.  Conversation  is  unrestricted,  but  smoking 
is  not  permitted.  This  traditional  English  prison  scene  has  sometimes 
aroused  surprise  in  foreign  visitors,  who  see  it  as  regimented  and  some- 
what inhuman,  and  ask  why  the  prisoners  should  not  just  be  left  to 
themselves  in  the  open  air  for  half-an-hour — to  wander  round,  prop 
up  the  walls  or  gossip  in  groups  in  a  natural  manner.  It  is  a  legitimate 
question.  The  answer  lies  partly  in  the  view  still  taken,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  in  our  prisons  of  the  need  for  constant  control  and  super- 
vision, and  partly  in  the  terms  of  the  Rule,  which  does  in  fact — and  it 
may  be  thought,  at  least  by  ah  Englishman,  rightly — require  exercise, 
not  just  fresh  air.  It  may  be  added  that  in  women's  prisons  the  scene 
and  tempo  are  likely  to  be  much  more  in  the  'natural  manner'. 

Physical  training  during  the  exercise  periods  may  be  given  by  any 
member  of  the  staff  who  has  qualified  as  an  instructor  during  his 
initial  training  at  Wakefield,  but  at  most  prisons  there  is  also  a  recog- 
nised Gymnastic  Instructor,  in  receipt  of  a  special  allowance,  who  has 
obtained  an  instructor's  certificate  at  the  Army  School  of  Physical 
Training  at  Aldershot.  He  has  a  general  supervision  of  physical  training 
in  the  prison,  and  he  alone  is  authorised  to  take  classes  with  apparatus 
in  the  gymnasium.  These  are  limited  to  younger  men  passed  fit  by  the 
Medical  Officer  and  are  held  in  the  evenings  on  a  voluntary  basis. 
For  women  the  position  is  a  little  different.  There  is  no  daily  physical 
training,  but  a  good  deal  is  done  in  evening  classes  on  lines  more 
suitable  for  women — 'keep  fit'  classes,  therapeutic  exercises,  dancing 
and  the  like. 

While  outdoor  games  are  not  precluded  in  principle,  lack  of  suitable 
space  prevents  them  at  all  but  a  few  favoured  prisons,  though  several 
prisons  have  developed  types  of  football  or  handball  with  local  rules 
appropriate  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  pitch.  There  is  often  a  large 
parade  ground  used  for  physical  training  which  may  also  serve  for 
cricket  of  a  sort,  though  the  hard  surface  may  make  football  too 
dangerous.  At  some  prisons  with  ground  outside  the  walls  cricket  or 
football  may  be  played  at  week-ends,  and  most  of  the  prisons  used  for 
corrective  training  are  so  favoured,  as  is  the  central  prison  at  Park- 
hurst — here  the  week-end  game  in  'the  compound'  is  eagerly  looked 
forward  to  by  both  players  and  spectators,  and  the  privilege  is  so 


PHYSICAL  WELFARE  231 

highly  valued  that  any  abuse  would  make  the  sinner's  life  uneasy  in 
that  prison.  One  man  who  tried  to  escape  from  the  compound  spent 
weeks  of  voluntary  segregation  in  the  separate  cells  to  allow  memories 
to  fade. 

In  the  open  prisons  the  cricket  and  football  clubs  are  often  vigorous 
institutions  with  regular  fixture  lists  against  local  teams,  though  so  far 
the  Commissioners  have  not  thought  fit  to  authorise  'away'  fixtures. 
At  one  camp,  community  with  village  life  had  gone  so  far  that  the 
village  team  were  borrowing  players  from  the  prison  to  fill  gaps  in  their 
side — a  practice  which  the  Commissioners,  with  some  regret,  felt 
bound  to  frown  on  when  it  came  to  notice.  However,  the  incident 
shows  to  what  extent  friendly  relations  can  develop,  and  sport  is  one 
of  the  many  ways  by  which  the  prisoner  and  the  outside  community 
can  healthily  and  fruitfully  be  brought  together.1 

(3)    FOOD 

The  morale  of  a  prison,  not  less  than  that  of  an  army,  depends  upon 
its  stomach.  All  who  have  been  prisoners  of  war  know  the  dispro- 
portionate importance  which  food  assumed  in  their  daily  life.  'When 
we  listen  to  the  well-known  complaints  to  be  found  in  prison  memoirs 
old  and  new,  we  can  be  sure  that  the  majority  of  them  are  concerned 
with  the  problem  of  food.  From  older  writers,  as  Friedrich  von  der 
Trenck,  to  Macartney  and  Mark  Benney,  the  quantity  of  the  bread, 
the  consistency  of  the  porridge  and  the  flavour  of  the  cocoa  become 
matters  of  utmost  importance.'2  Dr.  Mannheim  has  traced  in  detail 
the  effect  of  the  'principle  of  less  eligibility'  on  this  aspect  of  prison  life 
and  reference  has  also  been  made  to  this  in  earlier  chapters  of  this 
book.  But  though  it  would  no  longer  be  seriously  argued  that  a 
prisoner's  diet  should  not  be  better  than  that  of  the  poorest  citizen 
at  large,  it  is  still  necessary  for  it  to  bear  a  suitable  relation  to  the 
general  standard  of  life  of  the  population.  Comparisons  between  the 
dietary  standards  of  different  prison  systems  are  therefore  of  little 
value  without  a  wider  connotation.  The  food  in  our  English  prisons 
may  seem  meagre  and  dull  against  the  rich  and  various  meals  served  in 
an  American  penitentiary,  or  gross  in  comparison  with  those  of  some 
European  prisons;  but  the  only  proper  criterion  is  its  relation  to  the 
standard  of  eating  among  the  generality  of  manual  workers  in  this 
country. 

And  here  there  is  another  consideration  to  be  borne  in  mind.  Half 
a  dozen  cooks  given  the  same  collection  of  ingredients  may  well  produce 
six  strikingly  different  results.  And  if  a  visitor  looking  at  a  prison  dinner 
is  inclined  to  say  grudgingly  that  it  is  'better  than  anything  he  would  be 
likely  to  get  at  home',  he  should  reflect  that  a  trained  cook  working  on 
1  See  Appendix  K.  2  Mannheim,  p.  62. 


232      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

bulk  materials  in  a  well-equipped  kitchen  is  very  likely  to  get  better 
results  than  a  number  of  harassed  and  possibly  indifferent  housewives 
with  such  resources  as  they  have  to  hand.  It  is  not  necessary  to  have 
bad  cooking  as  part  of  the  punishment. 

The  present  dietary  system,  then,  is  intended  to  maintain  not  health 
and  strength  only,  but  also  contentment.  It  does  not  seek  to  go  beyond 
this,  and  some  may  think  it  does  not  even  go  so  far.  But  no  institutional 
meals  will  ever  satisfy  everybody,  and  one  of  the  unpleasant  aspects  of 
prison  life  is  that  in  the  way  of  food  you  have  to  eat  what  you  get  or 
go  without.  And  on  the  whole,  in  recent  years,  internal  complaints 
about  food  have  been  negligible,  while  external  criticism — which  was 
forceful  during  and  immediately  after  the  war — has  not  lately  been 
heard. 

This  situation,  curiously  enough,  was  to  a  large  extent  brought 
about  by  the  national  food  situation  during  the  war  and  post-war 
years.  In  their  Annual  Report  for  the  years  1939-41  the  Commissioners 
said: 

The  introduction  of  civilian  rationing  made  it  imperative  to  review 
the  dietary  in  all  classes  of  prisons  and  Borstals  institutions.  The  pre- 
war dietary  had  been  based  on  the  report  of  a  Committee  which  reported 
in  1925.  Immediately  before  the  present  war  the  Commissioners  were 
arranging  for  a  new  committee  to  be  appointed  to  reconsider  the  whole 
question  of  prison  diets.  This  was  not  practicable  after  the  outbreak  of 
war.  Nevertheless,  the  whole  scheme  of  prison  dietary  was  recast  in 
1940.  Instead  of  an  arrangement  of  set  meals,  a  ration  scale  was  drawn 
up  for  each  prisoner  in  strict  accordance  with  the  civilian  ration  scale. 
Certain  additions  in  the  shape  of  culinary  adjuncts  were  made.  One  of 
the  criticisms  of  the  old  prison  diets,  and  one  not  without  force,  was 
that  they  all  tasted  alike.  The  addition  to  the  rations  of  such  things  as 
curry  powder,  herbs  and  dried  fruit  (or  fresh  fruit  if  in  season)  enabled 
the  cooks  to  serve  the  food  in  more  palatable  form  and  with  greater 
variation. 

'The  set  meals  were  abolished,  and  it  was  left  to  the  cook  to  serve 
the  rations  issued  in  the  most  suitable  manner  he  could  devise.  There 
have  been  singularly  few  complaints  from  prisoners  about  the  new 
dietary,  and  medical  officers  report  that  the  general  health  of  prisoners 
has  been  well  maintained,  as  also  have  their  body  weights.  The  great 
majority  of  the  cooks  have  risen  to  the  occasion  and  have  produced 
meals  which  have  given  general  satisfaction.  They  are  to  be  com- 
mended warmly  for  their  efforts.' 

There  was  nevertheless  a  considerable  if  contradictory  criticism  of 
the  dietary,  and  4In  August  1944  the  Prison  Commissioners  consulted 
the  Ministry  of  Food  and  asked  them  to  assist  in  studying  the  problem 
of  prison  diets.  The  Scientific  Adviser's  Department  of  the  Ministry 


PHYSICAL  WELFARE  233 

drew  up  a  scheme  for  this  investigation  which  was  approved  and  the 
investigation  commenced  at  the  end  of  September,  1944.' l  The  investi- 
gator attended  seven  representative  institutions  for  seven  days  each, 
and  got  together  from  each  an  average  diet  for  the  seven  day  period. 
Each  of  these  diets  was  analysed  and  every  calorie,  protein,  vitamin 
and  other  element  duly  weighed  and  estimated.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  scientifically  thorough.  It  was  found  that  the  composition 
of  the  diet  was  generally  satisfactory  except  for  a  shortage  of  vitamin  C. 
Recommendations  were  made  to  remedy  this,  to  improve  the  Borstal 
diet  to  meet  the  higher  physiological  requirements  of  adolescents,  and 
on  certain  other  matters.  Steps  were  taken,  as  approved  by  the  Min- 
istry, to  give  effect  to  these  recommendations,  and  the  diets  have 
remained  on  this  basis,  subject  to  the  fluctuations  of  rationing,  in  the 
ensuing  years. 

At  the  same  time  the  Commissioners  asked  the  Ministry  of  Food  to 
advise  on  the  planning  of  menus  and  the  preparation  and  serving  of 
meals,  and  among  the  many  recommendations  made  was  that  the 
Commissioners  should  appoint  a  full-time  Catering  Adviser — advice 
which  was  followed  by  an  appointment  in  1946. 

The  one  remaining  weakness  of  the  dietary  arrangements  was  the  long 
gap  between  the  evening  meal,  which  on  the  one-shift  staff  system  must 
in  most  prisons  be  served  by  5  p.m.,  and  breakfast  next  morning.  To 
meet  this  it  was  arranged  for  cocoa  to  be  served  later  in  the  evening. 

The  meals  served,  except  dinners,  are  described  on  the  Diet  Card 
placed  in  each  cell,  a  copy  of  which  is  shown  as  Appendix  J.  The 
dinners  consist  of  a  meat  or  fish  course,  with  bread,  potatoes  and  a 
vegetable,  followed  on  most  days  of  the  week  by  a  sweet  pudding. 
Cooks  have  a  reasonable  repertoire,  and  they  try  to  avoid  sameness  by 
not  serving  the  same  dish  on  the  same  day  of  every  week:  a  specimen 
week's  diet  from  a  London  prison  is  included  in  Appendix  J.  In  their 
Report  for  1949  the  Commissioners  gave  the  calorific  value  of  the  diets 
in  use  as  follows : 

Local  Prisons  Central  Prisons 

Men          .  .  .  3,140                    Men         .         .         .     3,452 

Women     .  .  .  2,790                    Women   .         .         .     2,790 

Y.P.  Boys.  .  .  3,420 

Y.P.  Girls.  .  .  3,114 

Borstal  Institutions  Regional  Prisons 

Boys         .         .         .     4,495  Men        .         .         .     3,452 

Girls         .         .         .     4,329  Women   .         .         .     2,790 

Prison  kitchens  are  in  charge  of  'cook  and  baker  officers'  who  are 
members  of  the  established  grade  of  prison  officer.  They  have  all 
gone  through  a  special  course  of  training  and  receive  an  additional 

*  Annual  Report  1942-44,  para.  209. 


234      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

allowance  for  their  specialist  skill  and  responsibility.  In  the  larger 
kitchens  there  may  be  both  a  cook  and  a  balcer. 

A  considerable  effort  has  been  made  since  the  war  to  bring  the 
kitchen  buildings  and  equipment  up  to  a  satisfactory  level:  all  have 
now  been  supplied  with  refrigerators,  fish-fryers,  mechanical  potato 
cleaners,  slicing  machines  and  the  like,  and  in  some  of  the  larger 
bakeries  dough-mixing  machines  have  also  been  installed. 

Responsibility  for  securing  that  the  food  is  'of  wholesome  quality 
and  well  prepared',  under  the  general  surveillance  of  the  Director  of 
Medical  Services  and  the  Catering  Adviser,  is  placed  first,  by  Statutory 
Rule,  on  the  Medical  Officer  who  'shall  frequently  inspect  the  food, 
cooked  and  uncooked,  provided  for  prisoners,  and  shall  report  to  the 
Governor  on  the  state  and  quality  of  the  food  and  on  any  deficiency 
in  the  quantity  or  defect  in  the  quality  of  the  water'.  The  Governor 
also,  as  part  of  his  daily  duty,  inspects  the  meals  and  tastes  them.  A 
traditional  feature  of  every  prison  kitchen  is  a  small  side  table,  laid 
with  a  white  cloth,  on  which  are  set  out  with  geometrical  precision 
samples  of  every  article  of  diet  served  during  the  day,  including  the 
special  vegetarian  and  hospital  diets.  While  this  is  aesthetically  pleasing, 
knowledge  is  better  gained  by  examining  the  actual  meals  as  they  are 
to  be  served.  Control  of  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  ingredients 
rests  with  the  Steward,  who  issues  the  necessary  amounts  to  the  cook 
from  his  stores. 

One  question,  in  the  application  of  the  Statutory  Rule,  is  still  to  be 
answered.  Are  the  meals  'well  served'?  At  present  the  answer  must,  on 
the  whole,  be  no,  with  the  usual  qualifications  required  in  so  various  a 
system.  The  unit  of  service  is  still,  in  the  majority  of  prisons  and  for 
the  majority  of  prisoners  in  those  prisons,  the  single  prisoner  eating  in 
his  cell;  and  for  breakfast  this  is  always  so.  The  basic  system,  therefore, 
requires  the  kitchen  to  put  up  some  hundreds  of  identical  meals  in 
individual  containers,  which  in  turn  are  stacked  in  large  wooden  food- 
trays,  covered  with  a  cloth,  and  placed  in  hot-plates  some  time  before 
the  hour  for  serving  the  meal.  These  trays  must  contain  the  exact 
number  of  meals  required  on  each  landing  in  each  hall,  including 
vegetarian  and  other  special  diets,  according  to  the  daily  state — a 
complicated  bit  of  calculation  and  organisation.  As  soon  as  all  the 
men  are  in  their  cells,  the  Principal  Officer  on  the  centre  gives  the  signal 
and  from  all  directions  the  'landing  orderlies'  clatter  down  to  the  point 
where  their  trays  await  them,  duly  marked  with  the  landing  number  and 
number  of  meals  in  each  tray.  These  are  checked  by  the  landing  officers 
and  carried  up  to  the  landings,  where  the  processions  begin — an  officer 
in  front  to  unlock,  a  second  officer  to  hand  in  the  dinner  from  the 
tray  to  the  waiting  hands  inside  the  door.  As  the  time  when  the  staff 
get  away  to  their  own  dinners  depends  on  the  speed  of  the  operation, 
time  is  not  wasted.  Another  method,  for  dinners  only,  is  more  usual  at 


PHYSICAL  WELFARE  235 

most  prisons — here  the  trays  are  brought  to  a  central  point  and  placed 
on  tables ;  the  men  as  they  come  in  from  work  file  past,  each  collecting 
his  own  meal  which  is  handed  to  him  by  prisoner  orderlies,  with  no 
unnecessary  ceremony,  under  the  supervision  of  officers. 

The  source  of  all  evil  in  any  single  unit  service  is  the  nature  of  the 
container.  This  from  time  beyond  memory  has  been  the  notorious 
prison  can — perhaps,  with  the  broad-arrow  and  the  mail-bag,  one  of 
the  hoariest  stigmata  of  the  prison.  It  is  a  cylindrical  metal  tin,  with  a 
carrying  handle  (rarely  used)  and  an  inverted  loose  top  which  serves 
both  as  cover  for  the  main  body  beneath  and  container  for  potatoes  on 
top.  It  is  in  every  way  unsuitable,  unhygienic,  and  inefficient  by  modern 
standards,  though  it  may  have  served  its  purpose  when  prison  meals 
and  standards  were  simpler.  It  must  be  both  sticky  and  unsafe  to  climb 
the  narrow  spiral  stair  of  a  prison  hall  with  a  piece  of  pudding  in  one 
hand  and  in  the  other  this  tin,  with  a  piece  of  bread  precariously 
perched  on  top  of  the  potatoes.  The  meal  is  not — or  should  not — be 
eaten  from  the  tin,  for  plate,  knife,  fork  and  spoon  are  provided  in 
each  cell:  it  is  intended  simply  for  transport,  but  apart  from  its  in- 
efficiency for  that  purpose  it  has  the  effect  of  reducing  any  meal, 
however  well  prepared,  to  an  unpalatable  slush  before  its  gets  to  the 
plate. 

Since  the  war  experiments  have  been  carried  out  with  alternative 
methods,  and  at  the  time  of  writing  initial  supplies  have  been  delivered 
of  a  white  plastic  cafeteria  tray,  compartmented  to  hold  the  various 
parts  of  a  meal.  These  are  to  be  tried  in  representative  prisons:  but  the 
problems  of  storage  in  the  hot-cupboards,  transport  from  kitchen  to 
cell  without  loss  of  heat,  and  resistance  to  the  less  than  fair  wear-and- 
tear  they  will  get  in  the  prisons  may  still  delay  a  satisfactory  solution. 

It  is  of  course  axiomatic  that  a  modern  prison  would  avoid  these 
troubles  by  communal  eating  in  dining-rooms  with  a  cafeteria  service. 
Meanwhile  the  best  arrangements  possible  are  made  in  prisons  with 
nothing  like  a  dining-room  for  those  prisoners  in  stage  who  do  eat  to- 
gether. Usually  this  has  to  be  on  the  floors  of  the  halls,  though  some 
prisons  have  a  number  of  small  rooms  which  are  used  for  'messes'. 
Small  tables,  usually  for  six,  are  provided,  and  neatly  laid  with  two 
plates  and  a  mug,  knife,  fork  and  spoon  for  each  man.  Water  and 
condiments  are  placed  on  each  table.  For  these  associated  messes  the 
meals  are  sent  up  from  the  kitchen  in  bulk,  and  served  on  to  the  plates 
from  a  service  table.  Every  effort  is  made  to  secure  a  clean  and  decent 
standard  of  table-manners. 

In  the  open  prisons,  of  course,  all  meals  are  served  in  dining-rooms, 
where  the  standards  of  a  good  works  canteen  may  be  expected. 

There  are  certain  variations  of  the  standard  pattern.  At  some  prisons 
where  there  is  a  lot  of  outdoor  work  the  men  prefer  to  have  their  main 
meal  in  the  evening,  and  outside  parties  at  all  prisons  who  do  not  come 


236      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

back  during  the  day  take  out  a  'haversack  ration'  and  have  their  main 
meal  when  they  get  back :  these  parties  usually  have  their  dinner  together 
in  mess.  There  are  of  course  variations  of  diet  for  the  hospital  generally 
and  for  individuals  on  medical  grounds.  And  at  Christmas  there  is 
more  than  a  variation :  the  cooks  usually  show  a  good  deal  of  enter- 
prise then,  and  a  good  roast,  Christmas  pudding,  cake,  fruit,  mincemeat 
and  the  like  somehow  appear  in  quantities  beyond  what  is  necessary 
to  maintain  health  and  strength. 

(4)  CLOTHING 

It  is  difficult  to  strike  the  right  note  in  prison  dress.  One  of  the  earliest 
of  the  changes  made  after  the  First  World  War  was  to  abandon  deliber- 
ately defamatory  dress — the  drab  tunic  and  breeches,  sown  with  broad- 
arrows,  which  are  still  cherished  by  cartoonists.  In  place  of  this  came  a 
plain  suit  of  jacket,  waistcoat  and  trousers,  worn  with  a  shirt,  collar  and 
tie,  woollen  socks  and  black  leather  shoes.  But  the  result  was  dis- 
appointing: no-one  could  feel  that  it  helped  to  stimulate  self-respect. 
In  particular  the  practice  of  boiling  all  outer  garments  before  re-issue, 
though  hygienically  sound,  did  not  make  for  good  appearance.  Women 
at  this  time  wore  jean  dresses,  with  aprons  and  white  washable  caps, 
woollen  cardigans  for  colder  weather,  and  underclothing  that 
approached  the  normal  scarcely  more  in  principle  than  in  detail. 

After  the  late  war,  the  Commissioners  reconsidered  the  whole 
position,  and  in  view  of  the  difficulties  of  providing  suits  cut  on  normal 
civilian  lines  to  look  well  on  such  a  large  and  constantly  changing 
population,  other  possibilities  were  discussed,  such  as  something  along 
the  lines  of  the  'battle-dress'  suit  popularised  during  the  war.  However 
the  balance  of  advantage  seemed  to  be  in  favour  of  a  suit,  and  much 
care  was  devoted  to  getting  a  suitable  cloth  which  would  stand  up  to 
the  conditions,  and  a  style  that  would  look  well  and  could  still  be  made 
up  in  prison  work-shops.  Two  important  innovations  were  the  substi- 
tution of  dry-cleaning  for  boiling,  and  the  provision  of  protective 
clothing  for  use  at  work.  The  underclothing  and  shoes  were  also  brought 
into  line  with  normal  wear. 

A  more  radical  change  was  made  for  the  women,  who  may  now  have 
a  choice  of  frocks  (in  four  colours  to  their  own  taste)  made  in  a  'zephyr' 
material  to  a  normal  (though  uniform)  design.  Two  dresses  are  issued, 
one  for  work,  one  for  the  evening.  Maternity  frocks  of  similar  material 
are  also  available.  The  underclothing,  stockings  and  shoes  were  also 
revised  and  would  probably  now  be  acceptable,  in  the  circumstances, 
to  most  women :  those  who  wish  to  use  their  own  corsets  and  brassieres 
may  do  so,  if  they  are  fit  for  use.  The  grey  wool  cardigans  remain,  and 
aprons,  overalls,  raincoats,  boots  etc.,  are  issued  as  required  by  the 
nature  of  the  work. 


PHYSICAL  WELFARE  237 

The  men's  suits  are  of  plain  grey  cloth  for  the  convicted,  and  of 
brown  for  untried  and  civil  prisoners  who  choose  to  wear  prison  dress. 
Men  in  the  higher  stages  of  a  long-term  sentence  wear  navy  bluejackets. 
The  shirts  are  cream  coloured  with  a  pin-stripe,  have  attached  collars, 
and  are  worn  with  a  plain  blue  or  brown  tie.  A  second  shirt  is  issued 
for  night  wear.  It  is  a  little  early  yet  to  pronounce  on  the  general  effect, 
but  though  it  is  an  improvement,  it  does  not  so  far  look  like  fulfilling 
the  hopes  of  the  designers:  and  time  will  not  improve  it.  There  is, 
however,  no  doubt  that  the  working  dress,  of  ordinary  blue  bib-and- 
brace  overalls,  is  a  pronounced  success:  the  appearance  of  prisoners  at 
work  is  normal  and  workmanlike. 

The  outer  clothing  is  diversified  by  stripes  and  badges  of  varying 
significance,  the  proliferation  of  which  has  recently  been  brought  under 
control.  Star  class  prisoners  in  local  prisons  wear  a  red  cloth  star,  men 
on  the  sleeve  below  the  shoulder,  women  above  the  left  breast.  Young 
prisoners  in  local  prisons  wear  a  yellow  triangle  in  the  same  position — 
in  their  separate  centres  they  need  no  distinguishing  mark.  They  no 
longer  wear  shorts  and  stockings:  this  attire,  for  robust  young  men  of 
19  or  20,  was  felt  on  the  whole  to  be  unsuitable — indeed  at  times  it 
seemed  to  verge  on  the  'defamatory'.  For  women  the  different  stages  of 
the  long-term  stage  system  are  marked  by  different  coloured  ties  or 
bows  on  the  front  of  the  dress;  for  men  by  a  stripe  on  the  cuff. 

There  are  local  variations  in  different  types  of  prison.  In  prisons 
where  there  are  'leaders',  these  wear  a  blue  armlet.  In  central  and 
regional  prisons  where  there  is  much  outdoor  work  jerseys  are  issued, 
and  all  outdoor  parties  have  mackintoshes  for  wet  weather.  The  stand- 
ard wet-weather  (or  cold-weather)  wear  has  not  been  changed,  and  is 
still  a  short  grey  cloth  cape  for  men  and  a  longer  blue  cape  for  women. 
There  is  no  regular  head-gear:  elderly  men,  and  others  on  medical 
recommendation,  have  the  old  prison  cap,  which  is  something  like 
the  pre-war  army  forage  cap.  Men  on  the  'escape  list'  wear  a  dark 
cloth  patch  on  the  front  and  back  of  the  trousers  and  the  breast- 
pocket, so  that  they  can  be  easily  identified. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN 
MEDICAL  SERVICES 


(1)    THE  BODY 

IN  the  medical  department  of  the  prison  the  principle  of  'inclusion 
in  the  community'  has  been  carried  as  far  as  in  any  other.  Although 
prison  Medical  Officers  are  not  themselves  officers  of  the  National 
Health  Service,  every  facility  offered  by  that  service  is  available  to 
every  prisoner.  Dentists  and  opticians  regularly  visit  the  prisons,  which 
are  equipped  with  dental  surgeries,  and  all  necessary  dental  treatment 
(including  dentures)  and  spectacles  are  supplied.  Venereal  disease  is 
treated  by  venereologists  from  the  local  clinics,  whether  at  the  prisons 
or  at  the  public  clinics:  everything  is  done  to  secure  so  far  as  possible 
continuity  of  treatment  on  discharge,  and  at  Holloway,  where  the 
problem  bulks  largest,  the  London  County  Council  have  attached  a 
venereal  disease  social  worker  to  the  prison  clinic  to  this  particular  end. 
Full  use  is  also  made  of  N.H.S.  consultant  and  hospital  services,  and 
for  all  these  purposes  numbers  of  prisoners  are  taken  every  day  to  the 
public  hospitals  and  clinics — a  considerable  additional  drain  on  the 
time  of  the  staff  for  escort  duties. 

To  this  extent  the  prisoner  is  as  well  served  as  if  he  were  not  in  prison, 
and  no  better,  for  his  status  affords  him  no  priority  in  the  supply  of 
dentures,  spectacles,  etc.  But  in  so  far  as  he  is  under  regular  medical 
supervision  and  direction  from  the  day  of  his  reception  he  is  at  some 
advantage,  and  it  is  a  necessary  and  logical  part  of  his  treatment  that 
this  should  be  so :  the  prison  may  or  may  not  succeed  in  removing  moral 
defects,  but  it  may  well  remove  or  relieve  mental  and  physical  defects 
which  could  handicap  a  prisoner  who,  on  discharge,  had  the  will  to 
'lead  a  good  and  useful  life'.  This  indeed  is  regarded  as  a  duty  implicit 
in  the  terms  of  Statutory  Rule  6. 

The  Medical  Officer  is,  therefore,  equipped  with  considerable  autono- 
mous powers  and  responsibilities,  which  are  prescribed  in  detail  in  the 
Statutory  Rules.  He  must  examine  every  prisoner  on  reception,  record 
the  state  of  his  health  and  other  particulars  and  note  his  fitness  for 

238 


MEDICAL  SERVICES  239 

labour  and  physical  training.  He  must  'have  the  care  of  the  mental 
and  physical  health  of  the  prisoners  and  shall  every  day  visit  every 
sick  prisoner,  every  prisoner  who  complains  of  illness,  and  every  other 
prisoner  to  whom  his  attention  is  specially  directed  (S.R.  86)';  and 
'attend  at  once  on  receiving  information  of  the  illness  of  a  prisoner' 
(S.R.  87).  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  his  responsibilities  in  respect 
of  hygiene  and  sanitation;  food,  work  and  exercise;  and  of  prisoners 
undergoing  certain  forms  of  punishment  or  under  mechanical  restraint. 
In  addition,  the  following  specific  responsibilities  are  laid  on  him  by 
the  Rules : 

'88.  The  Medical  Officer  shall  report  to  the  Governor  any  matter 
which  appears  to  him  to  require  the  consideration  of  the  Com- 
missioners on  medical  grounds,  and  the  Governor  shall  send  such 
report  to  the  Commissioners. 

'89.  Whenever  the  Medical  Officer  has  reason  to  believe  that  a  prisoner's 
mental  or  physical  health  is  likely  to  be  injuriously  affected  by 
continued  imprisonment  or  by  any  conditions  of  imprisonment, 
or  that  the  life  of  a  prisoner  will  be  endangered  by  imprisonment, 
or  that  a  sick  prisoner  will  not  survive  his  sentence  or  is  totally  or 
permanently  unfit  for  imprisonment,  he  shall  without  delay  report 
the  case  in  writing  to  the  Governor  with  such  recommendations  as 
he  thinks  fit,  and  the  Governor  shall  forward  such  report  and 
recommendations  to  the  Commissioners  forthwith. 

'90.  The  Medical  Officer  shall  report  in  writing  to  the  Governor  the 
case  of  any  prisoner  to  which  he  thinks  it  necessary  on  medical 
grounds  to  draw  attention,  and  shall  make  such  recommendations 
as  he  deems  needful  for  the  alteration  of  the  diet  or  treatment  of 
the  prisoner  or  for  his  separation  from  other  prisoners,  or  for  the 
supply  to  him  of  additional  clothing,  bedding  or  other  articles, 
and  the  Governor  shall  so  far  as  practicable  carry  such  recom- 
mendations into  effect. 

'91.  The  Medical  Officer  shall  draw  the  attention  of  the  Governor  to 
any  prisoner  who  he  may  have  reason  to  think  has  suicidal  inten- 
tions in  order  that  special  observation  may  be  kept  on  such 
prisoner,  and  the  Governor  shall,  without  delay,  direct  that  such 
prisoner  be  observed  at  frequent  intervals. 

'92.  The  Medical  Officer  shall  keep  under  special  observation  every 
prisoner  whose  mental  condition  appears  to  require  it,  and  shall 
take  such  steps  as  he  considers  proper  for  his  segregation,  and  if 
necessary  his  certification  under  the  Acts  relating  to  lunacy  or 
mental  deficiency. 

'93.  The  Medical  Officer  shall  give  notice  to  the  Governor  and  the 
Chaplain  when  a  prisoner  appears  to  be  seriously  ill.' 


240       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Finally,  he  must  examine  every  prisoner  'as  short  a  time  as  practicable 
before  discharge,  or  removal  to  another  prison'  (S.R.  25),  and  if  a 
prisoner  dies  the  Medical  Officer  'shall  keep  a  record  of  the  death  of 
any  prisoner  which  shall  include  the  following  particulars:  at  what 
time  the  deceased  was  taken  ill,  when  the  illness  was  first  notified  to 
the  Medical  Officer,  the  nature  of  the  illness,  when  the  prisoner  died, 
and  an  account  of  the  appearance  after  death  (in  cases  where  a  post 
mortem  examination  is  made)  together  with  any  special  remarks  that 
appear  to  him  to  be  required'  (S.R.  27).  In  this  event  the  Governor  is 
also  required  to  'give  immediate  notice  thereof  to  the  Coroner  having 
jurisdiction,  to  the  Visiting  Committee  and  to  the  Commissioners' 
(S.R.  28).  The  examination  before  discharge  is  intended  to  ensure  that 
the  prisoner  is  fit  for  the  journey,  and  that  his  medical  condition  is  on 
record  in  case  of  subsequent  complaints :  a  prisoner  may  not  be  removed 
to  another  prison  unless  the  Medical  Officer  certifies  that  he  is  fit  for 
removal,  and  one  due  for  discharge  'who  is  suffering  from  an  acute  or 
dangerous  illness  shall,  unless  he  refuses  to  stay,  not  be  sent  out  of 
prison  until  in  the  opinion  of  the  Medical  Officer  it  is  safe  to  send  him 
out,  (S.R.  25). 

To  assist  the  Medical  Officer  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  the  Rules 
further  provide  that  'At  every  prison  either  a  separate  hospital  building 
or  a  suitable  part  of  the  prison  shall  be  equipped  and  furnished  in  a 
manner  proper  for  the  medical  care  and  treatment  of  sick  prisoners,  and 
staffed  by  suitably  trained  officers'  (S.R.  85).  Most  prisons  have  a 
separate  hospital  building  within  the  wall.  The  nature  and  size  of  these 
vary  with  the  size  of  the  prison.  The  best  of  them  are  light,  airy  and 
well-equipped  buildings,  with  pleasant  wards  and  ranges  of  separate 
rooms  which  are  larger  than  the  ordinary  cell,  painted  white,  lighted 
by  normal  windows  and  equipped  with  hospital  beds  and  furniture 
and  head-phones  for  wireless.  There  will  also  be  a  dispensary,  treatment 
rooms,  offices,  etc.  Others  are  less  satisfactory,  and  could  only  be  put 
right  by  rebuilding.  In  smaller  prisons  a  few  hospital  rooms  and 
offices  in  one  of  the  halls  may  suffice  for  normal  purposes. 

The  hospital  will  also  control  a  number  of  cells  in  the  main  building 
set  aside  for  certain  cases  who  do  not  require  'hospitalisation' — epileptic 
cells,  with  padded  floor,  walls,  etc.;  special  cells  for  itch,  verminous 
and  venereal  cases;  and  others,  with  large  windows  and  washable  walls, 
for  tubercular  cases.  In  dealing  with  tuberculosis,  full  use  is  made  of 
the  resources  of  local  T.B.  clinics  and,  where  necessary,  sanatoria. 

The  nursing  in  men's  prisons  is  done  by  male  nurses  who  are  called 
Hospital  Officers.  They  are  recruited  mainly  from  men  with  suitable 
nursing  experience  in  the  Royal  Navy,  the  R.A.M.C.  or  the  R.A.F., 
or  as  mental  hospital  attendants:  some  are  State  Registered  Nurses 
and  some  hold  certificates  in  mental  nursing,  but  these  qualifications 
are  not  essential.  Selected  candidates  are  first  given  the  ordinary  course 


MEDICAL  SERVICES  241 

of  training  of  a  prison  officer:  those  who  are  successful  are  later  sent  to 
a  course  of  training  in  prison  nursing  at  a  large  prison  hospital,  and 
if  they  pass  the  examination  they  receive  a  certificate  and  are  posted 
for  duty  as  Hospital  Officers. 

For  women's  prisons  there  is  a  service  of  Nursing  Sisters  recruited 
from  fully  trained  State  Registered  Nurses,  with  assistant  nurses  in  the 
larger  hospitals.  There  are  one  or  more  Sisters  at  every  women's  prison, 
and  in  the  large  hospital  at  Holloway  there  would  be  30  or  more  if  the 
staff  were  at  full  strength.  Unfortunately  since  the  war  there  has  been 
a  serious  shortage  of  qualified  Nursing  Sisters  in  the  prison  service  as 
elsewhere.  The  head  of  the  women's  Nursing  Service  is  the  Nursing 
Matron-in-Chief,  who  though  stationed  at  Holloway  periodically 
visits  all  the  women's  hospitals.  The  Commissioners  also  receive  advice 
on  nursing  matters,  and  on  the  conditions  of  service  of  the  female 
nursing  staff,  from  a  Voluntary  Advisory  Nursing  Board,  consisting 
of  the  Matrons  of  certain  large  London  hospitals  and  other  qualified 
ladies:  the  Board  meets  quarterly,  with  the  Governor  of  Holloway  and 
the  Matron-in-Chief,  from  the  latter  of  whom  it  receives  a  regular 
report.  Members  of  the  Board  visit  the  Holloway  hospital  on  a  regular 
rota,  and  other  hospitals  from  time  to  time. 

The  prisons  are  thus  equipped  to  deal  with  most  medical  contin- 
gencies, including  minor  surgery,  and  some  hospitals  have  operation 
theatres  in  which  major  operations  can  be  performed.  There  is,  however, 
power  under  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  to  remove  to  an  outside 
hospital  any  prisoner  who  requires  surgical  or  medical  treatment  which 
cannot  be  given  in  the  prison.  This  power  is  freely  used.  The  majority 
of  cases  requiring  major  operations  are  however  removed  to  Wormwood 
Scrubs  prison,  where  there  is  a  large  modern  operating  theatre  and 
surgical  unit  staffed  by  Nursing  Sisters :  the  operations  are  performed 
by  outside  surgical  consultants. 

Until  1949  it  was  the  practice  for  births  to  take  place  in  the  prison 
hospitals,  and  all  Sisters  were  required  to  be  qualified  midwives. 
Following  the  Criminal  Justice  Act,  however,  the  Secretary  of  State 
decided  that  any  woman  who  wished  to  be  delivered  in  an  outside 
hospital  should  be  removed  to  one  if  suitable  arrangements  could  be 
made,  and  the  great  majority  of  women  have  since  opted  to  do  this  so 
that  their  babies  may  not  be  under  the  stigma  of  having  been  born  in 
prison.  The  hospital  authorities  have  in  general  co-operated  most  help- 
fully, and  the  arrangements  have  worked  well:  mother  and  child  are 
however,  usually  returned  to  the  prison  a  day  or  two  after  the  birth. 
These  babies  get  an  excellent  start  in  life,  in  spite  of  their  inauspicious 
nursery,  for  their  mothers  have  not  only  had  skilled  pre-natal  care  but 
are  given  a  good  training  in  child  welfare  and  management,  and  the 
babies  are  provided  with  a  nice  little  outfit  to  go  home  in.  A  woman 
may  have  her  baby  with  her  in  prison,  whether  it  be  born  there  or 

E.P.B.S. — 16 


242       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

brought  in  at  reception,  'during  the  normal  period  of  lactation  and 
longer  if  required  in  special  circumstances'  (S.R.  20).  The  creche  is 
usually  the  most  cheerful  feature  of  a  women's  prison,  except  when 
feeding-time  is  overdue. 

(2)  THE  MIND 

In  this  section  we  approach  a  subject  which  is  highly  specialised,  of 
increasing  interest  today  both  inside  and  outside  the  prison  world,  and 
also,  because  of  its  scientific  immaturity,  in  many  of  its  aspects  still 
controversial.  The  impact  of  psychological  medicine  on  the  treatment 
of  offenders  is  nevertheless  no  new  thing.  As  long  ago  as  1932  the 
Departmental  Committee  on  Persistent  Offenders  stated,  in  the  course 
of  its  recommendations,  that  The  mental  condition  of  offenders  is  a 
matter  calling  for  careful  attention.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
certain  delinquents  may  be  amenable  to  psychological  treatment.  The 
application  of  this  method  to  criminal  cases  is,  in  this  country  at  any 
rate,  in  its  infancy.  Its  scope  is  probably  limited  and  is  applicable 
chiefly  to  children,  juveniles  and  adolescents.  Further  experience  is 
desirable  to  show  to  what  extent  this  method  can  be  used  effectively. 
A  certain  number  of  offenders  might  benefit  by  attending  under  proba- 
tion approved  mental  hospitals  or  out-patient  clinics.  Use  should  also 
be  made  in  suitable  cases  of  child-guidance  clinics.  A  medical  psycholo- 
gist should  be  attached  to  one  or  more  penal  establishments  to  carry 
out  psychological  treatment  in  selected  cases.  He  should  be  assisted  by 
voluntary  women  workers  who  should  visit  the  offender's  home  and 
obtain  information  as  to  his  history  and  circumstances.  This  system 
should  be  applied  to  offenders  who  are  willing  to  be  treated  during  a 
sentence  of  Borstal  detention  or  imprisonment,  and  are  recommended 
for  such  treatment  by  the  Medical  Officer  as  being  hopeful  cases  if 
transferred  for  this  purpose  to  a  special  establishment.' 

All  these  recommendations  have  since  been  realised,  either  by 
developments  in  prison  medical  practice  or  by  legislation,  and  the 
position  before  the  war  was  set  out  in  the  well-known  'East-Hubert' 
Report  on  the  Psychological  Treatment  of  Crime.1  This  four-year 
investigation  was  undertaken,  the  writers  tell  us,  largely  as  a  result  of 
the  recommendation  of  the  Departmental  Committee. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  section,  nor  the  competence  of  the 
writer,  to  attempt  either  to  summarise  or  to  comment  on  this  authorita- 
tive work,  nor  on  the  post-war  reports  of  the  successors  to  Sir  Norwood 
East  and  Dr.  Hubert  in  this  field  which  have  appeared  in  the  Annual 

1  By  W.  Norwood  East,  M.D.,  F.R.C.P.,  late  Medical  Commissioner  of  Prisons, 
and  W.  H.  de  B.  Hubert,  B.A.,  M.R.C.S.,  L.R.C.P.,  late  Psychotherapist,  H.M. 
Prison,  Wormwood  Scrubs.  Published  in  1939  for  the  Home  Office  by  H.M. 
Stationery  Office,  price  2s.  6d. 


MEDICAL  SERVICES  243 

Reports  of  the  Commissioners:  readers  can  but  be  referred  to  the 
originals,  and  more  particularly  to  the  Appendix  to  Chapter  Seven  of 
the  1949  Report,  which  contains  full  accounts  of  their  work  by  the 
two  consulting  psycho-therapists  at  Wormwood  Scrubs,  Dr.  John  C. 
Mackwood  and  Dr.  Jonathan  H.  Gould.1 

The  primary  purpose  of  this  section  will  be  the  more  limited  one  of 
describing  the  'set-up'  within  the  prison  system  for  dealing  with  diseases 
and  disorders  of  the  mind,  and  the  duties  .which  fall  on  the  Medical 
Officers  and  their  assistants  in  this  connection:  it  will  however  be 
necessary  for  completeness  to  consider  also  the  provision  made  by 
law  for  dealing  with  any  offender,  whether  he  be  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment or  not,  who  may  suffer  or  be  thought  to  suffer  from  such  diseases 
and  disorders,  since  the  prison  Medical  Officer  may  have  an  essential 
part  to  play  at  any  stage  of  these  proceedings.  We  shall  consider  also 
the  role  of  the  Medical  Officer  qua  psychiatrist,  and  of  the  psychologist, 
in  the  general  treatment  of  prisoners,  especially  in  relation  to  classifica- 
tion. For  a  synthesis  of  contemporary  international  expert  views  on 
all  these,  and  other,  aspects  of  the  function  of  psychiatry  in  the  prison, 
attention  is  drawn  to  the  Resolution  on  Question  Two  of  Section  I  in 
Appendix  F.  How  far  English  practice  conforms  with  these  views  will 
appear  as  we  proceed. 

An  essential  preliminary  here  is  the  definition  of  terms,  since  these 
are  not  always  used  in  the  same  sense  internationally  or  even  profession- 
ally within  the  same  country:  this  is  not  to  claim  any  authority  for  the 
following  definitions,  but  simply  to  make  clear  the  sense  in  which  these 
terms  will  be  used.  By  psychology,  psychiatry  and  psychotherapy  we 
shall  mean  the  branches  of  science  concerned  respectively  with  the 
nature  and  functions  of  the  mind,  with  mental  abnormality  and  disease 
and  with  the  specific  treatment  of  mental  abnormality  and  disease. 
Our  psychologist  will  therefore  be  a  professionally  qualified  layman, 
our  psychiatrist  a  medical  man  skilled  in  diseases  and  disorders  of  the 
mind,  our  psychotherapist  a  medical  man  who  undertakes  the  treat- 
ment of  such  diseases  and  disorders.  By  'lunatic'  we  shall  mean  a 
person  certifiable  as  insane  under  the  Lunacy  Acts.  By  'mental  defec- 
tive' a  person  certifiable  under  the  Mental  Deficiency  Acts,  i.e.  one 
who  suffers  from  an  incomplete  or  arrested  development  of  mind, 
existing  before  the  age  of  18  years;  these  fall  into  the  categories  of  idiots, 
imbeciles,  feeble-minded  persons  and  moral  defectives.  By  'mentally 
subnormal',  we  shall  mean  persons  of  inferior  intelligence  who  are  not 
certifiable  as  mentally  defective.  By  'psychoneurotics',  those  who  suffer 
from  minor  mental  disorders  such  as  neurasthenia,  hysteria,  anxiety 
and  obsessive  neuroses.  With  the  major  mental  diseases  classed  as 
'psychoses'  we  shall  be  little  concerned:  they  will  commonly  lead  to 
certification.  There  remains  the  difficult  group  commonly  described  as 
i  Dr.  Gould  resigned  in  1950  and  was  replaced  by  Dr,  D,  S.  Macphail. 


244      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

'psychopaths',  of  which  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware  no  comprehensive 
definition  exists  which  has  been  generally  accepted  by  medical  psycholo- 
gists. The  term,'  says  Sir  Norwood  East,  'has  been  frequently  abused, 
so  that  some  observers  consider  it  to  be  little  more  than  a  waste-paper 
basket  nomenclature.' 1  East's  own  'tentative'  definition  is  'a  person 
who,  although  not  insane,  psychoneurotic  or  mentally  defective,  is 
persistently  unable  to  adapt  himself  to  social  requirements  on  account 
of  abnormal  peculiarities  of  impulse,  temperament  and  character',  and 
he  adds  that  'Many  cases  seem  to  lie  on  the  borderline  between  mental 
disease  and  anomalies  of  character  rather  than  between  mental  health 
and  mental  disease.' 

Offenders  suffering  from  any  of  these  disorders  may  come  to  prison, 
either  before  or  after  trial,  and  the  most  onerous  and  exacting  of  the 
duties  falling  on  the  Medical  Officer  is  that  of  recognising  them  and 
taking  the  appropriate  action.  In  respect  of  untried  prisoners,  he  must 
prepare  reports  to  the  courts  on  their  state  of  mind  when  the  courts 
require  such  information,  or  when  he  considers  it  necessary,  and  give 
evidence  if  required:  remands  for  'state  of  mind  reports'  are  increasingly 
used  by  the  courts,  and  the  medical  officer  of  a  busy  local  prison  may  be 
required  to  prepare  many  hundreds  in  the  course  of  a  year.  Where 
prisoners  are  committed  for  trial  for  serious  offences,  he  must  also  be 
prepared  to  inform  the  Director  of  Public  Prosecutions  of  any  abnormal 
mental  condition  that  may  be  relevant,  and  if  the  defence  decide  to  put 
their  client's  state  of  mind  in  question,  the  Medical  Officer  may  be 
called  by  either  the  prosecution  or  the  defence  to  give  evidence  based  on 
his  findings,  which  may  be  in  conflict  with  those  of  medical  experts 
called  by  the  defence.  In  murder  cases,  the  accused  is  invariably  placed 
under  mental  observation,  and  a  medical  report  is  sent  to  the  Director 
of  Public  Prosecutions  and  to  the  defence.  This  (as  in  other  cases)  may 
be  directed  either  to  the  question  whether  the  prisoner  is  fit  to  plead, 
since  if  he  is  mentally  incapable  of  instructing  his  defence  or  following 
the  proceedings  there  may  be  a  verdict  of  'insane  on  arraignment',  or 
to  the  question  of  whether  at  the  time  of  committing  the  offence  he 
was  insane  within  the  meaning  of  the  'MacNaghten  Rules',  in  which 
case  there  may  be  a  verdict  of  'guilty  but  insane'.2 

There  are  still  other  circumstances  in  which  the  Medical  Officer  may 
be  required  to  make  reports  or  give  evidence  on  'states  of  mind'.  It  may 
be  explained  that  English  law  does  not  recognise  the  conception  of 

1  Society  and  the  Criminal,  p.  41. 

2  It  should  be  understood  that  these  Rules,  which  were  laid  down  by  the  Judges 
in  1843,  purport  to  provide  a  definition  of  criminal  irresponsibility,  not  of  insanity. 
It  is  possible  for  an  offender  to  be  certifiably  insane  and  at  the  same  time  to  be 
criminally  responsible  under  the  MacNaghten  Rules,  the  essence  of  which  is  that 
if  at  the  time  of  committing  the  offence  the  offender,  by  reason  of  some  defect  of 
reason  from  disease  of  the  mind,  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing  or  did  not  know 
that  it  was  wrong,  then  he  cannot  be  held  to  be  criminally  responsible. 


MEDICAL  SERVICES  245 

"partial  responsibility'  arising  from  an  abnormal  state  of  mind  falling 
short  of  insanity.  It  does  however  recognise  indirectly  that  the  culpa- 
bility, though  not  the  responsibility,  of  an  offender  may  be  modified  by 
the  presence  of  mental  abnormality,  since  by  certain  provisions  of  the 
Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  it  gives  the  Courts  powers  to  have  expert 
inquiry  made  in  such  cases  with  a  view  to  measures  which  seek  rather 
to  remove  the  abnormality  than  to  punish  the  offender.  In  particular, 
by  section  4  of  the  Act,  if  the  Court  is  satisfied  by  expert  medical  evi- 
dence that  the  mental  condition  of  an  offender  is  such  that  he  may 
benefit  by  medical  treatment,  though  he  is  not  certifiable  as  a  lunatic 
or  as  a  mental  defective,  and  that  such  treatment  is  available  and  he  is 
willing  to  undergo  it,  they  may  place  him  on  probation  with  a  condition 
that  he  undergpes  such  treatment.  For  this  purpose  again  the  offender 
may  be  remanded  to  prison,  the  Medical  Officer  providing  the  'expert 
medical  evidence'  and  making  the  necessary  arrangements,  through 
the  Regional  Psychiatrist  of  the  National  Health  Service,  for  the  carry- 
ing out  of  the  treatment  in  a  mental  hospital  or  otherwise. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  in  this  connection  a  report  issued  in  1950  by 
the  Advisory  Council  on  the  Treatment  of  Offenders  which-  makes 
proposals  towards  taking  this  process  a  stage  further.  The  Council  was 
concerned  with  those  offenders  of  the  'non-certifiable  mentally  abnor- 
mal' group  in  respect  of  whom  the  Courts  might  feel  that  action  under 
section  4  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  was  inappropriate,  in  view  of  the 
gravity  of  their  offences  or  their  danger  to  society.  In  such  cases  the 
Courts  might  see  no  alternative  to  sending  them  to  prison,  though  they 
might  be  reluctant  either  to  do  this  at  all  or  to  impose  a  sentence  long 
enough  for  effective  treatment  within  the  prison  system.  The  Council 
therefore  proposed  further  legislation  to  give  the  Courts  powers  to 
commit  such  offenders  to  a  special  psychiatric  institution  to  be  pro- 
vided by  the  Home  Office  (though  not  as  a  prison),  for  such  period  as 
may  be  necessary  within  the  maximum  period  prescribed  by  law  as  a 
sentence  for  the  offence  in  question.  The  Home  Secretary  would  have 
power  to  release  within  the  period  of  the  sentence  on  evidence  that  the 
offender  had  obtained  maximum  benefit  from  the  treatment.  These 
proposals  are  a  compromise  with  the  more  logical  if  drastic  system  of 
'psychiatric  internment*  in  use,  e.g.  in  Denmark,  where  such  an  offender 
may  be  committed  until  he  is  cured,  however  long  that  may  be. 

Returning  to  the  actualities  of  the  system,  it  will  be  evident  that  the 
prison  Medical  Officer  must  not  only  be  or  become  a  psychiatrist,  but 
that  when  he  has  obtained  sufficient  experience  he  will  also  be  an 
expert  in  forensic  psychiatry.  For  these  reasons  experience  in  psychiatric 
medicine,  and  if  possible  the  D.P.M.,  are  sought  in  all  candidates. 
This  expertise  of  the  senior  Medical  Officers  is  so  far  recognised  that 
some  of  the  leading  psychiatric  hospitals  attach  their  Registrars  to 
certain  prisons  for  instruction  in  forensic  psychiatry. 


246       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

To  turn  from  the  untried  to  the  convicted,  the  first  duty  of  the 
Medical  Officer  is  to  diagnose  lunacy  or  mental  deficiency  where  it 
exists,  to  arrange  for  certification  as  prescribed  by  the  Acts,  and  then 
to  get  the  prisoner  removed  as  soon  as  possible  to  a  mental  hospital 
or  an  institution  for  mental  defectives.  It  is  also  necessary  to  arrange 
for  the  disposal  to  appropriate  institutions  of  persons  in  prison  under 
verdicts  of  guilty  but  insane  or  insane  on  arraignment,  and  of  mentally 
defective  offenders  committed  pending  the  presentation  of  an  order  or 
to  await  removal  to  an  institution.  While  they  remain  in  prison,  such 
persons  are  by  Statutory  Rule  placed  under  the  special  care  of  the 
Medical  Officer. 

The  next  category  calling  for  medical  treatment  is  the  non-certifiable 
but  mentally  abnormal.  These  fall  into  two  groups,  those  whose 
symptoms  indicate  that  they  may  benefit  by  psycho-therapy,  and  the 
remainder.  For  the  former  group  there  is  the  fullest  provision,  described 
as  follows  in  Prisons  and  Borstals — 'All  Medical  Officers  are  given 
guidance  on  the  type  of  case  likely  to  benefit  by  such  treatment  and  the 
prisoners  they  select,  or  those  to  whom  the  courts  have  drawn  attention, 
are,  in  the  case  of  men,  removed  to  Wormwood  Scrubs  or  Wakefield 
where  the  Principal  Medical  Officers  investigate  their  condition.  Here 
are  psychiatric  clinics  (in  one  of  which  there  are  remedial  workshops 
and  a  biochemical  laboratory)  and  visiting  psychiatrists  conduct 
assessments  and  carry  out  such  treatment  as  they  consider  necessary. 
Most  recognised  physical  methods  of  various  kinds  and  group  therapy 
are  employed,  and  the  psychiatrists  are  assisted  by  non-medical 
psychologists  and  psychiatric  social  workers.  Women  in  similar  circum- 
stances are  removed  to  Hollo  way  where  there  is  a  visiting  psychiatrist.1 
Treatment  is  practicable  in  prison  only  for  prisoners  who  comply  with 
the  necessary  criteria  of  suitability.  It  is  necessary,  inter  alia,  not  only 
that  the  mental  condition  should  be  such  as  in  the  opinion  of  the 
psychiatrist  will  respond  to  treatment,  but  that  the  patient  should  be 
willing  and  able  to  co-operate  and  that  the  sentence  should  be  of 
sufficient  length  to  enable  a  course,  which  may  be  prolonged,  to  be 
carried  out.  It  may  therefore  happen  that  an  offender  sent  to  prison 
with  a  recommendation  by  a  court  for  psychological  treatment  will 
not  in  fact  be  able  to  receive  it,  though  all  such  cases  will  be  fully 
considered.  It  follows  that  where  such  a  recommendation  is  made  by 
a  court  it  is  better  not  to  announce  it.  Prisoners  who  are  not  certifiable 
under  the  Lunacy  Act  but  who  require  physical  psychiatric  treatment 
in  a  mental  hospital  are  released  as  voluntary  patients  under  Section 
60  (2)  (b)  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  for  so  long  as  may  be 
necessary.  This  privilege  is  very  rarely  abused  and  great  care  is  taken 
to  ensure  that  other  inmates  of  the  hospital  do  not  become  aware  of 
the  fact  that  the  patient  is  a  convicted  prisoner,'  In  their  Annual  Report 
1  And  also  a  psychiatric  social  worker  and  a  psychologist. 


MEDICAL   SERVICES  247 

for  1949  the  Commissioners  gave  full  particulars  of  the  types  considered 
unsuitable  for  treatment  as  follows : 

'(a)  Those  who  are  certifiable  under  either  the  Lunacy  or  Mental 
Deficiency  Act. 

'(6)  Those  who   are  suffering  from  permanent  organic  cerebral 
changes. 

\c)  Those  who  show  intellectual  inferiority  of  such  a  degree  as  to 
render  them  incapable  of  co-operating  in  treatment. 

'(d)  Those  who  do  not  exhibit  a  genuine  anxiety  for  cure. 

\e)  Those  who  are  unwilling  to  co-operate  in  measures  designed  to 
modify  their  abnormal  practices. 

'(/)  Adult  prisoners  whose  criminal  activities  show  evidence  of 
marked  chronicity. 

'(g)  Adolescents  whose  abnormality  has  existed  from  an  early  age 
and  is  combined  with  a  closely  related  psychopathic  heredity. 

'(/O  Those  showing  excessive  resentment  or  undue  resignation  at 
*    their  conviction  or  sentence. 

'(/)  Those  whose  attitude  suggests  that  they  have  ulterior  motives 
in  seeking  treatment. 

The  nature  of  the  work  carried  out  at  the  Wormwood  Scrubs  clinic, 
and  its  results,  are  fully  described  and  discussed  by  the  two  consultant 
psychotherapists  in  an  appendix  to  the  same  Report.  The  Com- 
missioners have  also  begun  to  make  arrangements,  through  the  Regional 
Hospital  Boards,  for  prisoners  whose  sentences  are  too  short  for  treat- 
ment in  prison  to  be  seen  by  psychiatrists  from  the  public  clinics  under 
whom  they  may  continue  treatment  after  release.  As  much  as  possible 
is  also  done  by  way  of  follow-up  after  release  for  those  treated  in  the 
prison  clinics:  but  the  specifically  personal  relationship  between  psycho- 
therapist and  patient  imposes  a  difficulty  here. 

For  the  remainder,  the  provision  is  less  clear-cut.  From  simpler  days, 
when  provision  would  be  made  in  a  prison  for  the  'weak-minded  party', 
it  has  been  accepted  that  there  exists  a  class  of  prisoner  who,  while  not 
requiring  or  likely  to  profit  by  psychotherapeutic  treatment,  do  require 
special  management  under  medical  supervision.  It  has  for  many  years 
been  the  practice  to  concentrate  long-term  prisoners  of  this  class  at 
Parkhurst.  Such  a  group  would  include  the  mentally  subnormal,  in- 
efficient and  constitutionally  unstable,  and  today  one  would  add  at 
any  rate  some  of  those  who  might  be  called  psychopaths.  To  these 
'chronic'  cases  should  also  be  added  those  who  become  temporarily 
unstable  or  unduly  depressed  through  failure  to  adapt  to  prison  life, 
or  whose  reactions  to  discipline  present  special  difficulties.  Ideally,  such 
a  group  in  every  prison  should  be  under  'psychiatric  management', 


248      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

designed  primarily  to  improve  their  adaptation  to  present  circum- 
stances and  prevent  them  from  being  a  nuisance  to  others,  but  looking 
also  to  helping  their  re-adaptation  to  normal  social  life  after  discharge. 

But  the  ordinary  local  prison  is  not  the  ideal  milieu  for  this  sort  of 
treatment,  nor  has  the  long  and  serious  shortage  of  medical  staff 
since  the  war  been  propitious  to  its  development.  For  these  reasons, 
and  in  order  to  place  the  whole  treatment  of  mentally  abnormal  pri- 
soners on  a  satisfactory  scientific  basis,  the  Commissioners  proposed  as 
soon  as  the  war  was  over  to  give  first  priority,  in  any  new  building  pro- 
gramme, to  the  provision  of  a  special  psychiatric  institution  within  the 
prison  system  on  the  lines  recommended  in  the  East-Hubert  Report 
(para.  172).  This  would  not  only  concentrate  psycho  therapeutic  treat- 
ment in  a  suitable  building  suitably  equipped  and  staffed,  and  provide 
favourable  conditions  for  the  training  and  treatment  of  the  mentally 
abnormal  generally,  but  serve  as  a  centre  of  research  into  the  relation- 
ships between  mental  disorder  and  crime. 

Even  without  such  a  research  centre,  however,  the  prison  Medical 
Service,  sometimes  in  conjunction  with  outside  experts  and  institutions, 
has  since  the  war  made  many  interesting  contributions  to  knowledge  in 
this  field.  Among  those  listed  in  the  Annual  Reports  for  1948  and  1949 
were: 

\d)  In  conjunction  with  the  Maudsley  Hospital,  an  analysis  of  the 
clinical  histories  and  electroencephalographic  recordings  of  64 
cases  of  murder.1 

\b)  Observations  by  the  Medical  Officer  at  Wormwood  Scrubs  on 
the  results  of  encephalography  in  38  cases. 

\c)  An  investigation,  including  encephalography,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Maudsley  Hospital,  into  psychopathic  personalities  at 
Wandsworth  and  Wormwood  Scrubs. 

\d)  At  Bristol,  in  collaboration  with  the  Medical  Superintendent  of 
Bristol  Mental  Hospital,  research  into  the  endocrinological  aspect 
of  psychopathic  personality.' 

It  having  been  necessary  to  deal  at  so  much  length  with  the  treatment 
of  mental  disorder,  it  would  be  well  before  leaving  the  subject  to  give 
some  quantitative  information  to  put  the  question  in  its  proper  per- 
spective. The  widespread  interest  in  psychology  which  developed 
between  the  wars,  and  the  valuable  work  done  in  applying  the  teachings 
of  psychological  medicine,  so  far  as  it  has  progressed,  to  the  causation 
and  treatment  of  delinquency,  has  led  to  an  over-emphasis  which  in 
some  quarters  might  seem  to  have  led  to  the  conclusion  that  crime 
is  itself  a  form  of  mental  disease,  and  that  its  removal  as  a  social  evil 
is  a  matter  more  for  medicine  than  for  the  penal  law.  A  more  balanced 

1  Reported  in  the  Journal  of  Neurology,  Neurosurgery  and  Psychiatry,  Vol.  12, 
1949. 


MEDICAL   SERVICES  249 

view  has  been  stated  as  follows:  'Some  psychiatrists  in  recent  times 
have  emphasised  the  fact  that  crime  is  not  a  disease  though  it  may  be 
due  to  disease/  1 

Apart  from  the  questions  raised  in  Chapter  1  (pp.  5,  6)  as  to  the 
nature  of  crime,*  some  impression  of  the  actual  extent  to  which  crime 
may  be  'due  to  disease'  may  be  gained  from  the  following  facts  cited  by 
East  and  Hubert  in  their  Report  of  1939: 

'Among  278,667  persons  received  into  prisons  in  England  and 
Wales  during  the  five-year  period  1932-6,  1,164  or  0-41  per  cent  were 
certified  as  mentally  defective,  and  2,039  or  0-73  per  cent  were  certifiably 
insane'  (para.  20). 

'The  "normal"  group  will  include  at  least  80  per  cent  of  offenders' 
(para.  19). 

Again,  as  regards  psychopaths,  Sir  Norwood  East 2  cites  Healy  and 
Bronner  as  having  found  2-8  per  cent  of  psychopathic  personalities  in 
a  series  of  4,000  juvenile  delinquents. 

The  reports  by  Dr.  Mackwood  and  Dr.  Gould  in  the  Annual  Report 
for  1949  deal  with  313  cases  referred  to  them  over  a  period  of  5  years 
from  1943,  an  annual  average  of  62-6. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  strike  a  cautionary  note  about  the  results  of 
this  form  of  treatment.  In  the  Annual  Report  for  1947  the  Director  of 
Medical  Services  said:  'It  is  sometimes  assumed  that  cure  by  psycho- 
logical treatment  is,  or  should  be,  a  sure  preventive  of  further  criminal 
activity.  Criminal  acts  may  arise  from  abnormal  psychological  factors 
of  which  the  subject  is  unaware  or  only  partially  aware.  The  function 
of  psychotherapy  is  to  bring  these  factors  into  consciousness  in  such  a 
way  that  any  repetition  of  the  act  can  only  take  place  if  the  subject  has 
the  will  and  intention  to  do  it.  To  expect  more  from  psychological 
treatment  is  to  give  it  credit  for  greater  powers  than  it  possesses.' 
And  Dr.  Mackwood  added  in  1949  that:  'The  heading  "greatly  im- 
proved" is  as  near  to  "cure"  as  one  feels  justified  in  stating.  The  results 
of  psychotherapy  in  some  ways  resemble  those  of  surgical  cancer;  years 
have  to  go  by  before  one  can  talk  in  terms  of  cure'  (p.  77).  The  same 
thought  has  been  expressed  by  Dr.  J.  R.  Rees  in  Mental  Health  and  the 
Offender:  'There  is  no  mystery  about  the  aims  or  methods  of  psycho- 
logical treatment.  Granted  the  co-operation  of  the  patient,  one  hopes 
through  careful  and  detailed  discussion  of  the  nature  and  origins  of  his 
particular  difficulty,  or  abnormal  reactions,  to  make  it  possible  for  him 
to  alter  and  reshape  his  point  of  view  or  his  conduct.  To  'pull  yourself 
together'  is  rarely  possible  in  cold  blood  unless  you  know  what  to  get 

1  Mental  Health  and  the  Offender,  by  J.  R.  Rees,  M.D.  The  Seventh  Clarke  Hall 
Lecture,  p.  6. 

2  Society  and  the  Criminal,  p.  127. 


250      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

hold  of  and  how  to  pull.  Analytical  psychotherapy  seeks  to  provide 
this  understanding.' 

We  may  now  pass  to  the  functions  of  psychiatry  and  psychology  in 
relation  to  the  suitability  of  offenders  for  particular  forms  of  treatment: 
these  fall  into  two  groups,  the  first  concerned  with  advice  to  the  Courts 
on  the  type  of  sentence  appropriate  to  particular  cases,  the  second  with 
advice  to  the  administration  on  the  classification  of  sentenced  offenders.1 
By  sections  20  and  21  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  the  Courts  are 
required,  before  passing  sentence  of  Borstal  training,  corrective  training 
or  preventive  detention,  to  consider  reports  made  to  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners as  to  the  suitability  of  the  offender  for  such  a  sentence.  These 
reports  2  are  in  practice  made  by  Governors  on  behalf  of  the  Com- 
missioners, and  invariably  include  in  addition  to  the  general  recom- 
mendation a  medical  report  as  to  mental  and  physical  fitness.  The  report 
on  mental  fitness  is  yet  another  psychiatric  function  of  the  Medical 
Officer,  in  so  far  as  questions  of  mental  abnormality  may  arise  and 
their  bearing  have  to  be  considered,  but  in  making  these  reports 
Governors  and  Medical  Officers  should  have  the  assistance  of  a  psycho- 
logist. So  far,  however,  this  situation  has  been  reached  in  principle  only: 
in  practice,  psychologists  are  not  available  in  anything  like  sufficient 
numbers.  In  their  Annual  Report  for  1949  (p.  69)  the  Commissioners 
described  their  intentions  as  follows : 

4In  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948, 
arrangements  are  being  made  for  the  setting  up  of  a  psychological 
staff  in  this  department.  This  scheme  will  necessitate  the  employment  of: 

1  Chief  Psychologist 

4  Principal  Psychologists 
7  Senior  Psychologists 

5  Basic  Psychologists 

14  Psychiatric  Social  Workers 
13  Psychological  Testers. 

'Psychologists  are  in  post  at  all  the  allocation  centres  through  which 
persons  sentenced  to  Corrective  and  Borstal  training  pass.  The  alloca- 
tion, whether  to  open  or  closed  establishments,  and  if  so,  to  which,  is 
determined  here  by  Boards,  of  which  the  psychologist  is  a  member. 
It  is  here  that  decisions  on  referring  cases  for  psychological  treatment 
are  taken  and  observations  on  the  form  of  training  recommended  are 
made  at  this  point.  The  psychological  reports  made  at  all  the  remand 
and  trial  prisons  by  psychologists  with  the  assistance  of  psychiatric 
social  workers,  and  testers,  as  it  becomes  possible  to  fill  these  posts, 
will  be  reviewed  here. 

1  See  Appendix  K. 

2  They  will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  the  context  of  Borstal  training  and  the  treat- 
ment of  persistent  offenders. 


MEDICAL   SERVICES  251 

The  duties  of  these  psychologists,  who  will  work  to  the  medical 
officers  at  remand  and  trial  prisons  in  their  respective  groups,  will  be 
(1)  to  assist  in  the  preparation  of  reports  to  courts  under  Section  21  of 
the  Criminal  Justice  Act ;  (2)  to  provide  medical  officers  with  the  assist- 
ance necessary  to  enable  them  to  fulfil  the  increasing  demands  by 
courts  for  reports  on  the  psychological  condition  of  untried  prisoners, 
under  Sections  4  and  26  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act.  They  will  also  give 
the  same  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  reports  on  Borstal  cases  under 
Section  20  as  in  older  age  groups  under  Section  21;  (3)  they  will  be 
available  for  making  reports  where  necessary  on  convicted  prisoners  or 
Borstal  inmates.  Their  work  will  include  the  ascertainment  of  intelli- 
gence, the  application  of  performance  tests,  education  attainment  tests, 
mechanical  and  other  aptitude  tests  and  general  attainment  tests,  and 
an  opinion  on  the  personality  and  character  of  the  offender.  The 
medical  officer  will  take  these  data  into  account  when  submitting  his 
report  to  the  Court  on  the  mental  and  physical  condition  of  the 
accused. 

'That  much  depends  upon  the  psychological  assessment  as  a  basis  of 
opinion  on  the  suitability  of  the  offender  for  Corrective  Training  has 
been  shown  by  the  results  obtained  at  Reading  Corrective  Training 
Allocation  Centre,  where  a  psychological  staff  has  been  in  operation  for 
several  months.  Here  an  attempt  is  being  made  to  overtake  the  leeway 
due  to  the  lack  of  psychologists  at  receiving  prisons  and  approximately 
40  prisoners  a  week  are  being  dealt  with.  A  not  inconsiderable  number 
of  these  would  have  been  reported  as  unsuitable  for  corrective  training 
if  the  evidence  subsequently  obtained  at  Reading  had  been  available  at 
the  time  of  trial.' 

The  functions  of  the  psychologist  in  relation  to  classification  are  also 
touched  on  in  the  foregoing  statement,  to  which  there  is  little  to  be 
added.  It  may  be,  however,  that  as  psychologists  come  to  be  employed 
in  the  local  prisons  they  will  also  play  their  part  there  in  assessing  the 
suitability  of  prisoners  for  transfer  to  regional  training  prisons  and  for 
other  special  forms  of  training.  The  Medical  Officer  already  plays  his 
part  as  a  member  of  the  Reception  Board. 

Finally,  the  Medical  Officer  qua  psychiatrist  should  have  a  valuable 
role,  in  collaboration  with  other  members  of  the  staff,  in  the  general 
'man-management'  of  the  prison,  along  the  lines  suggested  in  para.  1 
and  para.  2  (2)  and  (3)  of  The  Hague  Congress  resolution.  At  present 
the  serious  medical  under-staffing  of  the  prisons  hampers  the  fullest 
development  of  this  function,  but  in  the  regional  training  prisons  where 
there  are  full-time  Medical  Officers  they  do  take  an  active  part  as 
regular  members  of  the  team,  as  also  in  central  prisons  and  Borstals. 

The  Hague  resolution,  in  para.  5,  refers  also  to  the  assistance  which 
can  be  given  by  the  psychiatrist  in  the  training  of  staff.  Such  assistance 


252      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

is  fully  used  at  the  Imperial  Training  School  at  Wakefield  in  relation 
to  the  selection  of  staff,  both  the  Medical  Officer  and  the  psychologist 
of  the  prison  taking  an  active  part  in  the  testing  of  the  candidates  and 
in  making  personality  reports  to  the  Board.  The  Medical  Officer  also 
gives  a  series  of  lectures  to  each  course  on  the  psychological  aspects  of 
delinquency. 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN 
AFTER-CARE 


(1)   PRINCIPLES  AND  PROBLEMS 

'  TT  T  has  been  said  that  a  prisoner's  real  punishment  begins  when  he 
I  is  discharged;  and,  again,  that  the  true  test  of  a  prison  system  is 
JL  what  happens  to  a  man  when  he  comes  out.  Modern  methods  of 
prison  treatment  seek  the  social  rehabilitation  of  the  offender,  endea- 
vouring to  prepare  him  to  take  his  place  once  more  as  a  normal  mem- 
ber of  society,  and  to  help  him  retain  the  feeling  that  he  is  still  part  of 
the  community  and  that  the  community  takes  a  continuing  interest  in 
his  welfare.  But  this  effort  may  be  fruitless  unless  the  difficult  transition 
to  life  in  the  world  outside  the  prison  gates  is  helped  and  guided  by  a 
humane  and  efficient  system  of  after-care;  but  for  organised  help  and 
guidance  on  release,  recovery  would  often  be  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible.' 1 

It  would  be  morally  indefensible,  nor  would  the  protection  of  society 
against  crime  be  secured,  if  the  offender,  having  purged  his  offence  by 
undergoing  his  punishment,  were  then  put  out  of  the  prison  gate  without 
thought  or  care  for  his  future.  So  much  has  been  recognised,  at  least  in 
principle,  from  Howard  onwards:  but  there  is  a  wide  gap  between  a 
simple  humanitarian  urge  to  relieve  misery  and  distress  and  the  state- 
ment in  the  foregoing  quotation,  which  implies  that  the  social  rehabilita- 
tion of  the  offender  as  a  duty  of  society  does  not  cease  when  he  leaves 
the  prison.  The  trend  from  private  charity  to  public  responsibility 
corresponds  to  a  change  in  the  underlying  theoretical  conceptions.  As 
long  as  the  principle  of  retribution  dominated  the  administration  of 
criminal  justice,  the  State  contented  itself  with  executing  the  penalty  in 
accordance  with  the  law.  With  the  expiration  of  a  prison  term,  however, 
the  social  effects  of  punishment  were  by  no  means  extinct.  It  was  left  to 
society  to  help  the  ex-prisoner  with  shelter,  work  and  bare  necessities 
of  life,  and  thereby  to  compensate  for  any  additional  hardship  beyond 
the  limits  of  legal  punishment  proper.  With  the  recognition  of  social 

1  Prisons  and  Borstals,  Chapter  9,  para.  1. 
253 


254       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

adjustment  as  a  primary  object  of  penal  policy,  the  negative  intention 
of  avoiding  undesirable  after-effects  became  a  positive  aim  and  an 
essential  stage  in  the  rehabilitative  process/  1 

The  history  of  'aid-on-discharge'  and  'after-care'  during  the  last 
hundred  years  has  been  that  of  the  movement  of  thought  and  practice 
towards  this  principle  and  its  implementation;  and  it  may  be  said  at 
the  outset  that  this  movement  is  by  no  means  complete — as  will  appear, 
the  post-war  years  in  this  field  of  work  may  well  mark  a  significant 
point  of  fresh  departure. 

The  problems  facing  a  discharged  prisoner  are  twofold — the 
emotional  or  psychological,  and  the  economic;  and  both  will  vary 
widely  according  to  the  temperament  and  circumstances  of  the  person, 
the  length  of  time  he  has  been  in  prison  and  the  number  of  times  he 
has  been  in  prison.  Individualisation  of  treatment  is  even  more  neces- 
sary, and  certainly  more  practicable,  after  release  than  before  it. 

Attention  must  first  concentrate  on  the  economic  problems,  though 
the  others  may  often  be  more  pressing.  These  comprise,  in  a  word,  the 
re-settlement  of  the  prisoner — return  to  his  home  district,  and  the 
provision  of  shelter,  immediate  financial  and  material  needs  and  work 
— all  that  is  included  in  the  phrase  'aid-on-discharge'  as  distinct  from 
'after-care'.  That  society  has  an  obligation  to  see  to  these  things  has  not 
for  a  long  time  past  been  in  doubt:  both  pity  and  prudence  dictate 
their  necessity.  There  is,  as  we  shall  see,  a  well-developed  machinery 
for  dealing  with  them,  and  on  the  whole  the  needs  have  been  and  are 
being  met.  The  main  problems  still  arising  are  two,  and  of  these  the 
first  is  now  as  it  has  always  been  that  of  providing  work. 

That  a  discharged  prisoner  should  get  into  work  as  soon  as  possible 
is  of  the  first  importance  both  economically  and  psychologically.  If  he 
is  not  to  be  tempted  to  revert  to  crime,  he  must  be  able  to  support  him- 
self and  his  family  by  honest  work.  Even  if  he  is  out  of  work  but  sup- 
ported by  the  State  through  unemployment  pay  or  other  regular 
channels  of  assistance,  he  is  yet  in  a  more  difficult  position,  making  him 
more  vulnerable  to  temptation,  than  those  equally  unhappily  placed 
who  have  not  been  in  prison:  he  is  ex  hypothesi  one  who  has  already 
shown  some  weakness  of  control,  and  whatever  effect  of  deterrence  or 
reform  his  prison  experience  may  have  had  on  him,  he  is  likely  to 
imagine  himself  inferior,  tainted,  persecuted  even,  and  from  such 
imaginings  to  develop  feelings  of  self-justification  and  resentment 
which  may  well  drive  him  to  dishonesty  again  as  soon  as  opportunity 
offers.  And  if  his  normal  associates  are  already  so  disposed,  oppor- 
tunity will  not  wait  long. 

Yet  there  are  serious  difficulties  to  be  faced.  No  one  would  wish  to 
claim  that  because  a  person  has  been  punished  for  a  criminal  offence  he 
should  therefore  have  some  special  priority  as  against  those  who,  in 

i  Griinhut,  pp,  318,  319. 


AFTER-CARE  255 

the  face  maybe  of  equal  temptation,  have  not  offended.  So  in  times  of 
unemployment,  when  the  right  to  work  is  denied  to  many,  the  ex- 
prisoner  must  take  his  chance  with  the  rest.  But  whether  employment 
be  full  or  scarce,  he  may  not  always  get  that  chance.  'Distrust  and 
resentment  against  the  man  who  has  been  in  prison  has  always  proved 
an  obstacle  to  the  work  of  welfare  agencies  as  well  as  to  the  honest 
efforts  of  the  former  prisoner  himself.' l  For  many  this  must  be  so,  if 
they  think  to  return  to  their  former  work ;  the  public  servant  who  has 
committed  a  breach  of  the  trust  placed  in  him,  the  dishonest  clerk  and 
many  other  such  cannot  reasonably  expect  reinstatement:  and  these  are 
commonly  the  sort  who  have  no  trade  to  turn  to.  Nor  is  it  easy  to 
turn  any  reproach  against  an  employer  who  prefers  a  man  of  known 
good  character  to  one  with  a  record  of  crime.  One  can  only  be  grateful 
to  all  those  employers,  and  they  are  many,  who  do  not  pass  by  on  the 
other  side.  From  the  offender's  fellow  workpeople  one  might  hope  for 
an  even  wider  charity,  but  it  must  be  said  that  this  is  not  always  found; 
nor  has  it  always  been  easy  to  secure  the  full  co-operation  of  Trade 
Unions  in  the  problems  of  re-absorbing  prisoners  into  industry. 

And  finally  there  is  the  ex-prisoner  himself:  all  too  many  are  difficult, 
too  apt  still  to  the  same  self-regarding  motives  that  drove  them  to  crime, 
and  to  weary  the  patience  of  their  welfare  officers  and  of  helpful 
employers  by  declining  good  work  or  leaving  it  for  no  good  reason. 
And  where  there  is  a  reasonable  willingness,  many  are  virtually  un- 
employable by  reason  of  physical  or  mental  inferiority,  while  others 
have  never  had  a  trade  or  are  precluded  from  re-entry  to  such  work  as 
they  can  do.  Even  those  who  have  learned  a  trade  in  prison  which  they 
are  willing  and  able  to  practise  must  be  prepared  for  disappointment : 
to  come  out  of  prison  with  long  training  in  and  practice  of  a  skilled 
trade  is  no  passport  to  entry  into  that  trade,  whether  as  a  journeyman 
or  a  labourer.  No  regular  apprenticeship  is  likely  to  mean  no  union 
card,  and  no  card  usually  means  no  job. 

To  all  aspects  of  this  problem  of  work-finding  the  Commissioners 
and  the  welfare  agencies,  in  consultation  with  all  interests  concerned, 
continue  to  give  unremitting  attention. 

The  second  of  the  main  problems  of  the  time  is  much  wider:  it  con- 
cerns that  'trend  from  private  charity  to  public  responsibility'  of  which 
Dr.  Griinhut  has  spoken.  As  we  shall  see  in  the  following  section,  the 
system  of  aid-on-discharge  in  this  country  was  based  almost  from  its 
beginnings  on  some  sort  of  partnership  between  the  State  and  private 
benevolence.  More  recent  years  have  seen  a  marked  tendency  for  the 
State  to  become  the  predominant  partner,  on  grounds  in  part  of  finance 
and  in  part  of  an  increasing  disposition  to  hold  that  the  rehabilitation 
of  the  offender  after  release  is  a  duty  not  only  of  society  but  of  the  penal 
system  itself:  the  whole  process,  inside  the  prison  and  out,  is  one  and 

i  Griinhut,  p.  322. 


256      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

indivisible.  A  related  aspect  of  this  problem  derives  more  recently  still 
from  the  full  development  in  this  country  of  the  conception  of  the 
Welfare  State.  We  have  already  noted  (Chapter  Twelve)  how  far  the 
prisoner's  social  insurance  position  is  preserved.  And  when  the  position 
is  reached  that  his  fare  home  on  discharge  is  paid  from  public  funds; 
that  the  Assistance  Board  (which  may  already  have  been  looking  after 
his  family)  at  once  assumes  responsibility  for  his  maintenance;  that  the 
National  Health  Service  looks  after  him  if  he  is  sick;  and  that  the 
Ministry  of  Labour  seeks  to  find  him  work,  while  so  long  as  it  fails  he 
and  his  family  are  maintained  either  through  Uuemployment  Insurance 
or  by  the  Assistance  Board — in  such  a  position  it  seems  that  the  assump- 
tions on  which  the  present  system  of  aid-on-discharge  was  built  up 
cannot  remain  unquestioned. 

It  may  be,  therefore,  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  a  radical  reassessment 
both  of  the  nature  of  'aid-on-discharge'  and  of  the  relative  responsi- 
bilities of  the  State  and  of  private  benevolence  in  providing  and 
administering  it.  It  may  also  be  that  in  any  such  reassessment  emphasis 
will  be  shifted  from  the  economic  to  the  psychological  problems,  from 
4aid-on-discharge'  to  'after-care'.1 

What  is  the  nature  of  these  psychological  problems?  It  will  already 
have  appeared  that  they  sensibly  interpenetrate  the  economic :  the  two 
can  only  formally  be  considered  as  if  they  were  in  separate  compart- 
ments. Their  nature  will  of  course  vary  widely  with  the  nature  of  the 
individual  concerned,  the  kind  of  sentence  he  has  undergone  and  its 
length,  and  the  circumstances  to  which  he  is  to  return.  Prolonged 
segregation  from  normal  life  creates  difficulties  of  re-adaptation  not 
only  for  the  ex-prisoner — the  conditions  are  not  dissimilar  for  one 
coming  out  of  a  prisoner-of-war  camp,  or  a  hospital.  This  was  recog- 
nised during  the  late  war  by  the  setting  up  of  Civil  Resettlement  Units 
for  ex-prisoners  of  war,  with  a  regime  specially  designed  to  assist 
them  to  overcome  these  difficulties.  But  prison  life,  save  in  special  types 
of  prison,  may  be  more  abnormal,  create  more  difficulties,  even  than 
these :  it  may  certainly  have  a  weakening  effect  on  the  will,  and  create 
a  sense  of  inferiority  or  even  dread  of  normal  contacts,  a  fumbling  and 
fearfulness  in  facing  the  future  in  what  may  be,  or  seem,  a  hard  and 
unsympathetic  world. 

Again,  there  are  often  painful  family  difficulties:  a  home  may  have 
been  broken  up,  economically  or  emotionally,  or  both,  by  prolonged 
separation.  It  may  be  essential  to  re-establish  it  if  relapse  is  to  be  avoided. 

And  in  the  case  of  one  whose  associations  have  been  criminal,  there 
are  difficulties  of  the  opposite  kind.  The  sheep  may  be  all  too  kindly 
received  in  the  old  fold,  and  it  may  take  more  moral  courage  than  he 
has  to  maintain  in  that  company  that  he  is  now  a  good  white  sheep, 
not  a  bad  black  one,  especially  if  being  white  cannot  be  shown  to  pay. . 

1  See  Appendix  K. 


AFTER-CARE  257 

The  training  inside  the  prisons  seeks  to  provide,  so  far  as  it  may, 
against  these  problems,  but  in  many  cases  it  will  be  wasted  effort 
unless,  after  discharge,  it  is  continued  through  a  system  of  after-care 
based  on  close  personal  attention  to  the  needs  of  the  individual.  After- 
care in  this  sense  means  more  than  attention  to  material  needs,  though 
it  includes  this:  it  means  understanding,  watchful  sympathy,  bracing 
oversight — for  some  a  friend  at  hand  to  advise  and  help,  for  others  a 
supervisor  to  admonish  and  warn,  with  the  sanctions  of  authority 
behind  him. 

And  to  close  this  introduction,  it  should  be  explained  that,  in  so  far 
as  they  can  properly  be  regarded  as  distinct  processes,  there  is  in  some 
sense  a  legal  distinction  between  aid-on-discharge  and  after-care. 
When  a  person  sentenced  to  simple  imprisonment  has  earned  his 
remission  and  been  discharged  his  sentence  has  terminated :  he  is  under 
no  further  obligations  in  respect  of  it,  and  owes  no  duty  but  gratitude 
to  any  agency  that  may  be  assigned  to  help  him.  For  these,  after-care 
may  be  provided  if  they  wish  to  have  it,  but  for  many  of  them  the  first 
thought  may  well  be  to  put  everything  connected  with  the  prison 
behind  them  and  have  no  more  to  do  with  it.  In  general,  what  they 
receive  is  aid-on-discharge. 

But  for  those  categories  who  are  released  on  a  conditional  licence 
the  position  is  quite  different:  until  the  sentence  expires  by  efflux  of  time 
they  are  by  the  terms  of  the  licence  under  the  supervision  of  a  Society 
named  in  the  licence,  and  if  they  do  not  comply  with  the  directions  of 
that  Society  they  may  be  recalled  to  prison  to  continue  their  sentence. 
It  is  true  that  the  intentions  of  the  Society  are  wholly  benevolent, 
and  seek  nothing  but  the  welfare  of  those  in  their  charge — they  provide 
after-care  in  the  fullest  sense.  Nevertheless,  experience  shows  that  if 
after-care  is  to  be  effective  with  the  majority  it  requires  this  sort  of 
sanction  to  make  it  so,  even  though  the  flavour  of  compulsion  and 
constraint  may  often  militate  against  its  success. 

(2)    DISCHARGED  PRISONERS'  AID  SOCIETIES 

The  principle  that  a  prisoner  should  be  assisted  to  regain  his  own 
parish  was  recognised  by  Parliament  in  1792.  Peel's  Gaol  Act  of  1823 
went  further,  and  authorised  Justices  to  provide,  at  the  expense  of  the 
County  Rate,  for  the  provision  of  necessary  clothing,  and  a  sum  not 
exceeding  twenty  shillings,  to  deserving  prisoners  whose  sentences 
were  shortened  for  good  conduct :  the  Justices  were  further  authorised 
to  divert  the  various  charitable  bequests  for  providing  poor  prisoners 
with  food  and  clothing  to  providing  them  with  the  means  of  returning 
home  and  with  'implements  of  labour'. 

The  next  step  was  marked  by  the  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Act  of 
1862,  which  set  out  that:  'Whereas  divers  Societies,  hereinafter  referred 

E.P.B.S. — 17 


258       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

to  as  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Societies,  have  been  formed  in  divers 
parts  of  England  by  persons  subscribing  voluntarily  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  employment  for  discharged  prisoners  and  enabling  them  by 
loans  and  grants  of  money  to  live  by  honest  labour',  these  Societies 
might  be  recognised  as  the  medium  through  which  the  Justices  might 
assist  prisoners,  provided  the  Society  had  been  certified  by  the  Justices 
as  an  approved  Society,  and  any  sum  which  the  Justices  might  have 
paid  to  the  prisoner  they  were  authorised  to  pay  to  the  Society  for  the 
prisoner's  benefit.  Justices  were  also  given  power  to  pay  grants  to  these 
Societies  for  the  benefit  of  each  discharged  prisoner.  These  powers 
were  by  the  Prison  Act  1877  passed  on  to  the  Prison  Commissioners. 

When  the  Prison  Commissioners  took  over  in  1878  they  found  29 
Aid  Societies  in  operation,  but  they  promoted  their  formation  with  such 
diligence  that  by  1885  there  were  'sixty-three  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid 
Societies  working  in  connection  with  all  prisons  in  England  and  Wales 
except  one  or  two'.1  The  sum  expended  by  the  Government  on  aid  to 
Discharged  Prisoners  in  1884  amounted  to  £7,280,  made  up  in  part  of 
gratuities  earned  by  prisoners  under  the  Progressive  Stage  System, 
which  were  paid  to  the  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Societies  for  their 
benefit,  and  in  part  of  a  Government  Grant  of  £4,000  distributed  to 
the  prisons  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  prisoners  discharged,  but 
'with  a  proviso  that  an  equal  amount  shall  be  provided  by  private 
subscriptions  as  a  guarantee  of  that  local  and  private  interest  in  the 
work  without  which  it  cannot  prosper'.2 

'Here  are  contained  two  important  assertions  of  principle  on  which 
has  been  based  the  action  of  the  Government  since  this  date: 

'1.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  make  a  charitable 
donation  in  aid  of  discharged  prisoners  in  addition  to  the  gratui- 
ties under  the  Stage  System,  which  are  an  affair  of  prison 
discipline. 

'2.  That  the  sum  should  be  regulated  by  the  amount  of  private 
subscriptions,  provided  that  a  maximum  calculated  on  the  total 
number  of  discharges  is  not  exceeded. 

'In  short,  the  State  goes  into  partnership  with  bodies  of  charitable 
and  benevolent  persons,  duly  certified  under  the  Act,  in  order  to  secure 
a  double  object:  (a)  the  State  object,  that  steps  shall  be  taken  at  least 
to  lessen  the  chances  of  a  man's  relapse  into  crime,  (b)  the  private  and 
charitable  object  of  relieving  misfortune  and  distress.' 3 

The  Gladstone  Committee  in  1894  found  that  To  each  prison  are 
attached  one  or  more  Societies.  Some  do  admirable  work — but  it  does 
not  appear  that  there  is  either  uniformity  of  action  under  definite 
principles,  or  that  the  various  societies  are  so  far  organised  as  a  whole 

i  Du  Cane,  p.  197.  2  ibid.  3  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  170. 


AFTER-CARE  259 

that  the  effect  of  aid  can  be  satisfactorily  ascertained.  There  seems  to  be 
a  great  and  unnecessary  variation  in  the  methods  of  working.*  While 
emphasising  the  importance  of  maintaining  the  voluntary  and  local 
side  of  Prisoners'  Aid  Society  work,  they  thought  there  should  be  some 
central  organisation  and  supervision,  and  4a  representative  conference 
in  London  for  the  purpose  of  securing  common  and  uniform  action 
providing  for  the  most  effectual  distribution  of  the  Government  Grant, 
and  for  stimulating  the  considerable  number  of  Societies  which  do  little 
work  or  exist  but  in  name'.  They  also  recommended  that  arrangements 
should  be  made  for  the  agents  of  approved  societies  to  see  prisoners 
and  make  the  necessary  arrangements  with  them  before  discharge, 
instead  of  waiting  for  them  at  the,  gate.  v 

In  consequence  of  these  recommendations  the  Commissioners  made 
a  special  inquiry  into  the  methods  of  Aid  Societies,  and  a  notable 
improvement  in  the  work  resulted.  Uniformity  of  procedure  and 
organisation  was  secured,  and  in  order  to  secure  the  Secretary  of  State's 
'certificate  of  efficiency'  the  Societies  were  required  to  comply  with 
certain  Regulations,  and  the  government  grant  was  paid  only  to 
certified  Societies  conforming  with  these  Regulations. 

This  grant  was  divided  into  two  parts — a  capitation  grant  and  a 
variable  grant.  In  1913  the  earning  of  gratuities  by  convicted  prisoners 
was  abolished,  and  in  addition  to  the  existing  grant  of  Is.  a  head  in 
respect  of  each  convicted  prisoner  discharged  to  its  care,  each  Society 
now  received,  as  an  equivalent  of  the  gratuity,  a  further  sum  (averaging 
Is.  a  head)  which  varied,  as  the  gratuities  had  done,  according  to  the 
length  of  the  prisoners'  sentence.  In  1931  this  complicated  system  was 
abolished,  and  a  flat  capitation  rate  of  2s.  was  substituted.  For  the  first 
time  now  the  grant  was  also  paid  in  respect  of  debtor  prisoners,  in 
consequence  of  the  abolition  of  the  system  of  paying  them  allowances 
for  their  work  in  prison,  and  debtors  and  convicted  were  assisted  on 
the  same  basis.  In  addition  to  the  capitation  grants  there  was  a  supple- 
mentary grant  of  (at  that  time)  £1,500  a  year,  which  after  consultation 
at  an  annual  conference  was  distributed  by  the  Commissioners  'in  such 
a  manner  as  they  think  best  for  the  furtherance  of  the  work'.  This 
procedure  was  found  valuable  both  in  stimulating  the  less  active 
societies,  and  in  redressing  to  some  extent  the  disparity  between  the 
richer  and  the  poorer. 

In  1933  the  total  sum  raised  by  Aid  Societies  by  voluntary  effort 
was  over  £23,000,  and  the  total  Government  grant,  including  both  the 
capitation  and  supplementary  grants,  was  £7,398. 1 

In  the  meantime,  there  had  been  a  further  organisational  develop- 
ment. In  1918,  in  order  to  secure  co-ordination  of  effort  and  ideas, 
there  was  instituted  a  Central  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Society,  with 
offices^  in  London,  and  a  Central  Executive  on  which  the  various 
1  Departmental  Committee  on  the  Employment  of  Prisoners,  Part  II. 


260      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Societies  were  represented;  this  Society  also  dealt  with  special  cases 
referred  to  it  by  the  local  Societies.  Co-ordination  with  the  Prison 
Commissioners  was  secured  by  the  oversight  of  the  Chaplain  Inspector, 
who  was  especially  charged  with  the  care  of  education,  aid-on-discharge, 
and  other  branches  of  welfare  work,1  and  by  the  institution  of  an 
annual  representative  conference  with  the  Commissioners  for  dis- 
cussion both  of  general  questions  and  of  the  distribution  of  the  Annual 
Grant. 

In  1932  the  Secretary  of  State  appointed  a  Departmental  Committee, 
under  the  chairmanship  of  Major  Sir  Isidore  Salmon,  C.B.E.,  J.P.,  M.P., 
'to  review  the  methods  of  employing  prisoners  and  of  assisting  them  to 
find  employment  on  discharge'.  Their  Report  was  published  in  two 
parts,  the  latter  (1935)  dealing  with  the  second  part  of  the  terms  of 
reference.  This  Committee,  like  the  Gladstone  Committee,  began  by 
deciding  to  exceed  its  terms  of  reference  and  to  consider  also  'the 
methods  and  organisation  of  the  Prisoners'  Aid  Societies  and  other 
organisations  .  .  .  responsible  for  the  after-care  of  prisoners'.  On  these 
matters  they  made  a  number  of  recommendations;  there  should  be  only 
one  Society  for  each  committal  area,  and  each  should  have  a  full-time 
Organising  Secretary  and  an  office  separate  from  the  prison;  there 
should  be  a  National  Council  to  co-ordinate  and  direct  their  work,  and 
allocate  the  Government  grant;  all  Societies  should  concentrate  on  the 
re-instatement  of  the  ex-prisoner  in  employment  as  their  primary  object. 

The  Committee  expressed  themselves  as  satisfied  that  'it  is  of  great 
importance  to  preserve  the  voluntary  principle  to  the  fullest  possible 
extent'  .  .  .  'after-care  work  ...  is  not  a  duty  which  can  be  adequately 
discharged  by  the  staff  of  any  Government  Department  alone,  although 
the  policy  of  official  co-operation  and  of  Government  contributions 
should  undoubtedly  continue.  The  work  is  one  for  which  the  sympathy 
and  active  interest  of  the  whole  community  need  to  be  enlisted,  and 
that,  we  are  convinced,  can  best  be  done  through  an  efficient  voluntary 
organisation'  (paras.  22  and  23).  Their  main  concern,  based  on  the 
view  that  'the  Central  Society  has  failed  to  achieve  the  main  objects  of 
its  foundation',  was  to  secure  better  co-ordination  of  the  work,  and 
this  was  the  purpose  of  the  proposed  National  Council,  which  would 
Embrace  the  aims  of  the  existing  Central  Society,  but  its  scope  would 
be  much  wider':  the  Chairman  of  the  Council  and  of  its  Executive 
Committee  should  be  nominated  by  the  Secretary  of  State  (though  he 
should  not  be  a  Government  official),  and  a  representative  of  the  Com- 
missioners should  sit  on  the  Council  and  the  Executive  Committee, 
as  should  the  Director  of  the  Borstal  and  Central  Associations  (as  to 
which,  see  following  section  of  this  chapter). 

1  On  the  abolition  of  his  office  in  1921  these  duties  passed  to  one  of  the  Assistant 
Commissioners,  and  in  1948  to  the  newly  appointed  Director  of  Education  and 
Welfare.  The  office  of  Chaplain  Inspector  was  re-created  in  1950. 


AFTER-CARE  261 

Although  the  Committee  appeared  to  be  satisfied  that  its  views  were 
consonant  with  those  of  the  Societies  generally,  it  shortly  became  all  too 
clear  that  this  was  not  so.  Stimulated  by  the  affronted  Central  Society, 
a  conference  of  Aid  Societies  was  held  in  London  within  two  months 
of  the  appearance  of  the  Report.  The  resolution  which  was  passed 
made  it  clear  that  the  Societies  thought  first  that  the  Committee  had 
indulged  in  unwarranted  trespassing — 'we  feel  that  such  reorganisation 
as  is  necessary  should  come  from  within  our  movement  rather  from 
without';  then  that  the  Committee  had  been  unfortunate  in  its  choice 
of  witnesses  (and  certainly  only  two  representatives  of  Aid  Societies 
were  heard,  in  addition  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Central  Society) ;  and 
finally  that  the  recommendations  should  be  rejected  in  toto,  principally 
because  'they  make  State  control  almost  certain  in  the  near  future'. 

Finally,  the  conference  set  up  a  Committee  under  the  Chairman  of 
the  Central  Society  'to  inquire  into  the  present  position  from  inside 
our  movement,  and  to  report  what  reforms,  if  any,  are  desirable  and 
necessary'. 

This  incident  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  strong  spirit  of  independ- 
ence in  the  Societies,  and  their  wish  to  retain  in  its  completeness  the 
spirit  of  self-reliance  and  voluntary  effort  on  which  they  had  been 
built.  The  result  was  in  every  way  fortunate.  The  Home  Office  did  not 
proceed  with  the  National  Council  on  the  lines  proposed  by  the  Salmon 
Committee,  and  in  1936,  following  the  report  of  the  committee  set 
up  by  the  conference  of  Aid  Societies,  the  Central  Society  was  recon- 
stituted as  the  National  Association  of  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid 
Societies  (Inc.).  To  this  Association  all  certified  Societies  are  now 
affiliated.  It  is  managed  by  Committees  elected  by  the  representatives 
of  the  Societies  at  their  annual  meetings,  and  on  these  the  Prison 
Commissioners  have  from  the  outset  been  represented.  Indeed  from 
this  time  there  was  a  new  atmosphere  of  confidence  and  co-operation 
between  the  Commissioners  and  the  Societies  which  has  stood  the  test 
of  time  and  change. 

The  new  Association  actively  promoted  the  consolidation  and  more 
efficient  organisation  of  its  constituent  Societies,  and  has  admirably 
served  its  purpose  as  the  channel  of  communication  between  the  Com- 
missioners and  the  Societies.  It  is  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Association  that  the  Commissioners  advise  the  Secretary  of  State  as  to 
the  grant,  continuance  or  withdrawal  of  the  statutory  Certificates  of 
Efficiency  of  Aid  Societies,  one  condition  of  which  is  that  the  model 
Rules  prescribed  by  the  Commissioners  should  form  part  of  the  con- 
stitution of  each  Society.  Through  the  Association  again,  and  on  its 
advice,  the  Commissioners  distribute  the  Government  grants  paid  to 
the  Societies,  and  to  it  they  naturally  turn  for  advice  on  all  matters 
concerning  aid-on-discharge.  The  Association  also  acts  directly  as  an 
Aid  Society,  firstly  for  difficult  cases  referred  to  it  by  any  constituent 


262      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Society,  and  secondly,  with  the  development  of  Regional  Training 
Prisons  and  other  specialised  prisons  which  take  prisoners  away  from 
their  own  locality,  for  supervising  the  aid-on-discharge  arrangements 
from  such  prisons.  It  is  an  excellent  example  of  that  sort  of  intricate 
partnership  between  statutory  and  voluntary  bodies  towards  which  in 
this  country  we  empirically  feel  our  way. 

As  a  result  of  the  war,  that  partnership  has  become  closer,  with  the 
statutory  body  taking  a  more  active  part:  this  situation,  fully  if  at 
first  reluctantly  accepted  by  the  Societies,  has  resulted  in  no  loss  of  the 
spirit  of  free  co-operation.  The  reason  for  the  change  was  financial.  It 
became  necessary  first  to  make  a  subvention  from  public  funds  to  help 
the  Association,  and  then  to  meet  the  whole  of  its  administrative 
expenses.  With  this,  control  by  the  Prison  Commissioners  (and  ultim- 
ately by  the  Treasury)  of  the  numbers  and  conditions  of  service  of  its 
staff  became  necessary;  but  this  has  not  derogated  from  the  freedom  of 
the  Association  to  manage  its  own  affairs  within  the  financial  limits 
imposed,  and  the  staff  has  on  the  whole  benefited  from  its  quasi  civil 
service  status.  At  the  same  time,  it  became  necessary  to  come  to  the 
help  of  the  Societies  by  a  further  Government  grant  of  one-third  of 
their  administrative  expenses.  Shortly  after  the  war  the  capitation  rate 
was  increased  from  2s.  to  3s. 9  and  requests  have  been  pressed  for  a  fur- 
ther increase  which,  in  face  of  the  changes  in  price  levels  since  the  2s. 
rate  was  fixed,  have  every  appearance  of  reasonableness.  But  in  finance 
as  in  function,  the  positions  of  the  State  and  private  benevolence  in 
relation  to  aid-on-discharge  seem  now  to  require  radical  review  rather 
than  further  patching.  l 

In  1948,  £22,000  was  raised  by  voluntary  subscription,  while  the 
Government  grant  consisted  of  £4,750  capitation  rate,  £2,000  special 
grant,  and  £3,000  grant  towards  administrative  costs,  or  £9,750  in  all. 

No  general  statistics  of  the  work  of  D.P.A.  Societies  are  published, 
but  in  their  Report  for  1949  (p.  50)  the  Commissioners  recorded  that 
during  1949  over  31,000  men  and  women  were  discharged  to  the  care 
of  the  Societies,  while  the  N.A.D.P.A.S.  dealt  with  over  1,000  discharges 
from  Regional  Prisons  and  over  3,300  from  special  Local  Prisons,  as 
well  as  with  445  cases  referred  to  its  Head  Office  from  the  constituent 
Societies  or  other  quarters. 

The  operation  of  the  Societies  is  relatively  uniform.  The  Secretary, 
under  the  control  of  the  Executive  Committee,  is  responsible  for  getting 
in  subscriptions  and  managing  the  affairs  of  the  Society  generally:  in 
the  largest  Societies  he  may  be  a  paid  full-time  officer,  in  others  a  paid 
part-time  officer,  and  in  others  again  an  honorary  officer.  The  Treasurer, 
under  the  Finance  Committee,  manages  and  accounts  for  the  funds. 
Every  Society  employs  a  Welfare  Officer  who  works  in  the  prison,  sees 
the  prisoners  and  under  the  direction  of  the  Case  Committee  makes  all 
1  See  Appendix  K,  note  on  p.  256. 


AFTER-CARE  263 

necessary  arrangements :  he  is  usually  a  full-time  paid  worker,  though 
not  always  so  in  the  smallest  prisons. 

The  Statutory  Rules  require  that  'From  the  beginning  of  the  sentence 
of  every  prisoner  consideration  shall  be  given,  in  consultation  with  the 
Welfare  Officer  of  the  appropriate  Aid  Society  or  After-care  Associa- 
tion, to  the  future  of  the  prisoner  and  the  assistance  to  be  given  to  him 
on  and  after  his  discharge'  (S.R.  72).  Accordingly  the  Welfare  Officer 
is  always  a  member  of  the  Reception  Board,  and  should  seek  from  the 
beginning  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  the  prisoner  in  the  arrangements 
to  be  made  for  his  future  after  release.  Every  prisoner  has  in  his  cell  a 
card  giving  him  information  about  aid-on-discharge,  and  this  tells  him 
that  he  may  apply  to  see  the  Welfare  Officer  at  any  time.  No  prison 
officer  is  present  at  these  interviews.  Some  weeks  before  his  discharge, 
if  he  wishes  or  if  it  is  otherwise  desirable,  he  appears  before  the  Case 
Committee  of  the  Society,  at  which  final  arrangements  are  settled. 
The  most  important  of  these  will  be  for  employment,  where  the  prisoner 
needs  help  to  find  it,  and  here,  since  1949,  there  has  been  an  important 
development.  Following  a  local  experiment  at  Wakefield  prison,  the 
Ministry  of  Labour,  as  a  result  of  consultation  with  the  N.A.D.P.A.S., 
agreed  to  co-operate  in  a  scheme  'whereby  every  prisoner  serving  a 
sentence  of  more  than  six  months  may,  if  he  so  wishes,  be  interviewed 
before  discharge  by  an  officer  of  the  Ministry  in  the  hope  that  suitable 
employment  may  be  found  for  him  within  a  few  days  of  his  release. 
Should  he  have  been  serving  his  sentence  at  a  distance  from  his  home, 
his  case  will,  after  the  interview,  be  brought  without  delay  to  the  notice 
of  the  Employment  Officer  of  the  Ministry  in  his  own  locality.' l 

For  the  rest,  the  first  need  is  to  see  that  the  prisoner  goes  out  suitably 
clad  both  for  the  time  of  year  and  the  job  he  has  to  do,  and  if  his  own 
clothing  is  inadequate  the  Society  may  supplement  it.  The  next  is  to 
get  him  home:  the  State  by  law  pays  for  his  fare  back  to  his  place  of 
arrest  or  conviction  (whichever  is  the  nearer)  or  the  equivalent  in  cost, 
and  if  he  wishes  to  go  further  the  Society  may  pay  the  difference:  it 
will  also  give  him  a  small  sum  to  cover  expenses  till  he  can  get  a  grant 
from  the  Assistance  Board  at  his  destination.  Where  the  prisoner  has 
no  home  to  go  to,  the  Welfare  Officer  will  arrange  for  lodgings  at  the 
destination  if  the  prisoner  so  wishes.  In  suitable  cases  the  Society  may 
also  provide  tools  for  a  tradesman  or  a  small  stock  for  shop  or  stall, 
and  in  general  will  be  prepared  to  consider  the  special  needs  of  any 
deserving  case.  The  deserts  of  cases  in  a  local  prison  must  of  course 
vary  widely.  There  is  the  stage  army  of  ins-and-outs  with  longer  or 
shorter  sentences  whose  faces  are  all  too  familiar,  though  they  generally 
think  it  worth  while  to  try  some  fresh  story  on  the  Committee:  these 
will  usually  leave  with  2s.  6d.  or  so  and  their  fare  home — if  it  is  beyond 
walking  distance.  There  are  others  on  whom  much  may  be  spent  both 
1  Annual  Report  for  1949,  p.  49.  See  also  Appendix  K. 


264       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

in  time,  money  and  sympathetic  consideration.  For  many  the  Societies 
will  do  their  best,  if  it  is  needed  and  desired,  to  provide  after-care  as 
well  as  material  aid;  but  as  we  have  already  seen,  their  powers  are 
limited  to  setting  a  man  on  the  right  road — they  cannot  interfere  to  keep 
him  on  it.  Nor,  indeed,  are  they  equipped  to  do  so :  such  work  requires 
the  friend  to  be  on  the  spot,  and  the  Welfare  Officer  can  only  deal  with 
people  in  his  immediate  neighbourhood,  though  he  may,  and  often 
does,  arrange  by  correspondence  for  the  help  of  some  benevolent 
agency  near  the  home  of  a  person  who  needs  it. 

In  an  attempt  to  fill  this  gap,  at  any  rate  for  women,  an  interesting 
experiment  was  suggested  at  the  end  of  1950  on  the  initiative  of  the 
W.V.S.  The  proposal  was  that  their  members,  who  are  to  be  found  in 
every  town  and  village,  should  act  as  the  agents  of  the  Holloway 
D.P.A.S.  in  providing  a  'friend'  for  every  Star  prisoner  discharged 
from  Holloway  who  wished  to  have  one.  The  procedure  proposed  was 
that  the  Aid  Society  should  co-opt  on  to  its  Case  Committee  two 
representatives  of  the  Headquarters  of  the  W.V.S.  Each  Star  woman 
when  seen  by  the  Committee  would  be  asked  if  she  would  like  help  of 
this  sort:  if  she  said  yes,  the  W.V.S.  representative  present  would 
arrange  for  a  suitable  member  to  be  selected  in  the  woman's  home 
district.  She  would  have  as  her  first  duty  to  get  to  know  the  prisoner's 
family  and  prepare  the  ground  there  for  her  return:  if  possible,  she 
would  also  come  to  Holloway  and  get  to  know  the  prisoner  before 
discharge.  Having  done  what  she  could  to  smooth  the  way  for  her 
return  home,  she  would,  after  release,  visit  her  at  fairly  frequent  inter- 
vals and  see  what  help  or  advice  she  might  need,  any  need  for  material 
help  being  referred  to  the  Aid  Society.  At  the  end  of  the  first  month 
she  would  send  in  a  report  in  a  prescribed  form,  and  from  these  reports 
it  was  hoped  that  useful  knowledge  would  be  gained  of  the  problems 
confronting  women  on  discharge  and  how  best  to  overcome  them. 

The  experiment  was  initiated  early  in  1951,  and  should  it  prove 
successful  at  Holloway  its  extension  to  other  women's  prisons  might  be 
considered.  The  advantage  of  using  the  W.V.S.  for  a  service  of  this  sort 
is  twofold — their  members  are  everywhere  at  hand,  and  being  entirely 
voluntary  and  unofficial  their  coming  and  going  in  a  home  raises  no 
awkward  questions  among  curious  neighbours. 

Another  aspect  of  the  same  problem  has  also  begun  of  late  to  receive 
attention.  The  Commissioners  have  been  invited,  both  by  the  Prisons 
and  Borstals  Committee  of  the  Magistrates  Association  and  by  the 
Howard  League,  to  consider  the  employment  in  prisons  of  trained 
Social  Welfare  Officers,  who  would  concern  themselves  with  the  whole 
of  a  prisoner's  'external  relations'  during  his  sentence  and  prepare  for 
his  resettlement  after  discharge.  Such  a  service  exists  in  the  'Assistance 
Sociale'  of  the  French  and  Belgian  prison  systems,  and  the  idea  is 
certainly  in  tune  with  modern  thought.  On  the  other  hand  such  work  is 


AFTER-CARE  265 

being  done  already,  in  one  way  or  another,  by  Chaplains,  Assistant 
Governors  and  Welfare  Officers,  who  properly  regard  it  as  an  essential 
part  of  their  function.  Whether  the  introduction  of  another  full-time 
worker  in  this  field  would  on  the  whole  be  advantageous  remains,  at 
the  time  of  writing,  an  open  question. 

All  these  considerations  emphasise  the  gradual  shifting  of  emphasis, 
in  relation  to  prisoners  not  subject  to  'statutory  after-care',  from  the 
purely  economic  problems  which  face  them  on  release  to  those  other 
problems  which  may  often  have  a  more  significant  influence  on  their 
ultimate  rehabilitation. 

(3)    THE  CENTRAL  AFTER-CARE  ASSOCIATION 

We  pass  now  to  the  organisation  of  after-care  for  those  categories 
who  are  released  on  a  conditional  licence,  and  certain  others.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  include  here  reference  to  the  Borstal  Association,  though 
Borstal  after-care  will  be  dealt  with  in  a  later  chapter. 

Prisoners  sentenced  to  penal  servitude  had  always  been  outside  the 
scope  of  local  Aid  Society  arrangements,  the  convict  prisons  having  been 
from  the  beginning  the  affair  of  the  central  government,  but  the  govern- 
ment had  for  long  made  no  central  arrangements  for  their  assistance 
and  after-care.  The  fact  that  they  were  released  on  a  conditional  licence 
did  not  necessarily  involve  such  arrangements,  for  this  licence,  like  the 
transportation  ticket-of-leave  which  it  succeeded,  was  a  police  measure 
of  security  and  sanction  against  subsequent  offence:  it  had  no  flavour 
of  welfare.  This  situation  continued  until  1910,  when  Mr.  Churchill,  on 
the  advice  of  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise,  established  the  Central  Association 
for  the  Aid  of  Discharged  Convicts.  The  Association  was  from  the 
outset  wholly  financed  from  public  funds.  It  was  nominally  placed 
under  a  General  Council,  of  which  the  Secretary  of  State  was  President, 
and  on  which  the  Societies  and  Institutions  hitherto  operating  in  this 
field  of  charity  were  represented.  In  fact,  after  the  first  four  years,  the 
Association  was  managed  by  its  Director,  in  consultation  with  the 
Prison  Commissioners,  and  the  Council  ceased  to  have  an  effective 
existence.  After  the  late  war,  this  Association  was  brought  into  close 
co-operation  with  the  N.A.D.P.A.S.:  both  occupied  the  same  premises, 
and  the  General  Secretary  of  the  N.A.D.P.A.S.  was  Hon.  Director  of 
the  Central  Association. 

The  origin  of  the  Borstal  Association  was  rather  earlier.  In  the  early 
years  of  this  century,  when  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise  was  experimenting 
with  that  system  of  treating  young  offenders  between  the  ages  of  17-21 
which  was  by  the  Prevention  of  Crime  Act  1908  established  as  the 
Borstal  system,  he  started  among  his  personal  acquaintances  an 
Association  of  Visitors  to  these  young  men.  When  the  Borstal  system  was 
legally  established,  it  incorporated  a  new  principle  of  vital  importance 


266       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

to  the  future  of  after-care.  Unlike  the  negative  convict  licence,  the 
licence  under  which  a  Borstal  boy  or  girl  was  released  was  positive: 
its  main  object  was  not  a  sort  of  police  control,  but  to  ensure  that  the 
boy  was  placed  under  the  supervision  of  a  Society  whose  first  object 
was  his  rehabilitation,  and  that  he  should  have  regard  to  their  directions 
and  advice  at  the  risk  of  being  recalled  if  he  failed  to  do  so. 

For  this  purpose  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise's  Association  of  Visitors 
was  established  as  the  Borstal  Association  l  under  the  direction  of  a 
voluntary  committee,  and  so  continued,  as  the  Society  named  in  the 
licence  of  a  Borstal  boy,  until  the  Central  After-care  Association  was 
set  up.  Here  again  the  partnership  with  the  Prison  Commission  was 
gradually  extended,  till  in  recent  years  the  whole  of  the  expense  of 
administration  as  well  as  that  of  after-care  came  to  be  met  from  public 
funds. 

The  arrangements  for  convict  women  and  Borstal  girls  were  similarly 
centralised,  but  on  rather  different  lines.  Until  1928  responsibility  for 
their  after-care  rested  with  the  Central  Association  and  Borstal  Associa- 
tion respectively.  The  work  was  carried  out  at  a  branch  office  in  London 
by  a  lady  who  was  an  Assistant  Director  of  these  Associations.  The 
arrangement  was  neither  convenient  nor  economical,  and  it  was 
thought  that  there  would  be  many  advantages  in  bringing  the  after-care 
work  into  closer  association  with  the  work  carried  on  at  Aylesbury, 
which  comprised  both  the  only  Borstal  at  that  time  for  girls  and  the  con- 
vict prison  for  women  of  the  Star  class.  Accordingly  a  new  Society  was 
set  up  known  as  the  Aylesbury  Association,  of  which  the  Council  was 
the  Visiting  Committee  of  the  Institution  and  the  first  Director  was 
the  then  Governor  of  the  Institution,  who  is  now  Dame  Lilian  Barker. 
In  more  recent  years,  when  more  girls'  Borstals  were  set  up,  and  the 
convicts  at  Holloway  assumed  greater  importance  than  those  at  Ayles- 
bury, it  was  found  desirable  to  separate  the  offices  of  Governor  and 
Director,  and  a  separate  Director  was  appointed  and  provided  with 
offices  in  London.  As  with  the  Borstal  and  Central  Association,  the 
Aylesbury  Association  was  financed  wholly  from  public  funds. 

This  was  the  situation  at  the  time  of  passing  of  the  Criminal  Justice 
Act,  which  had  several  important  provisions  affecting  the  field  of  after- 
care. On  the  one  hand,  it  increased  the  categories  of  offenders  to  be 
released  conditionally  on  a  'positive'  licence — a  licence  which  places 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  their  rehabilitation,  under  certain 
obligations  during  the  unexpired  portion  of  their  sentences  These 
categories  now  include,  as  well  as  Borstal  boys  and  girls,  men  and 
women  released  on  licence  from  sentences  of  Corrective  Training  and 
Preventive  Detention,  and  young  persons  under  21  released  on  licence 
from  sentences  of  imprisonment.  In  all  these  cases  the  Act  provides 

1  The  first  Director  of  the  Association,  one  of  the  original  Visitors,  was  Sir 
Wemyss  Grant  Wilson,  who  continued  in  office  till  his  retirement  in  1935. 


AFTER-CARE  267 

that  they  should  be  under  the  supervision  of  an  appointed  Society. 
On  the  other  hand,  by  abolishing  penal  servitude  and  with  it  the  con- 
vict licence,  it  left  prisoners  serving  sentences  of  3  years  and  upwards, * 
in  whatever  type  of  prison,  in  the  same  position  as  local  prisoners,  i.e. 
their  sentences  were  terminated  on  discharge  and  they  had  no  further 
obligations.  As  some  set-off  to  this,  the  higher  courts  were  given 
power,  under  section  22  of  the  Act,  to  impose  certain  security 
conditions,  in  specified  conditions,  on  persons  discharged  after  serving 
sentences  of  12  months  or  more  for  certain  more  serious  offences. 
This  provision  was  evidently  influenced  by  recommendations  made 
by  both  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Persistent  Offenders  in  1932 
and  that  on  Employment  of  Prisoners  in  1935.  The  latter,  looking 
forward  to  legislation  which  might  'obliterate  the  distinction  between 
prisoners  and  convicts',  made  the  following  observations  (para.  62) : 

'In  view  of  the  dangers  to  which  police  supervision  is  alleged  to 
expose  a  well-intentioned  prisoner  (though,  as  we  have  said,  we  do 
not  by  any  means  accept  all  that  has  been  represented  to  us  on  this 
subject),  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  mode  of  supervision  should  be 
one  which,  while  securing  to  the  police  all  that  information  about  the 
movements  of  dangerous  criminals  which  they  ought  to  have  in  the 
public  interest,  would  safeguard  the  interests  of  the  prisoner  who  is 
really  seeking  to  make  good.  We  are  disposed  to  think  that  this  object 
might  be  achieved  if  in  proper  cases  the  prisoner  were  allowed  to  report 
to  a  suitable  Society  instead  of  to  the  police,  on  the  understanding  that 
the  Society  would  on  request  supply  the  police  with  his  address  and 
communicate  to  them  any  information  which  indicated  an  intention  to 
revert  to  crime. 

'We  have  considered  the  objection  that  the  undertaking  of  the  duty 
of  supervision  might  prejudice  the  relationship  of  the  Societies  to  the 
discharged  prisoner,  but  we  do  not  anticipate  that  it  would  have  this 
result.  Supervision  by  a  Society  would  be  an  alternative  to  supervision 
by  the  police,  and  we  think  prisoners  would  be  quick  to  appreciate  that 
it  was  a  concession  and  a  privilege  rather  than  an  attempt  to  convert  the 
Societies  into  agents  of  the  police.' 

This  in  fact  was  the  sort  of  arrangement  which  Parliament  adopted  in 
section  22,  with  results  that  we  shall  notice  in  due  course. 

Finally,  the  Act  (5th  Schedule,  para.  3  (5))  enumerated  among  the 
duties  of  probation  officers  'to  advise,  assist  and  befriend,  in  such  cases 
and  in  such  manner  as  may  be  prescribed,  persons  who  have  been 
released  from  custody'.  This  development  had  also  been  adumbrated  by 
the  Salmon  Committee,  which  had  given  some  attention  to  'the  desira- 
bility of  instituting  a  National  Parole  Service,  which  should  include  the 
work  both  of  Probation  Officers  and  of  the  D.P.A.S.'.  While  the 
1  Except  for  life  sentences,  as  to  which  see  Appendix  K. 


268       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

Committee  was  'not  prepared  to  recommend  any  such  far-reaching 
proposal',  they  did  find  themselves  able  to  'welcome  an  extension  of 
the  association  of  Probation  Officers  with  the  work  of  after-care'  (paras. 
86,  87). 

In  considering  how  this  vitally  important  question  of  supervision 
and  after-care  for  all  these  different  classes  of  people,  men  and  boys, 
women  and  girls,  ought  to  be  handled  in  the  light  of  the  great  responsi- 
bilities now  to  be  placed  on  the  after-care  organisations,  the  Secretary 
of  State  was  faced  with  two  problems.  The  first  was  to  bring  together 
the  existing  unrelated  bodies  in  such  a  way  as  to  ensure  that  what  is  in 
essence  one  problem  should  be  treated  on  common  principles,  with  a 
proper  co-ordination  of  all  the  parts  in  a  common  whole.  The  second 
was  to  ensure  that  the  actual  work  in  the  field,  the  supervision  and  help 
of  persons  released  on  licence  and  others  requiring  centrally  organised 
after-care,  should  equally  be  co-ordinated  and  treated  on  common 
principles  by  a  competent  body  of  qualified  social  workers. 

The  first  end  was  achieved  by  the  setting  up  of  the  Central  After- 
care Association,  which  is  the  appointed  Society  for  all  the  purposes 
of  the  Act;  the  second  by  establishing  de  lege  a  situation  which  had  long 
existed  de  facto,  though  in  a  partial  and  somewhat  unsatisfactory 
condition — that  is,  that  this  work  of  after-care  and  social  rehabilitation 
under  statutory  supervision  falls  naturally,  indeed  inevitably,  to  the 
Probation  Service. 

The  constitution  of  the  Central  After-care  Association  (England  and 
Wales),  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  C.A.C.A.,  sets  out  its  objects  as 
follows : 

'(1)  To  be  a  Society  which  may  be  specified  by  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners to  undertake  the  care  and  Supervision  of  a  person  after 
his  release: 

'(i)  from  a  Borstal  Institution  (section  20  (2)  of  the  Criminal  Justice 
Act  1948,  and  paragraph  2  of  the  Second  Schedule  to  that  Act): 

'(ii)  on  a  licence  from  Corrective  Training  or  Preventive  Detention 
(section  21  (3)  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  and  paragraph 
2  of  the  Third  Schedule  to  that  Act): 

'(iii)  on  a  licence  from  imprisonment  (section  56  (2)  of  the  Criminal 
Justice  Act  1948,  and  paragraph  1  of  the  Sixth  Schedule  to  that 
Act): 

and  to  undertake  such  care  and  supervision. 

'(2)  To  be  a  Society  which  may  be  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  appointed  by  the  Prison  Commissioners  to  receive  information  of 
an  offender's  address  on  his  discharge  from  prison  and  thereafter  from 
time  to  time  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section  22  of  the 
Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  and  to  receive  such  information. 


AFTER-CARE  269 

'(3)  To  undertake  the  supervision  of  such  other  persons  who  have 
been  released  from  custody  as  the  Secretary  of  State  may  from  time  to 
time  require. 

'(4)  To  consult  and  co-operate  with  the  National  Association  of 
Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Societies  with  a  view  to  the  most  effective 
and  economical  use  of  the  resources  of  both  bodies,  whether  jointly 
or  in  their  respective  spheres,  in  all  matters  affecting  the  after-care  of 
persons  released  from  custody. 

'(5)  To  consider  and  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  on  questions 
arising  out  of  the  aforementioned  objects,  and  in  particular  such 
questions  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  referred  to  the  Association  by 
the  Secretary  of  State.' 

The  categories  mentioned  in  paras.  (1)  (i)  (ii)  and  (2)  have  already 
been  mentioned.  Para.  (1)  (iii)  refers  to  young  prisoners.  Para.  (3) 
includes  prisoners  released  from  central  (formerly  convict)  prisons. 

The  form  of  the  Association  represents  still  the  desire  to  preserve  a 
partnership  between  the  State  and  the  spirit  of  voluntary  social  service. 
Although  entirely  financed  from  public  funds  as  to  both  its  central 
administration  and  its  direct  expenditure  on  the  welfare  of  those  in  its 
charge,  it  is  managed  by  a  voluntary  Council  of  not  more  than  20 
members  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  such  period  as  he 
may  think  fit:  the  Chairman  of  the  Council  is  also  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,1  and  the  General  Secretary  by  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners. The  constitution  requires  that  the  Chairman  and  Vice- 
Chairman  of  the  N.A.D.P.A.S.  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the 
Council:  the  other  members  represent  Government  Departments  with 
a  relevant  interest  (Ministry  of  Education,  Ministry  of  Labour  and 
National  Service,  War  Office,  National  Assistance  Board),  the  Prison 
Commissioners,  the  Probation  Service,  the  National  Association  of 
Prison  Visitors,  the  Visiting  Committees  of  Aylesbury  and  Holloway,  the 
W.V.S.,  and  the  former  committee  of  the  Borstal  Association,  together 
with  certain  non-representative  members  with  special  interest  or 
experience  in  the  field. 

The  Council  has  hitherto  met  twice  a  year,  and  its  Executive  Com- 
mittee, which  manages  the  business  of  the  Association  in  detail,  four 
times  a  year.  An  annual  report  is  made  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  it 
is  proposed  to  publish  this  for  the  year  1950  and  thereafter. 

The  work  of  the  Association  is  organised  in  three  Divisions,  corres- 
ponding roughly  with  the  three  pre-existing  organisations,  each  under 
a  Director.  The  Men's  Division  deals  with  men  prisoners,  the  Women's 
and  Girls'  Division  with  women  and  girl  prisoners  and  Borstal  girls, 

1  The  first  Chairman  was  the  Chairman  of  the  Prison  Commissioners,  but  this 
precedent  need  not  be  followed  again. 


270      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

the  Borstal  Division  with  Borstal  boys  and  male  young  prisoners. 
The  three  Directors  attend  all  meetings  of  the  Executive  Committee  and 
of  the  Council. 

Broadly,  the  work  of  the  Association  is  preparatory:  their  officers 
regularly  visit  the  prisons  and  Borstals,  interview  their  prospective 
charges,  and,  in  co-operation  with  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  the 
'associates'  who  will  actually  receive  and  supervise  them  on  release, 
make  all  necessary  arrangements  with  families  and — so  far  as  possible 
— employers.  Direct  after-care  by  employees  of  the  Association  is  given 
only  in  the  London  area  for  men,  though  the  Women's  Division  have 
their  own  supervisors  in  some  other  centres.  The  Association  also 
receives  reports  from  its  associates  in  the  field  on  all  persons  under 
supervision,  and  where  necessary  makes  recommendations  to  the 
Commissioners  as  to  revocation  of  licence.  And  finally  it  receives, 
dispenses  and  accounts  for  the  funds  provided  for  the  work. 

With  few  exceptions,  the  associates  who  undertake  the  actual  work 
of  after-care  in  the  field  are  the  probation  officers,  under  the  authority 
of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  and  the  statutory  Probation  Rules,  which 
prescribe  the  classes  of  person  released  from  custody  whom  it  shall  be 
'the  duty  of  a  probation  officer  to  advise,  assist  and  befriend',  and 
also  his  duties  in  respect  of  reporting  to  the  C.A.C.A.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  probation  service  has  welcomed  this  addition  to  its  duties,  and 
the  fullest  co-operation  in  spirit  is  already  assured,  though  practical 
details  are  still  in  process  of  being  worked  out.  Provided  always  that  the 
local  authorities  employing  probation  officers  make  proper  allowance 
for  this  addition  to  their  case-loads  in  assessing  the  number  of  officers 
required  at  each  court,  this  essential  part  of  the  process  of  rehabilitation 
should  now  be  firmly  based  and  effectively  furthered. 

Details  of  method  in  this  work  can  never  become  stereotyped: 
broadly,  they  fall  into  three  parts — pre-release  case  work,  reception 
case  work,  and  supervisory  case  work.  In  the  first  stage  the  associate 
should  some  months  before  release  receive  from  the  C.A.C.A.  the 
fullest  information  about  an  offender  to  come  under  his  care — his 
record,  character  and  aptitudes  in  prison  and  out,  physical  and  mental 
characteristics,  family  and  social  relations  and  so  forth.  He  should 
then  become  acquainted  with  the  family  situation,  and  do  his  best  to 
smooth  the  way  there.  He  should  also  get  into  touch  with  the  offender 
himself — if  possible  by  visits,  if  not,  by  correspondence — so  as  to  make 
himself  known  and  encourage  friendly  consideration  of  future  plans  for 
work  and  living. 

When  the  second  or  'reception'  stage  is  reached,  both  the  offender 
and  his  associate  should  be  ready  to  meet  with  a  common  knowledge  of 
the  problems  to  be  faced  and  what  is  to  be  done  about  them.  This  is  the 
critical  stage  of  re-settlement,  and  whatever  previous  plans  may  have 
been  made  it  will  call  for  the  associate's  constant  attention. 


AFTER-CARE  271 

If  the  initial  problems  of  re-settlement  have  been  successfully  over- 
come, it  may  be  that  the  subsequent  supervision  will  not  be  exacting 
on  either  side.  But  for  the  reasons  given  in  the  opening  section  of  this 
chapter  this  is  by  no  means  to  be  expected,  and  the  associate  cannot 
be  content  with  mere  routine  reporting.  He  should  know  what  is 
happening,  if  he  can,  inside  the  person  in  his  charge  as  well  as  round 
about  him,  and  always  be  ready  to  take  quick  action  in  a  crisis,  to 
instil  courage  or  give  sharp  warning,  to  advise  the  C.A.C.A.  if  material 
help  is  needed,  or  in  the  last  resort  to  suggest  recall  to  prison. 

Two  points  in  conclusion.  Although  men  and  women  sentenced  to 
terms  of  imprisonment  of  more  than  3  years  are  not  subject  to  any 
statutory  obligations  or  supervision,  their  after-care  is  the  business  of 
the  C.A.C.A.,  and  the  probation  service  'befriends,  assists  and  advises 
them',  so  far  as  they  need  and  desire  such  help,  in  the  same  way  as  if 
they  were  on  licence,  though  without  the  sanction  of  the  licence.  The 
extent  to  which  assistance  is  given  in  these  cases  is  nevertheless  con- 
siderable, as  shown  on  pp.  52-54  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Prison 
Commissioners  for  1949.  In  that  year  1,354  long-term  prisoners  were 
discharged  to  the  care  of  the  Men's  Division:  of  these  175  "required  no 
help',  and  961  were  given  all  necessary  material  help  and  placed  in 
employment — 512  being  found  work  through  the  Association,  and  449 
finding  their  own  work.  Of  188  it  was  said  that  they  "were  given  advice 
and  maintenance  but  would  not  co-operate'.  The  remainder  were 
returned  to  the  Forces,  repatriated,  deported,  or  certified  as  Institution 
cases.  The  Women's  Division  received  48  long-term  women,  of  whom 
26  returned  to  their  homes,  some  to  resume  their  duties  as  housewives, 
others  to  start  work:  of  the  remainder  6  were  found  resident  work,  3 
went  to  hostels  and  found  daily  work,  8  returned  to  friends  or  relatives, 
and  2  went  to  lodgings — *a  number  of  these  started  work'.  Three  only 
were  lost  sight  of. 

On  the  other  hand  men  discharged  from  prison  against  whom  a 
'section  22  order'  has  been  made,  unless  they  come  under  the  C.A.C.A. 
by  virtue  of  length  of  sentence,  are  dealt  with  by  the  local  Aid  Societies 
in  the  ordinary  course:  the  C.A.C.A.  merely  receives  their  addresses, 
passes  them  on  to  the  police,  and  notifies  the  Criminal  Record  Office 
if  they  lose  touch  with  them.  There  is  a  certain  inconsistency  of  function 
here,  in  that  the  C.A.C.A.  carries  out  what  is  in  effect  a  security  measure 
without  exercising  any  function  of  after-care:  but  the  purpose  of  the 
section  was  to  keep  the  police  in  touch  with  the  whereabouts  of  known 
criminals  who  commit  serious  offences,  and  not  to  put  such  criminals 
in  a  specially  favourable  position  as  regards  after-care. 

This  chapter  may  well  close  on  a  statement  of  the  position  by  one  who 
had  at  least  the  merit  of  being  able  to  express  it  with  imaginative  insight 
and  force.  Oscar  Wilde  wrote  in  De  Profundis  l : 

i  De  Profundis.  The  Complete  Text,  p.  84,  Methucn  1949,  price  IQs.  6d. 


272       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

'Many  men  on  their  release  carry  their  prison  about  with  them  into 
the  air,  and  hide  it  as  a  secret  disgrace  in  their  hearts,  and  at  length, 
like  poor  poisoned  things,  creep  into  some  hole  and  die.  It  is  wretched 
that  they  should  have  to  do  so,  and  it  is  wrong,  terribly  wrong,  of 
society  that  it  should  force  them  to  do  so.  Society  takes  upon  itself  the 
right  to  inflict  appalling  punishment  on  the  individual,  but  it  also  has 
the  supreme  vice  of  shallowness,  and  fails  to  realise  what  it  has  done. 
When  the  man's  punishment  is  over,  it  leaves  him  to  himself;  that  is 
to  say,  it  abandons  him  at  the  very  moment  when  its  highest  duty 
towards  him  begins.  It  is  really  ashamed  of  its  own  actions,  and  shuns 
those  whom  it  has  punished,  as  people  shun  a  creditor  whose  debt  they 
cannot  pay,  or  one  on  whom  they  have  inflicted  an  irreparable,  an 
irredeemable  wrong.  I  can  claim  on  my  side  that  if  I  realise  what  I  have 
suffered,  society  should  realise  what  it  has  inflicted  on  me;  and  that 
there  should  be  no  bitterness  or  hate  on  either  side.' 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN 
RESULTS 


(1)    GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 

WHILE  it  is  right,  indeed  necessary,  that  the  public  should  be 
informed  of  the  results  of  a  system  for  which  it  is  morally 
and  financially  responsible,  there  is  no  recognised  method  by 
which  the  results  of  a  prison  system  can  be  assessed,  either  absolutely  or 
relatively,  nor  does  it  appear  that  such  a  method  could  be  devised. 
Imprisonment  is  only  one  of  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  Courts 
for  the  prevention  of  crime,  and  the  general  statistics  of  crime  can  only 
reflect  the  total  effect  of  the  use  which  the  Courts  make  of  those  means. 
Nor  is  it  possible  to  compare  one  period  with  another,  either  over  the 
whole  field  or  in  relation  to  prisons  as  one  part  of  the  field,  on  a  purely 
statistical  basis :  for  this  a  wide  social  study  would  be  necessary  to  take 
account  of  such  extraneous  factors  as  changes  in  social  and  economic 
conditions  relevant  to  the  causation  of  crime,  variations  in  the  practice 
of  the  police  and  the  Courts,  and  the  effect  of  fresh  legislation.  A  fortiori, 
there  is  no  possibility  of  useful  international  comparison:  the  U.N. 
Secretariat  is  at  present  studying  the  practicability  of  some  common 
form  of  general  criminal  statistics  which  may  enable  such  comparison,  but 
the  prospects  have  not  hitherto  appeared  hopeful.  In  the  more  restricted 
field  of  imprisonment  and  its  results,  there  is  insufficient  published 
material  to  work  on,  even  if  it  afforded  any  valid  comparative  basis. 

The  figures  to  be  given  in  this  chapter,  therefore,  while  they  are  of 
considerable  interest  in  themselves,  afford  no  basis  for  conclusions  as 
to  whether  our  contemporary  prison  system  is  more  or  less  effective 
for  its  purpose  than  earlier  phases  in  this  country  or  than  the  systems 
of  any  other  countries.  They  are  based  on  the  figures  for  1949  in  the 
series  published  by  the  Commissioners  in  their  Annual  Reports,  and  at 
least  they  give  some  answer  to  certain  basic  questions.  If,  for  example, 
one  were  asked  to  frame  a  criterion  of  complete  'success'  for  a  prison 
system,  one  might  put  it  that  no-one  who  had  once  been  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  should  ever  have  to  be  sent  to  prison  again:  and  from 
E.p.B.s.—18  273 


274      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

these  figures  we  can  learn  with  some  accuracy  how  close  our  system 
has  come  to  that  standard  of  success  over  a  period  of  some  15  years. 
Again,  since  the  system  does  not  in  fact  reach  that  standard,  and  a 
proportion  of  those  sent  to  prison  for  the  first  time  are  again  punished 
by  imprisonment,  the  figures  tell  us  something  of  these  failures,  and  of 
how  many  of  them,  by  repeated  returns  to  prison,  go  to  make  up  that 
body  of  'recidivists'  who  form  the  hard  core  of  penal  problems  in 
general  and  prison  problems  in  particular. 

It  is  necessary  to  resist  the  temptation  to  read  more  into  these  figures 
than  they  claim  to  say,  or  to  draw  inferences  from  them  on  such  broad 
general  questions  as  the  effect  of  the  prison  system  on  general  or 
individual  deterrence.  The  difficulties  of  assessing  the  effects  of  general 
deterrence  on  any  scientific  basis  have  already  been  suggested,  and  as 
Dr.  Griinhut  points  out,  'the  reasons  for  avoiding  conflict  with  the  law 
are  even  more  multiple  and  obscure  than  the  causes  of  crime'  (p.  454). 
As  for  the  effects  of  imprisonment  on  the  individual  subjected  to  it, 
'only  an  extensive  social  research  could  show,  of  any  group  of  persons 
released  who  have  not  returned  to  prison,  whether  they  were  reformed, 
or  deterred,  or  would  have  been  unlikely  to  revert  to  crime  in  any  case; 
or  of  any  group  of  those  who  do  return,  whether  they  were  in  fact 
better  or  worse  human  beings,  more  or  less  likely  to  revert  to  crime,  as 
a  result  of  their  imprisonment'.1 

Such  research  has  in  fact  been  carried  out  in  the  United  States,  over 
a  long  period  of  years,  by  Sheldon  and  Eleanor  Glueck,  and  their 
illuminating  conclusions  have  earned  world-wide  attention.  But  while 
they  have  shown  the  way,  their  results  are,  in  general,  valid  only  in 
the  conditions  in  which  they  were  obtained,  and  it  remains  for  us  to 
seek  similar  light  in  the  conditions  of  our  own  problems.  Scientific 
research  on  these  lines  in  this  country  is  scarcely  yet  in  the  state  of 
conception.  Provision  is  made  in  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  empowering 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  spend  money  for  this  purpose,  and  consulta- 
tions have  taken  place  between  the  Home  Office  and  the  Universities 
and  Foundations  concerned  with  these  matters  as  to  the  best  lines  of 
approach.  But  the  field  is  wide,  both  funds  and  qualified  research 
workers  are  limited  and  contemporary  interest  in  juvenile  delinquency 
has  tended  to  swing  available  resources  in  that  direction.  In  the  field 
of  the  effects  of  various  forms  of  treatment  on  adult  delinquents,  the 
little  that  has  been  completed  since  the  war  is  by  way  of  individual 
post-graduate  research  theses  which  have  not  yet  been  published.  At 
present,  it  is  understood  that  a  study  group  of  social  and  research 
workers  in  Oxford  University,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Griinhut,  is 
preparing  to  make  a  study  of  penal  and  correctional  treatment,  based 
on  a  large  number  of  criminal  careers,  with  a  view  to  establishing 
information  about  response  to  treatment  and  post-treatment  behaviour. 

1  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p,  21. 


RESULTS 


275 


Material  is  also  being  collected  in  the  London  and  Middlesex  probation 
areas  with  a  view  to  an  assessment  of  the  results  of  probation  by  a 
Cambridge  University  research  group.1 

(2)    RESULTS  OF  TRAINING 

The  published  figures  available  are  in  three  separate  groups :  publica- 
tion of  each  was  started  at  a  different  time  and  for  a  different  purpose, 
and  they  are  not  easily  synthesised. 

The  first  group  is  that  which  has  been  published  for  some  years 
past  as  Appendix  10  of  the  Annual  Reports,  which  is  headed  'Prisoners 
who  have  not  returned  to  prison  after  a  first  sentence  of  imprisonment 
for  a  finger-printable  offence'.  This  table  as  published  for  1949  shows, 
from  1930  onwards,  by  age-groups,  the  total  number  of  these  'first- 
timers'  received  during  each  period  and  the  percentage  of  that  number 
who  had  not  returned  to  prison  before  the  end  of  1948.  It  is  important 
to  be  clear  as  to  just  what  this  table  does  and  does  not  cover  before 
considering  its  effect.  It  relates  to: 

(1)  Persons  received  in  prison  for  the  first  time,  not  to  persons  con- 
victed for  the  first  time:  the  figures  shown  are  divided  between  those 
with  previous  proved  offences  and  those  with  no  previous  proved  offences. 

(2)  Persons  convicted  of  'finger-printable  offences'  only,  i.e.  indict- 
able offences  and  some  more  serious  non-indictable  offences  which  are 
akin  to  crime  rather  than  to  social  nuisance:  it  is  therefore  a  review  of 
criminal  offenders  in  the  stricter  sense,  not  of  all  offenders. 

(3)  Persons  sentenced  to  imprisonment  as  it  was  before  the  Act  of 
1948,  and  not  to  sentences  of  penal  servitude:  this  means  that  the 
sentences  concerned  may  be  from  5  days  to  2  years. 

(4)  Persons  serving  sentences  in  all  prisons  except  what  prior  to  1949 
were  'convict  prisons',  i.e.  the  table  includes  those  discharged  from  the 
special  training  prisons  for  whom  separate  figures  are  given  later, 
provided  they  were  not  serving  sentences  of  penal  servitude. 

The  total  effect  of  this  table  may  be  expressed  as  follows : 


Year  of  First 
Reception 

Number  received 
for  first  time 

Number  not  again 
received  so  far  as 
is  known  before 
31.12.48 

Percentage 
(3)  of  (2) 

1930-1935 
1936-1940 
1943 
1944 
1945 
1946 

47,010 
42,996 
12,671 
12,094 
13,167 
12,539 

34,536 
34,827 
10,118 
9,648 
10,973 
10,286 

73 
81 
80 
80 
83 
82 

Note:  No  accurate  figures  are  available  in  respect  of  prisoners  first  received 
during  1941  or  1942. 

1  See  also  p.  367  as  to  a  Borstal  research  project. 


276      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

It  should  be  noted  in  respect  of  the  1946  entry  that  the  2  year 
prisoners  committed  during  that  year  would  all  have  been  released 
(excepting  losses  of  remission  for  disciplinary  reasons)  between  1  May 
1947  and  30  April  1948,  so  that  on  31  December  1948  none  would  have 
been  out  of  prison  for  less  than  8  months  or  more  than  20  months. 

The  fuller  details  given  in  Appendix  10  provide  additional  information. 

For  persons  with  no  previous  proved  offences  the  percentages  in 
column  4  of  the  foregoing  table,  from  1936  onwards,  are  remarkably 
steady  at  93,  94,  92,  93,  94;  but  it  would  be  unwise  to  infer  from  this 
that  as  a  method  of  treatment  for  a  first  offence  imprisonment  is 
13  per  cent  more  likely  to  be  successful  than  any  other  method! 

The  analysis  of  the  percentages  by  age-groups  is  particularly 
suggestive: 


Without  previous  offences 

With  previous  offences 

Period 

17-21 

21-30 

30-40 

40  & 

17-21 

21-30 

30-40 

40  & 

over 

over 

1930-35 

67 

78 

84 

89 

37 

60 

67 

78 

1936-40 

78 

85 

90 

93 

63 

70 

79 

84 

1943 

83 

86 

91 

94 

48 

55 

68 

78 

1944 

81 

86 

92 

96 

50 

50 

68 

78 

1945 

86 

89 

93 

96 

56 

57 

74 

79 

1946 

89 

89 

94 

96 

71 

58 

74 

81 

At  this  point  there  exists  the  possibility  of  a  comparison  of  the 
results  shown  with  other  authenticated  figures,  though  the  relativity 
is  by  no  means  exact.  The  '500  criminal  careers'  followed  up  by  Sheldon 
and  Eleanor  Glueck  in  the  first  of  their  studies  on  these  lines  covered 
'500  ex-inmates  of  the  Massachusetts  Reformatory,  mostly  property 
offenders  with  previous  violations  of  the  law,  and  they  regarded  as 
recidivists  those  relapsing  into  any  sort  of  punishable  conduct,  whether 
reconvicted  or  not.  The  result  was  a  shock  to  any  criminologist  inclined 
to  complacency.  By  these  rather  severe  standards  in  the  first  five-year 
post-treatment  span,  when  the  average  age  of  the  men  was  thirty,  the 
ratio  of  those  relapsing  into  crime  was  80-1  per  cent;  in  the  second, 
with  an  average  age  of  thirty-five,  69-9  per  cent;  and  in  the  third,  at 
the  time  of  the  general  depression,  69-2  per  cent,  but  only  58-2  in  the 
fifth  year  of  the  last  period.' l  So  far  as  the  case-material  is  concerned, 
the  comparable  material  in  the  foregoing  table  would  be  the  age-groups 
17-30  with  previous  offences:  as  regards  results,  the  English  material 
relates  not  only  to  reconvictions  but  to  recommittals  to  prison,  whereas 
the  American  material  relates  to  'punishable  conduct  whether  recon- 
victed or  not'.  It  is  impossible  to  discount  this  variation,  but  the 

i  Griinhut,  p.  388. 


RESULTS 


277 


comparable  figures,  for  what  they  may  be  worth,  in  respect  of  the  'first 
five-year  post-treatment  span'  seem  to  be  8Q-1  'relapsed'  on  the  Glueck 
findings  and  48-6  recommitted  to  prison  on  the  figures  of  Appendix  10.1 

The  next  group  of  figures  relates  to  prisoners  discharged  from  the 
three  Training  Prisons  at  Wakefield,  Maidstone  and  Askham  Grange 
(women):  unfortunately  the  figures  published  for  these  three  prisons 
cover  neither  the  same*  periods  nor  the  same  case-material,  so  that  each 
must  be  considered  separately. 

The  Commissioners  have  published  in  their  Annual  Reports  in 
respect  of  every  year  since  1931  the  numbers  discharged  from  Wakefield 
in  that  year  and  the  Dumber  of  those  discharges  reconvicted  up  to  a 
recent  date.  The  figures  cover  two  categories  of  prisoner,  Star  Class 
and  Special  Class,2  though  the  figures  for  the  latter  cease  after  1945, 
when  this  class  was  discontinued.  The  sentences  would  be,  broadly,  1-3 
years,  giving  a  maximum  of  2  years  to  be  served.  For  this  prison  the 
figures  published  in  1949  show  that  of  5,883  Stars  discharged  from 
1939-46  inclusive,  507  or  8-6  per  cent  had  been  reconvicted  up  to 
31  December  1948,  i.e.  after  not  less  than  2  years  at  large.  The  com- 
parable figure  for  the  Special  Class  was  24-7.  This  gives  a  'success' 
percentage  of  91-4  for  Stars  as  against  the  overall  Star  figure  in 
Appendix  10  of  about  80,  and  75-3  for  Specials  as  against  about  55  for 
the  21-30  age-group  with  previous  offences  which  is  the  comparable 
class  in  Appendix  10.  If  for  stricter  comparison  the  four  Wakefield 
years  1943-6  are  compared  with  the  years  1943-6  in  the  first  of  two 
tables  given  above  as  abstracts  from  Appendix  10,  the  Wakefield 
'success'  figure  for  Stars  becomes  95-3. 

The  Maidstone  figures  cover  a  much  shorter  period,  but  are  here 
given  for  what  they  may  be  worth  as  quoted  in  the  Annual  Report  for 
1949,  p.  36. 

Numbers  discharged  from  Maidstone  Prison  from  1945  to  1948 
and  since  reconvicted  up  to  31  December  1949 


Year 

Stars 

Ordinaries 

Total 

Dis- 
charged 

Reconvicted 

Dis- 
charged 

Reconvicted 

Dis- 
charged 

Reconvicted 

Num- 
ber 

Per 

cent 

Num- 
ber 

Per 

cent 

Num- 
ber 

Per 
cent 

1945 
1946 
1947 
1948 

59 
177 
161 

252 

4 
12 

7 
4 

7 
7 
4 

2 

91 
265 
186 
196 

22 
29 
23 
25 

24 
11 
12 
13* 

150 

442 
347 
448 

26 
41 
30 
29 

17-3 
9-3 
8-6 
6-5 

1  3,087  offenders  of  the  age-groups  17-30  are  shown  in  Appendix  10  as  having  been 
received  with  previous  offences  in  1943.  Qn  31  December  1948,  1,587  of  these  had 
not  again  been  received  into  prison,  i.e.  514  per  cent. 

2  The  Special  Class  was  for  young  men  between  the  ages  21-30  who  by  record 
and  character  were  unfit  for  the  Star  Class. 


278       THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

In  the  foregoing  table  the  Stars  are  as  case  material  comparable  with 
the  Wakefield  Stars:  taking  the  1945-7  discharges  only,  so  as  to  allow 
a  two-year  gap  to  the  end  of  1949,  this  gives  23  reconvictions  out  of 
397  discharges,  or  a  success  percentage  of  about  94.  Particular  interest 
attaches  to  the  figures  for  the  Ordinary  Class  discharges,  since  these 
(so  far  as  they  go)  indipate  what  measures  of  success  may  attend  the 
experiment  of  treating  recidivists  in  the  special  conditions  of  a  Training 
Prison:  again  taking  only  the  1945-47  figures,  we  find  that  of  542 
discharges  74  had  been  reconvicted  up  to  the  end  of  1949,  giving  a 
'success'  percentage  of  about  86-3.  If  these  figures  are  taken  with  the 
Special  Class  figures  for  Wakefield  they  suggest  that  this  method  of 
training  recidivists  may  hope  to  achieve  a  success  rate  round  about  80. 

Encouraging  as  these  figures  may  be,  they  must  bow  to  those  achieved 
by  the  women  trained  at  Askham  Grange  in  the  first  three  years  of 
that  prison's  life  (1947-9),  though  over  this  short  period,  during  the 
greater  part  of  which  only  carefully  selected  Stars  were  received,  the 
fact  that  only  two  reconvictions  had  been  recorded  before  the  end  of 
1949  does  not  merit  statistical  assessment. 

The  third  group  of  figures  supplements  Appendix  10,  though  in- 
directly and  incompletely,  by  giving  information  about  the  reconvic- 
tions of  prisoners  with  sentences  of  3  years  and  over  discharged  from 
central  and  local  prisons.  This  comes  from  the  reports  of  the  Men's  and 
Women's  Divisions  of  the  C.  A.C.  A.  at  pp.  52  and  54  of  the  Annual  Report 
for  1949:  the  figures  given  for  men  relate  to  the  position  of  1947  dis- 
charges at  the  end  of  1949.  For  Stars  the  'satisfactory'  percentages  are, 
Leyhill  96-7:  *  Wakefield  87-8.  For  Ordinaries,  Parkhurst  46-6:  local 
prisons  56-3.  For  women  the  figures  are  given  for  discharges  over  a  three- 
year  period  1945-47  and  again  relate  to  the  position  at  the  end  of 
1949— they  are  Stars,  96-8,2  Ordinaries,  67-7. 

From  the  total  effect  of  these  three  groups  of  figures  it  seems  possible 
to  deduce  some  answer  to  the  question  of  how  the  actual  results  of  the 
contemporary  prison  system  compare  with  the  criterion  of  complete 
success  postulated  in  the  opening  section  of  the  chapter.  If  we  take  the 
Star  Class  as  representing  those  who  come  to  prison  for  the  first  time,3 
it  appears  that  of  all  those  who  have  served  up  to  2  year  sentences 
some  80  per  cent  will  not  return  to  prison,  and  if  they  have  served  their 
sentences  in  training  prisons,  over  90  per  cent  will  not  return:  for 
those  who  have  served  longer  sentences  in  central  prisons  the  figure 
may  be  95  for  men  and  tends  to  approach  100  for  women. 

1  The  1946  discharge  figure  for  Camp  Hill,  which  preceded  Leyhill  as  a  long-term 
Star  prison,  was  95*5  satisfactory  at  the  end  of  1948. 

2  This  represents  2  reconvictions  out  of  63  discharges :  in  most  years  no  recon- 
victions are  reported. 

3  In  fact  a  small  proportion  of  Stars  may  have  been  in  prison  before,  but  to 
balance  this  a  small  proportion  of  'first-timers'  may  have  been  reclassified  as  Ordin- 
aries owing  to  bad  conduct  or  influence. 


RESULTS  279 

Of  those  who  do  not  come  back  to  prison  these  figures  tell  us  nothing, 
and  nothing,  on  any  statistical  basis,  can  be  known.  For  them,  imprison- 
ment must  be  supposed  to  have  served  its  purpose,  for  some  in  one  way, 
for  some  in  another.  Many  personal  accounts  still  unhappily  suggest 
that  for  the  writers  at  least  Wilde  could  speak  today  as  he  wrote  in 
De  Profundis:  'Prison  life  with  its  endless  privations  and  restrictions 
makes  one  rebellious  .  .  .  and  he  who  is  in  a  state  of  rebellion  cannot 
receive  grace.  .  .  .  The  most  terrible  thing  about  it  is  not  that  it  breaks 
one's  heart .  .  .  but  that  it  turns  one's  heart  to  stone.'  But  there  is  much 
in  the  records  of  Aid  Societies,  and  in  letters  to  Governors  and  Chap- 
lains and  other  officers  of  the  prisons,  to  count  on  the  other  side  of  the 
assessment — as  this  from  the  parents  of  a  young  woman  recently 
released: 

'My  wife  and  I  feel  we  would  like  to  express  our  appreciation  for 
your  sympathetic  consideration  towards  our  daughter,  which  meant 
so  much  to  her  in  the  very  unfortunate  circumstances.  We  are  quite 
certain  that  had  your  attitude  been  more  in  keeping  with  what  one 
usually  associates  with  prison  life,  she  would  have  come  back  to  us 
very  much  the  worse  for  her  experiences.  Instead,  we  find  the  shining 
light  of  an  unbroken  spirit  and  renewed  faith  in  humanity.  This  is  quite 
contrary  to  our  expectations,  and  so  you  will  understand  the  extent  of 
our  gratitude.' 

(3)  RECIDIVISM 

A  recidivist,  for  an  English  writer,  is  no  easier  to  define  than  a 
psychopath.  It  is  not,  in  English  usage,  a  term  with  any  legal  definition: 
it  appears  in  no  statute  and  in  no  statutory  rule.  We  are  therefore 
thrown  back  on  its  dictionary  definition,  which  is  given  in  the  O.E.D. 
as  'one  who  habitually  relapses  into  crime'.  This  is  the  sense  in  which 
the  word  will  be  used  here,  and  in  which  it  is  perhaps  most  generally 
understood,  pace  Dr.  Griinhut,  who  refers  to  the  'legal  term'  of  reci- 
divist, and  defines  recidivism  as  'the  commission  of  a  new  offence 
after  the  expiration  of  a  sentence  for  a  previous  breach  of  the  law' 
(p.  387).  It  would  certainly  be  convenient  if  there  could  be  some 
accepted  definition  of  the  point  in  an  offender's  career  at  which  relapse 
could  be  said  to  have  become  habitual,  and  in  some  English-speaking 
countries  legal  or  at  any  rate  administrative  definition  is  given  to  the 
term  recidivist:  no  doubt  Dr.  Griinhut  had  the  practice  of  those 
countries  in  mind  rather  than  the  English  practice. 

However  that  may  be,  it  will  have  appeared  sufficiently  from  the 
foregoing  section  that  since  of  those  who  come  to  prison  for  the  first 
time  not  more  than  20  per  cent  are  likely  to  return,  a  substantial  pro- 
portion of  that  20  per  cent  must  return  very  often  and  for  a  very  long 
time  for  them  to  bulk  so  large  in  the  prison  population.  That  this  is 


280      THE  TRAINING  AND  TREATMENT  OF  ADULTS 

indeed  so  is  shown  by  figures  published  on  p.  39  of  the  Annual  Report 
for  1949,  from  which  it  appears  that  in  1948  there  were  15,589  recep- 
tions of  men  and  1,143  receptions  of  women  convicted  of  offences  who 
were  known  to  have  been  in  prison  before:  the  analysis  of  their  previous 
offences  is  given  as  follows : 

Men        Women 

I  to  5  previous  offences        .         .       11,916  939 
6  to  10  previous  offences       .         .        2,207  128 

II  td  20  previous  offences     .         .        1,046  39 
Over  20  previous  offences     .         .           420             37 

15,589         1,143 


The  Report  also  gives,  in  Table  VIIA  of  the  Appendices,  analysed  by 
offences,  the  number  of  previous  sentences  of  imprisonment  (other 
than  for  non-payment  of  fines)  which  had  been  served  by  the  prisoners 
received  in  1948.  This  enables  the  inquiry  to  be  narrowed  down  to  crime 
proper  by  the  omission  of  the  less  serious  non-indictable  offences.  On 
this  basis  it  appears  that  the  number  of  men  received  on  conviction  of 
indictable  offences  or  'non-indictable  akin  to  indictable'  who  were 
known  to  have  served  previous  sentences  was  14,247.  The  number  of 
known  previous  sentences  were : 


One 

Two 

Three 

Four 

Five 

Six  to  ten 

Eleven  to 
Twenty 

Above 
Twenty 

4,077 

2,996 

1,789 

1,297 

887 

1,972 

904 

325 

For  women,  of  a  total  of  902,  the  numbers  were: 


One 

Two 

Three 

Four 

Five 

Six  to  ten 

Eleven  to 
Twenty 

Above 
Twenty 

303 

214 

109 

64 

54 

106 

32 

20 

From  these  figures  the  size  and  nature  of  the  problem  of  recidivism 
begin  to  take  shape.  Whatever  definition  one  gives  to  the  term  it  can 
be  fairly  applied  to  one  who  is  serving  a  fourth  sentence  of  imprison- 
ment for  a  serious  offence:  on  this  limited  basis  alone  it  appears  that 
we  are  concerned  with  nearly  7,200  men  and  400  women,  who  represent 
the  failures  of  the  penal  system  in  general  and  the  prison  system  in 
particular.  Looking  back  at  these  figures,  and  considering  that  nearly 
2,000  men  had  served  6-10  sentences  and  over  1,200  had  served  more 
— and  often  many  more — than  ten,  one  need  not  hesitate  to  draw  'the 
inference  that  the  present  methods  not  only  fail  to  check  the  criminal 
propensities  of  such  people,  but  may  actually  cause  progressive 


RESULTS  281 

deterioration  by  habituating  the  offenders  to  prison  conditions',1  or  to 
agree  with  Dr.  Griinhut  that  'the  crime  risk  increases  with  every  sub- 
sequent conviction'  (p.  455). 

There  is  one  ray  of  comforting  light  in  this  dark  picture — depressing 
as  it  may  be,  it  is  in  some  respects  better  now  than  it  was  before  the  war. 
In  the  Annual  Report  for  1938  the  number  of  men  shown  in  Table 
VITA  as  having  served  three  or  more  previous  sentences  was  57*3  of 
the  total  receptions  of  men  known  to  have  been  in  prison  before  for 
serious  offences,  as  compared  with  50-3  in  1948.  And  serious  recidivism 
as  shown  by  the  number  received  with  6  or  more  previous  convictions 
fell  from  an  average  of  43  per  cent  for  1935-39  to  less  than  38  per  cent 
for  1945-48. 

It  is  against  this  background  that  we  must  assess  the  significance  of 
the  Maidstone  'success'  figure  for  recidivists  quoted  earlier  in  this 
chapter,  and  the  importance  of  the  new  methods  of  dealing  with 
'persistent  offenders'  to  be  described  in  Chapter  Eighteen. 

1  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Persistent  Offenders  1932,  para.  5. 


PART  FOUR 
SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN 
MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES 


(1)    UNTRIED  PRISONERS 

THESE  representatives  of  the  original  function  of  the  prison  are 
today  an  awkward  anomaly.  The  law  presumes  them  to  be 
innocent,  and  the  Prison  Act  1877  required  that  'a  clear  difference 
shall  be  made  between  the  treatment  of  persons  unconvicted  of  crime' 
and  the  treatment  of  convicted  prisoners,  and  that  special  rules  should 
be  made  'regulating  their  confinement  in  such  manner  as  to  make  it  as 
little  as  possible  oppressive,  due  regard  only  being  had  to  their  safe- 
custody,  to  the  necessity  of  preserving  order  and  good  government .  .  . 
and  to  the  physical  and  moral  well-being  of  the  prisoners  themselves'. 
These  provisions  were  repealed  by  the  Act  of  1948,  but  their  moral 
force  remains,  and  public  opinion  would  be  properly  disturbed  by 
any  suggestion  of  undue  harshness  in  the  conditions  in  which  untried 
prisoners  are  detained. 

But  although  their  innocence  must  be  presumed,  and  their  treatment 
regulated  accordingly,  there  are  other  presumptions  which  work  in 
rather  different  directions.  Since  in  all  proper  cases  the  courts  will 
normally  release  an  untried  offender  on  bail,  it  must  be  assumed  that 
in  at  any  rate  a  great  many  cases  of  those  received  into  prison,  the 
courts  have  decided  that  detention  is  necessary  either  to  ensure  further 
appearance  or  to  prevent  interference  with  the  course  of  justice: 
exceptions  would  include  remands  for  'state  of  mind  reports',  and  cases 
where  bail  has  been  allowed  but  sureties  have  not  been  found.  Further, 
the  special  Rules  have  continuously  since  1877  laid  on  the  administra- 
tion the  duty  to  'prevent  contamination  or  conspiracy  to  defeat  the 
ends  of  justice'. 

The  conditions  of  detention  must  therefore  secure,  as  absolute 
obligations,  safe-custody,  good  order,  and  the  prevention  of  contamina- 
tion or  conspiracy:  and  they  must  be  applied  in,  and  be  compatible  with 
the  regime  of,  an  establishment  primarily  designed  for  and  populated 
by  convicted  prisoners,  although  from  these  the  untried  must  be 

285 


286  SPECIAL   CLASSES   OF  PRISONERS 

strictly  separated.  It  must  also  be  recognised  that  the  majority  of  these 
prisoners,  whether  or  no  they  have  committed  the  offences  currently 
charged,  are  not  in  fact  respectable  and  innocent  persons  but  old  hands 
well  known  to  the  prison  staffs. 

In  the  light  of  these  considerations  it  is  possible  to  understand  why 
the  lot  of  an  untried  prisoner  may  seem  in  practice  to  be  more  depress- 
ing, even  if  'less  oppressive',  than  that  of  a  convicted  prisoner.  He  may 
work  if  he  wishes,  though  he  may  not  be  required  to  do  so:  those  who 
choose  to  work  will  be  given  some  mail-bags  to  sew  or  patch,  and  will 
be  paid  6d.  a  day.  It  must  be  difficult  to  decide  which  is  more  boring, 
to  work  or  not  to  work,  for  the  mandate  to  prevent  contamination  and 
conspiracy  precludes  any  kind  of  free  association.  Nor  will  the  untried 
find  their  evenings  relieved  by  the  educational  and  other  activities 
provided  for  the  convicted,  or  even  by  the  conversation  available  to 
those  who  have  to  sleep  three  in  a  cell — a  practice  strictly  forbidden  for 
the  untried. 

In  what  sense,  then,  can  it  be  claimed  that  the  treatment  of  the  untried 
prisoner  is  'less  oppressive'  than  that  of  the  convicted?  Apart  from  the 
freedom  to  be  idle,  he  may  wear  his  own  clothes,  if  they  are  sufficient 
and  suitable  and  not  required  for  the  purposes  of  justice,  and  retain  his 
personal  possessions  'so  far  as  is  consistent  with  discipline  and  good 
order' ;  he  may  be  supplied  with  food  and  drink  at  his  own  expense  or 
that  of  his  friends;  he  may  have  books,  newspapers,  writing  materials, 
etc.  sent  in  to  him;  he  may  on  reasonable  grounds  be  attended  by  his 
own  doctor  or  dentist;  he  may  write  and  receive  as  many  letters  as  he 
likes,  and  receive  daily  visits  from  his  friends.  He  may  also,  on  payment, 
be  allowed  'to  occupy  a  suitable  room  or  cell  specially  fitted  for  such 
prisoners'  and  'to  be  relieved  from  the  duty  of  cleaning  his  room  or  cell 
or  from  other  such  tasks  or  offices',  and  he  may  'have  at  his  own  cost  the 
use  of  private  furniture  and  utensils  approved  by  the  Governor'. 

The  man  with  a  little  money,  or  friends  to  look  after  him,  who  does 
not  mind  spending  his  whole  time  in  his  cell  except  for  the  usual  exercise 
periods,  and  can  pass  the  time  in  reading  or  writing,  may  therefore  be 
reasonably  comfortable.  But  the  cell  remains  a  cell.  The  'specially  fitted 
room'  does  not  offer  a  lot  of  comfort,  and  the  conditions  under  which 
food  and  drink  may  be  sent  in  fall  short  of  the  epicurean — alcoholic 
liquors  are  limited  to  a  pint  of  ale,  etc.  or  half  a  bottle  of  wine  a  day, 
and  spirits  are  prohibited.  But  the  respectable  novice  prepared  to  seclude 
himself  in  this  way  need  come  to  little  harm. 

These  conditions  are  perhaps  the  best  that  can  be  provided  in  the 
local  prisons  as  they  are,  and  even  in  a  prison  designed  today  little 
more  could  be  done,  though  it  would  perhaps  be  reasonable  to  provide 
a  separate  block  with  its  own  work-room  in  which  the  rooms  were  of  a 
higher  standard  than  ordinary  cells  and  more  comfortably  furnished. 
They  have  never  excited  public  comment  of  a  general  nature,  and  even 


MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES  287 

the  Gladstone  Committee  found  little  to  say  on  the  subject.  It  should 
be  understood  that  except  so  far  as  the  special  Rules  apply,  untried 
prisoners  are  subject  to  the  general  Rules:  if  they  commit  offences 
against  discipline  they  may  forfeit  any  of  their  special  privileges  except 
visits  and  letters  required  for  procuring  bail  or  preparing  a  defence; 
if  they  do  not  wear  their  own  clothes  they  wear  prison  dress,  though 
of  a  different  colour  from  the  convicted;  and  their  food,  except  so  far 
as  they  buy  their  own,  is  the  ordinary  prison  food. 

But  in  what  is  the  most  important  aspect  of  their  position,  the  pre- 
paration of  their  defence,  the  Rules  provide  the  fullest  facilities  and 
protection.  An  untried  prisoner  is  allowed  to  see  his  legal  advisers  in 
private  on  any  week-day  at  any  reasonable  time,  and  may  hand  to 
them  personally  any  documents  he  has  prepared  as  instructions  for  his 
defence  without  examination  by  a  prison  officer.  The  prison  authorities 
are  also  required  to  provide  him  with  all  reasonable  facilities,  including 
writing  materials,  for  preparing  notes  and  instructions  and  writing  to 
his  legal  advisers  and  friends.  Where  medical  evidence  is  required,  he 
may  be  examined  by  a  doctor  chosen  by  himself,  his  friends  or  his 
legal  adviser. 

Special  facilities  are  granted  to  those  who  are  trying  to  obtain 
sureties  for  bail,  and  to  foreigners  who  wish  to  communicate  with 
their  consulate  or  other  representative;  and  every  prisoner  is  made 
aware  by  printed  notices  in  his  cell  not  only  of  the  regulations  relative 
to  his  class,  but  of  the  steps  he  should  take  if  he  wishes  to  seek  bail,  or 
to  secure  legal  assistance  under  the  Poor  Prisoners'  Defence  Acts. 

The  Welfare  Agencies  are  available  to  the  untried  as  to  the  convicted. 
They  are  informed  on  their  cell-cards  how  to  seek  help  if  they  are 
troubled  about  their  family  or  other  private  affairs,  or  about  the  future. 
And  in  special  cases  the  Prison  Visitors  may  help  them  too. 

(2)    APPELLANTS 

Under  the  Criminal  Appeal  Act  1907  a  prisoner  convicted  at  Assizes 
or  Quarter  Sessions  may,  under  prescribed  conditions,  appeal  against 
either  conviction  or  sentence  to  the  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal;  and 
from  the  day  on  which  he  signs  his  notice  of  appeal  to  the  day  on  which 
it  is  either  abandoned  or  determined  by  the  Court,  his  sentence  is  held 
to  be  suspended  and  he  is  treated  under  the  special  Rules  for  Appellants. 
It  should  be  noted  that  these  Rules  do  not  apply  to  persons  appealing  to 
Quarter  Sessions  against  convictions  by  Courts  of  Summary  Juris- 
diction: a  person  so  appealing  may  be,  and  normally  is,  released  on 
bail,  but  if  he  is  not  so  released  he  continues  to  serve  his  sentence  until 
his  appeal  is  heard. 

The  object  of  suspending  an  appellant's  sentence  is  primarily  to 
discourage  frivolous  appeals,  and  where  the  Court  thinks  fit,  even  if  the 


288  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

appeal  is  unsuccessful,  it  may  order  the  time  spent  as  an  appellant  to 
count  as  part  of  the  sentence.  The  special  Rules  do  not  therefore 
provide  any  specially  favourable  treatment  for  the  appellant,  but  only 
regulate  certain  technical  details,  and  ensure  for  the  prisoner  the  same 
freedom  of  access  to  his  legal  advisers,  and  facilities  for  preparing  his 
appeal,  as  the  trial  prisoner  has  for  the  preparation  of  his  defence. 
If  the  Court  discharges  him,  he  may  be  paid  for  his  work  in  prison 
while  an  appellant  at  rates  fixed  by  the  Commissioners. 

(3)  CONVICTED    PRISONERS    AWAITING    SENTENCE,    OR    REMANDED 

FOR  INQUIRY 

Prisoners  falling  into  these  categories  are  treated  like  other  con- 
victed prisoners  save  in  one  respect.  They  may,  if  they  wish,  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  any  representations  to  the  Courts  before  which 
they  are  to  appear  for  sentence  or  otherwise,  have  the  same  special 
facilities  as  the  Rules  allow  to  Appellants. 

(4)  PRISONERS  CONVICTED  OF  SEDITION,  ETC. 

By  section  52  (4)  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  rules  are  to  be 
made  providing  for  the  special  treatment  of  persons  who  have  been 
sentenced  to  imprisonment  on  conviction  of  sedition,  seditious  libel,  or 
seditious  conspiracy.  This  provision,  taken  with  the  repeal  by  the  first 
section  of  the  Act  of  the  arrangements  of  1898  for  the  'triple  division'  of 
offenders,  brings  to  an  end  that  curious  failure  of  the  English  penal 
system,  the  First  Division. 

The  history  of  this  experiment  goes  back  to  the  Prisons  Act  1865, 
section  67  of  which  provided  as  follows : 

'In  every  Prison  to  which  this  Act  applies,  Prisoners  convicted  of 
Misdemeanor,  and  not  sentenced  to  Hard  Labour,  shall  be  divided  into 
at  least  Two  Divisions,  One  of  which  shall  be  called  the  First  Division; 
and  whenever  any  Person  convicted  of  Misdemeanor  is  sentenced  to 
Imprisonment  without  Hard  Labour  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  Court  or 
Judge  before  whom  such  Person  has  been  tried  to  order,  if  such  Court 
or  Judge  think  fit,  that  such  Person  shall  be  treated  as  a  Misdemeanant 
of  the  First  Division,  and  a  Misdemeanant  of  the  First  Division  shall 
not  be  deemed  to  be  a  Criminal  Prisoner  within  the  Meaning  of  this 
Act.' 

The  next  step  was  taken  by  section  40  of  the  Act  of  1877,  which 
provided  that  'the  Prison  Commissioners  shall  see  that  any  prisoner 
under  sentence  inflicted  on  conviction  for  sedition  or  seditious  libel 
shall  be  treated  as  a  misdemeanant  of  the  first  division  within  the 
meaning  of  section  67  of  the  Prisons  Act  1865\ 


MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES  289 

Finally,  section  6  (2)  of  the  Prison  Act  1898,  as  amended  by  section 
16  (2)  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Administration  Act  1914,  provided  that 
'where  a  person  is  convicted  by  any  court  of  an  offence,  and  is  sentenced 
to  imprisonment  without  hard  labour,  or  committed  to  prison  for 
non-payment  of  a  fine,  the  court  may,  if  it  thinks  fit,  having  regard  to 
the  nature  of  the  offence  and  the  antecedents  of  the  offender,  direct 
that  he  be  treated  as  an  offender  of  the  first  division  or  as  an  offender 
of  the  second  division'.  And  sub-section  (5)  further  provided  that  any 
reference  in  section  40  of  the  Prisons  Act  1877  to  a  misdemeanant  of 
the  first  division  should  be  construed  as  reference  to  an  offender  of  the 
first  division  within  the  meaning  of  this  section. 

So  much  of  this  story  as  concerns  the  Second  Division,  and  the 
reasons  for  the  failure  of  that  attempt  to  set  up  a  system  of  classification 
by  the  courts,  we  have  already  considered.  The  original  purpose  of  the 
First  Division  was  different:  it  was  to  separate  out  a  category  of  mis- 
demeanants who  were  to  be  given  special  treatment  as  'non-criminal' 
prisoners.  As  to  the  qualifications  for  admission  to  this  category, 
however,  the  Act  of  1865  was  silent,  and  as  to  the  nature  of  the  non- 
criminal  regime,  para.  102  of  Schedule  I  did  no  more  than  empower  the 
Justices  to  'make  such  Rules  as  they  may  think  expedient'. 

The  Act  of  1877  made  no  fundamental  alteration  of  this  position: 
its  effect  was  limited  to  ensuring  that  a  certain  category  of  prisoners, 
whose  offences  were  in  essence  political,  were  included  in  the  First 
Division.  This  clause  was  inserted  in  the  Bill  on  the  motion  of  Mr. 
Parnell,  and  was  primarily  intended  to  provide  for  the  Irish  Fenian 
prisoners,  though  in  the  course  of  discussion  in  Committee  the  Chartists 
were  also  mentioned.  In  fact  the  Fenians  were  usually  convicted  of 
'treason-felony',  and  ParnelPs  attempt  to  include  treason-felony  in 
the  clause  was  defeated  on  the  technical  ground  that  these  persons  being 
sentenced  to  penal  servitude  were  confined  in  convict  prisons  which 
were  outside  the  scope  of  the  Bill.  It  seems  clear  that  the  reason  for 
dealing  with  the  matter  by  a  direction  to  the  Prison  Commissioners, 
rather  than  by  leaving  it  to  the  discretion  of  the  court,  was  distrust  of 
the  Judges — and  especially  the  Irish  Judges:  only  one  Hon.  Member 
raised  this  point,  and  his  intervention  enlisted  no  support.1 

The  transfer  in  1877  of  the  power  to  make  Prison  Rules  from  the 
Justices  to  the  Secretary  of  State  did  not  make  for  clarification  of  the 
nature  of  the  special  'non-criminal'  regime:  Sir  E.  du  Cane's  comment 
on  the  position  in  1884  is  as  follows — 'The  rules  for  misdemeanants  of 
the  first  division  guard  against  the  possible  abuse  of  interest  or  influence 
which  might  lead  to  an  unwarrantable  difference  in  the  treatment  of 
prisoners,  by  prescribing  that  no  prisoner  shall  be  placed  in  this  division 
except  as  provided  by  statute  or  by  order  of  the  court  of  law  which 
sentenced  him.  They  permit  the  visiting  committees  to  authorise  the 
i  Hansard'.  5  April  1877,  pp.  616-638;  and  14  June  1877,  pp.  1789-1800. 

E.P.B.S.— 19 


290  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

* 

modification  of  certain  ordinary  rules  and  routine  to  suit  the  special 
circumstances  of  any  particular  prisoner  of  this  class.' l 

The  effect  of  the  Act  of  1898  was  to  remove  the  limitation  to  mis- 
demeanants imposed  in  1865  for  admission  to  the  First  Division,  and 
to  leave  the  courts  complete  discretion  'having  regard  to  the  nature  of 
the  offence  and  the  antecedents  of  the  offender'.  But  the  admission  of 
those  convicted  of  sedition  or  seditious  libel  was  still  mandatory.  From 
this  time  on,  the  Rules  provided  in  detail  for  the  treatment  of  the  First 
Division,  the  general  effect  being  that  of  simple  imprisonment  in  the 
plain  meaning  of  the  words — confinement  and  no  more. 

The  effect  of  the  Act  of  1948  and  the  Rules  of  1949  is  to  abolish  the 
First  Division  as  such,  but  to  preserve  the  regime  of  'simple  imprison- 
ment' solely  for  the  political  category  for  whom  it  was  made  mandatory 
in  1877.  The  courts  no  longer  have  any  powers  or  discretion  in  the 
matter;  the  treatment  automatically  follows  imprisonment  for  the 
offence,  as  for  this  special  category  it  has  done  since  1877. 

It  would  be  of  more  than  historical  interest  to  attempt  to  establish 
the  real  intentions  of  the  legislature  in  this  matter,  and  to  ascertain 
how  in  practice  those  intentions  have  been  understood  and  applied  by 
the  courts  and  the  administration,  since  the  questions  raised,  though 
temporarily  at  rest  in  this  country,  might  well  in  certain  circumstances 
arise  again.  That  they  still  excite  interest  elsewhere  is  evident  from  the 
discussion  at  a  meeting  of  the  Swedish  Association  of  Criminalists 
on  11  November  1949.2  There  exists,  in  the  law  of  the  Scandinavian 
countries,  a  form  of  sentence  known  as  custodia  honesta  or  'honourable 
confinement' :  in  the  course  of  discussion  of  the  ever-green  topic  of  the 
'single  form  of  penalty  involving  deprivation  of  liberty',  this  form  of 
sentence  came  under  review.  It  appears  that  in  Norway  it  may  be 
applied  'for  political  offences  and  other  crimes,  where  in  a  particular 
case  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  offence  is  not  due  to  a  depraved  dis- 
position'. The  Danish  representative  thought  it  should  be  retained 
for  offenders  who  'act  as  they  do  because  of  their  adherence  to  a  par- 
ticular political  ideology'.  Another  speaker  'considered  that  subjects  for 
custodia  honesta  were  offenders  by  conviction,  in  the  sense  of  group 
conviction,  that  is  to  say,  behind  their  offence  was  the  pressure  of  a 
group'.  It  would  appear  that  with  the  possible  exception  of  Denmark 
this  form  of  sentence  is  now  little  used:  in  Norway  'the  punishment 
has  not  acquired  any  appreciable  significance,  though  opportunities  for 
applying  it  have  not  been  lacking.  It  has  hardly  been  used  at  all  after 
the  war. . . .  The  provisions  now  in  force  for  the  execution  of  imprison- 
ment are  such  that  there  is  no  need  for  a  special  form  of  punishment 
requiring  lenient  treatment.' 

1  Du  Cane,  p.  76. 

2  Yearbook  of  the  Northern  Association  of  Criminalists,  1949-50;  Stockholm  1950; 
pp.  21-26. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES  291 

Was  it  the  intention  of  Parliament,  in  setting  up  this  First  Division, 
to  create  a  custodia  honest  a  in  our  penal  system?  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise 
appears  to  have  thought  not.  'It  is  difficult',  he  says,  'to  say  whether 
the  legislature  intended  this  division,  which,  on  the  face  of  it,  was  a  bold 
step  in  the  way  of  differentiation,  to  be  more  than  a  reservation  in 
favour  of  a  few  exceptional  cases,  such  as  are  actually  mentioned  in 
the  Act.  The  presumption  is,  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  prisoners 
treated  as  First  Class  Misdemeanants  were  not  to  be  deemed  criminal 
prisoners,  that  there  was  no  intention  to  anticipate  an  elaborate  classi- 
fication such  as  is  now  laid  down.  .  .  .'  1  In  this  statement  Sir  Evelyn 
follows  his  predecessor  in  stressing  the  Tew  exceptional  cases',  and 
goes  further  in  suggesting  that  these  cases  would  only  be  the  political 
offenders  envisaged  by  the  Act  of  1877. 

That  this  was  more  than  a  purely  personal  view  is  borne  out  by  the 
circumstances  in  which,  as  Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Winston  Churchill 
found  it  necessary  in  1910  to  secure  the  approval  of  Parliament  to  the 
following  additional  Prison  Rule : 

'In  the  case  of  any  offender  whose  previous  character  is  good,  and 
who  has  been  convicted  of,  or  committed  to  prison  for  an  offence  not 
involving  dishonesty,  cruelty,  indecency  or  serious  violence,  the  Com- 
missioners may  allow  such  amelioration  of  the  conditions  prescribed 
in  the  foregoing  rules  as  the  Secretary  of  State  may  approve  in  respect 
of  the  wearing  of  prison  clothing,  bathing,  hair-cutting,  cleaning  of 
cells,  employment,  exercise,  books  and  otherwise. 

'Provided  that  no  such  amelioration  shall  be  greater  than  that 
granted  under  the  rules  for  offenders  of  the  First  Division.' 

Notwithstanding  the  general  terms  of  this  Rule  and  the  carefully 
guarded  phraseology  in  which  Mr.  Churchill  proposed  it,2  its  purpose 
was  in  fact  limited.  The  Government  had  been  placed  in  a  politically 
embarrassing  position  by  the  imprisonment  of  the  militant  suffragettes 
in  Holloway  and  elsewhere,  and  particularly  by  their  recent  technique 
of  the  hunger-strike.  Similar  problems  had  also  arisen  in  connection 
with  other  offenders  from  'group  conviction',  such  as  the  'passive 
resisters'  to  the  levying  of  the  Education  Rate  under  the  Education  Act 
of  1902;  but  it  was  primarily  with  a  view  to  meeting  the  suffragette 
situation  that  this  Rule  was  introduced. 

The  question  at  once  arises  why,  since  the  practical  effect  of  the 
new  Rule  was  to  give  very  little  short  of  First  Division  treatment  to 
those  to  whom  it  applied,  its  introduction  was  thought  to  be  necessary. 
Was  not  the  First  Division  provided  precisely  for  persons  who  broke 
the  law,  but  not  from  'criminal'  motives?  This  view  was  strongly 
pressed  on  the  Government  at  the  time  by  influential  supporters  of  the 

1  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  71. 

2  Reply  to  Question  by  Mr.  John  O'Connor,  Hansard,  15  March  1910,  p.  177. 


292  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

suffragist  movement.  The  answer  to  be  deduced  from  the  reply  to  a 
deputation  by  the  Home  Secretary,  Mr.  McKenna,1  and  from  his 
reply  to  a  subsequent  Parliamentary  Question,2  is  twofold:  the  First 
Division  was  for  'political  offenders',  and  persons  who  were  sent  to 
prison  for  offences  of  violence  (e.g.  such  assaults  and  breakings  of 
windows  as  the  suffragettes  were  wont  to  commit)  could  not  be  placed 
in  that  category  on  the  ground  that  their  motives  were  political.  Further, 
the  Home  Secretary  believed  'that  the  infrequency  of  the  use  of  the 
First  Division  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  conditions  are  so  easy  that 
Judges  and  Magistrates  are  unwilling  to  pass  a  sentence  that  can  have 
little  or  no  deterrent  effect.  The  conditions  of  Rule  343A  are  somewhat 
more  stringent.' 

Whatever  view  may  be  taken  today  of  the  validity  of  this  reasoning, 
it  is  at  least  clear  that  it  did  not  embrace  that  conception  of  the  function 
of  the  First  Division  which  has  been  defined  as  custodia  honesta.  Nor 
indeed  does  it  appear  to  have  coincided  with  the  actual  practice  of  the 
courts  up  to  that  time.  From  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners for  1910-11  (p.  23)  it  appears  that  since  1899  no  less  than 
572  persons  had  in  fact  been  placed  by  the  courts  in  the  First  Division. 
Analysis  of  Appendix  16  to  the  Annual  Reports  for  the  years  1906-10 
shows  that  during  those  5  years,  of  348  persons  placed  in  the  First 
Division,  only  2  were  convicted  of  offences  'against  the  State  and 
Public  Order'.  On  the  other  hand  there  were  119  offenders  against  the 
Education  Acts,  who  may  be  assumed  to  have  been  'passive  resisters', 
and  in  1906  there  were  127  women  committed  for  offences  against  the 
Metropolitan  Police  Acts,  who  are  stated  in  para.  19  of  the  Report  for 
that  year  to  have  been  London  Suffragettes:  there  were  also,  eiusdem 
generis,  27  offenders  against  the  Vaccination  Acts.  The  balance  were  an 
assortment  ranging  from  larceny  and  embezzlement  to  drunks  and 
indecent  exposure.  With  the  exception  of  the  two  quasi-politicals, 
virtually  all  these  persons  were  committed  by  courts  of  summary 
jurisdiction.  One  can  only  infer  that  many  magistrates  were  prepared  to 
use  the  discretion  which  the  Act  of  1898  had  reposed  in  them  in  the 
sense  which  Parliament  would  appear  to  have  intended. 

However  that  may  be,  the  conception  of  custodia  honesta  was  soon 
to  be  eliminated  by  the  inevitable  if  unconscious  movement  of  English 
thought  and  practice  towards  the  'single  sentence'.  Between  the  wars 
both  the  First  Division  and  the  special  Rule  fell  into  desuetude,  and 
finally  disappeared  in  1948-49.  However  devious  the  means,  this  end 
may  perhaps  be  justified  by  the  reasons  advanced  by  the  Norwegian 
representative  at  Stockholm,  that  in  modern  conditions  of  imprison- 
ment 'there  is  no  need  for  a  special  form  of  punishment  requiring  lenient 
treatment'. 

1  Reported  verbatim  in  The  Standard  of  24  May  1912. 

2  Question  by  Mr.  McVeagh,  Hansard,  3  July  1912. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES 


293 


What  remains  is  of  little  practical  significance  in  the  prison  system, 
since  long  years  may  elapse  without  the  reception  of  any  prisoner 
convicted  of  one  of  these  offences.  Should  one  be  received,  he  would 
find  that  his  conditions  were  almost  precisely  those  of  an  untried 
prisoner,  except  that  he  'may  work  at  his  own  trade,  employment  or 
profession,  so  far  as  the  conditions  of  the  prison  and  the  requirements 
of  discipline  and  safe-custody  permit'.  He  would  however  have  an 
inducement  to  choose  to  work  in  the  service  or  industries  of  the  prison, 
since  he  would  not  be  eligible  to  earn  any  remission  of  his  sentence  un- 
less he  regularly  did  so. 

(5)    CIVIL  PRISONERS 

This  class  of  prisoner  was  known,  until  the  Statutory  Rules  of  1949, 
as  'debtors',  and  indeed  the  great  majority  of  them  are  still  persons 
committed  by  courts  of  summary  jurisdiction,  or  by  county  courts, 
for  the  non-payment  of  sums  of  money  ordered  by  the  courts  to  be 
paid  under  non-criminal  process,  e.g.  wife-maintenance  or  affiliation 
orders,  non-payment  of  rates  or  taxes,  or  civil  debts.  They  do  however 
include  certain  miscellaneous  classes  who  are  not  debtors,  and  the  term 
civil  prisoners  (which  followed  pre-existing  Scottish  practice)  is  there- 
fore more  accurate:  these  classes  include  persons  committed  for  con- 
tempt of  court  or  for  non-payment  under  various  orders  of  court,  and 
aliens  committed  for  deportation  or  otherwise. 

As  the  following  table  shows,  civil  prisoners  are  a  much  less  import- 
ant element  of  the  prison  population  than  they  were  before  the  war: 
in  1931  they  accounted  for  24-2  per  cent  of  the  receptions  of  male 
prisoners,  in  1949  for  11-8  per  cent.  The  table  also  makes  it  clear  that 
this  change  is  broadly  due  to  a  very  great  reduction,  accentuated  as  a 

Civil  Process  Prisoners 
Annual  averages  or  Calendar  years 


Total 

Under  Wife 
Maintenance 
or 
Affiliation 
Orders 

In  default  of 
payment  of 

By 

County 
Courts 

Others 

Rates 

Income 
tax 

19131 
1926-30 
1931-35 
1936-10 
1941-45 
1946 
1947 
1948 
1949 

14,026 
12,463 
11,642 
7,305 
3,462 
3,567 
4,247 
5,289 
5,205 

3,554 
6,701 
5,054 
2,605 
1,974 
2,650 
3,272 
3,899 
3,808 

2,379 
2,001 
2,609 
1,101 
272 
144 
191 
187 
204 

141 
156 
152 
34 
9 
12 
22 
15 

5,759 
3,172 
3,359 
2,410 
404 
220 
234 
318 
383 

2,334 
448 
464 
1,037 
778 
544 
538 
863 
795 

1  Year  ended  31  March. 


294  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

result  of  the  late  war,  in  the  committals  by  county  courts  for  non- 
payment of  civil  debts  and  by  courts  of  summary  jurisdiction  for  non- 
payment of  rates.  Nearly  three  out  of  four  of  the  civil  prisoners  of  today 
are  men  who  cannot  or  will  not  pay  the  amounts  due  under  wife 
maintenance  or  bastardy  orders. 

Although  the  number  of  county  court  debtors  has  been  insignificant 
in  recent  years,  their  position  calls  for  some  explanation,  since  they 
are  committed  under  an  'Act  for  the  Abolition  of  Imprisonment  for 
Debt'.  The  legal  theory  is  that  the  debtor  is  not  imprisoned  for  the  debt 
but  as  a  punishment  for  contempt  of  court,  the  intention  being,  as 
stated  by  Halsbury  in  The  Laws  of  England,  that  'a  fraudulent  debtor 
shall  be  punished,  but  that  an  honest  debtor  shall  not'.  Thus  the  law  l 
requires  the  court,  before  making  an  order  for  committal  to  prison,  to 
be  satisfied  that  since  the  debtor  was  ordered  to  pay  the  sum  found  by 
the  court  to  be  due,  he  has  or  has  had  the  means  to  pay  such  sum  but 
has  refused  or  neglected  to  pay.  In  practice,  however,  the  court  often 
makes  in  the  first  instance  an  order  for  payment  by  instalments,  and 
only  commits  to  prison  if  and  when  the  creditor  applies  for  committal 
because  the  instalments  are  not  being  paid.  There  is  therefore  some 
ground  for  the  view  that  whatever  the  legal  theory  the  Act  is  used  in 
fact  as  an  instrument  to  enable  creditors  to  enforce  the  payment  of 
debts  by  the  sanction  of  imprisonment,  and  from  time  to  time  doubt 
has  been  expressed  whether  under  present  practice  committals  are 
always  confined  to  the  'fraudulent'  debtors,  and  there  has  been  'con- 
troversy as  to  whether  it  is  or  is  not  right  to  retain  a  power  of  imprison- 
ment in  respect  of  county  court  orders'.  2  In  1908  a  Select  Committee 
inquired  into  this  question,  but  no  agreement  was  reached. 

In  1933  the  Home  Secretary  appointed  a  Departmental  Committee  to 
try  to  find  ways  to  reduce  the  number  of  committals  by  courts  of 
summary  jurisdiction  in  default  of  payment  of  fines  and  rates  and  of 
sums  due  under  wife  maintenance  and  affiliation  orders,  and  a  number 
of  practical  recommendations  were  made.  We  have  already  noted  the 
useful  effect  of  these  in  reducing  the  numbers  of  committals  for  fines 
(p.  81),  and  the  foregoing  table  shows  that  in  the  five  years  following 
1935  the  number  of  committals  by  courts  of  summary  jurisdiction 
under  non-criminal  process  was  practically  halved. 

This  use  of  the  prison  for  the  coercion  of  debtors  is  not  satisfactory 
in  principle  or  in  practice.  So  far  as  'county  court  debtors'  are  deemed, 
with  Halsbury,  to  be  'fraudulent'  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  for 
treating  them  differently  from  persons  convicted  of  fraud — indeed  it  is 
not  easy  to  draw  an  ethical  line  between  the  person  who  steals  a  pound 
of  sugar  from  the  grocer  and  the  person  who  buys  a  pound  of  sugar 

1  Debtors  Act  1869,  section  5,  and  Summary  Jurisdiction  Act  1879,  section  35. 

2  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Imprisonment  by  Courts  of  Sum- 
mary Jurisdiction  in  Default  of  Payment  of  Fines,  etc.,  1934,  para.  1. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CLASSES  295 

and  refrains  from  paying  for  it.  And  the  doubt  remains  whether  in 
practice  all  such  debtors  are  in  fact  fraudulent.  For  the  rest,  notwith- 
standing the  recommendations  of  1934,  it  is  still  not  clear  why  many  of 
them  come  to  prison.  The  Annual  Reports  of  the  Commissioners 
since  the  war  have  shown  the  concern  which  many  Governors  feel 
about  these  men  'mainly  on  two  grounds — first,  that  many  are  genuinely 
convinced,  and  often  with  apparently  good  reason,  that  the  fault  lies 
as  much  or  more  with  their  wives  as  with  them,  and  they  have  no 
intention  of  paying;  second,  that  insufficient  consideration  appears  to 
have  been  given  to  individual  circumstances  before  committal  to 
prison,  and  that  more  patient  attempts  to  investigate  and  advise  with  a 
view  to  avoiding  imprisonment  wherever  possible  would  perhaps  avert 
much  unfruitful  hardship  to  both  man  and  wife.  Of  recent  years  many 
of  this  class  have  been  ex-service  men  who,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
have  not  resumed  normal  married  life.  Attention  has  also  been  drawn 
to  the  marked  variations  in  the  periods  of  imprisonment  ordered  by 
courts  in  respect  of  similar  sums  of  money.' l 

The  treatment  provided  by  the  Rules  reflects  this  confusion,  being  a 
sort  of  compromise  between  the  custodial  treatment  of  untried  prisoners 
and  the  corrective  treatment  of  the  convicted.  Civil  prisoners  must  be 
kept  separate  from  criminal  prisoners,  but  may  associate  among  them- 
selves: it  was  found  however  that  in  some  prisons  there  were  so  few 
civil  prisoners  that  association  was  scarcely  practicable,  and  the  Rules 
of  1949  therefore  provide  that  'Where  owing  to  the  small  numbers  of 
civil  prisoners  or  otherwise  suitable  arrangements  for  association  of 
such  prisoners  cannot  be  made,  such  a  prisoner  may  if  he  so  desires, 
with  the  approval  of  the  Governor,  be  allowed  to  associate  with 
prisoners  of  the  Star  Class  at  such  times  and  in  such  manner  as  the 
Commissioners  determine.'  They  are  required  to  work  at  the  normal 
prison  work,  and  earn  money  on  the  same  basis  as  convicted  prisoners : 
they  may  be  included  in  'outside  parties'.  They  do  not  earn  remission, 
since  they  can  secure  discharge  by  paying  what  they  owe,  and  they 
receive  only  'out  of  stage'  privileges.  They  receive  the  normal  prison 
diet  without  supplement,  and  are  subject  to  the  normal  prison  discipline. 
But  they  may  wear  their  own  clothes,  if  these  are  sufficient  and  suitable, 
and  they  receive  more  letters  and  visits  than  convicted  prisoners — one 
letter  a  week  each  way,  and  a  half-hour  visit  once  a  week.  On  discharge 
they  are  eligible  for  assistance  by  the  D.P.A.S.  on  the  same  basis  as 
convicted  prisoners. 

The  maximum  period  of  imprisonment  is  3  months  if  committed  by  a 
court  of  summary  jurisdiction;  6  weeks  if  by  a  county  court;  12 
months  if  by  the  High  Court  under  section  4  of  the  Debtors  Act 
1869.  A  contempt  of  court  prisoner  is  held  at  the  pleasure  of  the  court, 2 
and  aliens  until  the  necessary  arrangements  for  deportation  can  be  made, 
i  Annual  Report  for  1946,  pp.  29,  30.  2  See  Appendix  K. 


296  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

(6)    PRISONERS  UNDER  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH 

Every  care  is  taken  to  prevent  a  condemned  prisoner  from  coming 
into  contact  with  other  prisoners,  or  from  being  exposed  to  their  view 
at  exercise  or  chapeL  The  'condemned  cell'  is  usually  set,  at  the  end  of 
a  landing,  and  is  of  at  least  double  the  ordinary  size,  with  a  bed  for  the 
prisoner,  a  table,  and  chairs  for  the  prisoner  and  the  two  officers  who 
remain  in  the  cell  day  and  night:  washing  facilities  and  water-closet 
are  placed  in  an  adjoining  cell,  and  the  visiting  room  also  adjoins, 
with  a  separate  entrance  for  the  visitors.  The  execution  chamber  is 
reached  through  an  intervening  lobby,  the  whole  set  of  rooms  being 
self-contained. 

The  condemned  prisoner  wears  prison  dress,  and  except  as  to  labour 
— which  is  not  required  of  him — is  subject  to  the  general  Rules  so  far  as 
they  are  applicable.  The  prisoner  may,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Medical 
Officer,  receive  additions  to  the  usual  diet,  and  be  allowed  to  smoke, 
while  books,  games,  and  other  means  of  occupation  are  freely  permitted. 
He  may  see  his  friends  and  legal  advisers  at  any  reasonable  time,  in  the 
presence  of  prison  officers,  but  otherwise  no  person  except  an  official  of 
the  prison  or  a  member  of  the  Visiting  Committee  may  see  him  without 
the  authority  of  the  Prison  Commissioners.  He  may  if  he  wishes  see  the 
Chaplain,  or  a  Minister  of  his  own  denomination,  at  any  reasonable 
time.  Ample  facilities  are  granted  for  correspondence  and  for  the 
preparation,  if  desired,  of  an  appeal. 

Responsibility  for  carrying  out  the  execution  rests  with  the  Sheriff 
of  the  county,  whose  Under-Sheriff  fixes  the  date  of  execution,  engages 
and  pays  the  executioner,  attends  the  execution  and  decides  whether 
representatives  of  the  Press  should  be  admitted.  Immediately  after  the 
execution  the  Coroner  for  the  district  holds  an  inquest  on  the  body  at 
the  prison.  The  burial  takes  place  within  the  prison  walls:  a  register  of 
the  graves  is  kept,  but  they  are  not  distinguished  by  names  or  other 
marks. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEEN 
PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS 


(1)    THE  PROBLEM 

THROUGHOUT  this  century  the  penal  systems  of  Europe  and 
America  have  sought,  with  little  enough  success  hitherto,  the 
answers  to  many  questions  arising  from  that  central  problem  of 
penal  law,  the  habitual  criminal — the  man  who  forms  the  statistical 
unit  in  the  depressing  figures  given  at  the  end  of  Chapter  Sixteen.  In  this 
matter  England  took  the  lead  early,  and  has  retained  it  with  the  interest- 
ing and  novel  provisions  of  section  21  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948 
and  the  Rules  made  in  1949  for  implementing  those  provisions. 

The  Gladstone  Committee  recognised  the  problem  as  early  as  1894 
and  prescribed  broad  principles  for  its  solution  which  the  subsequent 
half-century  has  sought  to  translate  into  practice.  The  first  part  of  the 
prescription  was  to  cut  off  the  supply  at  the  source,  to  dam  'the  head- 
springs of  recidivism'.  'It  is  certain,'  they  said,  'that  the  age  when  the 
majority  of  habitual  criminals  are  made  lies  between  16  and  21.  ...  It 
appears  to  us  that  the  most  determined  effort  should  be  made  to  lay 
hold  of  these  incipient  criminals  and  to  prevent  them  by  strong  restraint 
and  rational  treatment  from  recruiting  the  habitual  class'  (para.  29). 
From  this  suggestion  there  developed  the  Borstal  system,  which,  as  we 
shall  see  in  a  later  chapter,  succeeds  in  diverting  from  'the  habitual 
class'  some  seven  out  often  of  those  whom  it  receives.  This  'cutting  off' 
process  continues  throughout  the  prison  system :  we  have  seen  that  of 
those  who  come  to  prison  for  the  first  time  less  than  20  per  cent  return, 
and  that  of  that  20  per  cent,  under  modern  methods  of  training,  a 
substantial  majority  may  not  return  again. 

But  in  the  end  we  are  left  with  a  certain  number,  small  though  it  be, 
of  those  who  are  committed  to  a  life  of  crime  and  remain  ostensibly 
unaffected  by  any  number  of  sentences  of  whatever  severity.  What  is  to 
be  done  with  them?  The  suggestion  of  the  Gladstone  Committee  was  as 
follows:  To  punish  them  for  the  particular  offence  in  which  they  are 
detected  is  almost  useless ;  witnesses  were  almost  unanimous  in  approving 

297 


298  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

of  some  kind  of  cumulative  sentence;  the  real  offence  is  the  wilful 
persistence  in  the  deliberately  acquired  habit  of  crime.  We  venture  to 
offer  the  opinion  formed  during  this  inquiry  that  a  new  form  of  sentence 
should  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  judges  by  which  these  offenders 
might  be  segregated  for  long  periods  of  detention  during  which  they 
would  not  be  treated  with  the  severity  of  first-class  hard  labour  or  penal 
servitude,  but  would  be  forced  to  work  under  less  onerous  conditions. 
As  loss  of  liberty  would  to  them  prove  eventually  the  chief  deterrent, 
so  by  their  being  removed  from  the  opportunity  of  doing  wrong  the 
community  would  gain'  (para.  85). 

These  ideas,  or  something  like  them,  have  since  found  expression  in 
most  European  thought  in  this  matter;  but  the  first  attempt  to  translate 
them  into  practice  was  made  in  England,  when  the  Prevention  of  Crime 
Act  1908  made  the  two-pronged  attack  on  recidivism  recommended  by 
the  Committee — the  Borstal  system  for  young  offenders  on  the  one 
flank,  the  Preventive  Detention  system  for  habitual  criminals  on  the 
other. 

So  far  as  it  concerned  habitual  criminals,  the  system  of  1908  failed. 
To  understand  the  reasons  for  that  failure,  and  for  the  changes  intro- 
duced in  1948,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a  wider  view  of  the  elements  of 
the  problem.  These  may  be  divided  into  four:  the  definition  of  an 
habitual  criminal,  the  juridical  basis  of  their  treatment,  the  conditions 
of  their  detention  and  the  determination  and  method  of  their  release. 

The  Definition  of  Habitual  Criminality 

However  we  may  define  a  recidivist,  it  is  clear  that  the  habitual 
criminal,  or,  in  the  current  English  term,  persistent  offender,  is 
something  more  than  a  recidivist.  First,  his  offences  must  be  of  a  serious 
nature — we  are  not  concerned  with  the  petty  misdemeanant.  Then,  there 
must  be  something  more  than  mere  repetition  of  offence:  it  is  generally 
accepted  that  the  repetition  must  be  indicative  of  a  significant  character 
trait,  defined  by  Dr.  Griinhut  after  the  Austrian  criminologist  Wahlberg 
as  'criminal  tendency'  (p.  389).  Dr.  Griinhut  points  out  that  terms  hav- 
ing this  meaning  appear  in  the  Italian  Penal  Code  of  1930 — tendenza  a 
delinquere,  and  in  the  Swiss  Criminal  Code  of  1937 — penchant  au  crime, 
while  the  German  Supreme  Court  defined  an  habitual  criminal  as  'a 
person  who  on  account  of  an  inner  tendency  due  to  the  constitution  of 
his  character,  or  acquired  by  habit,  has  repeatedly  committed  criminal 
offences  and  tends  to  a  further  repetition'. 

It  is  also  generally  accepted  that  these  offenders  fall  broadly  into  two 
classes.  The  first,  who  have  been  described  as  'a-sociaP,  and  who  con- 
stitute more  of  a  nuisance  than  a  danger,  relapse  into  crime  because 
through  physical,  mental  or  social  inadequacy  they  are  incapable  of  the 
effort  to  keep  out  of  it.  The  second,  who  have  been  described  as  'anti- 
social', are  usually  persons  of  adequate  intelligence  and  competence 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  299 

who  deliberately  persist  in  a  career  of  crime  because  they  prefer  it  and 
hope,  according  to  their  own  scale  of  values,  to  make  it  pay. 

English  law  has  never  sought  to  define  the  habitual  criminal:  the 
Act  of  1908  provided,  as  does  that  of  1948,  for  a  minimum  number  of 
previous  convictions  of  crime  before  an  offender  can  become  eligible 
for  consideration,  but  it  remains  with  the  court  to  decide  whether  he 
is  to  be  treated  as  'habitual'.  Under  the  Act  of  1908  the  decision  rested 
with  the  jury:  the  procedure  of  section  21  of  1948  is  quite  different: 

'Where  a  person  who  is  not  less  than  30  years  of  age: 

'(a)  is  convicted  on  indictment  of  an  offence  punishable  with  im- 
prisonment for  a  term  of  two  years  or  more;  and 

\b)  has  been  convicted  on  indictment  on  at  least  three  previous 
occasions  since  he  attained  the  age  of  17  of  offences  punishable  on 
indictment  with  such  a  sentence,  and  was  on  at  least  two  of  those 
occasions  sentenced  to  Borstal  training,  imprisonment  or  corrective 
training; 

then,  if  the  court  is  satisfied  that  it  is  expedient  for  the  protection  of 
the  public  that  he  should  be  detained  in  custody  for  a  substantial  time, 
followed  by  a  period  of  supervision  if  released  before  the  expiration  of 
his  sentence,  the  court  may  pass,  in  lieu  of  any  other  sentence,  a 
sentence  of  preventive  detention  for  such  term  of  not  less  than  five  nor 
more  than  14  years  as  the  court  may  determine.' 

This  procedure  is  in  complete  accord  with  the  recommendation  of 
The  Hague  Congress  in  para.  2  of  the  relevant  resolution  (II,  2,  Appx. 
F).  There  is  first  the  legal  condition  of  'a  certain  number  of  sentences 
undergone  or  of  crimes  committed',  then  a  complete  discretion  in  the 
court  governed  only  by  the  need  to  satisfy  itself  that  for  the  protection 
of  the  public  it  is  expedient  to  segregate  the  offender  for  a  substantial 
time. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  there  is  no  longer  any  attempt  to  distinguish 
between  the  'a-social'  and  the  'anti-social'.  Under  the  1908  procedure, 
when  the  offender  was  specifically  charged  with  being  an  habitual 
criminal  and  the  jury  had  to  find  on  the  charge,  prosecutions  were 
deliberately  limited  to  the  'anti-social',  the  'persistent  dangerous 
criminals'.  The  memorandum  issued  to  courts  by  the  Home  Office 
when  section  21  of  the  Act  of  1948  came  into  force  made  it  clear  that  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Secretary  of  State  the  terms  of  the  section  imposed  no 
such  limitation  on  the  discretion  of  the  courts.  This  view  appears  to 
accord  with  common-sense:  if  Bill  Sikes  invariably  resumes  his  career 
of  house-breaking  when  he  is  discharged  from  prison,  the  mental  atti- 
tudes which  lead  to  this  tendency  do  not  seem  to  be  relevant  to  the 
question  of  protecting  the  public.  It  would  seem  also  to  have  been  the 
view  of  the  Departmental  Committee  of  1932,  which  said:  'For  some 


300  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

types  of  offenders — particularly  those  between  21  and  30 — the  object 
of  detention  will  be  reformative  training:  for  others — particularly  those 
whose  criminality  appears  to  be  mainly  determined  by  mental  inertia 
and  other  innate  negative  qualities — little  in  the  way  of  positive  training 
may  be  practicable,  and  the  main  object  may  be  to  provide  for  the 
control  of  the  offender  and  for  the  protection  of  the  public'  (para.  40). 

It  remains,  in  considering  the  definition  of  an  habitual  criminal,  to 
examine  the  procedure  for  assisting  the  courts  to  arrive  at  a  decision. 
The  Hague  Resolution  suggests  'that  the  declaration  of  habitual 
criminality  .  .  .  should  be  in  the  hands  of  a  judicial  authority  with  the 
advice  of  experts'  (10  (a))  and  that  'before  the  sentence  .  .  .  these 
offenders  should  be  submitted  to  an  observation  which  should  pay 
particular  attention  to  their  social  background  and  history,  and  to  the 
psychological  and  psychiatric  aspects  of  the  case'  (6).  The  procedure 
established  under  section  21  to  these  ends  is  described  in  Prisons  and 
Borstals  (pp.  39,  40)  as  follows: 

To  assist  the  court  here,  it  is  required  to  consider  any  report  (a 
copy  of  which  must  be  given  by  the  Court  to  the  prisoner  or  his  legal 
representative)  on  the  offender's  physical  and  mental  condition  and  his 
suitability  for  Corrective  Training l  or  Preventive  Detention  which  may 
be  made  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  Prison  Commissioners.  The  report  is 
ordinarily  made  on  behalf  of  the  Prison  Commissioners  by  the  Gover- 
nor of  the  local  prison  concerned.  It  sets  out  all  relevant  information 
about  the  offender  obtained  from  reports  by  police,  employers  and, 
where  he  has  been  on  probation,  by  the  probation  officer,  and  is  supple- 
mented, where  the  offender  has  been  in  custody,  by  an  estimate  of  his 
character.  It  concludes  by  expressing  an  opinion  as  to  his  suitability  for 
Corrective  Training — 'suitability'  connoting  both  that  the  offender  is  in 
need  of  prolonged  training  and  that  he  is  likely  to  profit  by  it.2  Where 
the  offender  is  eligible  for  Preventive  Detention  only,  no  opinion  on 
suitability  is  given,  the  question  whether  the  protection  of  society 
requires  a  long  period  of  detention  being  regarded  as  a  matter  for  the 
cburt  alone.  These  reports  also  give  the  Medical  Officer's  conclusions 
about  the  mental  and  physical  fitness  of  the  offender  for  the  sentence/ 

To  this  it  may  be  added  that  the  Commissioners  have  expressed  their 
intention,  as  soon  as  conditions  permit,  to  set  up  regional  Observation 
Centres,  which  will  have  the  function  of  observing  and  reporting  to  the 
courts  on  untried  prisoners,  including  those  eligible  to  be  dealt  with 
under  section  21,  as  well  as  of  advising  on  the  classification  of  appro- 
priate convicted  prisoners.  These  will  include  staff  qualified  to  advise 
on  the  'psychological  and  psychiatric  aspects  of  the  case' :  in  the  mean- 
time, psychologists  are  being  posted,  as  they  become  available,  to 
groups  of  local  prisons  to  assist  the  Governors  and  Medical  Officers 
in  the  preparation  of  reports  to  courts  under  section  21  and  otherwise. 
1  See  p.  302.  2  See  Appendix  K. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  301 

The  Juridical  Basis 

'Traditional  punishments,'  says  the  first  paragraph  of  The  Hague 
Resolution,  'are  not  sufficient  to  fight  effectively  against  habitual 
criminality.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  employ  other  and  more 
appropriate  measures.'  That  this  pronouncement  in  1950  does  no 
more  than  echo  that  of  the  Gladstone  Committee  in  1895  sufficiently 
indicates  the  caution  with  which  this  question  has  been  approached. 
'Traditional  punishments'  must  traditionally  be  proportioned  to  the 
gravity  of  the  offence.  But  if  society  is  to  be  effectively  protected  against 
the  habitual  criminal,  regard  must  be  had  not  to  the  nature  of  the  offence 
but  to  the  nature  of  the  offender;  and  where  this  is  such  that  traditional 
punishments  cannot  restrain  him,  the  only  'appropriate  measure'  seems 
to  be  to  place  him,  for  a  very  long  time,  in  a  position  from  which  he  is 
no  longer  able  to  prey  on  society. 

Here  a  difficulty  of  principle  arises.  At  one  time  banishment  or 
transportation  would  have  seemed  entirely  appropriate — and  advocates 
of  some  such  measure,  in  terms  of  an  'island  colony',  may  still  be  heard. 
But  so  long  as  these  resources  are  not  available,  the  fact  must  be  faced 
that  the  'measure',  under  whatever  name,  is  confinement  within  a 
prison  wall.  Continental  systems  have  long  drawn  a  distinction  in  law 
between  'punishments'  and  'measures  of  security',  and  have  established 
the  doctrine  that  the  prolonged  detention  of  a  persistent  offender  falls 
within  the  latter  category.  English  law  does  not  draw  this  distinction, 
nor,  in  the  light  of  the  contemporary  conception  of  imprisonment,  does 
it  appear  to  have  any  reality  in  practice.  Given  that  punishment  by 
imprisonment  means  punishment  by  confinement  in  a  prison,  with  no 
implication  of  a  regime  directed  towards  causing  'pain  and  suffering' 
over  and  above  what  is  implicit  in  the  confinement,  then  the  imprison- 
ment of  a  persistent  offender  as  a  'measure  of  security'  does  not  differ 
in  essence  from  that  of  another  offender  as  a  'punishment'. 

It  was  over  this  difficulty,  in  part,  that  the  English  system  of  1908 
broke  down.  'Some  countries,'  says  Dr.  Griinhut,  'have  introduced  a 
cumulative  system  which  enables  the  Court  to  inflict  legal  punishment 
for  the  expiation  of  the  offender's  guilt,  together  with  a  further  sentence 
awarded  as  a  measure  of  public  security  to  check  his  unabated  danger- 
ousness'  (p.  392).  This  was  precisely  the  system  of  1908,  the  effect  of 
which  was  that  if  a  person  with  three  previous  convictions  of  crime  was 
again  convicted  of  crime  and  sentenced  to  penal  servitude,  and  was 
found  by  the  jury  to  be  an  'habitual  criminal',  the  court  might  pass 
a  further  sentence  of  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  ten  years  of 
preventive  detention.  No  doctrinal  camouflage  could  prevent  prisoners, 
courts  and  juries  from  regarding  this  as  what  in  fact  it  was — a  double 
punishment,  and  after  the  first  few  years  it  fell  into  general  disfavour; 
in  10  years  from  1921  only  346  men  and  8  women  were  sentenced  to 
preventive  detention.  There  were  other  reasons  for  this — the  reluctance 


302  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

of  the  prosecution  to  prefer  the  charge  of  habitual  criminality,  and  the 
requirement  that  the  preceding  sentence  must  be  one  of  penal  servitude, 
which  meant  that  an  offender,  whatever  his  record,  could  only  be 
caught  in  this  net  on  conviction  of  a  particularly  serious  offence. 

In  1931  therefore  the  Home  Secretary  appointed  a  Departmental 
Committee  'to  enquire  into  the  existing  methods  of  dealing  with  Per- 
sistent offenders',  and  its  Report  of  1932  1  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of 
English  penological  thought.  From  its  suggestions  came  not  only  the 
provisions  of  the  Act  of  1948  dealing  with  persistent  offenders  and  the 
abolition  of  penal  servitude,  but  the  subsequent  inquiries  into  prison 
employment  and  the  re-absorption  of  prisoners  into  industry,  the 
development  of  the  'open  prison'  system,  and  the  establishment  of 
psychiatric  services  in  the  prisons.  On  the  question  under  immediate 
consideration,  they  recommended  the  abolition  of  the  'cumulative 
sentence'  system,  and  the  substitution  of  a  procedure  such  as  is  now 
provided  by  section  21.  This  again  is  in  accord  with  the  recommenda- 
tion at  (3)  of  the  Hague  Resolution  that  'the  special  measure  should 
not  be  added  to  a  sentence  of  a  punitive  character.  There  should  be 
one  unified  measure.  .  .  .' 

Their  major  contribution  to  the  problem,  however,  was  an  entirely 
novel  one  in  practice,  though  in  principle  it  was  no  more  than  an 
extension  of  the  'cutting  off'  procedure  already  described.  They  pro- 
posed to  divide  persistent  offenders  into  two  categories — those  'still  in 
the  early  stages  of  a  criminal  career,  including  the  large  number  of 
such  offenders  as  are  between  the  ages  of  21  and  30',  and  the  rest. 
What  the  Committee  wished  to  ensure  for  the  first  group  was  no  more 
than  a  period  of  imprisonment  of  sufficient  length  to  enable  them  to 
profit  from  the  regime  of  'training'  already  well  established  in  the 
English  prisons,  in  the  hope  that  this  might  succeed  in  diverting  them 
from  a  career  of  crime.  But  to  do  this  it  was  necessary,  as  for  the  con- 
firmed habitual,  to  establish  a  fresh  juridical  basis.  Again,  in  order  to 
make  the  punishment  fit  not  the  offence  but  the  offender,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  break  with  the  traditional  practice  in  the  infliction  of  traditional 
punishments.  It  had  been  laid  down  by  the  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal 
that  if  the  offender's  specific  offence  did  not  warrant  a  sentence  above 
a  certain  length,  a  longer  sentence  should  not  be  awarded  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  him  a  period  of  training  appropriate  to  his  needs.2 
The  proposal  of  the  Committee  was  that,  for  'those  persistent  offenders 
who  are  likely  to  profit  by  a  period  of  training ...  a  new  form  of  sentence 
should  be  introduced  and  that  courts  should  be  given  power,  as  an 
alternative  to  their  present  powers  of  ordering  imprisonment  or  penal 

1  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Persistent  Offenders,  1932.  Cmd. 
4090.  Is.  6d. 

2  Case  of  Stanley  Oxlade  (13  Cr.  App.  R.  65),  cit.  p.  25  of  the  Report  of  the 
Departmental  Committee. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  303 

servitude,  to  order,  in  suitable  cases  and  subject  to  proper  safeguards, 
detention  for  any  period  being  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  four 
years  with  the  object,  not  of  imposing  a  specific  penalty  for  a  specific 
offence,  but  of  subjecting  the  offender  to  such  training,  discipline, 
treatment  or  control  as  will  be  calculated  to  check  his  criminal 
propensities'  (p.  16). 

These  were  the  proposals  which  in  section  21  of  the  Act  of  1948 
found  legislative  form  in  the  new  sentence  called  'corrective  training', 
as  follows: 

'Where  a  person  who  is  not  less  than  21  years  of  age: 

'(#)  is  convicted  on  indictment  of  an  offence  punishable  with  im- 
prisonment for  a  term  of  two  years  or  more;  and 

'(/?)  has  been  convicted  on  at  least  two  previous  occasions  since  he 
attained  the  age  of  17  of  offences  punishable  on  indictment 
with  such  a  sentence; 

then,  if  the  court  is  satisfied  that  it  is  expedient  with  a  view  to  his 
reformation  and  the  prevention  of  crime  that  he  should  receive  training 
of  a  corrective  character  for  a  substantial  time,  followed  by  a  period  of 
supervision  if  released  before  the  expiration  of  his  sentence,  the  court 
may  pass,  in  lieu  of  any  other  sentence,  a  sentence  of  corrective  training 
for  such  term  of  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  four  years  as  the 
court  may  determine.' 

We  have  already  noted  (p.  300)  the  procedure  to  be  followed  by  the 
courts  when  offenders  eligible  for  corrective  training  are  before  them. 

Conditions  of  Detention 

The  problem  here  is  related  to  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  in 
principle  between  the  confinement  of  an  offender  as  a  'measure  of 
security'  and  as  a  'punishment',  and  a  study  of  international  practice  in 
this  matter  published  by  the  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary 
Commission  l  confirms  the  statement  of  Dr.  Griinhut  that  'No  existing 
system  has  succeeded  in  differentiating  between  ordinary  prison  routine 
and  the  regime  applicable  to  preventive  detention'  (p.  399).  The  Finnish 
report  says,  'It  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  difficult  to  arrange  the 
conditions  so  as  to  make  much  difference  from  those  of  ordinary 
prisoners,  at  least  of  those  who  are  promoted  to  the  higher  stages. 
The  loss  of  liberty  in  itself,  the  discipline,  and  the  maintenance  of 
order  entail  the  essential  restrictions.'  The  German  report  stresses  the 
same  point,  adding  that  this  necessary  resemblance  gives  prisoners  in 
'internment'  a  sense  of  grievance  which  it  is  difficult  to  eradicate. 

This  problem  was  clearly  envisaged  by  the  Home  Office  when  the 

1  Recueilde  Documents  en  Matiere  Penale  et  Penitenfiaire,  Vol.  XIII,  1.  Staempfli 
et  Cie,  Berne,  1947. 


304  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

draft  Rules  under  the  Act  of  1908  were  laid  before  Parliament,  and 
was  set  out  in  the  accompanying  memorandum  in  the  following  terms: 

The  present  draft  Rules  have  been  prepared  by  the  Prison  Com- 
missioners, who  have  done  their  utmost  to  carry  out  the  intention  of 
the  Statute  and  to  make  the  conditions  of  Preventive  Detention  as 
easy  as  circumstances  will  allow.  But  it  should  be  clearly  understood 
that  no  modification  of  the  conditions  which  prevail  in  Convict  Prisons 
can  alter  the  essential  fact  that  Preventive  Detention  is  a  form  of 
imprisonment.  Several  hundred  criminals  of  the  most  skilful  and  deter- 
mined class  will  have  to  be  confined  for  considerable  periods  within 
prison  walls  and  to  be  controlled  by  a  staff  which  cannot  be  made  very 
numerous  without  undue  expense.  During  their  detention,  they  must 
always  be  either  within  locked  cells  or  under  close  supervision;  discipline 
must  be  firmly  maintained;  and  hard  work  enforced.  If  there  were 
neglect  or  relaxation  in  the  supervision  and  discipline,  it  would 
inevitably  lead  to  escape,  or  mutiny  or  vice. 

4  While,  therefore,  it  is  possible  to  maintain  the  conditions  of  sufficient 
food,  adequate  clothing,  warmth  and  shelter,  which  all  convicts  enjoy, 
and  to  allow  further  relaxations  in  the  way  of  conversation  and  associa- 
tion, of  minor  luxuries,  and  to  some  extent  of  recreation,  the  essential 
fact  remains  that,  after  every  possible  mitigation  has  been  allowed,  the 
convict  is  completely  deprived  of  his  liberty  and  is  subject  to  constant 
supervision,  control  and  compulsion  in  all  that  he  does.' 

The  Departmental  Committee,  in  its  consideration  of  this  question, 
described  the  appropriate  regime  as  'custodial  and  remedial'.  By 
'custodial'  they  appear  to  have  intended  first,  safe  custody,  and  second, 
the  absence  of  specifically  'penal'  or  'repressive'  aspects  of  ordinary 
imprisonment:   by  'remedial',   reformative  treatment  in  conditions 
which  will  be  'more  strenuous'  than  ordinary  prison  conditions,  and 
designed  'so  far  as  practicable  to  fit  them  to  take  up  life  on  release 
under  normal  social  conditions'  (paras.  40,  46,  48,  52,  65,  and  160  (8)). 
When  it  became  necessary  to  reconsider  the  problem  in  1948,  two 
fresh  factors  were  apparent.  First,  that  in  spite  of  the  strong  words  of 
the  Home  Office  memorandum  of  1911,  the  system  established  in  the 
first  preventive  detention  prison  at  Camp  Hill l  had  degenerated,  no 
doubt  owing  to  the  dwindling  of  its  population,  until  the  atmosphere 
so  far  from  being  strenuous  was  rather  that  of  a  'home  for  aged  con- 
victs', in  which  any  attempt  to  secure  firm  discipline  or  hard  work 
would  have  come  as  a  serious  shock.  Second,  since  1911,  and  indeed 
since  the  Report  of  1932,  the  conditions  of  normal  imprisonment  had 
so  far  developed  that  practically  all  the  features  introduced  into 

1  Subsequently  transferred  to  Portsmouth,  then  to  Lewes  and  finally  to  a  wing  of 
Parkhurst. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  305 

preventive  detention  in  1 9 1 1  as  'mitigations'  had  become  quite  usual  in  all 
prisons.  Nor  was  it  easy  to  define  the  'penal'  or  'repressive'  features  of 
imprisonment  which  could  be  removed  from  preventive  detention: 
it  was  still  the  case,  as  the  Home  Office  had  pointed  out  in  1911,  that 
this  system  would  be  required  to  handle  many  hundreds  of  the  most 
difficult  and  dangerous  prisoners  in  the  country,  with  whom  there 
could  be  no  relaxation  either  of  security  or  of  control. 

Although  a  serious  attempt  was  made  to  make  a  fresh  approach  to 
the  problem  in  the  light  of  past  experience  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
it  will  be  apparent  when  we  come  to  describe  the  present  system  that 
it  differs  even  less  from  the  long-term  imprisonment  of  today  than  did 
the  system  of  1911  from  penal  servitude.  Whether  it  will  prove,  as  it  is 
intended  to  prove,  more  'remedial'  than  that  system,  we  shall  not  know 
for  many  years.  The  solution  to  the  difficulty  of  principle  may  perhaps 
be  stated  as  follows.  In  a  prison  system  in  which  there  is  a  complete 
system  of  classification,  providing  different  methods  of  training  and 
forms  of  custody  appropriate  to  different  categories  of  prisoners,  the 
provision  of  a  regime  appropriate  to  habitual  criminals  detained  for 
very  long  periods  requires  no  more  than  the  application  to  the  particu- 
lar case  of  the  general  principles  of  the  system,  which  include  due 
regard  to  the  purpose  for  which  the  sentence  was  awarded. 

Length  and  Determination  of  the  Sentence 

Consideration  of  what  is  an  appropriate  length  of  sentence  to  be 
applied  as  a  measure  of  prevention  rather  than  of  punishment  in- 
evitably raises  the  question  of  the  'indeterminate  sentence'.  This  is  not 
the  place  for  a  discussion  of  the  merits  of  this  system,  since  in  spite  of 
its  established  favour  in  America  and  some  European  countries  the 
idea  has  never  succeeded  in  naturalising  itself  in  this  country,  save  in 
the  restricted  sense  of  the  Borstal  sentence,  where  release  is  indeter- 
minate within  a  statutory  minimum  of  9  months  and  a  maximum  of 
3  years.  For  this  evasive  action  there  is  good  precedent  in  the  Report 
of  the  Departmental  Committee,  which  said  (para.  50)  'We  have  con- 
sidered the  general  question  of  the  indeterminate  sentence,  but  we  do 
not  think  it  necessary  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the  general  consider- 
ations for  and  against  a  sentence  wholly  indeterminate  in  length,  because 
we  feel  that  the  scheme  we  have  suggested  will  give  powers  as  extensive 
as  any  Court  in  practice  will  wish  to  use.' 

Nevertheless  the  systems  of  the  majority  of  European  and  American 
States  have  committed  themselves  to  a  sentence  of  indeterminate 
length  for  habitual  criminals,  and  the  law  of  some  American  States 
has  gone  even  further,  the  Baumes  Law  of  New  York  making  the 
indeterminate  sentence  subject  to  a  minimum  of  15  years,  and  the 
Californian  law  imposing  a  life  sentence  from  which  release  on  parole  is 
not  permissible  before  12  years.  In  these  circumstances  it  is  noteworthy 

E.P.B.S. — 20 


306  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

that  the  Hague  Resolution  goes  no  further  than  to  suggest  that  the 
'measure'  should  be  of  a  'relatively  indeterminate  duration'. 

The  provisions  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  left  it  open  to  the  admin- 
istration, in  framing  the  Statutory  Rules  governing  corrective  training 
and  preventive  detention,  to  allow  the  date  of  release  to  be  (as  in  the 
Borstal  sentence)  indeterminate  within  the  statutory  maxima  of  2  to  4 
years  for  corrective  training  and  14  years  for  preventive  detention;  but 
the  decision  was  deliberately  taken  not  to  do  this  in  respect  of  corrective 
training.  For  preventive  detention,  however,  which  stands  on  a  different 
basis,  the  Rules  do  provide,  as  we  shall  see,  a  modest  concession  to 
the  Hague  principle  of  'relative  indeterminacy'.  English  prison  ad- 
ministrators have  never  felt  that  for  adult  prisoners,  particularly 
those  of  the  types  now  under  consideration,  the  theoretical  advantages 
of  this  system  outweigh  the  practical  disadvantages.  If  a  man  gets  a 
sentence  of  3  years'  corrective  training  he  knows  from  the  start  that  he 
can  get  out  in  two  years  if  he  does  not  play  the  fool:  he  settles  down  to 
it  and  gets  on  with  his  training.  If  the  date  of  his  release  is  entirely  vague, 
and  dependent  on  the  decision  of  some  Board  or  Committee  which  will 
be  taken  on  grounds  that  are  never  likely  to  commend  themselves  to  a 
disappointed  prisoner  even  if  he  understands  them,  he  will  be  in  a  state 
of  constant  unrest,  always  'sweating  on  the  next  Board'  instead  of 
concentrating  on  the  job  in  hand,  and  thrown  into  a  fury  of  resentment 
whenever  A  is  lucky  and  B  is  not,  whether  B  be  himself  or  one  of  his 
friends.  This  does  not  make  for  'a  happy  prison'.  Nor  is  it  certain  that 
either  the  prison  staff  or  a  Board — with  or  without  the  advice  of  psychia- 
trists— on  the  basis  of  past  records  and  of  behaviour  in  prison  con- 
ditions, could  make  enough  good  guesses  about  the  behaviour  of 
prisoners  after  release  to  justify  a  system  of  selective  discharge  in  the 
face  of  these  disadvantages. 

There  is  the  further  difficulty  that  the  courts  might  well  view  with 
distrust  a  system  under  which  an  habitual  criminal  might  be  released 
some  years  before  the  expiration  of  the  period  they  had  fixed  as  neces- 
sary for  the  protection  of  the  public.  Hitherto  English  law  and  practice 
have  been  such  that  this  question  has  not  become  prominent.  Where  the 
sentence  is  wholly  indeterminate  it  may  be  of  primary  importance; 
indeed  one  of  the  principal  points  of  controversy  in  the  discussion  of 
the  Hague  Resolution  centred  on  the  question  whether  the  date  of 
termination  of  a  preventive  sentence  should  be  fixed  by  a  judicial 
authority  or  otherwise,  and  para.  10  (b)  of  the  Resolution  has  the 
characteristics  of  the  'formule  agreable'  required  to  resolve  such  a 
situation.1 

English  practice  in  this  matter,  under  the  Rules  of  1949  relating  to 

1  The  proceedings  have  not  yet  been  published,  and  are  not  therefore  available 
for  reference:  the  writer  is  in  a  position  to  make  this  statement  since  he  acted  as 
President  of  the  Section  concerned. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  307 

preventive  detention,  is  consonant  with  the  latter  alternative  of  10  (6). 
It  accords  also  with  para.  7,  which  suggests  that  "the  final  discharge  of 
the  habitual  offender  should,  in  general,  be  preceded  by  parole  com- 
bined with  well-directed  after-care'.  All  prisoners  discharged  from 
corrective  training  or  preventive  detention,  after  the  expiration  of  that 
part  of  their  sentences  specified  in  the  Rules,  are  released  on  a  con- 
ditional licence  of  the  'positive'  type,  which  places  them  under  the 
care  and  supervision  of  the  Central  After-Care  Association. 

(2)    CORRECTIVE  TRAINING 

Corrective  training  is  a  new  name  in  our  penal  terminology,  but  it 
does  not  describe  any  new  method  of  treatment  or  training:  it  is  the 
statutory  application  of  an  existing  method  to  a  category  of  prisoners 
selected  not  by  the  administrative  classification  system  but  by  the 
Courts.  This  method  is  the  system  of  training,  formerly  known  as  the 
Wakefield  System,  as  it  is  now  applied  in  the  regional  training  prisons. 
But  those  who,  under  the  normal  classification  system,  are  found  suit- 
able for  the  system  practised  in  those  prisons  are  carefully  selected  as 
being  likely  to  respond  to  and  co-operate  in  a  system  "based  on  the 
maximum  of  trust  and  self-responsibility,  and  it  was  evident  from  the 
outset  that  among  the  wide  variety  of  offenders  who  were  likely  to 
receive  sentences  of  corrective  training  there  would  be  many  who  would 
not  be  found  suitable  for  training  in  these  regional  prisons:  indeed 
this  was  foreseen  by  the  Departmental  Committee,  which  said  'we  do 
not  suggest  that  the  Wakefield  methods  would  be  generally  applicable 
to  all  Detention  Establishments',  and  envisaged  another  type  of  estab- 
lishment with  the  same  purposes  but  with  'a  regime  of  strict  discipline 
and  firm  control'  (paras.  58,  59). 

Accordingly  the  Statutory  Rules  provide  as  follows : 

'151.  A  sentence  of  corrective  training  shall  be  served  in: 

'(a)  a  regional  prison  set  aside  under  sub-paragraph  (ii)  of 
paragraph  (2)  of  Rule  7,  or 

'(&)  some  other  prison  or  part  of  a  prison  set  aside  for  the 
purpose. 

"152.  (1)  When  a  prisoner  sentenced  to  corrective  training  is  received 
in  a  local  prison  his  suitability  for  training  in  a  regional  prison 
shall  be  considered,  and  for  this  purpose  he  may  be  removed  for 
special  observation  to  a  prison  set  aside  under  sub-paragraph  (i) 
of  paragraph  (2)  of  Rule  7. 

'(2)  If  the  character  or  previous  history  of  a  prisoner  are  such  that 
he  appears  to  be  unsuitable  for  a  regional  prison,  he  shall  serve 
his  sentence  in  some  other  prison  or  part  of  a  prison  set  aside  for 
the  purpose. 


308  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

'153.  A  prisoner  sentenced  to  corrective  training  shall  before  removal 
to  the  prison  in  which  he  is  to  serve  his  sentence  be  treated  as  a 
prisoner  of  the  Ordinary  Class.' 

Since  it  was  of  the  essence  of  this  scheme  that  the  prisoners  sent  to 
regional  training  prisons,  whether  open  or  closed,  should  participate 
fully  in  the  training  without  differentiation  from  the  other  trainees,  it 
was  necessary  to  secure  most  careful  classification.  Accordingly,  Read- 
ing Prison  was  set  aside  as  an  Allocation  Centre  for  the  observation 
and  allocation  to  the  appropriate  type  of  prison  of  all  men  sentenced 
to  corrective  training,  and  to  Reading  *  they  are  removed  as  soon  as 
possible  after  reception  in  a  local  prison.  'Here  the  causes  of  his  anti- 
social behaviour  will  be  studied  in  relation  to  his  social  history,  mental 
and  physical  constitution,  personality  and  temperament,  by  a  selected 
staff,  which  includes  psychologists  and  social  workers.  When  the 
investigation  is  complete,  his  case  is  considered  by  a  Board  consisting 
of  the  senior  members  of  the  staff  which,  on  the  basis  of  the  case-study, 
will  decide  his  allocation  in  one  of  the  following  ways: 

'(1)  To  an  "open"  regional  training  prison.  Such  an  allocation 
postulates  that  he  is  likely,  from  the  outset,  to  co-operate  in  his  training 
and  to  respond  to  a  system  of  trust  and  self-discipline. 

'(2)  To  a  "closed"  regional  training  prison,  where  there  is  greater 
security  and  where  the  conditions  of  training  can  be  graduated  accord- 
ing to  the  response  shown.  These  prisons  have  camps  attached  to  them 
and  suitable  prisoners  may  obtain  a  remove  to  "open"  conditions  as 
their  training  proceeds. 

'(3)  To  a  corrective  training  prison,  for  those  from  whom  there  is 
little  hope  of  spontaneous  co-operation,  at  any  rate  at  an  early  stage  of 
the  sentence,  and  whose  training  can  only  proceed  under  conditions 
of  maximum  security  and  close  supervision.'  2 

On  30  January  1951  there  were  367  men  serving  sentences  of  cor- 
rective training  in  regional  training  prisons,  of  whom  15  were  in  the 
open  prison  at  Sudbury  and  63  in  the  'medium  security'  of  The  Verne. 
Their  assimilation  presented  no  special  problems :  one  Governor  in  his 
Annual  Report  for  1950  said  'Nearly  all  the  trainees  received  during  the 
past  six  months  have  been  carefully  selected  and  are  likely  to  benefit 
by  positive  training,'  and  another  'Nevertheless,  the  majority  of  the 
corrective  training  prisoners  played  their  part  as  well  as  the  Star 
prisoners.  Eight  became  Leaders;  and  one  of  the  best  examples  set 
was  that  by  a  corrective  training  prisoner  who  was  the  Leader  in 
charge  of  a  party  of  men  employed  on  the  construction  of  the  Sports 
Ground.'  We  can  therefore  leave  these  men  there,  in  the  hope  that  the 

1  See  Appendix  K.       2  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p.  40. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  309 

numbers  diverted  from  their  careers  of  crime  will  be  not  less  than  those 
of  the  'trainable  Ordinaries'  whom  they  have  largely  displaced. 

As  for  the  women,  their  much  smaller  numbers  do  not  call  for  such 
an  elaborate  system.  They  all  go  to  Holloway  in  the  first  instance,  and 
there  the  great  majority  remain,  since  the  only  regional  training  prison 
for  women  is  the  open  establishment  at  Askham  Grange.  However,  by 
January  1951  eleven  women  had  been  found  suitable  for  transfer  to 
Askham. 

It  was  thought  by  the  draftsmen  of  the  Statutory  Rules  to  be  desirable 
to  set  out,  in  the  'Special  Rules  for  Prisoners  Sentenced  to  Corrective 
Training',  a  definition  of  the  training  to  be  given  in  the  regional  prisons 
to  prisoners  so  sentenced,  although  this  training  is  not  exclusive  to 
corrective  trainees :  it  is  as  follows : 

'154.  The  training  in  a  regional  prison  of  prisoners  so  sentenced  shall 
be  designed  to  carry  out  the  purposes  specified  in  Rule  6,  and  shall 
include: 

'(i)  the  provision  of  work  which  will  so  far  as  practicable  help  to 
fit  them  to  earn  their  living  after  release,  with  technical 
training  in  skilled  trades  for  suitable  prisoners; 

'(ii)  special  attention  to  education; 

'(iii)  the  exercise  of  personal  influence  on  the  character  and  train- 
ing of  individuals  by  members  of  the  prison  staff; 

'(iv)  the  provision  of  every  opportunity  for  the  development  of  a 
sense  of  personal  responsibility,  including  for  suitable 
prisoners  training  in  open  conditions.' 

The  next  Rule  carries  into  effect  the  above  quoted  intention  of  the 
Departmental  Committee  in  these  terms: 

*155.  The  training  in  other  prisons  set  aside  for  the  purpose  of  correct- 
ive training  shall  be  designed  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  the 
foregoing  Rule,  with  such  modifications  of  method  as  are  neces- 
sary for  ensuring  closer  supervision  and  safe  custody.' 

These  provisions,  on  the  coming  into  force  of  section  21  in  April 
1949,  presented  the  Commissioners  with  formidable  difficulties.  All 
their  prisons  were  at  that  time  full  and  overfull,  and  there  was  no 
more  cellular  accommodation  to  be  had.  There  was  no  means  of 
knowing  the  extent  to  which  Courts  would  wish  to  use  their  new  powers 
against  the  thousands  of  eligible  candidates  who  would  in  due  course 
be  appearing  before  them,  or  of  divining  how  many  of  those  selected 
for  the  new  treatment  would  be  suitable  for  regional  training  and  for 
how  many  it  would  be  necessary  for  'other  prisons  or  parts  of  prisons' 
to  be  set  aside.  And  it  was  clear  that  if  the  intention  of  the  Rules  was 
to  be  properly  implemented  these  other  prisons  would  have  to  combine 


310  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

with  maximum  security  adequate  accommodation  and  facilities  for 
this  type  of  training,  and,  where  parts  of  prisons  had  to  be  used, 
adequate  separation  from  other  types  of  prisoner,  wfiich  virtually 
ruled  out  all  prisons  built  on  the  normal  radial  plan.  It  was  out  of  the 
question  to  empty  prisons  or  any  parts  of  prisons  in  readiness  for  a 
new  influx  which  might  be  either  a  trickle  or  a  torrent. 

However,  in  the  course  of  1949  and  1950  these  difficulties  were 
somehow  overcome.  In  the  eight  months  of  1949  sentences  of  corrective 
training  were  passed  on  over  1,000  men  and  52  women,  and  in  their 
Annual  Report  for  that  year  the  Commissioners  were  able  to  say  that 
'while  at  present  all  men  and  women  sentenced  to  corrective  training 
are  receiving  it,  in  full  accordance  with  the  Rules,  in  separate  and  suit- 
able accommodation  and  without  undue  delay,  it  may  not  prove  poss- 
ible to  preserve  the  situation  throughout  1950  if  the  number  of  com- 
mittals to  corrective  training  increases  without  a  corresponding  fall  in 
other  categories  of  the  prison  population'.  This  situation  was  achieved 
by  setting  aside  Chelmsford  Prison  and  the  former  Nottingham  Prison, 
then  in  use  as  a  Borstal,  two  wings  of  Liverpool,  two  wings  of  Worm- 
wood Scrubs,  and  a  wing  of  Durham.  CheLnsford  had  formerly  been  a 
training  prison  for  young  convicts,  the  accommodation  at  Durham 
and  Liverpool  had  been  centres  for  young  prisoners,  who  were  now 
concentrated  at  Stafford  and  Lewes,  and  the  two  wings  at  Wormwood 
Scrubs  had  been  the  Star  prison  for  the  south-east.  All,  therefore,  pro- 
vided the  best  available  facilities  for  training  and  for  segregation  in 
separate  blocks.  This  was  the  position  in  May  1950.  For  the  rest  of 
the  year  the  corrective  training  population  continued  its  steady  increase 
and  there  was  no  diminution  in  the  overall  population.  No  further 
prison  accommodation  could  be  spared,  so  it  became  necessary  to 
squeeze  the  Borstals  again,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  Camp  Hill, 
the  former  preventive  detention  prison,  was  taken  over  as  a  corrective 
training  prison.  On  the  30  January  1951  there  were  in  these  corrective 
training  prisons  1,247  men,1  and  it  was  calculated  that  the  accommo- 
dation thus  provided  would  suffice  until  the  flow  of  release  of  3-year 
men  began  in  April:  thereafter  the  rate  of  discharge  -should  balance 
the  rate  of  intake,  if  that  did  not  significantly  change.2 

On  this  date  the  distribution  of  corrective  training  prisoners  was  as 
follows: 

Men 

In  Regional  Training  Prisons         .  .       367 

In  Corrective  Training  Prisons       .  .     1,247 

In  the  Allocation  Centre       .         .  .129 

In  local  prisons  awaiting  removal,  etc.  .        386 


Total     2,129 


1  At  that  stage  only  80  had  been  removed  to  Camp  Hill. 

2  See  Appendix  K. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  311 

Women 

At  Askham  Grange     .        .        .        .  11 

AtHolloway 76 

In  local  prisons 4 

Total          91 

It  would  evidently  have  been  better  if  all  the  corrective  training 
prisons  could  have  been  separate  institutions,  but  in  the  circum- 
stances that  was  impracticable,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  second 
year  of  the  system  it  was  possible  to  say  that  it  had  satisfactorily 
established  itself  in  the  available  premises,  in  which  the  regime  pre- 
scribed by  the  Rules  was  still  being  fully  applied.  Let  us  now  look  at  the 
practical  working  of  that  regime,  as  it  is  set  out  above  in  Rule  152. 

A  prisoner  sentenced  to  corrective  training,  as  soon  as  he  comes  into 
his  local  prison,  is  given  a  special  cell-card  which  aims  to  make  him  see 
his  sentence  in  a  proper  light.  It  tells  him  why  he  has  got  this  form  of 
sentence,  and  warns  him  squarely  that  if  he  is  charged  with  one  more 
serious  offence  he  may  become  liable  to  preventive  detention  for  up  to 
14  years.  There  has  been  some  evidence  that  these  provisions  have  come 
as  a  considerable  shock  to  the  regular  members  of  the  criminal  class, 
who  had  been  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  the  main  purpose  of 
the  Act  was  to  make  life  easier  for  them.1  Many  of  them  in  the  early 
stages  took  it  far  from  well,  and  were  in  no  frame  of  mind  to  co-operate 
in  any  sort  of  training.  However,  it  was  thought  well  to  leave  no  doubt 
in  their  minds  as  to  their  position,  even  at  the  cost  of  seeming  to  'rub 
it  in' :  if  they  could  not  be  reformed,  they  might  still  be  deterred.  The 
next  purpose  of  the  card  was  to  remove  the  illusion,  prevalent  at  least 
in  the  early  days  of  the  system,  that  corrective  training  was  a  sort  of 
'Butlin's  Borstal' — an  idea  too  often  fostered  by  well-meant  but  ill- 
conceived  remarks  made  by  some  Courts  in  passing  sentence.  All 
Governors  agree  that  an  almost  universal  characteristic  of  these  men 
is  the  desire  to  avoid  any  kind  of  effort  of  their  own:  they  regard 
'training'  as  a  sort  of  beneficent  influence  to  be  applied  by  the  staff 
for  their  good,  but  calling  for  nothing  from  them.  They  must,  therefore, 
be  told  at  the  outset  that  while  the  staff  is  there  to  help  them  the  out- 
come of  the  business  is  entirely  'up  to  them'.  Those  ideas  are  again 
pressed  home  during  their  stay  at  Reading,  and  it  seems  that  most  of 
the  men  leave  there  in  a  reasonable  frame  of  mind  and  willing  to  make 
the  best  of  it. 

Arrived  at  his  corrective  training  prison,  the  offender  finds  himself 
for  the  first  8  weeks  'out  of  stage'.  This  is  a  period  of  orientation  during 
which  the  staff  get  to  know  him  and  he  gets  to  know  what  will  be 
expected  of  him.  During  this  time  he  will  be  seen  once  or  twice  by  the 
Reception  Board  (or  Planning  Board  as  some  corrective  training  prisons 

1  See  Appendix  K. 


312  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

call  it)  to  discuss  how  he  can  best  make  use  of  his  time  in  the  prison 
in  the  light  of  what  his  future  after  release  is  likely  to  be.  The  repre- 
sentative of  the  Central  After-Care  Association  will  take  part  in  this 
planning.  While  'out  of  stage'  he  receives  all  the  privileges  which 
he  would  have  in  stage  in  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  except  association 
for  meals  and  evening  recreation.  When  he  comes  into  stage,  he  has  all 
meals  and  the  evenings  in  full  association.  Indeed  from  then  on  the  con- 
ditions are  very  similar  to  those  already  described  at  Wakefield  or  Maid- 
stone,  except  that  there  is  less  trust  and  closer  supervision  by  the  staff. 

The  industries  available  are  all  of  a  good  class — there  is  no  mailbag 
sewing — and  in  every  prison  there  are  spme  shops  which  provide 
'technical  training  in  skilled  trades',  though  it  is  neither  possible  nor 
necessary  to  provide  this  for  all  of  them.  Many  are  incapable  of 
learning.1  Many  more  start  by  demanding  'vocational  training'  as  of 
right,  under  the  impression  that  it  is  a  'cushy  job',  and  then  do  their 
best  to  get  out  of  it  when  they  find  it  means  hard  work  and  sustained 
effort.  These  are  the  men  who  all  claim  to  be  cooks  in  the  winter  and 
gardeners  in  the  summer;  who  on  discharge  will  be  found  work,  given 
a  kit  of  tools,  and  helped  in  every  way;  who  will  throw  up  their  jobs  a 
fortnight  later  and  appear  in  court  the  following  week  plausibly 
pleading  that  they  'have  never  been  given  a  chance'.  However,  there  are 
many  more  who  are  willing  and  able  to  stick  it,  become  good  work- 
men, and  write  after  they  have  settled  in  work  to  say  how  grateful  they 
are  for  the  help  that  was  given  them. 

The  next  thing  required  by  the  Rule  is  special  attention  to  education, 
and  this  is  given  as  fully  in  corrective  training  prisons  as  in  regional 
prisons.  There  is  nothing  to  add  here  to  what  has  already  been  said  in 
Chapter  Twelve  (3). 

To  'the  exercise  of  personal  influence  by  members  of  the  staff'  the 
greatest  importance  is  attached.  Assistant  Governors  are  appointed 
to  all  these  prisons  who  take  special  responsibility  for  the  individual 
training  of  groups  of  men.  It  is  their  job  to  get  to  know  and  under- 
stand them  as  individual  human  beings,  to  fortify  their  weakness, 
encourage  their  strength,  help  them  in  their  troubles  inside  and  outside 
the  prison,  and  try  to  make  them  face  reality  with  courage  and  confi- 
dence.2 In  this  difficult  task  they  have  the  help  and  co-operation  of  all 

*  One  Governor  of  a  corrective  training  prison,  in  his  Annual  Report  for  1950, 
estimated  at  60  per  cent  those  'quite  unfitted  for  Vocational  Training  through  lack 
of  manipulative  ability,  interest  or  mental  capacity.' 

2  The  Governor  of  a  corrective  training  prison,  in  his  Annual  Report  for  1950, 
mentioned  the  case  of  a  man  who  failed  at  the  end  of  a  V.T.  class  after  a  promising 
start.  The  man  'eventually  admitted  that  he  had  not  wanted  to  pass  because  he 
thought  the  fact  would  be  recorded  and  having  been  taught  a  trade  might  well  be 
held  against  him  should  he  have  to  face  a  court  in  the  future.  This  reason  may  not 
have  been  valid  but  such  a  depressing  and  pessimistic  outlook  is  not  uncommon 
among  corrective  trainees.' 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  313 

grades  of  the  staff.  It  is  usual  for  groups  of  men  to  have  'supervising 
officers',  who  are  encouraged  to  study  them  and  make  full  reports  at 
regular  periods  on  their  development  and  behaviour,  as  do  their 
instructors  on  their  performance  at  work.  This  is  possible  because  of 
the  stability  of  the  staffs  in  these  prisons,  which  enables  them  to 
concentrate  on  the  job  of  getting  to  know  the  men  in  their  charge  and 
so  handling  them  as  to  get  the  best  out  of  them. 

The  last  requirement,  to  develop  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility, 
cannot  in  the  nature  of  these  prisons  and  of  the  men  who  come  to  them 
be  taken  so  far  as  in  the  regional  prisons.  A  large  proportion  of 
them,  having  already  passed  most  of  their  lives  in  Approved  Schools, 
Borstals  and  prisons,  are  'over-institutionalised',  which  means  inter 
alia  that  while  they  normally  give  no  trouble  they  can  only  be  trusted 
as  far  as  the  staff  can  see  them.  But  the  regime  is  nevertheless  made  as 
open  as  is  compatible  with  safe  custody  and  proper  control.  The  periods 
of  association  are  observed  rather  than  strictly  controlled.  At  all  the 
prisons  but  one  there  is  ground  on  which  football  can  be  played  at  the 
week-ends,  and  though  there  are  no  camps,  as  at  Wakefield  and  Maid- 
stone,  there  are  opportunities  for  work  in  parties  outside  the  prisons 
for  selected  men  towards  the  end  of  their  sentences.  And  the  whole 
effort  of  the  staff  is  devoted  to  making  the  men  face  precisely  this 
question  of  self-responsibility  in  their  general  attitude  to  life. 

'In  order  not  to  jeopardise  the  success  of  this  system,  or  to  sacrifice 
the  welfare  of  the  majority  of  prisoners  under  training  to  the  interests 
of  the  vicious  or  incorrigible  few,  strong  sanctions  are  necessary  against 
those  who  will  not  co-operate.  To  this  end  parts  of  Manchester  (for 
men  and  women)  and  Pentonville  (for  men)  have  been  set  aside  for 
the  reception  of  prisoners  removed  as  unsuitable  for  training  in  the 
ordinary  corrective  training  prisons:  here  the  Rules  are  applied  to 
the  extent  practicable,  but  they  are  not  eligible  for  corrective  training 
stage  privileges.  Their  cases  are  reconsidered  by  the  Commissioners 
from  time  to  time'  (A.R.  1949,  p.  32,  para.  20).  At  the  time  of  writing  it 
has  been  necessary  to  exercise  this  sanction  against  some  50  men  and 
two  or  three  women,  and  the  result  has  been  most  salutary.  A  propor- 
tion return  in  due  course  to  a  corrective  training  prison:  the  others 
appear  to  give  little  or  no  trouble — indeed  many  of  them  prefer  the 
more  routine  and  less  exacting  life  of  a  local  prison,  and  it  may  be  that 
they  are  neither  more  nor  less  likely  to  offend  again  as  a  result  of  the 
change.  ( 

For  women  the  principles  are  the  same,  and  are  applied  in  the  same 
way.  They  are  located  in  a  separate  wing  at  Holloway,  under  the  specific 
charge  of  an  Assistant  Governor.  Such  differences  as  there  are  are 
such  as  are  inevitable  in  the  training  of  women  and  have  been  men- 
tioned elsewhere.  Thus  there  is  no  'vocational  training',  but  the  in- 
dustrial training  follows  the  pattern  described  at  Askham  Grange,  and 


314  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

if  the  evening  education  programme  is  less  strenuous  it  is  as  much  as 
these  women  are  willing  or  able  to  take. 

As  we  have  seen,  a  corrective  training  prisoner  is  released  on  a 
conditional  licence,  after  he  has  served  a  period  which  is  fixed  by  the 
Rules  as  two- thirds  of  his  sentence:  his  release  may  however  be  post- 
poned as  a  punishment  for  an  offence  against  discipline,  for  not  more 
than  14  days  at  any  one  time  on  an  award  by  the  Governor  or  6  months 
on  an  award  by  the  Board  of  Visitors.  This  licence  is  of  the  'positive' 
kind,  which  imposes  on  him  a  duty  not  only  to  lead  an  honest,  sober 
and  industrious  life,  but  to  place  himself  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Central  After-care  Association,  and  to  obey  any  directions  of  the 
Association  as  to  where  he  shall  work  and  live,  and  as  to  when  and  how 
he  shall  report  to  his  supervisor. 

The  Rules  provide  that  'From  the  reception  of  a  prisoner  in  the 
prison  in  which  he  is  to  serve  his  sentence  consideration  shall  be  given, 
in  consultation  with  the  Central  After-care  Association,  to  the  provision 
to  be  made  for  his  welfare  and  supervision  after  release.'  Accordingly 
the  representative  of  the  Association  visits  the  prison  at  frequent 
intervals,  sees  all  the  men  soon  after  their  reception,  and  consults 
with  the  prison  staff  and  the  Ministry  of  Labour  representative  about 
their  ultimate  disposal.  Towards  the  end  of  the  sentence,  when  plans 
can  be  finalised,  he  will  make  contact  with  the  Probation  Officer  who 
will  take  the  case  on  after  release,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
described  in  Chapter  Fifteen  (3). 

Behind  a  conditional  licence  there  must  be  the  sanction  of  recall, 
and  on  this  the  Rules  provide  as  follows : 

'159.  (1)  A  prisoner  sentenced  to  corrective  training  who  has  been 
recalled  after  release  on  licence  shall  on  his  return  to  prison  in 
consequence  of  such  recall  remain  in  a  local  prison  and  be  treated 
as  a  prisoner  of  the  Ordinary  Class  until  such  time  as  the  Com- 
missioners, in  their  discretion,  order  his  removal  to  a  prison  or 
part  of  a  prison  set  aside  for  prisoners  sentenced  to  corrective 
training. 

'(2)  A  prisoner  who  has  been  so  recalled  shall  not  be  eligible  for 
release  on  licence  until  he  has  served  two-thirds  of  the  unexpired 
portion  of  his  sentence.' 

At  the  time  of  writing  little  experience  has  been  gained  of  the  opera- 
tion of  the  recall  procedure,  though  its  use  has  already  been  necessary 
in  a  few  cases.  In  general,  other  than  in  cases  of  reconviction,  it  is  not 
intended  to  use  it  arbitrarily  on  a  mere  technical  infringement  of  the 
conditions  of  licence:  the  Probation  Officer  reports  to  the  Association, 
which  makes  a  recommendation  to  the  Commissioners,  who  consider 
on  the  merits  of  each  case  whether  recall  is  necessary.  No  regular 
practice  has  yet  developed  as  to  return  to  a  corrective  training  prison 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  315 

on  recall;  it  is  unlikely  that  in  many  of  these  cases  further  training  will 
have  a  positive  effect,  and  the  presence  of  recalled  men  would  not  be 
helpful  to  the  training  prisons.  At  present  these  men  are  located  in 
part  of  a  local  prison  which  has  been  set  aside  as  a  'recall  centre'. 

It  is  not  yet  possible  to  assess  or  even  to  forecast  the  results  of  cor- 
rective training.  So  far  the  only  discharges  have  been  the  earlier  cases 
with  2-year  sentences.  Nor  will  it  perhaps  be  fair  to  judge  the  system  by 
the  results  of  the  first  two  or  three  years.  Without  doubt,  in  the  early 
stages,  a  number  of  offenders  have  been  received  who  were  beyond  the 
aid  of  any  penal  system.  Nor  can  this  be  ascribed  in  any  large  measure 
to  failure  of  the  courts  to  pay  regard  to  the  recommendations  made  to 
them  by  Governors  on  behalf  of  the  Commissioners.  It  may  be  hoped 
that  with  the  enlargement  of  experience,  and  more  expertise  in  assess- 
ment before  reports  are  made  to  courts,  fewer  offenders  will  be  recom- 
mended who  are  unlikely  to  profit  from  this  form  of  training.  But  for  the 
proper  application  of  such  expertise  it  would  certainly  be  necessary  for 
the  methods  adopted  at  Reading  after  sentence  to  be  applied  in  Obser- 
vation Centres  before  sentence,  and  to  make  this  possible  in  every  case 
changes  would  be  necessary  in  the  machinery  of  justice.  Adequate 
reports  can  never  be  made  on  offenders  who  are  only  in  custody  for 
a  few  days  before  trial,  or  who  are  never  seen  because  they  are  on  bail. 

One  feature  of  the  corrective  training  system  which  may  be  open  to 
question  is  the  variable  sentence,  of  from  2  to  4  years,  which  it  is  open 
to  courts  to  pass:  during  1949  and  1950  the  great  majority  of  the 
sentences  were  for  3  years.  While  in  principle  it  may  seem  right  that 
the  courts  should  have  power  to  vary  the  length  of  training  according 
to  the  needs  of  the  offender,  Governors  of  corrective  training  prisons 
have  expressed  the  view  that  these  variations  cause  much  resentment 
among  the  prisoners,  and  that  for  their  part,  having  no  information 
as  to  what  reasons  influenced  the  courts,  they  are  unable  to  offer  any 
satisfactory  explanations  in  their  attempts  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
the  disgruntled  prisoners — nor  do  comparisons  of  the  criminal  records 
of  the  prisoners  always  avail  to  clear  up  these  doubts.  It  has  not  been 
the  practice  for  the  reports  made  by  the  Commissioners  to  the  courts 
to  include  any  recommendation  as  to  the  length  of  training  required. 

The  Prison  Commissioners  in  their  Annual  Report  for  1950  gave  full 
information  showing  how  the  courts  have  used  their  powers,  and  the 
type  of  offender  to  whom  the  sentence  of  corrective  training  was  applied, 
in  the  first  full  year  of  the  system. 

(3)    PREVENTIVE  DETENTION 

The  threefold  problem  confronting  those  charged  in  1948  with 
devising  a  new  system  of  preventive  detention  has  already  been  defined. 
The  system  should  conform  with  the  penological  principle  that  this 


316  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

sentence  is  a  preventive,  not  a  punitive  measure.  Nevertheless,  it  must 
provide  maximum  security  and  firm  disciplinary  control  for  a  large 
number  of  men  who  are  ex  hypothesi  difficult  and  potentially  dangerous. 
And  notwithstanding  that  they  have  received  this  sentence  because 
they  have  proved  impervious  to  all  other  forms  of  training,  it  must  still 
seek  to  be  'remedial'. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  was  complicated  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  time.  After  the  Act  of  1908,  a  special  preventive  detention  prison 
was  built  at  Camp  Hill  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  neighbouring  Parkhurst, 
and  the  administration  had  ample  advance  notice  of  the  numbers  it 
would  have  to  deal  with  since  all  had  first  to  serve  a  sentence  of  penal 
servitude.  In  1948  there  was  no  prospect  either  of  building  a  new 
prison  or  of  emptying  an  existing  one.  To  be  suitable  for  its  purpose  the 
prison  selected  must  be  one  of  those  suitable  for  long-term  prisoners 
and  that  limited  the  choice  to  Parkhurst  or  Dartmoor,  since  Camp 
Hill  was  then  in  use  as  a  Borstal.  Parkhurst,  therefore,  virtually  chose 
itself,  and  it  already  housed  the  handful  of  men  serving  sentences 
under  the  Act  of  1908.  How  many  persistent  offenders  would  be 
sent  there,  and  how  fast  the  flow  would  be,  there  was  no  means  of 
knowing. 

Accordingly  the  Act  made  no  provision  that  preventive  detention 
was  to  be  served  in  a  prison  set  aside  for  the  purpose,  and  the  Rules 
provided  simply  that  the  second  stage  of  the  sentence  should  be  served 
in  a  central  prison,  where  the  preventive  detention  prisoners  'shall  so 
far  as  practicable  be  accommodated  in  a  separate  part  of  the  prison 
and  shall  not  be  allowed  to  associate  with  prisoners  serving  sentences 
of  imprisonment  except  in  the  course  of  industrial  or  agricultural 
employment'.  No  principles  of  classification  are  affected,  for  these  are 
all  the  same  sort  of  men,  whether  they  happen  at  the  moment  to  be 
serving  7  years'  imprisonment  or  7  years'  preventive  detention.  The 
situation  moreover  was  likely  to  solve  itself,  for  the  rate  of  flow  from 
the  courts  into  preventive  detention  during  1950  was  such  as,  if 
continued,  would  fill  Parkhurst  in  1951 :  already  in  1950  it  had  become 
necessary  to  limit  transfer  to  central  prisons  of  long-term  Ordinaries  to 
those  with  sentences  of  over  4  years.1 

The  two  assumptions  on  which  the  new  system  was  based  were  that 
it  was  neither  necessary  in  principle  nor  possible  in  practice  that  it 
should  throughout  be  separate  from  and  different  from  that  for  long 
sentences  of  imprisonment;  and  that  instead  of  a  normal  progressive 
stage  system,  which  seemed  inappropriate  to  sentences  of  such  length, 
there  should  rather  be  progress  through  a  series  of  establishments  of 
different  types,  each  serving  a  particular  purpose,  with  a  total  effect 
of  breaking  up  the  monotony  of  a  long  sentence. 

i  On  30  January  1951,  517  men  and  18  women  were  in  custody  under  sentences 
of  preventive  detention. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  317 

Accordingly  the  new  Rules  provided  that  a  sentence  of  preventive 
detention  should  be  served  in  three  stages.  The  first  stage  should  be 
served  either  in  a  regional  prison  set  aside  as  an  observation  centre  or  in  a 
local  prison:  it  should  last  for  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  two 
years,  and  in  this  stage  a  prisoner  'shall  be  treated  in  all  respects  under 
the  Rules  applicable  to  prisoners  serving  a  sentence  of  imprisonment'. 

The  original  intention  of  this  arrangement  cannot  be  given  full  effect 
until  the  proposed  observation  centres  have  been  set  up.  The  purpose 
was  that  treatment  should  be  preceded  by  diagnosis,  and  also  perhaps 
by  some  measure  of  classification  if  this  could  be  put  to  practical  use 
by  making  two  prisons  available,  possibly  allowing  for  a  more  open 
regime  for  those  for  whom  it  might  be  appropriate.  At  present  the  whole 
of  the  first  stage  is  passed  in  a  local  prison.  This  serves  to  induce  a 
certain  humility,  to  stamp  out  the  idea  prevalent  among  men  of  this 
type  that  they  are  a  privileged  class  entitled  to  special  consideration 
and  peculiar  rights,  and  to  suggest  to  them  rather  that  they  have 
deservedly  received  a  long  sentence  because  of  their  bad  records,  and 
though  they  will  shortly  enjoy  the  very  different  conditions  of  the  second 
stage  they  will  not  do  so  as  of  right  but  by  earning  them — and  if  they 
don't  continue  to  deserve  them  they  may  find  themselves  back  where 
they  are,  in  the  first  stage. 

The  Rules  provide  that  'The  Governor  of  the  regional  or  local 
prison  shall  report  to  the  Commissioners  on  the  expiration  of  the  first 
twelve  months  of  the  sentence,  and  thereafter  at  such  intervals  not 
exceeding  three  months  as  the  Commissioners  determine,  on  the  suita- 
bility of  the  prisoner  for  removal  to  the  second  stage.'  In  practice, 
during  1950,  men  were  almost  invariably  sent  on  to  the  second  stage  at 
Parkhurst  after  the  first  12  months. 

'The  second  stage'  says  Rule  163,  'shall  be  served  in  a  central  prison 
and  the  arrangements  in  this  stage  shall  be  such  that  the  treatment  of  a 
prisoner  (other  than  a  prisoner  in  the  penal  grade)  shall  be  not  less 
favourable  than  that  of  a  prisoner  serving  a  sentence  of  imprisonment 
in  a  central  prison.'  This  is  a  necessary  statement  of  principle,  but  the 
practical  conditions  derive  rather  from  the  further  provisions  of  Rule 
165,  viz: 

'165.  Arrangements  shall  be  made  under  which  a  prisoner  who  has 
passed  into  the  second  stage  may  become  eligible  to  earn  privileges 
over  and  above  those  allowed  to  a  prisoner  serving  a  sentence  of 
imprisonment,  including: 

'(0)  payment  for  work  done  at  a  higher  rate, 

'(6)  facilities  for  spending  money  earned  in  prison  either  at  a 
prison  store  or  on  such  articles,  including  newspapers  and 
periodicals,  purchased  outside  the  prison  as  may  be 
approved, 


318  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

'(c)  the  cultivation  of  garden  allotments  and  the  use  or  sale  of 
the  produce  in  such  manner  as  may  be  approved, 

\d}  the  practice  in  the  prisoner's  own  time  of  arts  or  crafts  of 
such  kinds  and  in  such  a  manner  as  may  be  approved, 

'(e)  additional  letters  and  visits, 

'(/)  association  in  common  rooms  for  meals  and  recreation.' 

The  effect  of  these  two  Rules,  as  they  are  being  put  into  effect  at 
Parkhurst,  is  that  a  preventive  detention  prisoner,  after  his  year  in  the 
first  stage,  moves  straight  into  a  minimum  way  of  life  which  it  would 
take  him  4  years  to  reach  on  a  sentence  of  imprisonment,  and  then  only 
by  consistent  good  conduct.  He  has  his  meals  in  association  in  a  large 
dining-room  specially  provided  for  this  purpose,  and  a  period  of  each 
evening  is  spent  in  recreation  in  the  same  conditions.  He  spends,  or 
need  spend,  very  little  time  in  his  cell,  but  he  can  make  it  homely  with 
things  of  his  own,  and  keep  in  it  the  materials  for  any  craft  or  hobby 
that,  with  approval,  he  may  wish  to  practice.  These  conditions  are 
similar  to  those  of  the  final  stage  of  a  long  sentence  of  imprisonment. 
But  he  can  also  earn  a  higher  standard  of  wages  than  an  ordinary 
prisoner:  this  is  arranged  not  by  any  variation  of  the  earnings  scheme, 
but  by  an  additional  payment,  related  on  a  percentage  basis  to  his 
actual  earnings,  which  ensures  first  that  his  addition  is  related  to  his 
industry  and  second  that  he  can  earn  more  in  total  than  if  he  were 
drawing  the  appropriate  'stage  allowance'  on  a  sentence  of  imprison- 
ment. The  canteen  also  offers  him  rather  more  facilities — he  can,  for 
instance,  purchase  through  it  not  only  periodicals  but  daily  newspapers. 

For  work  the  prisoners  have  the  full  range  of  the  useful  industrial  and 
agricultural  trades  of  this  prison,  and  every  effort  is  made  to  interest 
them  in  educational  activities  in  the  evenings:  classes  are  taken  by 
L.E.A.  teachers,  as  well  as  by  voluntary  teachers  and  members  of  the 
staff.  These,  apart  from  such  normal  activities  as  band,  choir  and 
gymnastics,  include  at  the  end  of  1950  building  construction,  elementary 
and  advanced  English,  current  affairs,  art,  chess,  and  a  dramatic  class 
which  stages  periodical  shows.  Education  is  of  course  voluntary,  and  the 
Governor  noted  in  his  Annual  Report  for  1950  that  less  than  half  the 
men  had  applied  for  classes  and  only  18  per  cent  attended  regularly: 
out  of  over  200  men  only  15  were  taking  correspondence  courses.  It 
will  be  a  necessary  part  of  the  regime  to  seek  to  overcome  this  dis- 
position to  enjoy  any  privilege  except  those  which  call  for  some  effort. 
One  weapon  may  well  prove  to  be  the  arrangements  for  promotion  to 
the  Third  Stage:  if  it  comes  to  be  understood  that  this  is  not  automatic 
progress  for  the  man  who  keeps  out  of  trouble,  but  careful  selection 
based  on  general  attitudes  and  real  progress,  something  may  yet  be 
done  to  make  this  system  'remedial'  as  well  as  'custodial'. 

Before  passing  to  the  Third  Stage,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  allotments 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  319 

mentioned  in  Rule  165  (c)  are  in  fact  available,  though  their  number 
is  limited  and  entails  a  waiting-list,  and  that  the  letters  and  visits  under 
(e)  are  one  letter  a  week  each  way  and  a  visit  oncfe  a  fortnight  (or 
additional  letter  and  reply  in  lieu). 

The  arrangements  for  the  Third  Stage  are  novel,  complicated  and 
at  present  largely  notional,  since  they  were  devised  for  men  sentenced 
under  the  Act  of  1948  who  cannot  become  eligible  for  consideration  for 
some  time  yet.  The  remaining  1908  Act  men,  however,  are  deemed  to  be 
serving  their  sentences  under  the  Act  of  1948  and  the  Rules  of  1949 
must  therefore  be  applied  to  them  so  far  as  practicable. 

The  first  feature  to  be  noted  of  the  Third  Stage  is  that  it  introduces 
into  the  system,  to  a  limited  extent,  the  Hague  principle  of  'relative 
indeterminacy'.  This  is  explained  to  the  prisoners,  on  the  cell-card 
issued  in  the  prevention  detention  prisons,  as  follows : 

'Admission  to  the  Third  Stage  is  not  automatic:  it  depends  on  the 
view  taken  by  the  Advisory  Board  both  of  your  conduct  in  the  Second 
Stage  and  of  your  prospects  on  release.  If  you  get  into  the  Third  Stage, 
you  may  become  eligible  for  release  on  licence  when  you  have  served 
two-thirds  of  your  sentence.  If  you  stay  in  the  Second  Stage,  you  will 
not  become  eligible  for  release  on  licence  till  you  have  served  five- 
sixths  of  your  sentence.' 

The  Rules  provide  that  'the  date  of  admission  of  any  prisoner  to  the 
Third  Stage  shall  not  be  more  than  twelve  months  before  the  date  on 
which  he  will  have  served  two-thirds  of  his  sentence'  and  that  'the 
period  to  be  served  in  the  Third  Stage  shall  not  in  any  case  be  less  than 
six  months  and  shall  not  normally  exceed  twelve  months'. 

The  Advisory  Board  for  which  the  Rules  provide,  as  the  operative 
instrument  of  this  system,  is  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and 
is  required  to  consist  'of  three  members  of  the  Board  of  Visitors 
approved  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  such  other  persons  not  exceed- 
ing four,  of  whom  one  may  be  a  Commissioner  or  Assistant  Com- 
missioner, as  the  Secretary  of  State  may  appoint.  The  chairman  of  the 
Advisory  Board  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State.'  The 
members  additional  to  the  Board  of  Visitors  members  so  far  appointed 
are  a  Commissioner,  a  Principal  Probation  Officer,  and  the  Chairman, 
who  is  one  of  the  Metropolitan  Magistrates.  The  Board  is  required  to 
meet  at  the  prison  once  a  quarter.  In  form  it  is  ^advisory'  to  the  Board 
of  Visitors,  on  whom  the  Act  places  the  duty  of  reporting  to  the 
Commissioners  on  the  advisability  of  releasing  a  preventive  detention 
prisoner  on  licence. 

The  further  provisions  of  the  Rules  require  that  the  Advisory  Board, 
when  a  prisoner  who  has  become  eligible  for  consideration  for  the 
third  stage  is  brought  before  them,  'shall  consider  not  only  his  conduct 
in  the  second  stage,  but  whether  they  expect  to  be  able,  within  the 


320  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

period  to  be  served  in  the  third  stage,  to  recommend  his  release  on 
licence'.  This  should  mean  that  this  is  not  automatic  promotion  for 
the  Veil-conducted  prisoner':  the  Board  will  look  not  so  much  at 
what  he  does  but  at  what  he  is,  and  what  is  the  likelihood  of  his  making 
a  real  effort  after  release  to  keep  out  of  trouble — a  difficult  task  indeed, 
but  one  which  with  this  sort  of  sentence  must  be  attempted,  so  long 
as  the  attempt  continues  to  make  the  system  in  any  sense  'remedial'. 

If  a  man  is  not  placed  in  the  third  stage  on  his  first  appearance,  his 
case  must  be  reconsidered  at  intervals  of  not  less  than  3  months,  and 
once  he  has  been  placed  in  the  stage,  the  question  of  his  date  of  release 
on  licence  must  be  considered  at  each  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Board. 

Under  this  system  therefore  the  indeterminate  factor  rests  primarily 
on  the  decision  of  the  Board  as  to  admission  to  the  third  stage,  and  it 
normally  affects  the  date  of  release  only  within  the  limits  of  two-thirds 
or  five  sixths  of  the  sentence.  This  variation  however  may  be  consider- 
able on  the  longer  sentences,  amounting  to  the  difference  between  2 
years  4  months  and  4  years  8  months  on  the  maximum  sentence. 

This  then  is  the  administrative  framework.  We  come  now  to  the 
more  interesting  questions — What  is  the  third  stage?  What  are  its 
purposes?  How  does  it  work?  It  is  described  in  the  Rules  as  follows: 

'168.  (1)  The  third  stage  shall  be  designed  both  to  fit  the  prisoner  for 
release  and  to  test  his  fitness  therefor,  and  may  be  served  in  such 
conditions  of  modified  security  as  are  available  for  the  purpose, 
whether  in  connexion  with  a  central  prison  or  elsewhere. 
'(2)  During  this  stage  every  effort  shall  be  made,  by  special  industrial 
and  social  training  and  otherwise,  to  fit  a  prisoner  to  take  his  place 
in  normal  social  life  on  discharge. 

'(3)  As  and  when  suitable  arrangements  can  be  made,  prisoners  in 
this  stage,  or  in  the  latter  part  thereof,  may  be  permitted  to  live  in 
conditions  of  modified  security  designed  to  form  a  transition  from 
prison  life  to  freedom.' 

Since  the  practical  implementation  of  the  Rules  lies  in  the  future,  it 
may  here  be  discussed  as  a  theoretical  problem,  the  solution  of  which 
may  take  various  forms.  It  is  a  problem  as  old  as  the  transportation 
system,  long  discussed  in  principle  and  experimented  with  in  practice 
in  the  prison  systems  of  the  world — how  best  to  regulate  the  transition 
from  prison  to  freedom.  In  our  own  system  we  have  noted  the  various 
gradations  to  freedom  of  the  transportation  system,  Sir  Walter  Crof- 
ton's  'intermediate  stage'  in  the  Irish  penal  servitude  system,  and  the 
'satellite  camps'  of  more  recent  practice.  At  Camp  Hill  too,  in  its  time 
as  a  preventive  detention  prison,  there  was  an  experiment  of  this 
sort,  notable  in  its  day,  in  that  selected  men  towards  the  end  of  their 
sentence  were  allowed  to  live  in  'parole  cabins' :  these  were  a  single- 
storey  row  of  small  rooms  detached  from  the  main  prison,  though 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  321 

within  the  wall,  in  which  the  favoured  prisoners  slept  and  kept  house  on 
their  own.  This  however  was  an  administrative  arrangement  and  formed 
no  part  of  the  statutory  ba'sis  of  the  system  as  does  the  third  stage  of 
today. 

The  processes  involved  in  a  complete  solution  of  the  problem  appear 
to  be  as  follows. 

First,  the  psychological  preparation  of  the  prisoner  for  release,  which 
requires  that  he  should  be  brought  face  to  face  with  all  the  problems 
that  he  will  have  to  meet  in  adjusting  himself  both  to  normal  life  and  to 
the  initial  period  of  supervision;  that  he  should  be  made  to  think  about 
them  realistically;  and  that  he  should  be  brought  to  appreciate  the  best 
ways  of  meeting  them. 

Second,  his  vocational  preparation  for  release,  which  requires  that 
his  industrial  training  should  so  far  as  possible  be  adapted  to  fitting 
him  to  earn  a  living  in  the  occupation  he  seems  likely  to  take  up. 

Third,  his  4de-institutionalisation',  which  requires  the  'tapering  off* 
of  supervision  and  control,  and  the  gradual  increase  of  personal 
responsibility,  from  the  conditions  of  confinement  through  certain 
stages  of  supervised  freedom  to  complete  freedom. 

Each  of  these  features,  under  the  general  heading  of  'pre-release 
procedure'  has  already  received  a  good  deal  of  consideration  in  different 
penal  systems,  particularly  in  the  U.S.A.,1  and  the  question  was 
touched  on  in  the  last  paragraph  of  Resolution  III,  2,  of  the  Hague 
Congress.  And  it  should  be  said  at  once  that  while  they  are  here  dis- 
cussed only  in  the  context  of  preventive  detention,  their  importance  is 
beyond  doubt  in  relation  to  all  long-sentence  prisoners. 

The  first  presents  little  difficulty.  It  seems  probable  that  the  technique 
of  group-discussion,  under  the  leadership  of  suitable  experts  from  the 
outside  community,  would  provide  the  most  effective  approach. 

The  second  is  easier  in  principle  than  in  practice.  The  resources  of  any 
prison  for  real  industrial  training  in  trades  in  which  men  of  this  type 
can  usefully  be  trained  must  be  limited,  if  a  realistic  view  is  taken  of 
the  prospects  of  their  employment  in  the  trades  they  have  been  taught. 
Nevertheless,  whatever  is  reasonable  and  possible  should  be  done. 

The  third  is  both  the  most  difficult  and  the  most  interesting.  On  the 
basis  of  various  practices  already  well  established  in  different  penal 
systems,  one  may  conceive  of  a  'tapering  off'  in  four  stages. 

First,  the  provision  within  the  prison  wall  of  a  special  'pre-release', 
or  in  our  preventive  detention  prison,  'third-stage'  block,  in  which 
staff  control  would  be  reduced  to  the  minimum  and  responsibility  for 
a  degree  of  self-government  placed  on  the  inmates.  This  would  be  a 
variation  of  the  old  'parole-cabins'.  This  practice  has  been  followed  in 
certain  American  prisons,  of  which  that  of  the  Federal  Penitentiary  at 

i  Cf.  Handbook  on  Pre-Release  Preparation  in  Correctional  Institutions,  1950, 
prepared  and  published  by  the  American  Prison  Association. 

E.P.B.S. — 21 


322  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

Lewisburg,  Pa.,  may  be  singled  out  for  mention  since  the  writer  was  able 
to  see  it  in  operation,  and  a  well-developed  example  in  the  National 
Penitentiary  at  Buenos  Aires  was  described  in  a  paper  presented  to 
theHague  Congress  by  the  Argentine  delegate  (Question  III,  2). 

Second,  weekly  leave  for  the  inmates  of  this  block,  after  a  certain 
time,  to  go  for  walks  in  the  country,  or  visit  the  neighbouring  town, 
without  supervision  and  with  money  to  spend.  This  is  already  usual  in 
English  Borstals,  and  is  practised  in  France  at  the  central  prison  of 
Loos,  where  since  1948  a  bold  experiment  has  been  in  progress  to 
provide  graduated  steps  to  freedom  for  the  reUgues  who  are  no  longer 
transported  to  Cayenne. ! 

Third,  removal  to  conditions,  preferably  in  a  hostel  away  from  the 
prison,  from  which  the  inmates  will  go  out  to  normal  work  like  free 
men.  This  stage  may  be  seen  in  various  forms  in  different  systems. 
The  Cornton  Vale  Borstal  in  Scotland  is  in  effect  a  hostel  for  selected 
boys  from  the  parent  Borstal  who  go  out  to  work  in  various  employ- 
ments in  the  neighbouring  town.  At  Witzwil  in  Switzerland  the  men 
live  in  a  hostel  on  the  edge  of  the  extensive  prison  estate,  near  the 
village,  but  they  work  on  the  estate.  At  Loos  the  men  go  out  to  work  in 
the  town,  but  return  to  the  central  prison  after  the  day's  work. 

Which  of  these  forms,  or  which  fresh  combination  of  them,  may 
eventually  be  adopted  for  the  third  stage  of  preventive  detention  it  is 
not  yet  possible  to  say.  If  it  is  not  possible  to  provide  suitable  new 
buildings,  consideration  may  be  given  to  adapting  some  large  house  as 
a  hostel  in  a  suitable  urban  centre,  or — by  a  variation  of  the  Loos 
system — to  creating  hostel  conditions  within  a  local  prison,  if  one  can 
be  found  in  a  good  centre  for  employment  with  a  suitable  block  or  hut 
to  spare.2  But  this  conception  may  not  be  so  easy  to  realise  as  it  is  to 
state.  These  men  will  only  require  employment  in  this  centre  for  short 
periods,  in  no  case  more  than  a  year.  If  they  have  been  trained  for  a 
trade,  work  in  that  trade  may  not  be  available.  And  the  special  co- 
operation of  local  employers  will  have  to  be  secured  if  any  work  is  to 
be  found  at  all.  If  these  difficulties  are  too  great,  it  may  still  be  possible 
to  fall  back  on  the  Witzwil  model,  employing  the  men  on  the  prison 
farm  and  in  other  extra  mural  work,  with  perhaps  a  different  form  of 
remuneration. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  throughout  these  three  phases  the  prisoner 
will  still  be  serving  his  sentence  under  prison  control:  they  are  designed 
not  only  to  prepare  him  for  greater  freedom  but  to  test  his  fitness  for 
it.  The  Rules  therefore  provide  that  "The  advisory  board  may  at  any 

1  'Le  Probteme  des  Relegues,'  par  MM.  Cannat,  Gayraud,  Vienne,  et  Vallien. 
Published  in  the  Revue  Penitentlaire  et  de  Droit  Pdnal,  1950,  no.  1. 

2  There  is  an  example  of  this  method  in  the  West  German  youth  prison  at  Herford : 
the  youths  live  in  a  pleasant  hostel  hut  within  the  walls,  and  though  they  work  in 
the  prison  they  may  go  into  the  town  without  supervision. 


PERSISTENT  OFFENDERS  323 

lime  order  the  return  of  a  prisoner  to  the  second  stage  if  it  appears  to 
them  to  be  in  the  interests  of  himself  or  of  others  to  do  so,  and  the 
Governor,  if  he  considers  it  necessary,  may  so  order  in  his  discretion 
subject  to  confirmation  by  the  board  at  its  next  meeting.' 

The  fourth  phase  is  the  release  on  a  conditional  licence,  the  procedure 
for  which,  and  for  after-care,  does  not  differ  materially  from  that 
described  for  corrective  training  prisoners.  This  licence  is  also  subject 
to  the  sanction  of  recall,  the  procedure  for  which  is  set  out  in  the  Rules 
as  follows: 

'173.  (1)  A  prisoner  who  has  been  recalled  from  release  on  licence  shall 
on  his  return  to  prison  in  consequence  of  such  recall  be  placed  in 
the  first  stage,  and  may  at  the  discretion  of  the  Commissioners  be 
removed  to  the  second  stage  within  a  period  of  twelve  months 
from  his  return  to  prison  as  aforesaid : 

'Provided  that  if  the  unexpired  period  of  the  sentence  is  less  than 
two  years,  the  whole  of  it  may  be  served  in  the  first  stage. 

'(2)  A  prisoner  who  has  been  recalled  shall  not  again  be  eligible  for 
release  on  licence  before  he  has  served  five-sixths  of  the  unexpired 
portion  of  his  sentence  and,  if  that  period  is  completed  in  the  first 
stage,  the  question  whether  he  shall  be  released  on  licence  shall  be 
decided  by  the  Commissioners  on  a  recommendation  of  the 
Governor  of  the  local  prison.' 

The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  the  establishment  of  any  practice  in 
this  matter. 

Finally,  the  Rules  make  provisions  for  the  maintenance  of  discipline 
in  a  preventive  detention  prison  which  differ  from  those  in  a  central 
prison.  In  addition  to  the  normal  punishments  of  restricted  diet,  close 
confinement  and  stoppage  or  reduction  of  earnings,  the  special  privileges 
of  a  preventive  detention  prisoner  may  be  suspended  for  up  to  28  days 
for  'the  abuse  of  any  privilege  or  for  an  offence  arising  from  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  privilege'. 

A  sanction  peculiar  to  preventive  detention  is  removal  to  the  'penal 
grade',  which  involves  forfeiture  of  all  association  and  privileges  and 
accommodation  in  a  separate  part  of  the  prison.  The  Rules  provide, 
however,  for  the  prisoner  to  continue  his  normal  work  in  association 
unless  the  Governor  'considers  it  necessary  to  exclude  him  in  the 
interests  of  the  prisoner  himself  or  of  others'.  So  long  as  the  prisoner 
does  his  normal  work  he  is  eligible  to  earn  on  the  ordinary  prison  rate, 
i.e.,  excluding  the  special  addition  for  preventive  detention  prisoners. 
It  is  also  provided  that  'The  diet  of  prisoners  in  the  penal  grade  may 
be  restricted,  so  long  as  it  is  not  reduced  below  a  nutritional  standard 
adequate  for  health  and  strength  at  normal  work.'  Removal  to  the  penal 
grade  is  for  so  long  as  may  be  necessary  up  to  28  days  on  a  Governor's 


324  SPECIAL  CLASSES  OF  PRISONERS 

award,  and  for  so  long  as  may  be  necessary  without  limit  on  an  award 
by  the  Board  of  Visitors,  though  no  prisoner  may  be  kept  for  more 
than  three  months  consecutively  unless  he  has  again  been  brought 
before  the  Board  and  the  Board  continues  the  order. 

In  addition  to  these  punishments  the  Board  of  Visitors  have  power 
to  defer,  for  a  period  of  not  more  than  6  months  at  any  one  time,  the 
date  on  which  a  prisoner  will  become  eligible  for  release  on  licence. 

Finally,  This  attempt  to  establish  a  system  in  which  some  attempt 
will  be  made  to  apply  remedial  methods  which  require  the  co-operation 
of  the  prisoners  makes  it  necessary,  as  in  corrective  training,  to  have 
available  severe  sanctions  for  the  minority  who  by  refusal  or  failure 
to  co-operate  jeopardise  the  system  and  with  it  the  good  of  the  majority. 
Accordingly  tlie  Rules  provide  not  only  for  a  penal  grade  within  the 
second  stage,  but  for  removal  to  the  first  stage  in  a  local  prison  when  a 
prisoner  persistently  misconducts  himself  and  is  not  influenced  by 
reprimand  or  punishment:  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  Commissioners 
on  the  recommendation  of  the  Board  of  Visitors,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners are  required  to  reconsider  such  cases  at  least  every  three  months 
and  order  return  to  the  second  stage  as  soon  as  they  consider  it 
expedient.' l 

So  far  it  has  not  been  necessary  to  use  this  power.2 

1  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p.  45. 

2  For  later  developments  in  preventive  detention  see  Appendix  K. 


PART  FIVE 
YOUNG  OFFENDERS 


CHAPTER  NINETEEN 

THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG 
OFFENDER 


(1)    BEFORE   1908 


I 


"N  1816,'  says  Sir  E.  du  Cane,  'when  the  population  of  London  was 
under  a  million  and  a  half,  there  were  in  London  prisons  above 
3,000  inmates  under  20  years  of  age  —  half  of  these  were  under 
17,  some  were  9  or  10,  and  1,000  of  these  children  were  convicted  of 
felony.'  l  What  these  prisons  were  like,  and  what  must  have  been  their 
effect  on  these  young  people,  we  have  sufficiently  considered.  Nor  did 
the  other  arms  of  the  penal  law  make  any  concession  to  youth:  many 
of  the  1,000  convicted  of  felony  would  without  doubt  be  hanged  or 
transported.  These  conditions,  however,  were  sufficiently  known  and 
abhorred  to  excite  active  and  practical  interest  among  people  of  good 
will  from  the  earliest  years  of  the  century  —  indeed  from  the  eighteenth 
century  such  interest  had  been  moved  to  action  at  least  of  a  preventive 
kind.  In  n56^.Jhe_Marine  Society  had  established  a  school  for  jgaifs. 
and  strai  and  the  cMfB^n  clot^^ndJGeB13Kem  and 


Planthropic  Society  had 
~" 


established  in  London  another  schobl  for  the~chftdren  of  convicts. 
"nGOKenGrsFTfalf  of  the  nineteenth  century  this 
under  the  impulse  of  private  benevolence,  began  to  gather  force.  The 
firsTRagpd  Schools  were  Founded  by  John  Pounds  In  181R,  but  atten^ 
to  turn  to  reformation  as  well  as  to^pieventTon,  and 
fliere  began 

.,.- ^-^^  +          -^_          ^N^,^  -          -*^i^^_     ^^ 

?e^ 


AcS 

schoolTwRi 


th&  history  of  our  penal 


system  first  developed:  the  latter  were  in  __ 

corrective — thej^were  intended  to_grovidg_training  in  decg^ 
for  thelost  children  of  the  new  Industrial  ago^uTthQ  hope  of  preventing 
them  fromTieCTUiting  the  TanEs*oTcnnflnals.  Tlie  reformatories  were 


Du  Cane,  p. 
327 


328  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

for  the  correction  of  young  people  who  had  actually  been  convicted  of 
crime.  They  were  in  no  sense  State  institutions,  but  they  were*  recognised 
and  indeed  encouraged,  and  their  use  was  made  possible  by  the  flexible 
instrument  of  the  Prerogative,  under  which  a  young  offender  would  be 
granted  a  Pardon  on  condition  of  placing  himself  under  the  care  of  a 
Charitable  Institution — though  he  would  still  be  sent  to  the  Colonies 
when  his  'reformation'  was  deemed  to  have  been  effected. 

One  of  the  first  of  these  reformatories  was  established  at  the  Stretton 
Colony,  in  Warwickshire,  in  1818;  and  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  tells  us 
that  when  in  1847  a  Parliamentary  Committee  was  established  to 
enquire  into  Juvenile  Crime,  the  authorities  of  this  Colony  said  in 
evidence  that  their  experience  had  been  that  'with  prisoners  between 
the  ages  of  16  and  20  ...  no  less  than  60  in  every  100  might  be  perma- 
nently reformed  and  restored  to  Society.' 1  England  was  not  alone  in 
this  field,  and  development  here  was  much  influenced  by  similar  work 
in  France  and  Germany,  in  particular  that  of  the  pioneer  agricultural 
colony  established  at  Mettray  in  France  in  1839.  It  was  on  the  pattern 
of  Mettray,  with  its  cottage  'family'  system,  that  the  Philanthropic 
Society  in  1849  modelled  their  new  Farm  School  at  Redhill,  Surrey, 
which  from  the  time  of  its  first  Warden,  the  Rev.  Sydney  Turner, 
exercised  a  notable  influence  in  reformatory  development. 

A  series  of  Parliamentary  Committees  resulted  in  1854  in  the  first 
Reformatory  Schools  Act,  which  enabled  the  Courts  to  commit 
offenders  under  16  to  a  reformatory,  after  not  less  than  14  days  im- 
prisonment, for  periods  of  not  less  than  2  nor  more  than  5  years.  The 
reformatories  remained  under  voluntary  management,  but  were  now 
given  legal  powers  to  detain  and  control  their  charges,  and  were  subject 
to  certification  by  the  Secretary  of  State  and  inspection  by  an  Inspector 
of  Prisons:  Treasury  contributions  were  also  authorised.  By  a  later 
Act  of  1857  Local  Authorities  were  enabled  to  contribute  towards  the 
establishment  of  reformatories,  and  power  was  given  to  license  the 
inmates  when  they  had  served  not  less  than  half  their  period  of  deten- 
tion. In  that  year  also  Sydney  Turner  was  appointed  an  Inspector  of 
Prisons,  to  devote  himself  to  the  reformatories,  and  in  1866  his  post 
was  converted  into  Inspector  of  Reformatories.  But  it  was  not  until 
1899  that  the  last  link  between  reformatory  and  prison  was  severed 
by  the  repeal  of  the  provision  requiring  a  period  of  imprisonment  as  a 
preparation  for  reformatory  treatment. 

%^mdustrial  Schools  were  first  placed  in  a  legal  setting  by  the  Act  of 
1857,  which,  as  amended  by  later  Acts  of  1860,  1861  and  1866,  estab- 
lished them  as  primarily  training  schools  for  children  under  14  years 
old  who  would  today  be  described  as  'care  or  protection'  cases,  including 
those  beyond  the  control  of  their  parents.  Children  under  twelve  who 
had  committed  offences  might  also  be  sent  there.  Local  Authorities 

1  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  89. 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    329 

4 

were  also; (in  1872)  empowered  to  establish  these  schools.  The  State 
interest  was  similar  to  that  for  reformatories:  there  were  Treasury 
contributions,  and  control  by  the  Secretary  of  State  through  the 
approval  of  plans  and  rules,  and  by  inspection.  The  Inspector  of 
Reformatories,  with  Assistant  Inspectors,  now  became  Inspector  of 
Reformatories  and  Industrial  Schools.  The  scope  of  the  Schools  was 
extended  by  the  Elementary  Education  Acts  1870  and  1876,  which; 
empowered  justices  to  send  children  'to  Inda&galjfch^ 

While  this  movement  for  keeping  children  out  of  prison  was  develop- 
ing, the  Government  had  taken  an  important  step  for  dealing  with  those 
in  prison.  The  Parkhurst  Act  of  1838,  observing  in  its  preamble  that 
it  would  be  'of  great  public  advantage  that  a  prison  be  provided  in 
which  young  offenders  may  be  detained  and  corrected,  and  receive  such 
Discipline  as  shall  appear  most  conducive  to  their  Reformation  and  to 
the  Repression  of  Crime',  enabled  the  buildings  of  the  former  military 
hospital  at  Parkhurst  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  be  used  for  such  a  prison. 
Here  were  sent  offenders  under  18  sentenced  to  transportation,  to  be 
subject  for  a  few  years  to  what  Sir  E.  du  Cane  described  as  'a  system  of 
treatment  distinguished  from  that  applied  to  adults,  by  being  composed 
more  largely  of  the  reformatory  than  the  strictly  penal  element'  l; 
there  was  also  some  classification,  those  under  10  years  old  forming  a 
junior  class.  In  due  course  the  inmates  might  be  either  pardoned  on 
condition  of  going  to  a  reformatory,  or  transported  to  the  Colonies. 
The  Gladstone  Committee  found  that  it  was  'almost  impossible  to 
ascertain  to  what  extent  the  Parkhurst  Government  Reformatory  was  a 
success.  It  died  a  natural  death  after  the  passing  of  the  Reformatory  Acts'. 

The  system  of  reformatories  and  industrial  schools  thus  established 
did  succeed,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  keeping  a 
very  large  number  of  young  people  out  of  prison — but  a  very  large 
number  also  came  into  the  prisons:  Sir  E.  du  Cane  states  (p.  201)  that 
'there  were  on  31  March  1884  only  [sic]  275  prisoners  under  16  years  of 
age,  and  3,226  between  16  and  21',  while  on  31  March  1894  there  were 
100  prisoners  under  16  and  2,226  between  the  ages  of  16  and  20.2  Those 
under  16,  officially  known  as  'juveniles',  were  by  the  Prisons  Act  1865 
required  to  be  kept  separate  and  given  special  treatment. 

The  Gladstone  Committee  did  not  devote  a  great  deal  of  attention 
to  the  question  of  juveniles.  They  did  not  find  'practicable  or  desirable' 
the  suggestions  made  by  several  witnesses  'in  favour  of  the  total  dis- 
continuance of  committing  this  class  of  offenders  to  prison'.  They  did 
however  speak  strongly  about  their  treatment  in  prison:  'We  think 
that  the  ordinary  prison  discipline  and  regulations  should  not  be 
applied  to  juveniles,  but  that  governors  and  the  visiting  committees 
should  be  made  responsible  for  their  treatment  subject  to  general 
instructions  which  should  be  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  The 
*  Du  Cane,  p.  202.  2  Report  of  Gladstone  Committee,  p.  29. 


330  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

principle  of  these  instructions  should  be  that  each  child  should  be 
treated  according  to  its  own  peculiarities  of  temperament ;  that  the  fact  of 
imprisonment  should  be  the  main  deterrent;  and  that  treatment  should 
be  altogether  of  a  reformatory  character.  We  think  that  the  age  of  16, 
above  referred  to,  should  be  raised  to  17.' 

It  was  many  years  before  this  suggestion  of  the  Committee  as  to 
raising  the  age  of  'criminal  majority'  was  implemented,  although  as 
Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise  tells  us,  there  had  been  strong  pressure  as  early  as 
the  'eighties'  to  have  it  raised  to  18.  He  adds  the  interesting  comment 
that  The  age  of  16  was  adopted  at  that  time  by  universal  consent  for 
no  other  reason,  so  far  as  I  can  gather,  than  that  it  was  the  age  of 
''criminal  majority"  in  the  French  Penal  Code,  and  it  had  become 
notorious  owing  to  the  success  of  the  French  Colony  of  Mettray, 
established  in  the  "thirties"  and  which  prescribed  16  as  the  age  of 
"discernment"  under  French  Law.'  l 

The  Committee  were  much  more  concerned  with  the  next  higher 
age-group,  that  of  16-21.  'It  is  certain  that  the  ages  when  the  majority 
of  habitual  criminals  are  made  lies  between  16  and  21.  And  from  the 
interesting  figures  supplied  by  Mr.  Merrick,  the  Chaplain  of  Holloway 
Prison,  the  most  fatal  years  are  17,  18  and  19.  This  is  corroborated  by 
other  experienced  witnesses.  It  appears  to  us  that  the  most  determined 
effort  should  be  made  to  lay  hold  of  these  incipient  criminals  and  to 
prevent  them  by  strong  restraint  and  rational  treatment  from  recruiting 
the  habitual  class.  It  is  remarkable  that  previous  inquiries  have  almost 
altogether  overlooked  this  all-important  matter.  The  habitual  criminals 
can  only  be  effectually  put  down  in  one  way,  and  that  is  by  cutting  off 
the  supply.'  They  were  impressed  by  the  Redhill  Reformatory  system, 
and  recommended  that  the  age  of  admission  to  reformatories  should  be 
raised  from  16  to  18:  this  proposal  was  not  followed.  Their  next 
proposal  however,  was  more  fruitful,  since  it  developed  directly  into 
the  Borstal  system  as  it  is  today.  It  deserves  the  respect  of  full  quotation. 

'We  are  of  opinion  that  the  experiment  of  establishing  a  penal 
reformatory  under  Government  management  should  be  tried.  It  should 
be  begun  on  a  moderate  scale,  but  on  a  design  which  would  allow  of 
large  expansion  if  the  results  were  proved  to  be  satisfactory.  The 
court  should  have  power  to  commit  to  these  establishments  offenders 
under  the  age  of  23,  for  periods  of  not  less  than  one  year  and  up  to 
three  years,  with  a  system  of  licences  graduated  according  to  sentence, 
which  should  be  freely  exercised.  In  the  event  of  any  inmate  of  a 
reformatory  being  contumacious  and  beyond  the  power  of  the  managers 
to  control,  power  should  be  given  to  a  court  of  summary  jurisdiction, 
on  cause  being  shown  by  the  managers,  to  transfer  him  or  her  to  a 
penal  reformatory  for  a  period  not  exceeding  the  unexpired  portion  of 

i  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  90. 


THE  PENAL   SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    331 

the  term  which  was  to  be  served  in  the  reformatory.  And  power  should 
also  be  vested  with  the  Secretary  of  State  similarly  to  transfer  prisoners 
under  23  from  prisons  to  the  penal  reformatory,  if  satisfied  that  the 
treatment  there  would  be  more  suitable  to  the  particular  case. 

The  penal  reformatory  should  be  a  half-way  house  between  the 
prison  and  the  reformatory.  It  should  be  situated  in  the  country  with 
ample  space  for  agricultural  and  land  reclamation  work.  It  would  have 
penal  and  coercive  sides  which  could  be  applied  according  to  the  merits 
of  particular  cases.  But  it  should  be  amply  provided  with  a  staff  capable 
of  giving  sound  education,  training  the  inmates  in  various  kinds  of 
industrial  work,  and  qualified  generally  to  exercise  the  best  and 
healthiest  kind  of  moral  influence.  Special  arrangements  ought  to  be 
made  for  receiving  and  helping  the  inmates  on  discharge.  It  would  be 
necessary  to  adopt  a  careful  system  of  classification,  which  should  limit 
the  number  of  inmates  in  each  building,  as  at  the  Redhill  Reformatory, 
in  order  to  insure  proper  individual  treatment. 

'We  look  upon  this  plan,  in  conjunction  with  the  raising  of  the  age  for 
admission  to  reformatories,  as  the  best  proposal  that  is  open  to  us  for 
the  rescue  of  young  offenders.  Under  the  present  system  numbers  of 
them  come  out  of  prison  in  a  condition  as  bad  or  worse  than  that  in 
which  they  came.  They  go  out  with  the  prison  taint  on  them.  The  avail- 
able prison  staff  and  the  rigid  system  of  prison  discipline,  without  any 
fault  on  the  part  of  the  officials,  preclude  the  possibility  of  bringing  to 
bear  on  the  prison  population  the  moral  suasion  and  the  healthy  prac- 
tical advice  which  we  think  could  be  exercised  by  a  trained  and  selected 
staff  in  the  penal  reformatory.  The  inmates  upon  discharge  would  be 
provided  for  and  looked  after  much  as  in  the  case  of  the  lads  and  girls 
who  leave  reformatories,  and  if  they  relapsed  into  crime  it  would  be  of 
their  own  deliberate  choice,  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  save  them,  and 
they  would  subsequently  be  exposed  to  the  far  sterner  penalties  of 
prison  life.'  l 


It  is  also  fitting  that  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise,  foe  f  $ 
Borstal  sy  stei^shoyM.no^ialt;  up  liie-stOry"  in  His  J3wn  words.2  The 
proposal  tcT  found  a  State,  or  T%nat^Reformatory,  ^confirmed  and 
emphasised  the  opinion  that  had  been  rapidly  gaining  ground,  both  in 
England  and  abroad,  and  especially  in  the  United  States,  that  up  to  a 
certain  age,  every  criminal  may  be  regarded  as  potentially  a  good 
citizen:  that  his  relapse  into  crime  may  be  due  either  to  physical 
degeneracy,  or  to  bad  social  environment  :  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State 
at  least  to  try  and  effect  a  cure,  and  not  to  class  the  offender  off-hand 
and  without  experiment  with  the  adult  professional  criminal.  ...  I 

1  Gladstone  Committee,  pp.  30,  31,  para.  84  (b). 

2  The  following  quotations  are  from  Chapter  8  of  The  English  Prison  System. 


332  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

obtained  the  authority  of  the  Home  Secretary,  Sir  M.  Ridley,  who  was 
in  warm  sympathy  with  my  views,  to  go  to  the  United  States  in  1897 
to  study  at  Elmira  the  working  of  what  is  known  as  the  American  "State 
Reformatory  System".  The  annual  reports  of  the  authorities  at  Elmira 
had  begun  to  attract  considerable  attention  in  Europe.  The  American 
System  classified  as  youths  all  persons  between  the  ages  of  16  and  30. 
While  we  classified  our  boys  as  adults,  the  American  adopted  the  con- 
verse method,  and  classified  his  adults  as  boys.  I  thought  myself  that 
the  truth  lay  midway  between  these  two  systems,  between  the  system 
that  ends  youth  too  early  and  that  which  prolongs  it  too  late,  between 
the  voluntary  system  of  England  and  the  State  Reformatory  System 
of  the  United -States.  The  point  I  was  aiming  at  was  to  take  the  "dan- 
gerous" age — 16-21 — out  of  the  Prison  System  altogether,  and  to  make 
it  subject  to  special  "Institutional"  treatment  on  reformatory  lines.  I  was 
^  impressed  by  all  that  I  saw  and  learnt  at  the  principal  State  Reforma- 
tories of  America,  at  that  time  chiefly  in  the  States  of  New  York  and 
Massachusetts.  The  elaborate  system  of  moral,  physical,  and  industrial 
training  of  these  prisoners,  the  enthusiasm  which  dominated  the  work, 
the  elaborate  machinery  for  supervision  of  parole,  all  these  things,  if 
stripped  of  their  extravagances,  satisfied  me  that  a  real,  human  effort 
was  being  made  in  these  States  for  the  rehabilitation  of  the  youthful 
criminal.  It  was  on  my  return  that,  with  the  authority  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  the  first  experiments  were  begun  of  the  special  treatment, 
with  a  view  to  the  rehabilitation  of  the  young  prisoners,  16  to  21,  in 
London  Prisons.' 

The  next  stage  in  this  experiment  was  to  give  it  'a  local  habitation 
and  a  name'.  Near  the  village  of  Borstal  in  Kent,  on  a  hill  above  the 
Medway  two  miles  from  Rochester,  stood  one  of  the  old  'public  works' 
convict  prisons  built  in  connection  with  the  prison  at  Chatham. 
'There  were  still,'  says  Sir  Evelyn,  'a  few  convicts  there;  but  there  was 
available  space  for  an  experiment,  which  it  was  decided  to  make  (and 
which  is  described  later)  for  the  special  location  and  treatment  on 
reformatory  lines  of  young  prisoners,  16-21,  selected  from  the  ordinary 
Prisons,  where  the  length  of  sentence  afforded  a  reasonable  time  for 
the  application  of  the  system.  The  title  "Juvenile- Adult"  was  invented  to 
describe  the  class — too  old  for  commitment  to  Reformatory  Schools, 
and  too  young  to  be  classified  with  the  ordinary  grown-up  criminal.' 
The  grounds  on  which  the  name  of  this  prison  was  first  attached  to  the 
system  are  of  considerable  interest,  in  the  light  of  the  regular  but  fruit- 
less attempts  that  have  since  been  made  to  find  for  it  some  other  name. 
'At  that  time,  there  was  a  confusing  medley  of  appellations;  and  child- 
ren, young  persons,  and  youthful  offenders,  were  all  jumbled  together 
in  the  same  category.  The  specific  proposal  was  to  deal  with  the  age, 
16  to  21,  and  it  was  decided,  in  order  to  emphasise  this  fact  and  make 
a  clear  distinction  between  this  age  and  all  other  ages,  to  make  use  of 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    333 

the  word  "Borstal",  that  is,  the  name  of  the  village  where  the  experiment 
was  being  carried  out.  I  think  that  this  appellation  has  been  singularly 
fortunate  in  its  results,  as  it  has  made  it  quite  clear  that  we  are  not 
dealing  with  the  youthful  offender  as  usually  conceived,  that  is,  a  boy, 
or  even  a  child,  who  may  have  lapsed  into  some  petty  or  occasional 
delinquency,  and  who  was  being  sufficiently  provided  for  by  the 
Reformatory  School  Acts  and  by  the  Rules  concerning  juvenile  offen- 
ders in  prisons.  Our  object  was  to  deal  with  a  far  different  material,  the 
young  hooligan  advanced  in  crime,  perhaps  with  many  previous  con- 
victions, and  who  appeared  to  be  inevitably  doomed  to  a  life  of  habitual 
crime.' 

The  system  which  Sir  Evelyn  established  in  this  'juvenile-adult' 
prison  at  Borstal  is  thus  described.  The  object  of  the  System  was  to 
arrest  or  check  the  evil  habit  by  the  "  individual isation"  of  the  prisoner, 
mentally,  morally  and  physically.  To  the  exhortation  and  moral 
persuasion  of  a  selected  staff,  we  added  physical  drill,  gymnastics, 
technical  and  literary  instruction:  inducements  to  good  conduct  by  a 
system  of  grades  and  rewards,  which,  though  small  and  trivial  in  them- 
selves, were  yet  calculated  to  encourage  a  spirit  of  healthy  emulation 
and  inspire  self  respect.  Elaborate  rules  for  giving  effect  to  the  system 
were  introduced  by  the  Authority  of  Parliament,  but  at  this  stage, 
Parliament  had  not  recognised  the  system  in  any  other  way,  and  we  had 
to  work  within  the  limits  which  existing  Penal  law  afforded:  that  is,  the 
cases  we  dealt  with  were  by  the  transfer  of  young  prisoners  of  this  age, 
who  happened,  for  their  particular  offence,  to  have  been  awarded 
sentences  of  imprisonment  for  six  months  and  upwards.  It  soon  became 
clear  that  the  element  of  time,  that  is,  a  longer  sentence  than  the  law 
permitted,  was  essential  for  the  success  of  the  scheme.  Experience 
showed  that  something  may  be  done  in  twelve  months,  little  or  nothing 
in  a  shorter  period,  that  the  system  should  be  one  of  stern  and  exact 
discipline,  tempered  only  by  such  rewards  and  privileges  as  good 
conduct,  with  industry,  might  earn:  and  resting  on  its  physical  side  on 
the  basis  of  hard,  manual  labour  and  skilled  trades,  and  on  its  moral 
and  intellectual  side  on  the  combined  efforts  of  the  Chaplain  and  the 
Schoolmaster.  Such  a  sentence  should  not  be  less  than  three  years, 
conditional  liberation  being  freely  granted,  when  the  circumstances  of 
any  case  gave  a  reasonable  prospect  of  reclamation,  and  when  the 
Borstal  Association,  after  careful  study  of  the  case,  felt  able  to  make  fair 
provision  on  discharge.' 

The  translation  of  this  system  into  law,  and  the  subsequent  develop- 
ments, up  to  the  Second  World  War,  in  the  Borstal  system  and  the 
other  methods  which  had  been  and  were  to  be  provided  by  Parliament 
for  the  treatment  of  young  offenders,  are  described  in  the  following 
section. 


334  YOUNG    OFFENDERS 

(2)  1908-1938 

The  years  1907  and  1908  laid  the  foundation  stones  of  the  contempor- 
ary penal  system  in  England:  they  were  three — the  Probation  of 
Offenders  Act  1907,  the  Children  Act  1908,  and  the  Prevention  of  Crime 
Act  1908,  of  which  the  first  or  Borstal  part  only  will  now  concern  us. 
The  probation  system  is  not  for  discussion  here,  except  to  note  its 
enduring  value  in  enabling  the  courts  to  provide  suitable  treatment  for 
young  offenders  l  without  imprisonment  or  detention  in  a  training 
institution. 

The  Children  Act,  popularly  known  at  the  time  as  The  Children's 
Charter,  ranged  over  the  whole  field  of  child  protection,  and  in  the 
particular  field  of  delinquency  clarified  and  codified  the  Jaw  relating 
to  reformatory  and  industrial  schools,  established  juvenile  courts,  and 
took  further  steps  towards  restricting  the  imprisonment  of  young 
offenders  and  providing  alternative  methods  oftlealing  with  them.  The 
Act  began  by  establishing  the  definition  of  a  'child'  as  a  person  under 
the  age  of  14  years,  and  of  a  'young  person'  as  one  who  was  14  years  of 
age  and  over  but  under  16.  It  then  provided  that  a  child  should  not  be 
sentenced  to  imprisonment  or  committed  in  default  of  payment  of  a 
fine,  etc. ;  that  a  young  person  should  not  be  sentenced  to  penal  servi- 
tude; and  that  a  young  person  should  not  be  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment, or  committed  in  default  'unless  the  court  certifies  that  the  young 
person  is  of  so  unruly  a  character  that  he  cannot  be  detained  in  a  place 
of  detention  provided  under  this  Part  of  this  Act,  or  that  he  is  of  so 
depraved  a  character  that  he  is  not  a  fit  person  to  be  so  detained'.  All 
persons  under  the  age  of  16  apprehended  by  the  police  and  not  released 
on  bail,  and  all  such  persons  remanded  or  committed  for  trial  by  the 
courts  and  not  released  on  bail,  were  also  to  be  sent  to  'places  of 
detention',  except  on  a  certificate  of  unruliness  or  depravity.  These 
'places  of  detention'  were  to  be  provided  by  police  authorities  for  every 
petty  sessional  division:  they  might  be  in  specially  provided  premises 
or  in  any  existing  premises  suitable  for  the  purpose,  the  'registered 
occupier'  being  the  responsible  custodian. 

The  Act  made  no  change  in  the  age  of /criminal  majority',  nor  in 
the  ages  qualifying  for  admission  to  a  reformatory,  which  remained  at 
12  and  over  but  under  16,  or  to  an  industrial  school,  which  remained  at 
under  14.  The  treatment  of  young  offenders  under  16,  on  the  basis  of 
these  statutory  provisions  and  under  the  guidance  of  a  new  department 
of  the  Home  Office  called  the  Children's  Branch,  developed  steadily 
and  without  further  legislation  for  the  next  twenty-five  years.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  First  World  War,  there  were  223  reformatory  and 
industrial  schools,  containing  25,357  children  and  young  persons.2 

For  those  whom  Sir  Evelyn  Ruggles-Brise  had  called  juvenile-adults, 
1  And  of  course  for  adults  also.  2  Making  Citizens,  p.  9. 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    335 

aged  16-20,  provision  was  made  by  Part  I  of  the  Prevention  of  Crime 
Act  1908.  In  1906  Sir  Evelyn,  satisfied  with  the  success  of  his  Borstal 
experiment,  had  advised  the  Home  Secretary  that  if  its  fruits  were  to 
be  harvested  it  would  be  necessary  to  introduce  legislation  to  give  the 
courts  power  to  commit  suitable  offenders  of  this  age-group  direct  to  a 
'juvenile-adult  reformatory',  for  a  period  long  enough  to  allow  of  their 
training,  and  subject  to  release  under  supervision  on  a  conditional 
licence.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Herbert  Samuel,  now  Lord  Samuel, 
joined  the  Home  Office  as  Parliamentary  Under-Secretary  of  State, 
and  became  responsible  for  the  introduction  of  the  Bill  to  effect  these 
purposes.  He  has  told  in  his  Memoirs  (p.  53)  how  he  firmly  refused  to 
sponsor  anything  called  a  'juvenile-adult  reformatory',  how  no  other 
suitable  name  could  be  found,  and  how  in  the  end  he  suggested  'Borstal 
Institutions'.  So  'Borstals'  they  became,  and  in  spite  of  recurrent 
attacks  on  the  name,  Borstals  they  still  are — among  the  few  public 
institutions  to  survive  contemporary  euphemism  in  names  of  any 
embarrassing  connotation.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  those  who  work 
in  Borstals  regret  this ;  for  them,  as  for  all  who  understand  their  work 
throughout  the  world,  it  is  a  name  of  honourable  significance  which 
should  not  be  lightly  put  aside. 

It  is  unnecessary  at  this  stage  to  describe  in  detail  either  the  legal 
basis  of  the  sentence  of  Borstal  Detention  as  it  was  laid  down  in  1908 
or  the  Borstal  system  as  it  was  developed  in  the  following  years,  since 
the  Act  of  1908  was  repealed  by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  of  1948,  which 
will  be  fully  considered  in  the  following  section,  and  the  system  as  it 
works  today  will  be  described  in  the  following  chapters.  To  fit  it  into 
the  general  picture  of  the  treatment  of  young  offenders  up  to  the 
Second  World  War,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  it  provided  a  method  of 
correctional  training  for  persons  aged  16-20  who  had  been  convicted 
of  indictable  offences  for  which  they  might  be  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment, and  who  'by  reason  of  criminal  habits  or  tendencies,  or  associa- 
tion with  persons  of  bad  character'  appeared  to  the  courts  to  require 
'detention  under  penal  discipline'.  As  subsequently  amended  by  the 
Criminal  Justice  Administration  Act  1914,  section  11,  the  Act  provided 
for  a  term  of  not  less  than  two  years  nor  more  than  three  years,  to  be 
followed  by  a  year  under  supervision.  Within  the  maximum  imposed 
by  the  court,  however,  the  sentence  was  'indeterminate',  since  the 
Prison  Commissioners  had  power  to  release  a  boy  on  a  conditional 
licence  after  six  months,  a  girl  after  three. 

It  is  sufficiently  clear  from  the  phraseology  of  the  section  that  those 
who  framed  it  still  had  in  mind  Sir  Evelyn's  'young  hooligans  well 
advanced  in  crime',  and  that  'shades  of  the  prison  house'  still  hung 
about  their  conception  of  the  appropriate  treatment.  Indeed  of  the 
three  Borstals  for  boys  first  taken  into  use,  two  were  old  convict 
prisons — Borstal  and  Portland:  the  third,  at  Feltham  in  Middlesex, 


336  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

was  one  of  the  earliest  local  authority  industrial  schools.  All  three 
buildings  were  substantially  altered  to  adapt  them  to  their  new  use. 
For  girls  provision  was  made  in  the  premises  of  the  former  State 
Inebriate  Reformatory  within  the  high  wall  of  the  women's  prison  at 
Aylesbury.  This  was  still  the  position  when  the  writer  joined  the  Prison 
Commission  in  1925,  to  find  Alec  Paterson  leaving  in  his  colleagues' 
rooms  large  cards  inscribed  with  the  words  'Borstalium  quartum 
aedificandum  est'.  When  that  fourth  Borstal  came  to  be  built  it  embodied 
all  that  enlargement  of  the  spirit  of  Borstal  for  which  Paterson  was 
especially  responsible.  He  substituted  self-discipline  for  'penal  disci- 
pline', introduced  the  house  system,  and  made  the  house-master  the 
centre  of  his  staff—  'It  is  men,'  he  said,  'not  buildings,  that  will  change 
the  hearts  and  ways  of  misguided  lads.' 

The  new  Borstal,  at  Lowdham  Grange  in  Nottinghamshire,  embodied 
Paterson's  view  that  'you  cannot  train  men  for  freedom  in  a  condition 
of  captivity'.  In  the  summer  of  1930  took  place  the  historic  march 
from  Feltham  to  Lowdham  of  a  party  of  Borstal  boys,  who  camped  on 
the  hill-side  and  began  to  build  their  own  institution — without  walls, 
cells,  locks  or  bars.  They  are  still  adding  to  it.  Lowdham  was  the  first 
and  last  Borstal  to  be  built  for  its  purpose.  With  two  exceptions  all 
those  to  come  were  established  in  hutted  camps  or  large  country  houses. 
In  1938  there  were  nine  Borstals  for  boys  (including  a  special  wing  of 
Wandsworth  Prison  for  those  who  had  been  recalled  from  licence  or 
had  seriously  misconducted  themselves  in  their  institutions)  and 
Aylesbury  for  girls.  At  the  end  of  the  year  there  were  over  2,100  boys 
in  the  male  Borstals,  and  the  provision  of  a  new  institution  was  in 
preparation. 

We  must  now  retrace  our  steps  to  1927,  when  the  Report  of  the 
Departmental  Committee  on  the  Treatment  of  Young  Offenders  pro- 
vided a  fresh  point  of  departure  of  which  the  consequences  were  not 
exhausted  until  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948.  Their  recommendations 
ranged  over  the  whole  field — the  juvenile  court,  bail  and  remand,  pro- 
bation, fines,  whipping,  detention,  reformatory  and  industrial  schools, 
imprisonment,  Borstal,  capital  punishment  and  after-care;  and  sub- 
sequent legislation  in  this  field  has  been  largely  concerned  with  tran- 
slating them  into  practice. 

The  Children  and  Young  Persons  Act  1933  revised  the  constitution 
and  procedure  of  juvenile  courts,  raised  from  seven  to  eight  years  the 
age  below  which  a  child  cannot  be  adjudged  guilty  of  a  criminal 
offence,  and  redefined  a  'young  person'  as  one  over  14  and  under  17 
years  of  age,  bringing  all  children  and  young  persons  within  the  juris- 
diction of  the  juvenile  court. 

The  distinction  between  reformatory  and  industrial  schools  was 
abolished,  and  they  were  renamed  'approved  schools!*  The  normal 
minimum  age  for  committal  was  raised  to  10,  the  maximum  to  17: 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    337 

this  gave  an  overlap  of  the  Borstal  age  of  16-21  of  one  year,  thus 
allowing  the  courts  a  discretion  in  the  cases  of  the  more  mature  young 
people  of  sixteen.  Here  we  must  leave  these  partners  of  the  Borstal 
system,  junior  in  their  material  but  senior  in  their  experience,  observing 
only  that  a  friendly  co-operation  is  maintained  between  the  Children's 
Department  and  the  Prison  Commission,  and  that  regular  visits  are 
arranged  between  Headmasters  of  Approved  Schools  and  Governors  of 
Borstals  and  their  staffs.  Those  who  would  learn  more  of  the  schools 
should  read  the  full  account  of  their  work  in  the  Home  Office  booklet 
called  Making  Citizens.1 

The  restrictions  on  the  imprisonment  of  children  and  young  persons 
imposed  by  the  Children  Act  1908  were  re-enacted  in  relation  to 
children  and  young  persons  as  now  re-defined,  with  the  effect  of  extend- 
ing this  special  protection  from  those  under  16  to  those  under  17. 
The  age  below  which  sentence  of  death  could  not  be  pronounced  was 
rasied  to  18,  and  in  lieu  of  that  sentence  there  was  substituted  one  of 
'detention  during  His  Majesty's  pleasure' — the  one  truly  indeterminate 
sentence  which  our  law  provides.  For  certain  grave  offences  of  violence 
against  the  person  by  a  child  or  young  person  'the  court  may  sentence 
the  offender  to  be  detained  for  such  period  as  may  be  specified  in  the 
sentence;  and  where  such  a  sentence  has  been  passed  the  child  or 
young  person  shall,  during  that  period,  notwithstanding  anything  in 
the  other  provisions  of  this  Act,  be  liable  to  be  detained  in  such 
place  and  on  such  conditions  as  the  Secretary  of  State  may  direct'. 
In  practice  such  an  offender  may  be  sent  to  an  approved  school,  a 
Borstal  or  a  prison  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  offence,  his 
age,  maturity,  character,  mental  condition  and  all  other  relevant  con- 
siderations. 

For  the  'places  of  detention'  of  1908  the  Act  substituted  'remand 
homes',  the  provision  of  which  for  their  areas  was  made  a  duty  of 
county  and  county  borough  councils,  and  detention  for  not  more  than 
one  month  in  a  remand  home,  as  a  punishment  in  place  of  imprison- 
ment, was  by  section  54  substituted  for  detention  in  a  'place  of  deten- 
tion'. Since  1933  therefore  all  young  persons  committed  to  prison  by 
courts  of  summary  jurisdiction,  whether  on  remand  or  under  sentence, 
have  come  under  a  certificate  of  unsuitability,  through  'unruliness  or 
depravity',  for  detention  in  a  remand  home. 

Certain  other  recommendations  of  the  Young  Offenders  Committee, 
including  those  relating  to  Borstal,  were  gathered  together  in  the 
Criminal  Justice  Bill  introduced  by  Sir  Samuel  Hoare  (now  Lord 
Templewood)  in  1938.  The  outbreak  of  war  in  1939  put  an  end  to  this 
Bill,  the  provisions  of  which  were  with  certain  modifications  included 
in  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  of  1948. 

i  Stationery  Office  1945.  Price  Is. 
E.P.B.S. — 22 


338  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

(3)    THE  CRIMINAL  JUSTICE  ACT  1948 

With  the  general  scope  of  this  Act  we  have  already  dealt.  In  the  field 
of  the  treatment  of  young  offenders  it  supplements  the  Children  and 
Young  Persons  Act  1933  by  taking  what  may  prove  to  be  the  final  steps, 
so  far  as  concerns  legislative  action,  in  the  long-drawn  process  of 
removing  young  people  under  21  from  the  scope  of  the  prison  system. 

These  steps  may  be  summarised  as  follows: 

'(1)  To  provide  some  place  other  than  a  prison  to  which  courts  may 
send,  before  conviction,  persons  between  the  ages  of  17  and  21 
and  young  persons  under  17  who  are  unsuitable  for  detention  in 
remand  homes. 

4(2)  To  prohibit  altogether  the  imprisonment  of  persons  under  15 
years  of  age;  to  limit  the  imprisonment  of  young  persons  under 
17  to  those  more  serious  cases  which  are  dealt  with  in  the  higher 
courts;  and  to  restrict  still  more  closely  the  imprisonment  of 
persons  between  the  ages  17-21  by  courts  of  summary  juris- 
diction. 

'(3)  To  provide  alternative  methods  of  treating  young  offenders  for 
less  serious  offences,  so  as  to  avoid  short  sentences  of  imprison- 
ment. 

'(4)  To  remove,  in  the  qualifications  for  Borstal  training,  the  limita- 
tion to  criminal  habits  and  associations. 

4(5)  Finally,  when  the  alternative  methods  of  dealing  with  young 
offenders  have  become  available,  to  extend  from  17  to  21  the 
age  of  complete  prohibition  of  imprisonment  for  young  offenders 
found  guilty  by  courts  of  summary  jurisdiction.' 

The  eventual  enforcement  of  complete  prohibition  of  the  imprison- 
ment of  persons  under  21  by  summary  courts  is  left  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  who  may  proceed  by  Order  in  Council  when  he  is  "satisfied  that 
the  methods,  other  than  imprisonment,  available  for  the  treatment  of 
offenders  afford  to  courts  of  summary  jurisdiction  adequate  means  of 
dealing  with  the  persons  to  whom  the  Order  relates'.  It  is  left  open  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  proceed  in  this  matter  step  by  step  as  regards 
age,  and  to  deal  with  one  sex  at  a  time. 

If,  therefore,  we  may  assume  a  time  when  the  Secretary  of  State 
has  exhausted  his  powers  under  this  provision,  the  position  will  be 
that  no  person  under  15  can  be  sentenced  to  imprisonment  at  all,  and  no 
person  under  21,  convicted  or  unconvicted,  can  be  sent  to  prison  by  a 
court  of  summary  jurisdiction.  The  only  persons  under  15  in  prison 
will  then  be  those  sentenced  under  the  Children  and  Young  Persons 
Act  1933  to  detention,  whether  at  His  Majesty's  Pleasure  in  lieu  of  the 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    339 

capital  sentence  l  or  for  grave  offences  of  violence  against  the  person, 
in  so  far  as  the  Secretary  of  State  may  direct  their  detention  in  prison: 
the  only  persons  between  15  and  21  will  be  those  convicted  by  the  higher 
courts  of  serious  offences  for  which  the  court  finds,  and  states  as  a 
considered  opinion,  that  no  other  method  of  dealing  with  them  is 
appropriate.  Whether  Parliament  will  ever  find  it  both  desirable  and 
practicable  to  go  beyond  that  stage  can  now  be  no  more  than  a  matter 
of  speculation.  Whether  and  when  that  stage  may  be  reached  at  all 
depends  first  on  the  extent  to  which  the  alternative  methods  can  be  made 
available.  It  may  be  also,  though  this  is  perhaps  a  questibn  of  the 
interpretation  of  the  statute,  that  it  will  depend  on  the  view  formed  by 
the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  success  of  those  methods — they  may  well 
have  been  provided,  but  he  may  nevertheless  not  be  satisfied  that  they 
are  'adequate'. 

Let  us  therefore  proceed  to  consider,  one  by  one,  what  those  methods 
will  be  in  so  far  as  they  go  beyond  cautions,  bindings  over  and  fines : 
all  those,  in  short,  which  involve  some  limitation  of  the  freedom  of  the 
offender.2 

The  first  group  concerns  young  people  who  are  not  yet  found  guilty. 
For  those  under  17  there  are  the  existing  remand  homes,  which  by 
section  49  are  brought  under  closer  Home  Office  control,  and  em- 
powered to  provide  'facilities  for  the  observation  of  any  person  detained 
therein  on  whose  physical  or  mental  condition  a  medical  report  may 
be  desirable  for  the  assistance  of  the  court  in  determining  the  most 
suitable  method  of  dealing  with  the  case'.  For  those  of  17  and  over, 
there  is  to  be  a  new  type  of  institution  called  a  remand  centre,  which 
will  serve  the  same  purpose  as  a  remand  home,  but  will  be  provided 
by  the  Secretary  of  State,  not  by  local  authorities.  To  these  centres 
also  may  be  sent  the  'unruly  and  depraved'  from  remand  homes, 
provided  they  are  14  years  old  or  over,  and  any  of  14  or  over  who 
require  special  observation  for  which  the  local  remand  home  does  not 
provide  facilities.  They  will  perform  the  present  function  of  the  prisons 
in  respect  of  the  young  offenders  concerned. 

For  those  found  guilty,  perhaps  the  mildest  form  of  treatment  at  the 
disposal  of  the  courts  will  be  an  entirely  novel  method  known  as 
Attendance  Centres.  The  idea  behind  the  Attendance  Centre  is  'depriva- 
tion of  leisure'  without  removal  from  home:  the  offender  must  attend 
at  the  place  specified,  at  such  hours,  not  exceeding  12  in  all,  as  will  not 
interfere  with  his  school  or  working  hours,  and  not  more  than  once  a 
day  nor  for  more  than  3  hours  at  once.  Physical  exercise  and  useful 
occupation  will  be  provided. 

1  This  is  now  covered  by  section  16  of  the  Act  of  1948. 

2  The  following  order  of  consideration  is  one  of  convenience  only,  and  is  not 
intended  to  carry  any  implications  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  may  be  used  by 
the  courts. 


340  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

The  next  group  of  treatments  rests  on  the  probation  system,  and  is 
in  three  tiers,  the  first  being  the  normal  order  placing  the  offender  for 
a  stated  period  under  the  supervision  of  a  probation  officer.  The  second 
carries  the  idea  of  deprivation  of  leisure  one  stage  further,  by  making  it 
a  condition  of  the  order  that  the  offender  shall  reside  in  a  probation 
hostel,  from  which  he  will  go  out  to  school  or  work.  The  third  involves 
complete  deprivation  of  liberty,  by  making  it  a  condition  of  the  order 
that  he  shall  reside  in  a  probation  home,  where  he  will  both  live  and 
work:  these  probation  homes  are  the  1948  equivalent  of  the  institutions 
proposed  by  the  1938  Bill  under  the  name  of  Howard  Houses,  which 
were  to  perform  a  similar  function  but  were  not  linked  with  the 
probation  system. 

While  the  Bill  of  1948  was  under  consideration,  the  view  was 
expressed  by  many  magistrates,  and  supported  by  the  Advisory  Council 
on  the  Treatment  of  Offenders,  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  some 
sanction  behind  these  milder  measures  that  had  not  been  provided  in 
the  Bill  of  1938.  It  was  argued  that  many  young  people  come  before  the 
courts  who  can  be  taught  respect  for  the  law  only  by  something  in 
the  nature  of  a  'short  sharp  shock' :  it  is  not  yet  necessary  or  desirable 
to  send  them  away  for  residential  training  in  an  approved  school  or 
Borstal,  but  they  laugh  at  probation,  and  will  not  stay  or  behave  in 
a  home  or  hostel.  For  these  the  only  measure  short  of  prison  had  been 
detention  for  a  month  in  a  remand  home  under  section  54  of  1933,  and 
that  was  not  regarded  as  adequate.  This  procedure  in  fact  had  been 
little  used,  and  almost  the  only  information  available  about  it  is  a 
survey  of  the  Liverpool  experience,  issued  under  the  auspices  of  the 
School  of  Social  Sciences  of  Liverpool  University,  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Bagot.1 
Mr.  Bagot's  conclusions  on  the  value  of  this  form  of  treatment  were 
that  'in  general  the  results  may  be  considered  disappointing',  but  that 
punitive  detention  'as  a  form  of  treatment  has  its  uses';  these  however 
would  be  more  effective  in  a  separate  institution  devoted  to  this  purpose. 
He  quotes  with  approval  Mr.  John  Watson's  remarks  on  this  question : 
'In  theory  it  would  seem  that  this  provision  meets  the  case  where  no 
long  period  of  training  is  called  for,  and  all  that  is  necessary  is  a  short 
sharp  punishment  to  bring  the  offender  to  his  senses  and  act  as  a 
deterrent.  There  is  a  very  definite  demand  for  some  form  of  treatment  of 
this  kind,  which  would  be  of  short  duration  but  thoroughly  unpleasant, 
and  available  as  a  penalty  for  minor  offences,  including  minor  breaches 
of  probation.  What  is  needed  is  a  small  local  establishment  in  which  the 
discipline  is  of  the  sternest,  the  food  of  the  plainest,  where  everything 
is  done  "at  the  double",  and  where  there  is  the  maximum  of  hard 
work  and  the  minimum  of  amusement;  the  kind  of  establishment  a 
young  offender  would  not  wish  to  visit  twice,  and  of  which  he  would 
paint  a  vivid  picture  on  his  return  home.'  2 

i  Punitive  Detention,  1944,  Cape.          2  The  Child  and  the  Magistrate,  1942,  Cape. 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    341 

It  was  precisely  such  an  establishment  as  Mr.  Watson  describes  that 
was  envisaged  by  the  Advisory  Council,  and  in  due  course  was  provided 
for  in  the  Act  of  1948  under  the  name  of  'detention  centre'.  These 
centres  are  to  be  provided  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  in  a  case  where 
a  court  would  have  power  to  impose  imprisonment  it  may  commit 
to  one  of  them  a  person  who  is  not  less  than  14  but  under  21  years  of 
age  for  a  term  of  three  months,  or  in  'special  circumstances'  (which 
the  section  does  not  define)  not  more  than  6  months.  There  is  a  still 
further  qualification  in  respect  of  offenders  of  compulsory  school 
age,  for  whom  the  term  may  be  reduced  to  not  less  than  one  month. 

Committal  to  a  detention  centre  is  hedged  about  with  conditions  to 
prevent  the  committal  of  persons  who  have  previously  been  sentenced 
to  imprisonment  or  Borstal  training,  or  have  previously  (if  aged  17  or 
more)  been  sent  to  a  detention  centre,  and  to  ensure  that  this  method 
is  not  used  'unless  the  court  has  considered  every  other  method  (except 
imprisonment)  by  which  the  court  might  deal  with  him  and  is  of  opinion 
that  none  of  those  methods  is  appropriate'. 

This  power  will  become  available  to  courts  when  the  Secretary  of 
State  has  notified  them  that  detention  centres  are  available  for  the 
reception  of  their  committals.  When  a  court  has  been  so  notified,  it 
will  no  longer  have  power  to  commit  young  persons  to  a  remand  home 
under  section  54  of  1933:  meanwhile  that  section  remains  in  force. 

Finally,  if  the  time  comes  when  a  young  offender  must  be  sent  away 
for  prolonged  residential  training,  the  court  may  send  him  to  an 
approved  school  if  he  is  under  17,  or  to  a  Borstal  if  he  is  not  less  than 
16  and  under  21.  With  approved  schools  we  have  already  dealt,  and 
with  the  Borstal  system,  as  it  stands  after  the  Act  of  1948,  we  shall  deal 
in  subsequent  chapters. 

Of  these  various  alternatives  to  prison,  only  those  institutions  to 
which  the  Prisons  Acts  apply,  and  which  therefore  are  placed  under 
the  control  of  the  Prison  Commissioners,  come  within  the  scope  of  this 
book:  these  are  the  remand  centres,  detention  centres  and  Borstal 
institutions.  Probation  hostels  and  homes  existed  before  1948,  and  are 
controlled  by  the  Probation  Division  of  the  Home  Office:  the  provisions 
of  1948  may  however  extend  their  use  and  value.  Attendance  centres 
come  under  the  Children's  Department  of  the  Home  Office:  three  have 
already  been  set  up  by  way  of  experiment,  but  no  report  is  yet  available 
as  to  their  methods  and  success.1 

So  far  no  remand  centres  have  been  established,  nor  has  any 
provision  been  made  for  doing  so  in  the  near  future.  If  these  centres 
are  to  do  the  work  required  of  them,  they  will  be  not  only  places  of 
safe  custody  but  laboratories  of  research  into  the  causes  and  treatment 
of  juvenile  delinquency,  with  large  and  specialised  staffs  of  medical, 
psychological  and  social  workers.  Their  number  must  therefore  be 
*  Four  more  are  expected  to  be  ready  by  the  end  of  1951. 


342  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

limited,  so  that  except  for  the  largest  urban  centres  they  will  have  to 
provide  for  both  sexes  and  all  ages  in  the  same  premises.  They  will 
therefore  require  a  number  of  separate  blocks,  some  of  which  at  least 
will  have  to  provide  complete  security  against  escape.  These  require- 
ments could  only  be  met  in  buildings  designed  and  erected  for  the 
purpose,  and  so  far  it  has  not  been  possible  to  provide  funds  for  this 
purpose. 

The  Commissioners  originally  took  the  view  that  specially  provided 
buildings  would  also  be  required  for  detention  centres,  but  when  it 
became  clear  that  such  buildings  could  not  be  provided,  they  decided 
at  least  to  experiment  with  adapted  buildings,  if  any  suitable  could  be 
found.  In  their  Annual  Report  for  1950  they  announced  that  negotia- 
tions were  in  progress  for  two  sites  in  south-east  England,  which  they 
hoped  might  be  ready  for  use  in  1951.  It  is  therefore  too  soon  to  speak 
of  the  methods  and  management  of  these  centres,  though  it  is  possible 
to  give  certain  broad  indications  of  intention. 

The  first  point  of  interest  is  that  the  Prison  Commissioners  will  now 
be  responsible — as  also,  in  due  course,  in  remand  centres — for  offenders 
of  14  years  and  over  who  would  otherwise  come  under  the  care  of  the 
Children's  Department.  It  has  therefore  been  decided  that  there  shall 
be  separate  centres  for  the  older  and  younger  age-groups,  and  that  in 
respect  of  the  latter  the  Commissioners  shall  act  in  consultation  with 
the  Children's  Department,  whose  Inspectors  may  visit  the  centres. 

The  next  concerns  method.  Ex  hypothesi,  the  primary  purpose  of 
the  centres  is  deterrence,  nor  does  the  very  short  period  of  the  sentence 
offer  the  possibility  of  constructive  training:  indeed  it  is  a  second 
hypothesis  that  an  offender  who  really  needs  such  training  ought  not  to 
be  committed  to  a  centre,  but  to  an  approved  school  or  a  Borstal.  And 
it  is  certainly  a  third  hypothesis  that  these  centres  shall  not  be  prisons 
for  young  people  under  a  new  name. 

To  devise  a  regime  which  will  comply  with  these  intentions,  in  such 
buildings  as  may  be  found,  will  not  be  easy.  It  must  clearly  be  such 
that  the  youngster  who  has  once  been  through  it  will  leave  with  the 
feeling  that  he  would  rather  not  do  it  again.  Yet  so  purely  negative  an 
attitude  to  the  task  is  unthinkable.  Some  constructive  and  formative 
influences  must  be  brought  into  play,  though  it  may  be  granted  at 
once  that  among  these  the  insistence  on  a  brisk  and  disciplined  activity 
will  itself  rank  high.  Further,  for  those  of  compulsory  school  age, 
provision  for  continuing  their  education  will  be  essential. 

At  this  stage,  therefore,  one  can  predicate  only  certain  essentials. 
A  centre  must  be  separated  entirely  not  only  from  the  premises  of  a 
prison  but  from  the  idea  and  ambience  of  a  prison — there  must  be  no 
names  or  practices  in  it  connecting  it  with  the  prison  system  in  any 
way.  The  regime  must  be  deterrent  in  the  sense  that  the  offender  will 
be  deprived  not  only  of  liberty  but  of  every  element  of  what  he  thinks 


THE  PENAL  SYSTEM  AND  THE  YOUNG  OFFENDER    343 

is  'a  good  time',  with  a  minimvum  of  physical  amenity,  and  he  will  have 
to  work  hard  and  do  as  he  is  told.  But  it  must  surely  not  be  based  on 
any  idea  that  its  purpose  is  to  frighten  young  people  into  well-doing. 
The  key  to  the  enigma  can  lie  only  in  a  sympathetic  and  well-selected 
staff,  who  within  the  limits  of  what  is  possible  in  the  conditions  will  be 
prepared  to  make  a  real  effort  to  find  out  what  is  wrong  with  a  boy  or 
girl  and  set  it  right.  Finally,  although  the  Act  makes  no  provision  for 
after-care,  which  can  therefore  be  provided  only  with  the  willing  co- 
operation of  the  offender,  whatever  can  be  done  in  this  way  must  be 
done — no  doubt  through  the  provision  of  after-care  committees  at  the 
centres  and  a  close  liaison  with  the  probation  service. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY 
YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  PRISON 

(1)    THEIR  NUMBERS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS 

THE  Annual  Report  of  the  Prison  Commissioners  for  1949  shows 
that  in  1948,  the  last  year  before  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  came 
into  force,  17,485  males  and  2,783  females  aged  16  and  over  but 
under  21  were  found  guilty  of  indictable  offences.  In  1945  the  numbers 
had  been  21,133  and  2,919.  These  post-war  years  had  shown  an  alarm- 
ing increase  in  the  volume  of  crime  committed  by  young  people  as 
compared  with  1939,  when  the  equivalent  figures  were  13,655  and 
1,780,  and  public  opinion  was  deeply  concerned  as  to  the  causes  of 
this  situation  and  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  deal  with  it.  It  is  therefore 
satisfactory  to  note  that  the  courts  were  not  driven  by  this  public 
concern  to  a  more  frequent  recourse  to  imprisonment,  and  that  in 
fact  the  percentage  of  imprisonments  to  convictions  fell  from  16  per 
cent  in  1947  to  13-5  per  cent  in  1948. 

But  if  there  is  so  much  ground  for  satisfaction,  the  further  analysis 
of  those  whom  the  courts  did  send  to  prison  presents  no  such  ground. 
Of  the  2,479  youths  and  277  girls  received  in  prison  on  conviction  in 
1948,  some  30  per  cent  and  35  per  cent  respectively  had  not,  so  far  as 
was  known,  been  previously  proved  guilty  of  any  offence.  On  the 
other  hand,  1,740  or  70-2  per  cent  of  the  youths  had  previous  proved 
offences,  and  of  these  536  had  previously  served  sentences  of  im- 
prisonment. 

The  numbers  of  their  previous  sentences  of  imprisonment  were: 

1  previous  sentence  of  imprisonment    .  .     350 

2  previous  sentences  of  imprisonment  .  .131 

3  previous  sentences  of  imprisonment  .  .       25 
Over  3  previous  sentences  of  imprisonment  .      30 

344 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  PRISON 
'Their  previous  proved  offences  were: 


345 


One 

313 

Two 

300 

Three 

295 

Four 

266 

Five 

190 

Six  to  ten 

355 

Eleven  to  twenty 

20 

Over  twenty  . 

1 

1,740 

The  figures  for  girls  present  a  similar  picture.1 

The  necessity  of  the  measures  taken  in  the  Act  of  1948  is  abundantly 
shown  by  these  disturbing  figures.  In  one  year  2,756  young  people 
under  21  were  sentenced  to  imprisonment,  no  less  than  836  of  them 
for  their  first  proved  offence,  and  of  the  youths  there  were  over  1,100 
with  more  than  two  previous  convictions  of  whom  many  must  surely 
have  been  qualified  for  Borstal  training.  Further,  1,362  of  the  sentences 
on  youths,  and  192  of  those  on  girls,  were  for  not  more  than  three 
months. 

Their  numbers  by  ages  were  as  follows: 


Age 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

Males 

25 

221 

483 

753 

997 

Females  . 

4 

23 

51 

93 

106 

Their  offences  were  as  follows: 


Males 

Females 

Burglary  and  housebreaking 
Other  offences  against  property 
Assaults  and  wounding 
Sexual  offences 
Other  offences    . 

615 
1,174 
180 
94 
416 

160 
117 

Reference  to  Table  II  on  pp.  154  and  155  of  the  Report  shows  that, 
of  the  youths,  less  than  20  per  cent  were  convicted  of  non-indictable 
offences,  and  of  the  girls,  less  than  30  per  cent.  One  might  expect  to 
find  this  much  lower  proportion  of  young  people  than  of  older  people 
in  prison  for  non-indictable  offences,  firstly  because  courts  would  be 
reluctant  to  send  them  to  prison  for  'social  nuisance',  and  secondly 
because  they  would  on  the  whole  be  less  prone  to  commit  such  offences. 
Of  these  minor  offences  by  males,  almost  all  were  committed  by  youths 

i  Annual  Report  1949,  p.  22. 


346  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

of  17  and  over,  and  the  only  ones  reaching  significant  figures  were 
assaults  (118)  and  'Highway  Acts'  (105):  drunkenness  produced  only 
28.  For  girls  the  only  classified  offences  which  reached  double  figures 
were  11  drunks  and  13  sleeping  out:  prostitution  produced  only  8. 

The  number  of  persons  under  17  received  under  section  53  of  the  Act 
of  1933  is  small:  in  1949  only  two  such  cases  were  received  under  the 
direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  The  number  of  convicted  boys 
under  17  received  as  so  'unruly  or  depraved'  that  they  could  not  be 
detained  in  a  remand  home  was  29;  of  girls  there  were  none.  The  num- 
bers of  young  persons  of  both  sexes  sent  to  prison  for  this  reason  before 
conviction  however  was  very  much  higher,  the  average  for  1947  and 
1948  being  about  300  boys  and  46  girls.  An  average  for  these  years  of 
those  under  17  committed  to  await  removal  to  an  approved  school 
was  81  boys  and  18  girls,  and  to  await  removal  to  Borstal  254  boys  and 
13  girls. 

The  real  need  for  the  proposed  remand  centres  is  shown  by  the  figures 
quoted  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1949  of  young  offenders  who  were 
received  in  prison  on  remand  and  did  not  return  to  prison  on  convic- 
tion. These  numbered  in  1948  no  less  th^n  1,633,  of  whom  446  were 
found  not  guilty  and  discharged  and  1,187  were  dealt  with  other  than 
by  imprisonment  or  Borstal  training.  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  the 
explanation  lies  in  the  desire  of  the  courts  to  have  full  information 
about  a  young  person  before  deciding  how  to  dispose  of  his  case: 
nevertheless,  it  is  deplorable  that  so  many  young  people,  many  of  them 
innocent,  should  thus  have  the  taint  of  prison  thrust  upon  them — 
deplorable  also  that  when  the  remedy  is  known,  and  Parliament  has 
prescribed  it,  it  should  be  out  of  our  power  to  make  it  available. 

(2)    TREATMENT  AND  TRAINING  OF  YOUNG  PRISONERS 

It  was  unfortunate  that  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise,  in  his  enthusiasm  for 
Borstal  methods,  chose  to  describe  his  system  for  the  treatment  of 
'juvenile-adults'  in  prisons  as  the  Modified  Borstal  System,  and  to  set 
up  at  each  prison  'Borstal  Committees'  for  the  after-care  of  these  young 
people.1  The  intention  was  good,  but  it  had  the  result  of  suggesting  to 
the  courts  that  since  some  sort  of  Borstal  training  was  given  in  prison, 
a  sentence  of  imprisonment  might  serve  the  same  purpose  as  one  of 
Borstal  training.  His  successors,  on  the  other  hand,  were  so  strongly 
impressed  with  the  necessity  of  keeping  young  people  out  of  prison 
that  while  they  continued  this  system  they  not  only  dropped  the  name, 
so  as  to  avoid  any  suggestion  that  prison  could  be  a  substitute  for 
Borstal  training,  but  almost  Tell  over  backwards'  in  their  reluctance  to 
admit  that  imprisonment  could  have  any  constructive  effect  at  all. 

The  system  as  it  is  today  endeavours  to  steer  a  middle  course,  forti- 

1  Ruggles-Brise,  p.  96. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  PRISON  347 

fied  by  those  provisions  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  which  are  designed 
to  ensure  that  if  young  people  do  come  to  prison,  it  is  because  the 
courts,  after  proper  consideration  of  all  alternative  courses,  have 
decided  that  imprisonment  is  the  most  suitable  treatment.  And  indeed, 
even  when  detention  centres  are  fully  available,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  the  courts  can  entirely  dispense  with  the  use  of  prison,  at  any 
rate  for  young  offenders  over  17.  There  will  always  be  those  whose 
offences  are  so  serious  that  a  severe  sentence  is  essential,  and  they  may 
be  either  unsuited  for  Borstal  or  already  qualified  as  'Borstal  failures'. 
And  as  we  shall  see  in  considering  the  Borstal  system,  it  is  a  necessary 
part  of  that  system  that  there  should  be  power  to  commute  to  imprison- 
ment the  Borstal  sentences  of  those  who  refuse  to  profit  by  the  training 
it  provides. 

The  prison  system  must,  therefore,  be  prepared  to  do  what  it  can  to 
provide  suitable  treatment  and  effective  training  for  young  people, 
but  its  efforts  must  also  be  conditioned  by  certain  qualifications. 
First,  the  conditions  of  local  prisons,  as  they  have  been  described  in 
earlier  chapters,  do  not  now  and  never  will  provide  a  suitable  frame- 
work for  the  treatment  of  young  offenders.  But  in  these  prisons  short 
sentences  must  be  served,  until  we  have  detention  centres.  It  may  be 
that  for  some,  who  come  to  it  for  the  first  time,  this  experience  will  at 
least  have  the  effect  of  deterrence  and  to  that  extent  serve  its  purpose: 
but  it  will  almost  certainly  be  quite  useless  a  second  time.  Nor  can 
young  people  in  these  conditions  hope  to  escape  the  prison  taint,  how- 
ever carefully  they  may  be  kept  from  direct  contamination  by  older 
men 'and  women.  The  second  qualification  is  that  the  advantages  of 
open  prisons  have  not  been  made  available  for  young  offenders :  they 
are  for  the  most  part  too  unstable  and  irresponsible  to  be  trusted  in 
these  conditions — the  analogy  of  open  Borstals  does  not  hold  good, 
for  the  conditions  are  quite  different.  And  lastly,  whatever  may  be  done 
for  boys  outside  the  local  prisons,  nothing  similar  can  be  done  for 
girls:  their  numbers  are  so  small  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  any 
suitable  arrangements  for  their  segregation  in  special  centres. 

The  system  therefore  concentrates  on  getting  young  men  out  of  the 
local  prisons  into  separate  prisons,  or  separate  wings  of  specialised 
prisons,  called  Young  Prisoners'  Centres.  There  are  three  of  these. 
A  detached  wing  at  Wakefield  takes  the  majority  of  those  with  long 
sentences  (over  3  years)  including  those  detained  during  His  Majesty's 
Pleasure.  Lewes,  a  pleasant  country  prison,  receives  in  one  wing  all 
those  who  have  not  been  in  prison  before  and  others  suitable  to  associ- 
ate with  them,  in  another  wing  those  of  recidivist  type.  A  detached 
block  at  Stafford,  which  is  otherwise  a  Star  prison,  takes  the  rest  of  the 
recidivists  and  any  overflow  of  'Star'  types  from  Lewes. 

The  qualifying  length  of  sentence  for  removal  to  a  centre  is  3  months 
or  over,  which  allowing  for  remission  means  2  months  to  serve.  This 


348  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

is  not  to  suggest  that  constructive  training  can  be  given  in  two  months : 
but  it  does  remove  as  many  as  possible  from  the  local  prisons,  and  it  is 
not  worth  while  to  arrange  transfers  for  a  shorter  period.  There  is  another 
reason  for  making  a  distinction  at  three  months.  In  order  to  secure 
for  young  persons  sentenced  to  imprisonment  the  same  positive  after- 
care and  supervision  as  is  provided  by  a  Borstal  licence,  the  Criminal 
Justice  Act  gave  power  to  release  such  persons  on  a  conditional  licence, 
and  that  power  is  exercised  in  respect  of  sentences  of  three  months  and 
over.  It  would  not  be  worth  while  to  issue  a  licence  to  those  who  would 
only  be  under  supervision  for  two  or  three  weeks.  Thus  all  the  young 
prisoners  in  the  centres  are  in  the  same  position  as  regards  release  on 
licence,  and  all  come  under  the  care  of  the  Central  After-Care 
Association. 

It  follows  that  if  a  young  man  receives  a  sentence  of  three  months  and 
upwards,  it  may  be  hoped  that  at  least  it  will  do  him  no  harm,  and 
the  system  certainly  aims,  as  we  shall  see,  to  do  him  some  good.  And 
when  he  is  released  he  will  be  well  looked  after.  But  let  us  first  see  what 
happens  to  those  left  in  the  local  prisons. 

Under  the  Rules  all  prisoners  under  21  are  placed  in  the  Young 
Prisoner  Class,  and  kept  separate  from  all  other  classes.  This  means 
that  in  a  local  prison  all  those  under  21,  with  or  without  previous  con- 
victions, including  those  awaiting  removal  to  Borstal,  are  treated 
together  as  one  group.  Admittedly  an  illogical  and  unsatisfactory 
arrangement,  and  one  that  can  be  modified  in  the  largest  prisons,  but 
in  the  average  prison  it  is  simply  not  possible  to  subdivide  this  class 
into  'homogeneous  groups',  unless  some  boys  are  to  spend  their  'time 
in  what  would  amount  to  separate  confinement.  In  London  it  is  possible 
to  do  better:  all  young  prisoners  go  to  Wormwood  Scrubs  which  has 
a  separate  'Boys'  Prison',  including  a  block  for  the  untried  which 
forms  a  sort  of  remand  centre  within  prison  walls. 

But  in  the  normal  local  prison  on  the  radial  plan  separation  of  the 
young  prisoner  class  can  mean  no  more  than  locating  them  together 
on  one  landing,  giving  them  exercise  at  a  separate  time  or  in  a  separate 
yard,  and  keeping  them  separated  from  the  men  while  at  work.1  As 
work  they  must  do  what  the  prison  has  to  offer  in  the  way  of  unskilled 
jobs — they  cannot  be  put  on  to  skilled  work  for  the  few  weeks  they 
are  there.  Usually  Governors  try  to  employ  them  on  the  gardens  or 
other  odd  jobs  in  the  open  air:  if  they  have  to  be  in  a  workshop  they 
will  be  put  together  somewhere  at  the  front  or  back  by  way  of  notional 
separation — sometimes  behind  a  screen  if  there  are  enough  of  them. 
And  in  all  their  comings  and  goings  during  the  prison  day  they  are  in 
the  sight  and  hearing  of  the  general  prison  population.  They  will  be 

i  At  Holloway  the  girls  for  once  have  the  advantage,  since  with  the  larger  numbers 
in  this  prison  it  is  possible  to  place  them  in  a  separate  block,  with  Star  women  only, 
under  the  special  charge  of  an  Assistant  Governor. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  PRISON  349 

given  physical  training  instead  of  walking  exercise,  and  allowed  to  play 
such  recreational  games  as  space  permits.  'Special  attention'  should, 
in  principle,  be  paid  to  their  education,  but  it  is  hardly  practicable  to 
have  regular  classes  for  boys  who  change  at  least  every  few  weeks,  and 
many  of  them  every  few  days. 

This  somewhat  pessimistic  picture  could  be  improved  if  conditions 
permitted  a  full  working  day,  for  at  least  the  boys  would  get  7  or  8 
hours  work;  but  as  things  are  it  can  be  nothing  but  a  dreary  round  of 
unexacting  routine,  dull,  comfortless  and  perhaps  for  the  younger 
novice  frightening  till  he  has  got  used  to  it,  but  of  little  significance  to 
those  who  have  had  it  before.  Indeed  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  empha- 
sised that  to  send  a  young  person  to  prison  for  a  short  sentence  is 
likely  to  make  certain  one  thing  and  one  thing  only — that  by  removal 
of  the  dread  of  the  unknown  a  great  part  of  the  deterrent  effect  of 
prison  for  the  future  will  have  been  lost.  One  small  point  may  be  added, 
which  mitigates  the  dangers  of  contamination  within  these  very  mixed 
groups — the  Rules  allow  the  Governor  to  remove  from  the  Y.P.  Class 
any  prisoner  over  17  years  of  age  whom  he  regards  as  unsuitable  by 
character  for  that  class,  and  to  place  him  in  the  Star  Class.  It  is  better 
for  an  aggressive  young  tough  to  find  himself  among  older  men  who 
are  not  impressed  by  his  exhibitionism. 

Turning  to  the  Y.P.  Centres,  we  find  at  Wakefield  a  difficult  collection 
of  young  people,  some  of  whom  may  be  mere  children  detained  under 
the  Act  of  1933,  who  have  for  the  most  part  committed  homicides  or 
other  grave  offences.  Many  of  them  present  psychological  problems, 
and  since  Wakefield  is  one  of  the  psychiatric  centres  they  are  well  cared 
for  in  that  way — in  his  Report  for  1948  the  Governor  said,  The 
improvement  in  some  of  these  youngsters  after  treatment  has  been 
sometimes  quite  amazing.' 1  They  are  a  small  group,  usually  less  than 
fifty,  and  lead  a  fully  communal  life  of  their  own  in  their  detached 
wing,  though  they  mix  with  the  other  prisoners  in  the  workshops :  this 
does  more  good  than  harm  in  the  conditions  of  a  specialised  prison 
with  a  selected  population  like  Wakefield.  They  have  a  choice  of 
several  skilled  and  interesting  trades  with  vocational  training  classes, 
and  a  full  working  day.  Their  evenings  are  productively  active,  with  a 
wide  selection  of  educational  classes  and  correspondence  courses,  and 
other  fruitful  organised  activity.  Above  all  a  carefully  selected  and 
stable  staff,  with  an  Assistant  Governor  who  gives  his  whole  time  to 
the  group,  are  responsible  for  the  personal  training  of  the  boys:  in  the 
same  Annual  Report  the  Governor  said,  'I  am  more  than  ever  con- 
vinced that  what  success  we  have  had,  is,  in  the  main,  attributable  to 
the  fact  that  the  Housemaster,  Principal  Officer  and  the  Discipline 
Staff,  are  in  close  contact  with  the  boys,  study  their  individual  charac- 
ters, gain  their  respect  and  often  their  affection  and  so  are  able  to 
1  Annual  Report  for  1948,  p.  28. 


350  YOUNG   OFFENDERS 

influence  them  in  a  way  which  would  be  impossible  under  more  rigid 
conditions.' 

These  lads  mature  at  different  ages,  and  they  are  transferred  to  the 
adult  central  prison  for  Stars  at  Wakefield  as  soon  after  they  are  21 
as  is  appropriate  to  their  individual  needs. 

Not  all  long-sentence  young  men  go  to  Wakefield — it  is  a  rather 
specialised  group,  and  it  would  not  be  possible  to  include  in  it  some  of 
the  hardened  and  depraved  young  men  who  get  3  years  or  more. 
These  go  to  Stafford  or  Lewes  if  their  sentences  do  not  exceed  4  years — 
otherwise  they  must,  at  present,  go  to  Dartmoor  with  the  long-term 
prisoners  of  the  Ordinary  Class.  Such  cases  however  are  rare,  and  are 
looked  at  with  care  before  they  are  finally  allocated. 

Of  the  other  centres  the  more  satisfactory  is  at  Lewes,  which  except 
for  a  detached  block  holding  the  untried  prisoners  of  the  locality  is 
entirely  devoted  to  the  young  prisoners,  who  number  about  250. 
Those  of  'Star'  type  who  come  here  are  kept  apart  from  the  others 
except  to  some  extent  at  work.  There  is  a  brisk  and  tonic  discipline,  a 
full  working  day,  and  a  coherent  scheme  of  training.  The  industries  are 
good,  with  vocational  training  classes  in  carpentry,  shoe  repairing, 
bricklaying  and  painting  and  decorating.  Evening  education  is  well 
organised  under  the  direction  of  a  full-time  teacher  appointed  by  the 
Local  Education  Authority,  and  there  is  a  good  library.  Finally,  as 
always,  there  is  personal  training  by  the  staff,  with  two  Assistant 
Governors  to  divide  this  special  charge  between  them. 

Stafford  takes  a  much  smaller  group,  and  their  surroundings  are 
less  attractive.  They  are  housed  in  a  detached  block  of  a  prison  with 
a  good  general  atmosphere,  since  all  the  men  are  Stars,  and  they 
have  their  own  workshops,  with  one  or  two  training  classes.  The 
L.E.A.  take  a  great  interest  in  their  education,  which  offers  a  wide 
variety  of  classes.  An  Assistant  Governor  has  special  charge  of  the 
block. 

At  all  the  centres  there  is  a  Young  Prisoners'  Committee,  which 
includes  members  of  the  Visiting  Committee,  specially  charged  with 
the  oversight  of  the  training,  welfare  and  after-care  of  the  young 
prisoners.  The  representatives  of  the  Central  After-Care  Association 
visit  regularly,  and  great  care  is  taken,  with  the  help  of  the  Ministry  of 
Labour  and  the  probation  service,  to  secure  suitable  placing  in  work 
and  helpful  supervision  after  discharge. 

The  Special  Rules  for  young  prisoners  are  concerned  only  with  the 
setting  up  of  the  centres  and  of  the  young  prisoner  committees:  other- 
wise the  General  Rules,  and  general  practice  as  it  has  been  described 
in  previous  chapters,  apply  to  them,  with  such  modifications  as  have 
been  suggested  above.  Their  stage  system  however  is  more  akin  to  that 
of  the  corrective  training  prisons  than  to  that  of  the  local  prisons :  they 
are  out  of  stage  for  8  weeks,  and  then  receive  all  available  privileges. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  PRISON  351 

In  effect,  this  operates  only  in  the  centres,  since  no  young  prisoner 
is  likely  to  remain  more  than  8  weeks  in  a  local  prison.  This  period 
enables  them  to  be  observed  and  'conditioned',  and  in  doubtful  cases 
to  have  their  classification  checked,  before  they  are  placed  in  full 
association.  They  have  one  stage  privilege  not  enjoyed  by  adults — a 
letter  once  a  week  instead  of  once  a  fortnight. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-ONE 
THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM 


(1)    THE  LAW 

THE  Criminal  Justice  Act  of  1948  follows  the  tradition  of  the 
Prevention  of  Crime  Act  1908  in  placing  young  offenders  and 
persistent  offenders  next  door  to  each  other.  The  statutory  frame- 
work of  the  Borstal  system  is  entirely  contained"  withm^section  20, 
preceding  j^tion^ 

tcHIurA^  the  amending  sections  of  1914, 

aTe  entirely~repeale3.  — — 

This  framework  is  basically  that  of  1908,  but  there  are  several 
new  features  which  derive  for  the  most  part  from  recommendations 
of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Young  Offenders.  The  qualifi- 
cations for  a  Borstal  sentence  have  been  changed  so  as,  in  the  words 
of  the  Committee,  'to  give  more  young  offenders  the  advantage  of 
this  form  of  training'  and  to  give  'prominence  .  .  .  rather  to  the  need 
of  training  than  to  the  existence  of  formed  criminal  habits'.  The 
section  requires  that  the  court  shall  be  'satisfied  having  regard  to  his 
character  and  previous  conduct,  and  to  the  circumstances  of  his  offence, 
that  it  is  expedient  for  his  reformation  and  the  prevention  of  crime 
(hallowed  words!)  that  he  should  undergo  a  period  of  training  in  a 
Borstal  institution'. 

The  qualification  by  age  remains  the  same — not  less  than  16  but  under 
21 :  but  the  provision  of  1908  enabling  the  Secretary  of  State  to  raise  the 
maximum  age  to  23  has  not  been  repeated.  In  fact  between  the  wars 
the  age  was  so  raised,  but  it  was  found  that  Borstal  training  was  unsuit- 
able for  men  of  this  age  and  after  World  War  II  the  Order  was  repealed. 

The  third  and  last  qualification  is  that  the  person  should  have  been 
convicted  on  indictment  of  an  offence  punishable  with  imprisonment.1 

The  sentence  itself  is  now  one  of  'Borstal  training'  instead  of  'Borstal 
detention',  a  change  which  speaks  for  itself.  Another  change  recom- 
mended by  the  Committee  affects  the  length  of  the  sentence:  under  the 
1  See  Appendix  K  as  to  absconders  from  approved  schools. 

352 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  353 

Act  of  1908  this  was  for  not  less  than  2  nor  more  than  3  years,  plus  1 
year's  supervision:  the  Committee  thought  the  2-year  sentence  should 
be  abolished,  and  a  flat  rate  of  3  years  provided.  Given  a  normal  period 
of  about  2  years  of  institutional  training  followed  by  release  on  licence, 
this  would  give  a  total  period  of  control  of  4  years,  of  which  two  would 
be  'inside'  and  two  under  supervision  outside.  Under  the  provisions 
of  the  Act  of  1948,  the  court  does  not  prescribe  a  period  at  all,  but 
simply  passes  a  sentence  of  Borstal  training:  the  effect  of  such  a 
sentence,  as  defined  in  the  Second  Schedule,  is  that  the  person  may  be 
detained  in  a  Borstal  institution  for  such  period,  being  not  less  than 
9  months  or  more  than  3  years  from  the  date  of  sentence,  as  the  Prison 
Commissioners  may  determine,  and  after  release  from  a  Borstal  he 
shall,  until  the  expiration  of  four  years  from  the  date  of  his  sentence, 
be  under  the  supervision  of  a  specified  society  or  person.  During  this 
period  of  supervision  he  may,  in  specified  conditions,  be  recalled  to  a 
Borstal  and  detained  until  the  expiration  of  the  original  3  years,  or  for 
6  months  from  the  date  of  being  taken  into  custody  under  the  order  of 
recall,  whichever  is  the  later. 

This  method  of  approach  has  the  advantage  of  emphasising  first, 
the  indeterminacy  of  the  period  of  detention,  and  second  that  the  whole 
period  of  four  years  is  a  unity,  one  part  being  training  under  detention, 
the  other  part  being  training  in  controlled  liberty. 

In  one  respect  the  Act  does  not  follow  the  Committee's  recom- 
mendations. They  proposed  that  under  certain  restrictions  summary 
courts  should  be  empowered  to  pass  Borstal  sentences,  so  as  to  avoid 
what  was  often  a  wait  of  several  weeks  in  prison  for  an  offender  who 
had  been  convicted  by  a  summary  court  and  referred  to  a  higher  court 
for  sentence.  This  has  always  been  a  point  of  controversy,  but  in  1948 
Parliament  decided  to  leave  the  power  to  pass  a  Borstal  sentence  with 
the  higher  courts.  If  therefore  a  person  is  convicted  by  a  court  of  sum- 
mary jurisdiction  of  an  offence  punishable  with  imprisonment,  and 
the  court  is  satisfied  that  Ife  is  qualified  for  Borstal  training,  they  may 
commit  him  in  custody  to  quarter  sessions  for  sentence. 

As  in  1908,  a  court  of  summary  jurisdiction  before  committing  for 
sentence,  or  a  higher  court  before  passing  sentence,  must  consider 
a  report  by  the  Prison  Commissioners  on  the  offender's  physical  and 
mental  condition  and  his  suitability  for  the  sentence.  The  observations 
in  Chapter  Eighteen  on  the  preparation  of  the  similar  reports  required 
for  corrective  training  are  equally  applicable  here. 

Such  is  the  legal  basis  of  the  Borstal  sentence.  There  are  certain  other 
administrative  provisions  in  the  Act,  By  section  48  the  Secretary  of 
State  is  empowered  to  provide  Borstal  institutions,  and  the  Prison 
Acts  1865  to  1898  are  applied  to  them  'subject  to  such  adaptations  and 
modifications  as  may  be  made  by  rules  of  the  Secretary  of  State'.  This 
is  a  legal  formality:  it  does  not  have  the  effect  of  turning  the  Borstals 

E.P.B.S.— 23 


354  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

into  prisons  either  in  principle  or  in  practice.  By  section  52  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  may  make  rules  'for  the  regulation  and  management  of 
(inter  alia}  Borstal  institutions,  and  for  the  classification,  treatment, 
employment,  discipline  and  control  of  persons  required  to  be  detained 
therein':  the  rules  now  in  force  are  the  Borstal  (No.  2)  Rules  1949. 
Section  53  provides  for  the  appointment  by  the  Secretary  of  State  of  a 
Board  of  Visitors  at  each  Borstal  (see  Chapter  Six). 

Section  59  provides  for  transfers  from  prison  to  Borstal,  and  vice 
versa,  in  the  following  circumstances.  By  sub-section  (1),  'If  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  is  satisfied  that  a  person  serving  a  sentence  of  imprison- 
ment is  under  21  years  of  age  and  might  with  advantage  be  detained 
in  a  Borstal  institution  he  may,  after  consultation  where  practicable 
with  the  judge  or  presiding  chairman  of  the  court  which  passes  the 
sentence,  authorise  the  Prison  Commissioners  to  transfer  him  to  a 
Borstal  institution;  and  the  provisions  of  the  Second  Schedule  to  this 
Act  shall  thereupon  apply  to  him  as  if  he  had  on  the  date  of  the  transfer 
been  sentenced  to  Borstal  training:  provided  that  if  on  that  date  the 
unexpired  term  of  his  sentence  is  less  than  three  years  those  provisions 
shall  apply  to  him  as  if  he  had  been  sentenced  to  Borstal  training  three 
years  before  the  expiration  of  that  term.'  This  provision  repeats  a 
similar  provision  of  1908,  with  the  addition  of  prior  consultation  with 
the  court.  It  is  used  on  occasion  with  advantage,  but  since  the  court 
must  be  deemed  to  have  decided  on  imprisonment  rather  than  Borstal 
in  full  knowledge  of  all  the  facts,  it  is  normally  invoked  only  on  the 
basis  of  considerations  which  were  not  before  the  court  at  the  time. 

Sub-section  (2)  provides  as  follows — 'If  a  person  detained  in  a 
Borstal  institution  is  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  State  by  the  board 
of  visitors  to  be  incorrigible,  or  to  be  exercising  a  bad  influence  on  the 
other  inmates  of  the  institution,  the  Secretary  of  State  may  commute 
the  unexpired  part  of  the  term  for  which  the  said  person  is  then  liable 
to  be  detained  in  a  Borstal  institution  to  such  term  of  imprisonment  as 
the  Secretary  of  State  may  determine,  not  exceeding  the  said  unexpired 
part;  and  for  the  purpose  of  this  Act  the  said  person  shall  be  treated 
as  if  he  had  been  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  that  term.'  This  also 
repeats  a  provision  of  1908,  which  the  Departmental  Committee  con- 
sidered at  some  length.  They  found  that  in  some  cases  'it  has  worked 
fairly  well',  but  that  in  others  'particularly  with  girls,  the  result  has  been 
an  unhappy  one.  A  bitter  sense  of  injustice  has  been  created  in  the 
inmate's  mind  by  finding  that  he  or  she  has  to  serve  a  long  time  in 
prison,  when  the  offence  for  which  he  or  she  was  originally  committed 
was  no  worse  than  those  for  which  other  people  in  the  same  prison 
have  been  sentenced  to  a  few  weeks.  A  large  reduction  of  the  term  of 
imprisonment,  on  the  other  hand,  is  impracticable,  because  it  would 
place  a  premium  on  misconduct  at  the  institutions.  On  account  of  these 
drawbacks  the  power  is  not  now  used,  and  the  institutions  deal  with 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  355 

their  ill-conducted  members  themselves.'  They  therefore  recommended 
that  this  section  should  be  repealed.  Whatever  the  conditions  in  1927, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  dispense  with  this  power  today,  and  it  has 
unfortunately  been  necessary  to  use  it  fairly  often  since  the  war: 
this  question  is  further  discussed  in  the  following  chapter. 

There  remains  only,  among  the  statutory  provisions  which  call  for 
special  mention,  section  65.  This  was  inserted  to  bite  on  all  persons 
who  escape  from  penal  institutions,  including  Borstals,  by  providing 
that,  unless  the  Secretary  of  State  otherwise  directs,  time  during  which 
the  escaper  is  unlawfully  at  large  shall  not  count  towards  calculating 
the  period  for  which  he  may  be  detained.  In  its  application  to  Borstal, 
it  does  not  apply  to  the  person  who  does  not  respond  to  an  order  of 
recall,  and  cannot  serve  to  extend  the  total  period  for  which  a  person  is 
liable  to  supervision. 

(2)    THE  PRINCIPLES 

second  and  revised 


edition  of  a  littte^reyboocalled  The  Principles  of  the  Borstal  System. 
Written  by  Alexander  Paterson,  tins  Depressed  the  spirit  which  he  had 
brought  into  Borstal  during  the  ten  previous  years.  Though  much  has 
changed  in  practice  since  then,  the  spirit  still  holds,  and  cannot  be 
better  explained  than  in  the  words  of  its  first  expression.  Where  un- 
identified quotations  follow,  therefore,  they  will  be  from  this  source. 

'At  the  back  and  at  the  bottom  of  this  Borstal  System  of  training 
there  lies  a  fundamental  principle.  There  have  always  been  bad  lads 
and  the  supply  will  never  cease  entirely.  Once  upon  a  time  the  method 
employed  to  deal  with  them  consisted  simply  in  the  use  of  force.  The 
lad  was  regarded  as  a  lump  of  hard  material,  yielding  only  to  the 
hammer,  and  was,  with  every  good  intention,  beaten  into  shape. 
Sometimes  there  were  internal  injuries,  and  the  spirit  of  the  lad  grew 
into  a  wrong  shape,  for  sometimes  the  use  of  force  produces  a  reaction 
more  anti-social  than  the  original  condition.  There  ensued  a  second 
method  which  has  flourished  for  fifty  years  in  many  schools  and  places 
where  boys  are  trained,  and  might  be  termed  the  method  of  pressure. 
The  lad  is  treated  as  though  he  were  a  lump  of  putty,  and  an  effort  is 
made  to  reduce  him  to  a  certain  uniform  shape  by  the  gentle  and 
continuous  pressure  of  authority  from  without.  In  course  of  time,  by 
perpetual  repetition,  he  forms  a  habit  of  moving  smartly,  keeping 
himself  clean,  obeying  orders  and  behaving  with  all  decorum  in  the 
presence  of  his  betters.  These  are  in  themselves  very  useful  qualities, 
and  it  is  hoped  by  those  who  use  this  system  that,  after  some  years  of 
constant  admonition  and  daily  habit,  all  lads  will  retain  the  same 
pleasing  shape  when  no  longer  subject  to  the  pressure  of  those  in 
authority.  But  the  springs  of  action  lie  deeper  than  the  laws  of  habit  or 


356  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

the  voice  of  the  mentor  are  likely  to  reach,  and  character  is  determined 
ultimately  not  by  the  outside  shape  that  has  been  fashioned,  but  by 
powers  within  that  possibly  have  not  been  touched.  It  happens,  there- 
fore, sadly  often  that  the  lad  who  has  been  merely  subjected  to  the 
pressure  of  authority  from  outside  will,  when  exposed  to  the  different 
influences  of  free  life,  assume  quite  another  shape.  In  other  words, 
having  been  treated  like  a  lump  of  putty,  he  will  behave  like  a  lump  of 
putty  and  respond  successively  to  the  influences  of  each  environment. 

The  third  and  most  difficult  way  of  training  a  lad  is  to  regard  him  as 
a  living  organism,  having  its  secret  of  life  and  motive-power  within, 
adapting  itself  in  external  conduct  to  the  surroundings  of  the  moment, 
but  undergoing  no  permanent  organic  change  merely  as  a  result  of 
outside  pressure.  So  does  Borstal  look  at  him,  as  a  lad  of  many  mixtures, 
with  a  life  and  character  of  his  own.  The  task  is  not  to  break  or  knead 
him  into  shape,  but  to  stimulate  some  power  within  to  regulate  conduct 
aright,  to  insinuate  a  preference  for  the  good  and  the  clean,  to  make 
him  want  to  use  his  life  well,  so  that  he  himself  and  not  others  will  save 
him  from  waste.  It  becomes  necessary  to  study  the  individual  lad,  to 
discover  his  trend  and  his  possibility,  and  to  infect  him  with  some  idea 
of  life  which  will  germinate  and  produce  a  character,  controlling  desire, 
and  shaping  conduct  to  some  more  glorious  end  than  mere  satisfaction 
or  acquisition. 

This  is  indeed  the  more  difficult  way,  for  it  passes  from  the  external 
things  that  can  be  seen,  which  are  dealt  with  so  much  more  easily,  to 
the  inner  things  unseen.  Further  it  requires  that  each  lad  shall  be 
dealt  with  as  an  individual  and  shall  not  be  regarded  as  being  the  same 
as  any  other  lad,  requiring  the  same  universal  prescription.' 

A  system  which  seeks  to  work  in  this  way  must  depend  first  and 
foremost  on  the  men  who  are  to  do  the  work.  The  Borstal  System  has 
no  merit  apart  from  the  Borstal  Staff.  It  is  men  and  not  buildings  who 
will  change  the  hearts  and  ways  of  misguised  lads.  Better  an  institution 
that  consists  of  two  log-huts  in  swamp  or  desert,  with  a  staff  devoted  to 
their  task,  than  a  model  block  of  buildings,  equipped  without  thought  of 
economy,  whose  staff  is  solely  concerned  with  thoughts  of  pay  and 
promotion.  Thejoundations  of  Jthe_Borstal_ System  are  first  the  recruit- 
.  ment  of  the  jnyght _ inenJTHen  their. .pjpper  {r^T}^9^r^^al^^^^[ill 
Cooperation  with  one  another  in  an  atmosphere  of  freedonuind ^mutual 

Se~EfsFstep  in  a  system  aiming  at  this  individual  training  of  the 
young  offender  must  be  careful  classification,  to  ensure  that,  in  the  words 
of  the  relevant  Statutory  Rule,  'inJjieUght  onusju^i^jharacterjjnid- 
capacities  he  may  Regent  tojhe  BorstaT&est  ^itedjto^Ws^chLararter 
an3  requirem^ents^.  'It  may  be  maintained  that,  as  no  two  lads  are  the 
iJameTonlya  policy  of  separate  confinement  can  provide  a  perfect  system 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  357 

of  classification.  This  reductio  ad  absurdum  shall  not,  however,  deter 
us  from  proceeding  with  as  sensible  a  scheme  as  we  can  devise.  The 
first  purpose  of  classification  is  positive,  and  consists  in  putting  a  lad 
in  such  a  milieu  as  is  likely  to  draw  out  what  is  best  in  him.  Ideally, 
therefore,  each  Borstal  lad  should  be  drafted  to  a  group  of  honest  and 
intelligent  lads,  to  whose  level  he  would  wish  to  aspire.  This,  by  the 
nature  of  things,  is  impossible;  there  are  too  many  rogues  and  not 
enough  honest  lads.  For  this  reason  the  courts  rightly  hesitate  before 
committing  a  first  offender  to  a  Borstal  Institution.  But  it  is  possible 
within  rather  narrow  limits,  in  assigning  a  lad  to  an  Institution  or  a 
House  or  group,  to  put  him  in  a  place  where  there  is  someone  or 
something  that  will  stimulate  the  better  side  of  him.  The  second  purpose 
of  classification,  and  it  should  always  be  kept  in  the  second  place,  is  the 
avoidance  of  contamination.  One  evil  spirit  can  poison  the  tone  of  a 
whole  House,  and  every  Borstal  Officer  is  keen  to  watch  the  effect  of 
one  lad  upon  the  others.  A  clique  may  form  whose  influence  on  each 
member  is  undoubtedly  evil.  Such  a  clique  will  be  scattered  among 
different  Houses  or  Institutions.  Transfer  and  reclassification  are  ready 
to  our  hand  to  prevent  corruption,  and  should  be  employed  without 
hesitation  where  the  reasonable  prospect  of  a  risk,  .has  been  established 
by  those  who  have  observed.  The  community  must  be  protected  even 
at  the  cost  of  disturbance  to  the  individual.' 
The  purpose  of  a  Borstal  Institutiojij^l£^ 
self-contained  mgn^to  torn  themj^^ 

t(^i^Llnjnen  for^eejom  in  a  condition  of  j;apiivityJLI]ie  conditions  of 
Borstal  training"must  therefore  be  jis  littl^lik^tho^6  9^  a  Pr*s^&&ll 
QQmpatiHe  with  compulsory  "detention:  they  must  be  'based  on  pra-v 
gressl^Tram:;dm^ 
ana^selPcontrol.  These  are  qualities  wW 

practismgTHeimi^'^ndr  they_cannot  be  practised  mj^Qjxditions  where 
safeHSiIStMy^  Thus  Borstals  must  pf  c£ 

vlde^varyirig^conditions  of  ^ecujityjo^suit  (USerenlMtyges  of  character, 
ajKOjOE^^  to  a  sfage^Twmplete 

trust  and  self-discipline.  But  this  progisss  must  be  e&rned^  Steps  must 

the  difficulty  of  ascent,  so  that  the  mini- 


mum of  promotion  may  reward  a  maximum  of  effort.  This  can  be 
done  by  emphasising  the  responsibilities  rather  than  the  privileges 
associated  with  each  grade,  and  by  a  merciless  reduction  when  these 
responsibilities  are  not  fulfilled.  Each  grade  carries  a  lad  a  little  further 
towards  freedom.  He  is  practising  his  wings,  developing  his  power  of 
choice  between  right  and  wrong.  This  is  a  more  difficult  life  than  that  of 
confinement  and  repression.  He  must  show  that  he  justifies  the  trust 
and  is  indeed  growing  more  fit  for  freedom.  If  he  fails,  he  must  return 
to  the  lower  order  where  it  is  easy  to  be  good,  and  wait  a  little  while 

1  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p.  60. 


358  YOUNG   OFFENDERS 

before  taking  a  step  forward  again  towards  liberty.  Further,  we  must 
scrutinise  very  closely  the  claim  of  the  lad  for  promotion.  Let  it  not 
come  to  him.  Lay  rather  the  onus  on  him  to  show  that  he  has  stretched 
himself  to  reach  it.' 

The  essential  instrument  of  this  individual  study  and  personal 
training  is  the  House — a  group  which  should  ideally  be  of  not  more  than 
about  fifty,  leading  its  separate  and  corporate  life  under  the  House- 
master or  Housemistress  and  House  Staff.  Thus  corporate  pride  is 
nurtured  and  a  great  natural  force  is  brought  into  play.  No  lad  is 
proud,  or  should  be  proud,  of  being  a  Borstal  boy.  The  smaller  the 
unit,  however,  the  stouter  the  allegiance  of  the  lad.  He  becomes  proud 
of  his  House.  He  can  be  induced  sometimes  so  to  change  his  habits  as 
to  conform  with  its  traditions.  The  Housemaster  and  his  staff  set  a 
standard,  the  boys  catch  the  spirit,  and  on  it  rolls  to  successive  genera- 
tions. This  division  into  smaller  entities  releases  the  two  great  weapons 
of  moral  training — personal  influence  and  the  corporate  spirit.' 

These  principles  are  summed  up  in  the  Statutory  Rules  governing 
Borstal  training  as  follows : 

'4.  (1)  The  objects  of  training  shall  be  to  bring  to  bear  every  influence 
which  may  establish  in  the  inmates  the  will  to  lead  a  good  and 
useful  life  on  release,  and  to  fit  them  to  do  so  by  the  fullest  possible 
development  of  their  character,  capacities,  and  sense  of  personal 
responsibility. 

'(2)  Methods  of  training  may  vary  as  between  one  Borstal  and 
another,  according  to  the  needs  of  the  different  types  of  inmate 
allocated  to  them. 

'6.  In  order  to  ensure  so  far  as  practicable  the  prevention  of  contamina- 
tion and  the  best  use  of  training  facilities,  the  Commissioners  shall 
arrange  that  each  Borstal  receives  inmates  who  have  been  selected 
as  suitable  for  that  Borstal  in  age,  character,  and  capacities. 

'7.  (1)  To  enable  members  of  the  staff  to  exercise  their  personal 
influence  on  the  character  and  development  of  individual  inmates, 
and  to  understand  the  needs  of  each  for  the  purposes  of  training, 
inmates  of  Borstals  may  be  grouped  in  houses. 

'(2)  A  Housemaster  shall  be  responsible  to  the  Governor,  with  the 
assistance  of  a  Matron  and  such  other  staff  as  may  be  appointed, 
for  the  administration  of  each  house,  and  for  the  personal  training 
of  the  inmates  in  his  house. 

'8.  (1)  To  encourage  the  progressive  development  of  responsibility,  and 
to  assist  in  the  assessment  of  fitness  for  release,  inmates  may  be 
placed  in  such  grades  as  the  Commissioners  approve. 

'(2)  Promotion  from  grade  to  grade  or  reduction  in  grade  otherwise 
than  as  an  award  for  an  offence  against  discipline  shall  be  decided 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  359 

by  the  Governor  with  the  advice  of  an  institution  board  composed 
of  such  officers  as  the  Commissioners  determine. 

'(3)  Inmates  who  have  been  promoted  to  an  appropriate  grade  may 
be  given  positions  of  special  responsibility  and  leadership. 

4  9.  (1)  There  shall  be  established  at  every  Borstal  such  system  of 
privileges  as  the  Commissioners  approve  in  the  interests  of  good 
conduct  and  training.' 

So  much  for  the  broad  principles  of  training  in  the  institution :  but 
'Borstal  training  falls  into  two  parts.  In  the  first  part  a  lad  is  trained  in 
custody  at  an  Institution:  in  the  second  part  he  enjoys  the  comparative 
freedom  of  licence  or  supervision,  and  is  under  the  training  of  the 
Borstal  Association.1  The  functions  of  the  two  bodies  dovetail  closely 
into  one  another.  .  .  .  The  Borstal  Association  represents  one-half  of 
the  Borstal  System.  Its  method  of  after-care  starts  to  discover  the  lad 
and  plan  his  future  from  the  date  of  his  conviction,  following  him 
through  the  Institution,  finding  him  employment  and  guiding  him  for 
some  years  after  his  discharge.' 

The  unity  of  these  two  parts  of  Borstal  training,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
emphasised  by  the  form  of  the  sentence,  and  the  principles  of  1932  are 
implemented  by  the  following  Statutory  Rule: 

64.  (1)  From  the  beginning  of  the  training  of  every  inmate  considera- 
tion shall  be  given,  in  consultation  with  the  Central  After-care 
Association,  to  the  future  of  the  inmate  and  the  assistance  to  be 
given  to  him  on  and  after  release,  and  for  this  purpose  the  Associa- 
tion or  their  representatives  shall  be  given  all  necessary  information 
and  assistance. 

'(2)  Facilities  shall  be  afforded  to  the  representatives  of  the  Associa- 
tion to  visit  every  inmate  before  release.' 

(3)    THE  RECEPTION  CENTRES  AND  CLASSIFICATION 

A  Borstal  Reception  Centre  has  four  functions:  to  decide,  as  the 
Rules  require,  after  careful  examination  of  each  inmate,  which  is  'the 
Borstal  best  suited  to  his  character  and  requirements' :  to  straighten  out 
the  inmate's  affairs,  to  relieve  his  mind  of  any  difficulties,  to  look  into 
his  mental  and  physical  state  and  so  far  as  possible  relieve  any  condi- 
tions that  might  handicap  his  training,  and  generally  to  prepare  him  to 
receive  his  training  in  a  fit  and  ready  state  of  body  and  mind:  to  give 
him  instruction  in  what  he  is  to  expect  in  Borstal,  with  certain  element- 
ary training:  and  to  furnish  the  Governor  of  the  Borstal  to  which  he 
will  go  with  all  the  information  necessary  to  help  in  charting  his  course. 

There  are  two  of  these  centres,  one  in  a  separate  wing  of  Wormwood 

1  Now  the  Borstal  Division  of  the  Central  After-care  Association. 


360  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

Scrubs  prison,  the  other  at  Latchmere  House,  near  Kingston-on- 
Thames,  formerly  a  war-time  military  detention  establishment.  It  is 
wrong  that  the  former  should  be  part  of  a  prison,  but  security  is 
necessary  for  young  men  at  this  stage,  and  no  other  suitable  accommo- 
dation has  become  available.  For  girls  there  is  at  present  no  separate 
centre,  nor  is  one  strictly  necessary  since  the  only  decision  to  be  made 
is  whether  she  is  or  is  not  suitable  for  the  one  open  Borstal,  at  East 
Sutton:  they  all  go  first,  therefore,  to  the  closed  Borstal  at  Ayles- 
bury,  where  they  are  kept  under  observation  for  some  weeks  before 
allocation. 

The  team  working  under  the  Governor  of  a  reception  centre  will 
include  the  housemasters,  a  psychologist,  an  educational  guidance 
officer,  a  vocational  guidance  officer,  and  two  or  three  women  social 
workers  who  make  out  the  case  histories  and  pay  home  visits  where 
necessary.  At  Wormwood  Scrubs  the  services  of  the  Chaplain  and 
medical  staff  of  the  main  prison  are  available;  at  Latchmere  House  the 
Chaplain  and  doctor  are  part-time,  and  there  is  a  visiting  psychiatrist 
to  see  such  boys  as  the  psychologist  refers  to  him.  The  period  of 
observation  and  testing  lasts  about  6  weeks,  and  when  members  of  the 
above  team,  and  the  Borstal  officers  in  charge  of  the  boys,  have  com- 
pleted their  reports  the  institution  Board  meets  to  consider  the  case. 

The  possibilities  of  allocation  are  wide,  as  there  are  thirteen  institu- 
tions to  choose  from,  each  with  slightly  different  characteristics,  and 
each  taking,  on  the  whole,  a  slightly  different  type  of  boy.  Broadly 
speaking,  there  is  one  group  of  Borstals  for  the  more  mature,  another 
for  the  less  mature.  Within  these  two  groups,  some  take  those  with 
better  records  and  some  those  with  worse.  The  Board  will  also  take 
account  of  a  boy's  vocational  aptitudes  and  wishes,  and  so  far  as 
possible  allot  him  within  his  group  to  the  Borstal  best  able  to  help 
him  in  that  way.  Often  too,  with  particular  cases,  they  will  have  in  mind 
that  a  particular  Governor  or  member  of  a  Borstal  staff  is  likely  to  bring 
the  best  out  of  a  boy. 

Among  the  thirteen  Borstals  are  four  which  are  generally  described  as 
'closed',  since  they  are  situated  in  buildings  with  security  walls,  locks 
and  bars.  To  these  are  sejit  the  more  unstable,  who  present  the  greatest 
escape  risk,  and  the  older  and  tougher  types.  One  of  these,  in  the  former 
prison  at  Hull,  takes  those  who  are  thought  unlikely  to  co-operate  in 
or  profit  from  the  normal  training  system,  particularly  those  with 
second  sentences  of  Borstal  training. 

(4)    THE  INSTITUTIONS 

Only  one  Borstal  was  built  for  its  purpose — Lowdham  Grange.  All 
the  others  are  adapted  premises  of  various  types.  Of  the  three  originals 
of  the  Ruggles-Brise  era,  Borstal  and  Portland  were  early  convict 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  361 

prisons,  but  the  buildings  have  been  radically  reconstructed  and  serve 
their  purpose  pretty  well.  Each  provides  five  self-contained  houses 
with  their  separate  dining  and  common  rooms :  at  Portland  all  houses 
are  cellular,  at  Borstal  one  is  a  dormitory  house,  the  others  cellular. 
Feltham,  on  the  other  hand,  which  was  one  of  the  first  industrial 
schools,  has  four  dormitory  houses  and  one  cellular  house  added  later. 
All  these  have  extensive  farms  or  market-gardens  outside  the  walls, 
the  gates  stand  open  all  day,  and  there  is  little  feeling  of  confinement. 
The  security  they  provide  is  that  of  having  their  inmates  safe  once  the 
gates  are  shut  in  the  evening.  All  are  on  the  large  side,  housing  over 
300  boys  each. 

The  contemporary  girls'  Borstal  of  these  three  is  also,  unhappily, 
within  a  prison  wall.  The  mixed  establishment  at  Aylesbury  comprises 
a  small  cellular  prison,  part  of  which  is  used  for  the  initial  stages  of 
the  Borstal  girls,  and  the  pleasanter  premises  of  what  was  once  a 
State  Inebriate  Reformatory,  which  now  provide  two  houses  with 
separate  bedrooms  and  suitable  dining  and  common  rooms.  Here  too 
therp  is  a  small  farm  with  a  dairy  outside  the  wall,  and  room  for  play- 
grounds, gardens  and  a  swimming  pool  inside.  The  Borstal  now  houses 
about  150  girls,  though  at  its  peak  during  the  war  it  had  some  250. 
Even  so,  it  is  too  big  and  too  prison-like  for  training  young  girls:  a 
first  priority  is  the  building  of  two  small  Borstals  to  take  its  place.  This 
would  be  so  even  if  it  had  not  the  added  disadvantage  of  neighbouring 
the  long-term  Star  women  in  the  other  part  of  the  prison  block. 

The  next  to  be  added,  Lowdham  Grange,  was  Alec  Paterson's 
'Borstalium  quartum',  the  origin  of  which  has  already  been  described. 
It  is  designed  as  an  entirely  open  institution  with  four  dormitory  houses 
for  sixty  boys  connected  by  a  covered  way :  in  appearance  it  might  be 
a  pleasant  hospital.  It  stands  in  a  large  estate  which  is  farmed  by  the 
institution,  and  has  been  built — indeed  is  still  being  built — with  the 
institution's  own  labour.  Two  more  open  institutions  followed  before 
the  war:  Hollesley  Bay  Colony  was  taken  over  from  the  London 
County  Council,  who  had  developed  it  as  a  farm  training  colony  for 
unemployed.  Its  four  hutted  houses,  with  dormitory  sleeping  accom- 
modation, are  widely  dispersed  about  the  broad  acres  of  farmland  and 
orchard,  with  an  administrative  centre  of  more  substantial  structure. 
This  is  one  of  the  largest  Borstals,  primarily  agricultural  in  its  interests, 
breeding  prize  sheep  and  Suffolk  Punch  horses,  which  are  used  for 
work  on  most  of  the  prison  and  Borstal  farms.  North  Sea  Camp  was 
another  pioneering  experiment  in  the  heroic  spirit  of  those  days.  At 
least  since  the  days  of  the  Empire  men  have  embanked  the  shores  of 
the  Wash  to  reclaim  rich  Lincolnshire  land  from  the  sea-marsh,  and 
in  1938  a  party  of  Borstal  boys  was  set  down  in  a  hut  under  the  Roman 
Bank  to  continue  the  work.  Today  a  thriving  little  colony  of  about  100 
boys  still  toil  in  the  deep  mud  and  bitter  winds  to  add  to  the  protecting 


362  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

banks,  and  farm  some  200  acres  of  the  richest  land  in  the  country 
which  before  the  war  were  under  salt  water. 

The  last  pre-war  Borstal  was  at  Usk,  and  is  again  different.  Its  base 
is  the  old  county  gaol,  where  the  boys  are  received  to  begin  with,  and 
from  which  they  go  out  to  work  on  various  jobs  around  the  premises 
and  neighbourhood.  The  main  body  however  are  in  a  farm-camp  some 
miles  away.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  to-and-fro  on  bicycles,  boys  from 
the  camp  cycling  out  to  local  farms  to  work  or  back  into  town  for 
classes,  and  boys  from  the  town  cycling  out  to  work  at  the  camp. 
There  is  no  definite  purpose  in  this  arrangement — it  just  happened  so. 

The  first  post-war  Borstal,  at  Gringley-on-the-Hill  in  Nottingham- 
shire, was  an  experiment  on  still  another  basis.  The  Ministry  of  Agri- 
culture had,  for  war  purposes,  taken  over  a  large  tract  of  low-lying 
country,  poorly  and  partially  farmed,  and  turned  it  into  a  fine  estate, 
largely  worked  by  the  Women's  Land  Army.  When  the  W.L.A.  was 
disbanded,  Borstal  came  forward  to  take  over  their  hostel  and  their 
work.  The  sixty  or  so  men  here  also  provide  large  work-parties  for  the 
local  authorities  responsible  for  keeping  up  the  river  banks  and  other 
such  work.  A  few  years  ago,  when  a  bank  broke  and  a  disastrous  flood 
submerged  the  estate,  they  worked  for  days  and  nights  on  end  rescuing 
lives  and  property,  and  an  inscribed  radio  set  in  the  camp  marks  the 
great  gratitude  of  the  neighbourhood.  The  five  Borstals  that  followed 
in  the  post-war  years  present  less  striking  features,  excepting  perhaps 
at  Hewell  Grange.  Here,  in  the  former  seat  of  a  noble  family,  reproduc- 
tions of  the  lovely  mediaeval  tapestries  of  the  'Dame  aux  Licornes' 
strangely  encompass  the  Borstal  boys  at  their  meals,  and  from  its 
famous  glass-houses  First  Prize  blooms  still  regularly  emerge  at  the 
National  Chrysanthemum  Society's  exhibition  in  Vincent  Square. 

Gaynes  Hall  and  Huntercombe  have  each  the  same  pattern  of  a  large 
country  house  with  a  war-time  camp  in  the  grounds,  though  in  the 
latter  the  'camp'  is  cellular  in  construction,  having  served  as  a  war- 
time Army  detention  establishment:  it  is  however  'open'  in  all  essentials, 
as  the  Army  removed  all  the  locks  and  the  Borstal  has  removed  the 
barbed  wire.  Hatfield  and  Pollington,  the  two  latest,  are  training  camps 
borrowed  from  the  Army,  unadorned  but  lending  themselves  well  to 
Borstal  purposes.  All  these  post-war  camps  will  take  about  150  boys 
in  three  houses. 

Since  the  war  it  has  also  been  possible  to  provide  for  the  girls  as  well 
as  for  the  boys  an  open  Borstal:  two  were  intended,  but  before  the 
second  was  acquired  it  became  clear  that  one  small  unit  of  50-60 
would  suffice  for  all  the  girls  found  suitable  for  these  conditions.  East 
Sutton  Park  is  placed  in  an  Elizabethan  house  of  considerable  beauty 
and  character,  in  a  natural  setting  not  less  beautiful. 

Such  are  the  ordinary  'training  institutions'.  There  are  also  several 
institutions  serving  special  purposes.  The  special  Borstal  established  in 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  363 

1950  at  Hull  is  also  a  training  Borstal,  but  it  provides  a  different  sort 
of  training  for  young  men  who  do  not  fit  into  the  normal  scheme.  It  is 
in  the  buildings  of  the  former  local  prison,  almost  completely  destroyed 
by  enemy  action  in  the  war,  and  its  tough  but  constructive  task  is  first 
to  clear  away  the  ruins  and  then  to  build  afresh  inside  the  wall.  This  is 
a  small  unit  which  will  probably  not  exceed  100. 

In  a  separate  wing  of  Wandsworth  prison,  declared  to  be  a  Borstal, 
is  a  'correction  centre'  for  absconders  who  cannot  at  once  be  taken 
back  to  a  training  Borstal,  and  others  who  persistently  misbehave  to 
an  extent  beyond  the  normal  resources  of  a  training  Borstal  to  correct. 
The  removal  of  this  centre  from  its  unsuitable  milieu  has  been  sought 
long  but  unsuccessfully.1 

In  the  former  local  prison  at  Portsmouth  is  the  'recall  centre'  for 
boys  who  are,  for  breach  of  the  conditions  of  their  supervision,  recalled 
for  further  training.  In  the  former  women's  wing  of  Exeter  prison  is  a 
similar  centre  for  girls. 

The  various  methods  of  training  followed  in  these  different  types  of 
institution  will  be  described  in  the  following  chapter.  The  purpose  of 
this  quick  impression  of  the  sort  of  places  in  which  Borstals  are  to  be 
found  is  to  show  that  for  the  building  round  the  teacher  there  need  be 
no  standard  pattern — not  that  some  patterns  may  not  be  better  than 
others,  and  the  prison  pattern  in  particular  could  be  lost  without  tears. 
But  for  a  system  based  on  diversity,  elasticity,  initiative  and  hard  work, 
with  a  dash  of  the  spirit  of  pioneers,  this  improvised  and  various  frame- 
work has  merits  of  its  own. 

(5)    THE  STAFF 

The  prison  and  Borstal  services  are  two  in  one,  indivisible  and 
complementary.  All  entrants  to  the  service,  whether  as  Assistant 
Governors  or  officers,  may  indicate  a  preference  for  one  branch  or  the 
other,  and  if  the  selection  boards*  views  of  their  capacities  support 
their  preferences  they  will  normally  be  posted  accordingly.  There  is 
much  value  in  this  arrangement,  and  little  harm.  Broadly,  the  men 
and  women  working  in  Borstals  are  those  who  want  to  do  that  work 
and  are  best  fitted  for  it :  those  who  grow  out  of  liking  or  fitness  for  the 
work  can  be  moved  to  a  prison,  and  those  on  the  prison  side  who  want 
to  try  Borstal  work  can  equally  cross  over  if  they  are  thought  to  be 
suitable.  The  prisons  have  been  constantly  refreshed  by  the  passing 
into  them  of  younger  or  older  Governors  from  Borstal:  and  since  many 
Borstal  boys  and  girls  have  been  in  prison,  and  many  prisoners  have 
been  in  Borstal,  it  is  well  that  the  staff  on  each  side  should  know 
something  of  the  other's  ways  and  work.  If  there  is  a  disadvantage, 
it  is  that  prison  ways  and  names  carried  into  a  Borstal,  especially 
a  closed  Borstal,  may  tend  to  suggest  to  boys  who  already  know 
1  See  Appendix  K,  note  on  p.  308. 


364  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

their  prison  language  that  Borstal  is  the  same  sort  of  thing  under 
another  name. 

Throughout  the  Borstal  service,  therefore,  the  grades  of  the  staff 
are  the  same  as  those  of  the  prison  service — Governor,  Deputy  and 
Assistant  Governors,  Chief  Officer,  Principal  Officers  and  Officers,  and 
a  similar  complement  of  instructors  and  specialists,  with  of  course  a 
Chaplain  and  a  Medical  Officer — full-time  or  part-time  according  to 
the  size  of  the  institution.  The  one  variation  is  that  in  boys'  Borstals 
there  is  in  each  house  a  house  matron.  In  two  respects  the  conditions  of 
service  of  Borstal  officers  differ  from  those  of  prison  officers — they 
wear  plain  clothes,  receiving  an  allowance  in  lieu  of  uniform,  and 
receive  a  special  additional  allowance  of  4s.  6d.  a  week. 

Their  functions  however  differ  considerably.  Apart  from  specialists 
— cooks,  works  and  hospital  staffs — the  duties  of  the  officer^  fall  mainly 
into  three  groups;  the  house  officers,  who  are  about  the  houses  from 
getting-up  till  bed-time  supervising  the  boys  and  helping  the  house- 
masters; party  officers,  in  charge  of  parties  at  outside  work;  and 
instructors,  in  charge  of  workshops.  At  every  point  these  officers  are 
in  close  touch  with  the  boys  or  girls  in  their  charge,  slowly  getting  to 
know  them,  studying  their  individualities,  encouraging  what  is  good 
and  controlling  what  is  bad,  and  always  setting  an  example  of  firmness, 
fairness,  good  humour  and  upright  decency.  'The  silent  example  will 
appeal  where  often  the  reiterated  advice  will  only  annoy/  l 

The  Principal  Officers,  who  are  usually  attached  to  the  houses, 
assist  the  housemasters,  while  the  Chief  Officer  controls  the  whole  staff, 
arranges  their  duties,  and  by  example  and  precept  secures  the  maximum 
of  efficiency  with  the  minimum  of  friction. 

The  house  Matron  does  much  more  than  see  to  such  things  within 
her  sphere  as  the  care  of  clothing  and  meal  service — she  should  be  the 
'house  mother',  and  many  go  still  further  and  take  classes  in  crafts, 
music,  literature  or  wherever  their  special  interests  may  lie.  The  mere 
presence  about  the  house  of  the  right  sort  of  woman  has  a  sufficient 
value  of  its  own. 

The  housemaster  (an  Assistant  Governor  II)  is,  under  the  Governor, 
the  key-man  in  the  organisation.  He  is  responsible  not  only  for  the 
general  administration  of  his  house  as  a  self-contained  unit,  but  for 
the  personal  training  of  each  of  the  50-60  boys  in  the  house.  Each  house- 
master will  in  addition  usually  carry  some  institution  duty — such  as 
education,  sports  and  recreation,  employment  or  earnings — and  cor- 
porately,  with  the  Governor  and  Deputy  Governor,  they  will  form  the 
Institution  Board.  At  the  larger  Borstals  which  carry  a  Deputy  Gover- 
nor (Assistant  Governor  I)  he  will  generally  be  a  housemaster  with  an 
assistant  housemaster  to  help  him:  at  such  Borstals  too  the  housemaster 
charged  with  education  may  have  an  assistant — in  this  way  the  recruit 
1  Principles  of  the  Borstal  System,  p.  22. 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  365 

may  learn  his  work  before  he  takes  charge  of  a  house  himself.  At  most 
Borstals  the  Governor  begins  the  day  with  a  housemasters'  meeting,  at 
which  the  Chief  Officer  and  other  senior  officials  as  necessary  will  also 
be  present. 

The  arrangements  for  girls  are  the  same  in  principle  and  include 
women  officers  with  the  same  grades  and  functions  as  the  men.  The 
pattern  is  however  a  little  different  to  suit  the  particular  circumstances 
of  the  three  institutions.  Aylesbury  has  a  house  system,  but  East  Sutton 
is  a  single  unit  and  though  its  staff  conforms  in  grading  it  works,  under 
the  Governor,  as  a  'classless  society'  differentiated  not  by  rank  but  by 
function.  The  Recall  Centre  at  Exeter  is  in  charge  of  an  Assistant 
Governor  I,  with  an  Assistant  Governor  II  and  a  few  officers,  under 
the  general  control  of  the  Governor  of  the  combined  prison  and  Borstal. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  Borstal  staffs  there  are  at  all  the  larger 
farms  Farm  Bailiffs,  or  Garden  Managers,  and  farm  workers  of  various 
kinds,  who  work  with  the  boys  and  commonly  play  a  helpful  part  in 
their  training  in  their  own  way — a  way  that  may  often  do  something  for 
a  boy  that  could  not  come  so  easily  from  an  officer  of  the  regular  staff. 

(6)    THE  BORSTAL  POPULATION 

In  their  Annual  Reports  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  war  the  Com- 
missioners were  calling  attention  to  a  steep  rise  in  the  Borstal  popula- 
tion, which  by  the  end  of  1938  had  reached  over  2,100  in  the  male 
institutions.  In  September  1939,  'at  the  outbreak  of  war  the  Com- 
missioners were  required  to  discharge  forthwith  approximately  two- 
thirds  of  the  Borstal  population.  Those  released  were  the  seniors  in  the 
institutions,  and  with  them  disappeared  overnight  the  carefully  built- 
up  tradition  of  30  years'.  It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  the  Borstal  system 
has  even  yet  recovered  from  that  shock,  followed  as  it  was  by  the  loss 
to  military  service  of  a  high  proportion  of  its  trained  and  experienced 
staff.  The  difficulties  of  the  war  years  were  great,  but  they  were  intensi- 
fied when  in  1945  the  number  of  committals  to  Borstal,  already  greater 
than  in  1938  or  1939,  began  to  mount  even  faster:  in  that  year  they 
rose  from  1,386  (males)  to  2,166  and  remained  about  that  level  in  1946. 
So  long  as  hostilities  continued  there  was  no  possibility  of  increasing 
either  accommodation  or  staffs  to  meet  this  situation,  and  the  resulting 
conditions  raised  most  serious  difficulties,  so  that  in  their  Annual 
Report  for  1945  (p.  5)  the  Commissioners  recorded  that  towards  the 
end  of  the  year  they  had  'to  take  on  the  unprecedented  task  of  pro- 
ducing 6  more  Borstals  and  5  more  prisons  more  or  less  simultaneously'. 
In  the  subsequent  years  it  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  rebuild  the 
shattered  tradition  of  1939  in  a  vastly  expanded  system  and  with  a 
staff  of  whom  the  great  majority  had  only  joined  the  service  since  the 
war.  The  daily  average  population  in  those  years,  up  to  and  including 


366  YqUNG  OFFENDERS 

1950,  has  been  rather  less  than  3,000  boys  and  about  250  girls:  it  is 
noteworthy  that  the  effect  on  this  total  of  the  wider  qualifications  for 
Borstal  training  in  section  21  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  has  not 
so  far  been  significant. 

The  following  extracts  from  Table  XI  of  Appendix  8  of  the  Annual 
Report  for  1949  give  certain  statistical  information  in  respect  of 
receptions  during  1948: 

Borstal  Detention — Receptions  during  \  948 
Analysis  by  age  and  previous  convictions 


Age  on 
Conviction 

Total 

Males 

Females 

Previous 
Convictions 

Total 

Males 

Females 

16  years 

248 

237 

11 

None  known 

158 

136 

22 

17      , 

653 

634 

19 

One 

397 

355 

42 

18      , 

493 

444 

49 

Two 

398 

363 

35 

19      , 

350 

319 

31 

Three 

413 

390 

23 

20      , 

236 

214 

22 

Four 

296 

290 

6 

21-23  , 

135 

127 

8 

Five 

220 

211 

9 

Six  to  ten 

225 

222 

3 

Above  ten 

8 

8 

— 

Total 

2,115 

1,975 

140 

Total 

2,115 

1,975 

140 

Their  offences  were  as  follows : 

Indictable 
Against  the  person 
Against  property 
Frauds  and  false  pretences 
Forgery     . 
Other  indictable  offences 


Male      Female 


Non-indictable 


Totals 


Totals 


45 

3 

1,770 

94 

6 

2 

10 

4 

17 

4 

1,848 

107 

127 

33 

1,975 

140 

The  following  extract  from  the  Annual  Report  for  1950  of  the 
Governor  of  one  of  the  Reception  Centres  gives  a  further  useful  sample 
of  information : 

'723  lads  were  received  (for  the  first  time)  in  1950  and  of  these  270 
(37-3%)  had  been  at  Approved  Schools.  This  is  5%  less  than  in  1949. 
The  ages  of  lads  on  reception  were  16—7-3%,  17—32-9%,  18—27-3%, 
19—20%,  and  20—12%.  Lads  were  therefore  on  the  whole  much 
younger  than  in  1949  when  71%  were  over  18  years  of  age. 

4Of  the  723  receptions  50  (6-9%)  had  no  previous  convictions  and  45 
(6-2%)  had  been  convicted  more  than  6  times  previously.  Maxima  were 
at  2  previous  convictions  (20-2%)  and  3  previous  convictions  (19-5%). 


THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM  367 

'Only  4-6%  of  the  lads  had  had  previous  prison  sentences,  2  lads 
having  been  imprisoned  3  times.  This  compares  very  favourably  with 
1949  when  10%  had  served  sentences  of  imprisonment. 

'Some  of  the  causative  factors  in  the  delinquency  of  lads  were  again 
very  roughly  assessed  and  home  difficulties  appeared  to  be  of  the 
highest  significance.  The  death  of  a  parent  appeared  to  be  a  factor  in 
20-7%  of  the  cases,  separated  parents  in  11-3%,  illegitimacy  in  6-6%  and 
parental  mismanagement  in  22-8%.  4*1%  of  the  lads  appeared  to  have 
an  uncongenial  step-parent  and  in  2-6%  of  the  cases  a  parent  suffered 
from  some  specific  mental  trouble. 

'Other  environmental  factors  were  criminal  or  immoral  background 
(104%),  overcrowding  (4-6%),  Service  difficulties  (2-6%)  and  unemploy- 
ment (only  1-7%). 

'Some  of  the  constitutional  factors  were  subnormal  intelligence 
(5-5%),  subnormal  health  (5-3%),  undue  immaturity  (15-5%)  and  drink 
(5-1%).' 

It  may  be  hoped  that  our  knowledge  of  this  case  material  will  in  due 
course  be  increased,  since  in  1950,  following  the  power  given  in  the 
Criminal  Justice  Act  to  spend  public  funds  on  research,  the  Home  Office 
set  on  foot  a  project  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Hermann  Mannheim 
based  on  research  into  the  pre-sentence  and  post-discharge  records  of 
some  1,000  boys  who  had  passed  through  the  Borstal  Reception  Centres. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-TWO 
BORSTAL  TRAINING 


(1)    CHARACTER  TRAINING 

THIS  chapter  will  describe  various  aspects  of  the  system  of  train- 
ing which  today  implements  the  principles  set  out  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter.  But  the  task  is  not  easy.  All  the  parts  of  the  system 
form  an  integrated  whole,  and  are  not  easily  separated  for  convenient 
description:  this  section  heading  does  not  imply  that  the  other  sections 
are  not  equally  concerned  with  character  training.  Methods  are  fluid, 
and  what  is  done  one  way  today  may  be  done  quite  differently  tomorrow. 
And  above  all  they  are  elastic:  within  the  general  framework  of  the 
principles  and  the  Rules,  Governors  are  allowed,  indeed  encouraged, 
to  use  their  own  initiative  and  to  act — within  reason — according  to 
their  own  faith  and  personal  disposition.  In  a  system  which  relies 
primarily  on  personal  influence  those  exercising  that  influence  cannot 
be  required  to  use  slide-rule  methods.  So  even  within  one  Borstal 
housemasters  have  a  good  deal  of  latitude  to  run  their  houses  in  their 
own  ways.  So  too  each  member  of  the  staff  will  exercise  his  control  and 
impart  his  instruction  in  a  personal  relationship  varying  with  each  of 
the  varying  individuals  with  whom  he  must  deal. 

Of  that  first  principle  then,  personal  influence,  no  more  need  in 
general  be  said — it  must  permeate  the  whole  action  of  the  system 
through  every  member  of  the  staff.  But  the  subject  cannot  be  left 
without  a  special  reference  to  the  work  of  the  chaplain  and  the  doctor. 
In  all  Borstals  religion  is  'awarded  the  first  place  among  all  forms  of 
character  training',1  and  in  all  the  chaplain  is  in  a  position  to  bring  to 
bear  not  the  least  of  those  influences  which  make  for  the  development  of 
right  thought  and  feeling.  This  is  especially  so  in  the  few  larger  Borstals 
where  there  is  a  full-time  chaplain.  Nor  is  influence  of  this  sort  left 
only  to  the  chaplain,  though  it  is  for  him  to  give  systematic  instruction. 
On  Sundays  all  must  go  to  church,  and  in  the  open  Borstals  this  usually 
means  the  local  parish  church,  where  the  boys  or  girls  are  always 
*  Principles  of  the  Borstal  System,  p.  48. 
368 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  369 

welcome  members  of  the  congregation — indeed  in  more  than  one 
village  the  church  depends  largely  on  the  Borstal  for  organ-blowers, 
stokers,  bell-ringers  or  voices  in  the  choir.  What  has  been  said  of  the 
place  of  religion  in  prison  is  true  for  Borstal  too,  but  it  must  be  said 
that  the  ground  here  seems  even  stonier:  reports  by  Governors  and 
Chaplains  alike  make  it  all  too  clear  that  on  the  teachings  and  meaning 
of  Christianity  the  minds  of  mbst  of  those  who  come  to  Borstal  are 
quite  blank — the  idea  of  religion,  let  alone  its  practice,  has  never 
touched  them. 

Only  the  few  largest  Borstals  have  full-time  doctors,  but  these  have 
a  valuable  part  to  play  in  the  training,  as  well  as  in  the  care  of  health. 
They  are  of  particular  help  with  'problem'  boys  or  girls,  not  only  help- 
ing them  directly  but  helping  the  housemasters  by  talking  over  with 
them  difficult  cases.  They  do  not  practise  psychiatry  in  the  stricter 
sense,  but  their  skilled  approach  to  psychological  problems  is  of  great 
value. 

The  house  system  helps  to  intensify  personal  influence,  and  serves 
also  a  second  purpose,  that  of  bringing  into  play  the  corporate  spirit, 
the  public  opinion  of  the  boys  themselves,  which  may  be  even  more 
potent  than  that  of  the  staff.  In  some  houses  there  may  be  a  further 
division  into  groups,  each  group  with  its  own  'leader'.  But  groups  are 
not  essential  to  the  leader  system.  In  every  house  boys  who  have 
reached  a  certain  stage,  and  who  may— so  far  as  judgment  will  carry — 
be  trusted  to  exercise  a  good  and  helpful  influence  in  the  general  inter- 
ests of  the  house  and  the  preservation  of  a  right  'public  opinion',  are 
appointed  as  leaders.  This  is  part  of  the  training  in  responsibility. 
It  is  a  position  of  obligation  rather  than  of  privilege,  though  they  may 
wear  a  special  badge  and  have  perhaps  the  use  of  a  'leaders'  room'. 
They  have  no  disciplinary  powers. 

On  the  material  plane,  the  house  is  the  boy's  home,  where  he  sleeps, 
eats  and  passes  his  indoor  leisure,  and  from  which  he  goes  out  for 
work,  education,  sport  and  entertainment.  The  housemaster  and  his 
staff  stand  'in  loco  parentis'. 

A  dominating  factor  of  the  training  is  the  system  of  progressive 
grades.  Although  certain  specific  privileges  attach  to  the  higher  grades, 
the  system  is  not  to  be  thought  of  as  primarily  a  method  of  earning 
privileges.  Its  real  purpose  is  to  record  progress  in  the  attainment  of 
that  self-discipline  and  self-responsibility  which  must  reach  a  certain 
stage  before  the  boy  is  ready  for  discharge.  So  the  privileges  to  be  earned 
are  not,  for  the  most  part,  material  privileges :  they  are  rather  the  exten- 
sion of  trust  and  relaxation  of  institutional  control. 

There  is  no  prescribed  system  of  grades,  but  they  follow  a  general 
pattern.  Usually  there  are  three — the  first  or  beginners  grade  may  last 
for  4-6  months,  and  is  a  period  of  preliminary  training  and  observation. 
The  second  or  training  grade  is  indefinite  in  its  duration,  for  it  is  not 

E.P.B.S. — 24 


370  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

till  a  boy  begins  to  display  marked  response  to  his  training,  and  fitness 
to  be  trusted,  that  he  will  begin  to  be  considered  for  promotion  to  the 
third  or  special  grade.  Little  privilege  is  usually  attached  to  the  second 
grade,  except  perhaps  permission  to  join  certain  clubs,  or  the  Cadet 
Force,  or  occasionally  to  go  out  on  escorted  walks  or  trips.  In  the 
third  grade  a  boy's  status  changes  completely — he  may  become  a 
leader;  he  may  go  about  the  place  and  do  his  work  unsupervised;  join 
in  all  clubs  and  institution  activities;  go  for  walks  or  to  the  cinema  or 
to  a  local  youth  club  or  the  like  on  his  own,  or  in  charge  of  a  party 
of  junior  boys;  go  out  to  tea  with  his  parents  when  they  visit;  and  be- 
come eligible  for  home  leave.  The  list  is  illustrative  rather  than  ex- 
haustive, and  details  will  vary  from  place  to  place.  A  few  institutions 
add  a  'discharge  grade'  to  their  special  grade,  for  boys  whose  dates  of 
discharge  have  been  fixed,  reserving  for  them  the  greatest  freedom, 
sometimes  including  the  right  to  go  out  in  their  own  civilian  clothes. 

Promotion  in  grade  is  a  serious  business  and  receives  serious  atten- 
tion. It  is  made  by  the  Governor  on  the  advice  of  the  Institution  Board, 
over  which  he  presides.  This  will  comprise  the  housemasters  and  the 
chief  officer,  and  sometimes  the  principal  officers  who  are  primarily 
on  house  duties.  It  usually  meets  monthly,  and  considers  all  the  cases 
4in  the  field',  reading  or  hearing  reports  from  every  member  of  the 
staff  concerned  in  the  training  of  the  boy,  and  often  seeing  the  boy 
himself  for  a  frank  discussion  of  his  position. 

These  then  are  the  three  tried  and  traditional  methods  of  personal 
training — the  house,  leadership  and  progressive  grades:  but  they 
should  be  seen  rather  as  the  main  limbs  of  the  tree,  from  which  stem 
many  branches  varying  in  shape  and  fruit  with  the  institutional  tree 
from  which  they  spring.  Since  these  tend  on  the  whole  to  relate  to 
activities  which  may  be  brought  under  the  heading  of  'education  and 
recreation',  they  will  be  discussed  under  that  heading.  But  it  may  be 
said  here  that  their  broad  effects  on  training  are  to  increase  the  sense 
of  trust  and  responsibility,  to  create  a  diversity  of  healthy  interests 
related  to  normal  life,  to  counteract  'institutionalisation'  and  to  bring 
the  boys  and  girls  into  regular  touch  with  ordinary  people  leading 
ordinary  lives  who  by  treating  them  as  friends  will  give  them  confidence 
and  hope. 

The  last  test  and  privilege — for  it  is  both  in  one — is  home  leave. 
All  boys  and  girls  have  the  opportunity  once  during  their  training  to 
go  home  for  five  days :  this  is  done  under  a  statutory  power  to  release 
on  parole,1  which  may  also  be  used  exceptionally  for  other  purposes, 
e.g.  to  visit  sick  or  dying  relatives.  After  a  long  lapse  the  practice  was 
resumed  in  1947,  and  its  purpose,  value,  and  results  are  emphatically 

i  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  section  52  as  amended  by  Criminal  Justice  (Scotland) 
Act  1949,  llth  Schedule.  The  practice  was  followed  before  1949,  but  its  legality 
having  been  questioned,  the  hospitality  of  the  Scottish  Bill  was  sought  to  validate  it. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  371 

stated  in  the  following  extracts  from  Governors'  reports  published  in 
the  Annual  Report  for  1948. 

4 Generally  I  am  convinced  that  Home  Leave  is  extremely  valuable  and 
in  many  cases  has  been  the  making  of  some  of  our  lads.  Strained 
relations  with  parents  have  been  rectified,  especially  so  in  cases  where 
they  have  the  lads  back  for  a  few  days  just  to  see  what  they  are  like. 
Numerous  parents  have  written  saying  what  a  difference  they  notice  in 
their  lads.  It  does  too,  give  the  Probation  Officer  or  B.A.  Associate  a 
chance  to  have  a  look  at  them  a  few  months  prior  to  release  as  in  nearly 
all  cases  lads  go  along  to  see  their  prospective  supervisor.  Quite  a  few 
have  found  jobs  for  themselves  during  the  leave  and,  last  but  not  least, 
it  presents  them  with  an  opportunity  of  getting  to  know  the  conditions 
of  the  very  difficult  world  they  will  be  returning  to.' 

The  scheme  is  of  great  value,  particularly  in  that  it  allows  the  lad 
a  salutary  glimpse  of  the  reality  of  outside  conditions  and  dispels  some 
of  the  fancies  and  fantasies  born  of  life  in  a  closed  and  specialist 
community.' 

4Of  all  the  additional  forms  of  training  that  have  fully  come  into 
being  during  the  12  months,  I  consider  Home  Leave  one  of  the  most 
important.  142  inmates  have  been  recommended  and  sent  home,  and 
of  these,  all  with  the  exception  of  one  returned  to  the  Institution  to 
time,  having  as  far  as  one  may  judge,  used  their  leave  to  the  best 
advantage.  The  staff  are  all  of  the  opinion  that  this  very  natural  but 
hard  and  exacting  expression  of  trust  is  providing  a  most  useful  addition 
to  our  curriculum  of  training,  and  that  it  is  doing  much  to  help  lads  to 
see  themselves,  their  homes  and  the  outside  world  in  a  better  perspec- 
tive, and  also  that  they  have  a  much  better  understanding  towards 
their  training.  Must  we  not  always  remember  what  a  hard  test  we  are 
putting  them  to  in  allowing  this  leave,  and  be  grateful  to  them  for 
their  splendid  response  to  our  trust.' 

'On  several  occasions  leave  has  opened  a  lad's  eyes  to  Home  condi- 
tions and  has  given  him  food  for  thought  on  his  return  to  the  institution. 
Such  lads  have  discussed  their  home  problems  with  their  Housemaster, 
the  Borstal  Association  visitor,  and  have  tried  to  adjust  themselves 
mentally  to  the  conditions  they  will  live  under  on  discharge.  Apart 
from  these  most  useful  points,  Home  Leave  is  a  "high  spot"  in  Borstal 
life  and  a  welcome  addition  to  the  common  round  of  training.' 

'Some  of  the  most  unlikely  lads,  of  whom  the  Housemasters  and  I 
had  certain  doubts,  have  returned  punctually,  proud  that  they  have 
done  so.  This  is  possibly  the  first  act  in  their  lives  for  which  they  have 
had  cause  for  pride  and  the  novel  experience  may  be  said  to  open  up  a 
new  outlook  on  life  for  them.  To  my  mind  this  has  greater  importance 
than  the  more  obvious  advantages.' 


372  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

The  desire  to  be  included  in  the  list. for  Home  Leave  has  also  had  a 
marked  effect  on  the  behaviour  of  Special  Grade  lads.  They  have 
realised  that  only  by  retaining  their  Special  Grade  and  keeping  to  a 
good  standard  of  progress  are  they  likely  to  get  their  Home  Leave 
sooner  rather  than  later.' 

The  Commissioners  prescribe  no  special  time  at  which  the  leave  is 
to  be  granted,  but  Governors  tend  to  leave  it  till  a  boy  has  reached  the 
senior  grade,  when  it  has  the  added  value  of  serving  both  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  discharge  and  as  a  test  of  fitness.  In  special  cases,  where  it  may 
serve  a  useful  purpose  at  a  critical  point  of  training,  it  may  be  allowed 
earlier.  It  is  a  condition  that  there  should  be  a  suitable  home  to  go  to, 
and  the  Borstal  Division  of  the  Central  After-care  Association  report 
on  this  before  hand.  For  those  with  no  homes  or  unsuitable  homes, 
kind  friends  of  the  Borstal  often  provide  hospitality.  The  proportion 
failing  to  return  is  inconsiderable  compared  with  the  advantages  of  the 
scheme. 

Although  the  foregoing  has  been  written  mainly  in  the  masculine 
gender,  it  may  be  taken  to  apply  also  to  the  girls — at  least  to  those  at 
Aylesbury — with  but  slight  variations,  one  being  that  the  system  of 
leaders  is  not  found  to  be  suitable,  or  at  least  not  in  so  formal  a  way. 
At  the  open  Borstal  at  East  Sutton,  however,  with  its  carefully  chosen 
population  of  under  60,  they  manage  things  quite  differently.  There 
are  no  houses  and  grades  are  used  merely  as  an  indication  of  progress 
towards  discharge;  but  there  is  a  much  stronger  training  in  individual 
responsibility  amounting  almost  to  a  system  of  'self-government',  with 
the  minimum  of  direction  and  supervision  by  the  staff.  'The  aim 
throughout  has  been  to  establish  a  working  democracy  with  which 
every  girl  and  every  member  of  the  staff  could  identify  herself,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  future  developments  it  can  be  said  that  this  aim 
has  been  reached.' l 

It  may  here  be  added  by  way  of  footnote  that  'self-government'  in  our 
Borstals,  with  this  exception,  has  scarcely  attempted  to  establish  itself. 
In  one  other  Borstal  only,  since  the  war,  has  a  sustained  experiment 
along  these  lines  been  attempted,  based  on  a  system  of  house  com- 
mittees and  an  institution  committee.  On  this  the  Governor  is  quoted 
in  the  Annual  Report  for  1948  as  follows:  'My  last  observation  is  on 
the  Committee  system.  I  am  sure  that  the  introduction  of  the  Com- 
mittees has  had  a  profound  effect  upon  the  discipline  of  the  place.  House 
staffs  are  brought  face  to  face  with  their  lads  week  by  week.  A  good 
Housemaster  takes  his  place  simply  as  a  member  of  the  committee, 
leaving  the  chair  and  the  secretaryship  to  lads.  No  topic  is  barred,  full 
minutes  are  kept,  and  in  good  hands  public  opinion  is  moulded  and 
mutual  trust  and  respect  strengthened.  When  the  four  elected  members 

1  Annual  Report  1947,  p.  60. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  373 

from  each  house  meet  centrally  as  a  committee  I  take  my  place  as  a 
committee  member  with  a  lad  in  the  chair  and  a  lad  as  secretary. 
This  committee  deals  with  matters  above  house  level.  Inevitably  there 
are  many  matters  over  which  the  committee  has  no  control  but  I 
endeavour  to  explain  frankly  what  the  position  is  and  we  begin  to 
understand  quarterly  estimates,  annual  estimates,  grants  for  this,  that 
and  the  other  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  need  to  stand  well  with 
our  neighbours.'  Although  the  subject  has  been  discussed  with  sym- 
pathy and  interest  by  the  Governors  in  conference,  other  Governors 
have  not  so  far  been  disposed  to  follow  this  lead.  At  all  Borstals, 
however,  the  boys  take  a  good  deal  of  responsibility  in  the  management 
of  their  sports  and  social  clubs  and  other  such  matters. 

(2)  WORK 

The  basis  and  back-bone  of  the  Borstal  day  is  eight  hours  solid 
work,  for  if  there  is  one  thing  that  characterises  the  shiftless  lads  who 
drift  into  Borstal  it  is  that  hard  and  honest  work  is  what  they  will  not 
do.  There  may  well  be  more  than  one  way  of  approaching  this,  as  the 
'Principles'  put  it,  'very  wonderful  transformation  that  is  to  be  accom- 
plished'. The  emphasis  there  was  laid  on  work  itself  as  the  homoeopathic 
cure,  with  the  intention  that  the  boy  'by  the  end  of  his  training  must 
have  become  so  industrious  that  he  will  be  able  to  keep  any  sort  of 
job,  however  laborious  and  monotonous  it  may  be.  ...  Many  were 
born  to  be  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water.  . . .  For  them  labour- 
ing work,  arduous  and  continuous,  is  the  best  preparation  for  the  life 
that  ensues.  ...  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Borstal  officer  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  work,  not  because  it  is  easy  or  healthy  or  interesting,  but 
because  it  is  the  condition  of  an  honest  life.' 

The  truth  of  much  of  this  cannot  be  denied.  These  boys  must  learn 
how  to  work  hard,  and  above  all  they  must  learn  to  stick  to  a  job — 
all  too  characteristic  was  the  boy  who,  asked  by  his  Governor  how 
many  jobs  he  had  had  before  his  last,  replied  with  cheerful  pride, 
'Forty-eight,  sir'.  The  disposition  to  throw  up  his  job  the  moment  he 
feels  'browned  off'  is  the  thing  to  be  fought  first  and  foremost  in  the 
training  of  such  lads  as  this. 

Nevertheless,  the  emphasis  in  recent  years  has  shifted  a  little  from 
the  arduous  doctrine  of  the  Principles.  It  is  important  not  only  that 
boys  should  be  made  to  work  hard  and  consistently,  but  that  they 
should  be  brought  to  see  that  it  is  good  to  do  this,  so  that  they  will 
seriously  want  to  go  on  doing  it  when  they  go  out.  While  this  frame  of 
mind  should  be  induced  by  the  whole  of  the  training,  it  is  unlikely  to 
be  attained  if  his  Borstal  work  never  comes  to  mean  more  to  him  than 
an  irksome  daily  grind — his  reaction  to  this  on  release  may  be  quite 
the  contrary  of  'becoming  so  industrious  that  he  will  be  able  to  keep 


374  YOUNG   OFFENDERS 

any  sort  of  job'.  Every  effort  therefore  is  now  made  to  enlist  'the 
discipline  of  interest',  and  to  see  that  the  work  is  obviously  purposeful 
and  well  organised.  As  an  example,  the  sea-marsh  reclamation  at 
North  Sea  Camp,  which  before  the  war  was  done  entirely  by  hand,  is 
now  done  much  more  efficiently  and  quickly  with  certain  mechanical 
aids:  it  is  still  hard  and  heavy  work,  but  not  more  so  than  it  must  be, 
and  the  boys  saw  the  difference. 

The  Principles,  while  not  ignoring  the  desirability  of  trade  training 
for  those  with  the  necessary  aptitude,  did  not  give  it  primary  import- 
ance. The  first  purpose  of  the  shops  must  necessarily  be  to  instruct, 
for  the  Institution  is  a  State  Reformatory  and  not  a  State  Factory,  and 
its  object  is  to  make  men  rather  than  money.  It  is,  however,  a  truism 
among  those  who  have  had  experience  of  industrial  training  that  the 
apprentice  must  receive  his  instruction,  not  in  the  academic  atmosphere 
of  the  classroom  or  the  laboratory,  but  in  the  busy  workshop  whose 
atmosphere  is  saturated  with  the  spirit  of  production.  We  cannot 
teach  a  lad  to  lay  bricks  by  building  a  surplus  wall  and  pulling  it  down 
again,  or  train  him  to  be  a  machinist  in  a  shop  where  time  and  material 
are  alike  unchecked,  and  the  tension  of  having  to  produce  so  much  in 
so  short  a  time  or  lose  the  job,  is  altogether  absent.'  Again  there  is 
sound  truth  behind  this  statement,  but  it  is  now  felt  not  to  be  the  whole 
truth.  Much  more  effort  is  devoted  to  reducing  to  a  minimum  those 
who  must  be  deemed  to  be  'hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water',  and 
to  providing  for  the  others  a  sound  training  in  a  skilled  trade,  even 
though  that  does  involve  building  walls  and  pulling  them  down  again . 

A  digression  is  necessary  here  to  explain  the  present  system  of 
'vocational  training'  and  its  shortcomings  in  so  far  as  it  seeks  to  give  a 
boy  a  trade  which  he  can  hope  to  practise  after  release.  In  the  penal 
systems  of  countries  more  fortunately  placed  in  this  respect,  it  is 
possible  for  a  young  person  in  a  youth  prison  or  reformatory  to  take  a 
full  apprenticeship  course  in  a  trade,  to  complete  one  started  before 
arrest,  or  to  complete  after  discharge  a  course  started  in  prison.  In  any 
of  these  events,  he  takes  the  normal  examination  held  for  that  trade 
by  the  State  or  Guild  authority,  and  receives  the  normal  certificate 
issued  by  the  authority  bearing  no  trace  of  the  fact  that  the  course  was 
taken  in  prison.  The  writer  has  since  the  late  war  personally  observed 
these  arrangements,  and  noted  their  value  with  envy,  in  the  United 
States,  Switzerland  and  Germany.  No  doubt  they  obtain  in  other 
countries  which  have  apprenticeship  schemes  organised  on  this  basis. 

In  England,  however,  the  apprenticeship  system  is  quite  otherwise — 
or  at  least  in  the  trades  with  which  we  have  so  far  been  concerned  in 
Borstals.  It  calls  for  no  specific  course  of  training  and  requires  no 
examination,  but  it  does  require  that  the  young  person  should  serve 
from  the  age  of  16  to  21  in  the  trade.  Every  effort  has  been  made  to 
obtain  recognition  of  the  training  given  in  a  Borstal  as  counting  towards 


BORSTAL  TRAINING 


375 


an  apprenticeship,  but  so  far  without  result,  though  the  negotiations 
still  fcdrag  their  slow  length  along'.  So  a  Borstal  boy,  who  has  probably 
learned  more  in  a  year's  intensive  instruction  and  practical  work  than 
he  would  in  three  years'  work  as  a  boy  in  the  trade,  can  only  go  out 
with  a  certificate  that  he  has  completed  a  course  of  theoretical  and 
practical  training  in  such-and-such  a  Borstal.  Whether  this  document 
will  get  him  a  job  of  any  sort  in  the  trade  depends  on  local  circum- 
stances and  the  discretion  with  which  it  is  used:  towards  recognition 
as  a  tradesman  it  will  probably  be  useless.  Indeed  it  is  not  given  to  the 
boy  at  all,  but  sent  direct  to  the  Borstal  After-care  Division  to  use  in 
his  interests  at  discretion. 

Pending  a  solution  of  these  difficulties,  the  Commissioners  decided  as 
a  pis  aller  to  base  vocational  training  on  the  6  months'  courses  intro- 
duced by  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service  during  the  war 
for  the  training  of  ex-servicemen  in  various  skilled  trades.  With  the 
co-operation  of  the  Ministry  their  syllabus  for  each  selected  trade  was 
applied  under  the  direction  of  a  qualified  officer  or  of  a  skilled  crafts- 
man recruited  direct  as  a  trade  instructor. 

At  the  end  of  1950  the  number  of  such  classes  in  operation,  and  the 
trades  taught,  were  as  follows: 


Carpentry     . 

Woodworking  Machinists 

Motor  Mechanics 

Sheet  Metal  work 

Farming 

Bricklaying  . 

Painting 

Blacksmith  . 

Engineering  Fitters 

Boot  and  Shoe  making  and  Repairing 

Cookery 

Horticulture . 


6 

5 

4 

1 

9 

10 

10 

3 

2 

2 

12 

5 

69 


The  number  of  boys  under  training  in  these  classes  was  about  600. 
The  normal  size  of  a  class  is  about  twelve. 

The  system,  which  is  under  the  control  of  the  Senior  Vocational 
Training  Officer  and  his  assistants  at  the  Head  Office,  begins  with  the 
findings  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Officer  at  the  Reception  Centre, 
which  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  authorities  of  the  training  Borstal. 

The  courses  include  both  theoretical  and  practical  training.  Many 
boys  who  could  do  well  on  the  practical  side  are  handicapped  by  in- 
adequate education  on  the  theoretical  side,  and  much  is  done  both  to 
link  up  trade  training  with  evening  education  and  to  provide  'pre- 
vocational  training'  courses  to  fill  these  educational  gaps.  The  examina- 
tions are  necessarily  internal  but  are  centrally  controlled  to  ensure  a 
good  and  common  standard.  In  1950  a  start  was  made  in  linking  the 


376  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

courses  with  an  external  examination  (the  Intermediate  City  of  London 
and  Guilds)  and  a  few  passes  were  obtained.  This  arrangement,  if  it 
can  be  successfully  developed,  may  go  some  way  towards  filling  the  gap 
left  by  the  peculiarities  of  our  apprenticeship  system. 

On  completion  of  his  course,  the  trainee  will  be  passed  on  to 
practical  work  in  the  trade  for  the  rest  of  his  institutional  training: 
indeed  in  many  of  the  courses  practical  work  will  be  interspersed  with 
the -normal  run  of  the  syllabus.  One  interesting  development  may  be 
noted  here.  To  secure  a  practical  follow-up  for  boys  trained  in  motor 
mechanics,  arrangements  have  been  made  at  one  Borstal  for  their 
employment  as  ordinary  wrorkers  in  local  garages,  returning  to  the 
Borstal  in  the  evening:  this  may  be  the  thin  end  of  a  very  useful  wedge. 
It  may  be  that  in  future  training  and  production  will  be  integrated  in 
the  Borstals  as  in  the  'industrial  training'  system  now  used  in  prisons: 
change  awaits  some  definite  outcome  of  the  negotiations  about 
apprenticeship. 

Another  aspect  of  our  contemporary  life  tends  to  obscure  the  purely 
vocational  value  of  this  training — the  majority  of  the  boys  go  direct 
from  their  Borstals  to  their  national  service  in  the  Armed  Forces.1 

It  is  fortunate  therefore  that  this  system  has  more  to  commend  it 
than  its  actual  vocational  value  on  release.  These  other  values  have 
been  well  expressed  by  various  Governors  in  comments  published  in 
the  Annual  Reports  for  1948  and  1949,  as  follows: 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  great  value  of  trade  training  nor  of  its 
incidental  character  training.  Indeed,  for  some  lads,  the  effect  of  the 
discipline  of  study  and  practice  on  their  character  outweighs  even  the 
vocational  value  of  the  course.' 

'Though  the  courses  are  of  the  greatest  value  as  instruments  of 
training  because  they  give  lads  in  them  an  objective  and  a  definite  and 
interesting  form  of  daily  work,  I  believe  that  it  will  be  found  that  few 
of  those  who  have  passed  through  the  courses  will  take  up  the  same 
type  of  work  in  ordinary  life.  This  is  partly  due  to  the  break  which 
occurs  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  between  leaving  and  taking  up 
civilian  work  because  army  service  supervenes.' 

'Reviewing  the  past  20  years  of  Borstal  Training  in  trades  and  the 
establishment  of  these  Vocational  Trade  Training  Courses,  one  cannot 
but  be  glad  of  them.  They  fill  a  need  and  provide  an  aim  for  more  lads 
than  ever  before,  and  create  a  variety  of  interest  in  the  Institution  that 
lightens  the  atmosphere  and  gives  a  more  purposeful  air  to  the  week's 
work.' 

'Of  the  lads  who  have  passed  out  of  the  Painters  and  Decorators  V.T. 
Course,  about  70  per  cent  have  been  up  to  Improver's  Standard,  a 

1  In  1951  the  C.A.C.A.  estimated  that  approximately  half  the  boys  trained  in  a 
trade  who  do  not  go  into  the  Forces  follow  their  trades  on  release. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  377 

satisfactory  result  when  one  considers  the  apparently  unpromising 
human  material  with  which  each  course  started.  This  Course,  and  the 
influence  of  the  Instructor,  has  a  marked  moral  effect  on  some  of  the 
most  difficult  lads.  There  have  even  been  cases  of  lads,  whom  even  their 
Housemasters  have  considered  almost  hopeless,  who  have  volunteered 
to  stay  in  the  Institution  beyond  what  would  have  been  their  discharge 
date  in  order  to  complete  the  Course.' 

*I  am  convinced  that,  apart  from  any  utilitarian  advantage  derived 
from  teaching  a  lad  a  trade  and  giving  him  the  knowledge  and  skill  to 
earn  his  living,  the  Trade  Training  Classes  are  immensely  useful  in 
keeping  lads  contented,  happy,  and  fully  occupied  during  their  Borstal 
training  and  are  educational  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  word.' 

'I  think  I  can  say  that  all  the  work  is  purposeful.  It  is  not  all  obviously 
designed  for  fitting  a  boy  for  discharge.  I  record  my  firm  conviction 
that  the  introduction  of  trade  training  in  its  present  form  has  done 
more  to  convince  the  boy  of  our  intentions  than  any  other  piece  of 
training.  Even  those  who  are  not  actively  engaged  on  the  classes 
recognise  this  fact.' 

Apart  from  the  trade  training,  the  work  is  all  useful  and  purposeful, 
once  a  boy  has  got  through  his  beginner's  stage  of  domestic  chores — 
and  these  too  have  to  be  done  by  some  one.  The  various  wood  and 
metal  work  shops  turn  out  high  quality  work;  large  numbers  are  em- 
ployed on  skilled  jobs  with  the  Works  Department,  often  including  the 
building  of  staff  quarters  and  other  major  works;  and  some  hundreds 
will  at  most  seasons  be  working  on  the  institution  farms  and  gardens 
or  for  neighbouring  farmers.  The  kitchens  and  bakeries  too  provide 
excellent  training,  with  special  courses  and  examinations  from  which 
certificates  can  be  gained.  Except  at  North  Sea  Camp  and  Gringley, 
the  special  features  of  which  have  already  been  described,  no  Borstal 
is  now  purely  agricultural  in  its  interests. 

The  girls  do  not  conform  very  closely  with  this  picture.  Work  will 
not  form  the  basis  of  their  after-life  in  the  same  way  as  for  boys :  for 
the  most  part,  they  think  of  it  as  a  means  of  earning  enough  to  provide 
a  good  time  and  a  good  appearance  on  the  way  to  marriage,  and  little 
more.  They  are  not  seriously  interested.  Nevertheless,  advice  has  been 
taken  as  to  possible  trades  in  which  they  could  be  given  vocational 
training,  but  without  result.  Even  had  such  trades  been  forthcoming, 
the  chances  are  that  most  of  them  would  have  gone  into  simple  repeti- 
tive factory  work  for  higher  pay  at  the  first  opportunity.  Work  therefore 
centres  round  the  domestic  crafts — dressmaking,  laundering,  cooking, 
housework,  farms  and  gardens,  though  in  these  the  girls  are  given  a 
thorough  training  which  will  equip  them  not  only  to  get  good  work 
but  to  run  good  homes.  At  Aylesbury  there  is  also  a  workshop,  now 
devoted  to  dismembering  telephone  and  other  such  equipment:  this  is 


378  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

quite  useful  and  interesting  work,  requiring  some  care  and  skill,  but  it 
is  sad  to  remember  that  during  the  war  the  shop  was  used  for  assembling 
complete  wireless  sets. 

East  Sutton  also  concentrates,  in  a  more  homely  atmosphere,  on  the 
domestic  crafts.  The  girls  also  take  a  good  deal  of  pride  in  their  ability 
to  help  the  Engineer  in  almost  any  kind  of  works  job  about  the  place, 
whether  as  electricians,  bricklayers  or  carpenters :  there  is  little  need  to 
import  masculine  labour  here.  There  are  extensive  market  gardens  run 
on  a  highly  skilled  basis,  and  a  growing  farm,  while  many  of  the  girls 
work  regularly  for  the  neighbouring  farmers  alongside  their  usual 
workers. 


(3)    EDUCATION  AND  RECREATION 

Although  education  plays  a  large  and  valuable  part  in  Borstal 
training,  so  much  that  has  already  been  said  about  education  in  prisons 
is  equally  applicable  that  a  few  notes  on  particularities  will  suffice. 
The  system  is  based  on  the  recommendations  of  the  Education  Advisory 
Committee,  and  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Local  Education  Authori- 
ties, who  now  provide  a  full-time  teacher  at  most  of  the  Borstals  to  take 
general  responsibility.  Every  boy  or  girl  is  required  to  spend  at  least 
6  hours  a  week  in  evening  education;  while  for  the  backward  and 
illiterate  education  forms  part  of  the  normal  working  day,  2  hours  each 
morning  being  usual.  Technical  and  other  correspondence  courses  are 
also  used,  and  courses  are  sometimes  taken  at  local  technical  schools. 
The  provision  for  vocational  education  has  already  been  mentioned. 

As  in  the  prisons,  education  shades  imperceptibly  through  art  classes, 
handicrafts,  play  readings,  musical  appreciation  and  the  like  into 
recreation.  Every  institution  is  likely  to  have  its  clubs  for  producing 
live  art — an  Amateur  Dramatic  Society  or  a  Music  Society — its  Wireless 
or  Gramophone  Club,  or  even  at  one  boys'  Borstal  a  Television  Club. 
Many  Governors  have  noted  the  enthusiasm  for  good  music  which  can 
be  aroused  among  young  people  who  have  never  yet  heard  anything 
but  'boogie-woogie'.  It  would  take  much  space  to  record  the  fertile 
variety  of  expedients  used  by  Borstal  staffs  to  awaken  and  encourage 
interest  in  any  and  every  rewarding  aspect  of  art  and  nature. 

Two  regular  forms  of  activity  of  a  quasi-educational  nature  are  the 
Young  Farmers'  Clubs  and  the  Cadet  Forces,  both  of  which  have  the 
added  value  of  linking  the  boys — and  in  the  case  of  the  farmers  the 
girls  too — with  other  young  people  engaged  in  similar  activities.  At 
every  Borstal  with  a  substantial  farm  there  is  a  branch  of  the  national 
Young  Farmers'  Clubs  linked  with  the  county  organisation,  in  which 
the  Borstal  branch  often  comes  to  play  a  prominent  part — in  one  year 
one  Borstal  provided  a  prize-winning  team  for  the  county,  another  the 
local  chairman,  in  this  case  'Madam  Chair'.  The  Cadet  Forces  exist 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  379 

only  at  those  Borstals  taking  younger  boys  who  will  go  into  the  forces 
on  discharge,  and  they  are  a  great  help  in  giving  the  boys  confidence 
and  a  good  start  in  their  service  life.  Generally,  thanks  to  the  devotion 
of  the  Borstal  officers  who,  as  Cadet  Officers,  give  their  time  to  this 
training,  they  reach  a  standard  which  brings  credit  on  their  Borstal  in 
competition  with  other  companies,  and  is  of  some  value  to  the  morale 
of  the  whole  institution.  The  following  report  from  a  Governor,  quoted 
in  the  Annual  Report  for  1948,  is  typical: 

The  Company  of  Army  Cadets  has  been  a  distinct  success  and,  I 
believe,  has  added  to  the  general  morale  of  the  whole  institution.  They 
are  smart  and  well  disciplined,  and  have  developed  a  sense  of  loyalty 
and  esprit  de  corps  that  is  most  encouraging.  Their  Borstal  training 
and  physique  provides  a  standard  second  to  none  in  the  Battalion  and 
the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Battalion  is  extremely  pleased  with  the 
whole  set  up.  18  ranks  attended  the  annual  camp  near  Aldershot  for  a 
week:  the  Guard  of  Honour  was  formed  by  lads  from  this  institution 
and  were  personally  congratulated  by  Lord  Montgomery:  they  took 
part  in  everything  that  was  going  on  in  the  camp  and  behaved  as 
ordinary  decent  lads  and  good  soldiers  in  the  making.  Their  conduct 
and  trustworthiness  was  beyond  reproach,  in  fact,  I  am  told  they  set 
a  most  excellent  standard  in  every  way.' 

Sport  is  another  channel  which  brings  boys  and  girls  alike  into 
healthy  contact  with  other  young  people.  Borstal  football,  cricket, 
net-ball  and  tennis  teams  often  do  well  in  the  local  Leagues,  and  some 
of  them  in  local  athletics  as  well. 

'In  June  we  joined  with  the  local  Youth  Organisations  in  a  combined 
Sports  Day  and  an  excellent  afternoon's  sport  was  enjoyed  by  all. 
Several  of  our  lads  won  their  events,  going  on  to  compete  and  represent 
the  District  in  the  County  finals.  One  lad  came  first  in  the  mile  race 
and  the  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  received  from  the  County 
Youth  Organiser: 

'  "I  feel  that  I  must  write  you  concerning  the  participation  of  your 
boys  in  the  sports  on  Saturday  last.  I  must  congratulate  them  on  the 
excellent  manner  in  which  they  contested  the  various  events  and  I 
had  great  personal  satisfaction  on  congratulating  young  ...  on  his 
success  in  the  mile. 

'  "Several  of  the  County  Committee  members  were  very  impressed 
with  the  conduct  and  general  bearing  of  your  boys  and  I  can  only 
hope  that  your  co-operation  in  this  direction  will  be  continued  in 
future  years." 

'The  Institution  joined  the  Youth  Club  Table  Tennis  League,  and 
played  28  games.  Fourteen  of  these  were  away  matches,  played  at 
Clubs  most  of  which  were  part  of  a  larger  organisation. 


380  YOUNG   OFFENDERS 

There  was  free  association  with  other  members,  some  of  whom 
were  girls  from  the  age  of  16  upwards.  The  general  standard  of 
behaviour  of  the  lads  was  excellent  and  they  fitted  in  remarkably  well. 

'Several  cross-country  runs  were  arranged  between  the  institution, 
the  Army  and  the  Grammar  School.  Although  we  did  not  win  any  of 
these  matches,  the  spirit  of  the  contests  was  good.  Regular  football 
matches  were  played  each  week  with  Youth  Clubs,  local  works'  teams 
and  Football  clubs.  The  standard  of  play  and  sportsmanship  of  the 
institution  1st,  2nd,  and  3rd  elevens  has  done  much  to  give  us  a  good 
name.'  (Annual  Reports  for  1949  and  1948.) 

Another  regular  break  is  camp — holiday  camps  of  all  kinds,  week- 
end camps,  weeks  by  the  sea,  weeks  on  a  farm  helping  to  get  in  the 
harvest,  week-ends  with  undergraduates  or  Brothers  of  St.  Francis, 
even  one  with  'pot-holers  and  cavers'.  These  serve  not  only  as  a  refresh- 
ing break  in  institution  life,  and  a  meeting-ground  with  new  friends 
and  faces,  but  they  enable  the  staff  and  the  boys  to  get  to  know  each 
other  on  much  more  revealing  terms. 

Then  there  is  a  variety  of  activities  specifically  directed  to  'de- 
institutionalisation'  and  the  making  of  normal  social  contacts.  Apart 
from  country  rambles  and  visits  to  places  of  local  interest,  trips  to  the 
town  for  shopping,  the  cinema,  or  a  football  match  and  so  forth,  most 
institutions  organise  some  regular  social  contacts  with  neighbouring 
youth.  Some  link  up  with  local  Youth  Clubs,  others  are  adopted  by 
Toe  H,  some  run  an  occasional  dance,  and  one  'closed'  institution 
has  started  its  own  Youth  Club,  described  by  the  Governor  as  follows : 

'The  Compass  Club  was  opened  in  July  and  caters  for  about  80 
Special  Grade  lads.  It  is  managed  by  an  outside  Leader  provided  by 
the  Education  Committee.  It  is  run  just  the  same  as  an  ordinary  Youth 
Club  outside  and  has  the  same  facilities.  Contacts  have  been  made  with 
outside  clubs  and  social  functions  have  been  held.  Whist  Drives,  Dances 
and  Concerts  are  well  attended  and  valuable  outside  contacts  have  been 
formed.  The  conduct  of  the  members  generally  has  been  extremely 
satisfactory:  up  to  date  only  one  expulsion  has  been  enforced.  The 
equipment  has  so  far  not  been  mishandled  but  treated  with  the  utmost 
respect.  I  wouldn't  say  that  bad  language  has  been  completely  elimin- 
ated but  from  the  many  female  helpers  who  visit  the  club  I  have  had 
nothing  but  praise  for  the  lads'  behaviour  and  courtesy  shown  to  them. 
I  believe  that  if  we  can  inculcate  a  desire  for  club  life  and  a  sense  of 
loyalty  and  responsibility  to  the  other  members,  Leaders  and  the  club, 
then  the  crave  for  pin-table  saloons,  undesirable  dance  and  billiard 
halls  and  street  corners  may  disappear.' 

All  these  multifarious  activities,  it  must  be  remembered,  take  place 
in  the  leisure  time  of  the  boys  and  girls  when  their  work  and  education 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  381 

are  done,  and  all  form  a  valuable  part  of  their  social  training.  Not  less 
valuable  is  the  spirit  of  good-neighbourliness  which  they  foster  between 
a  Borstal  and  those  who  live  around  it,  a  spirit  essential  to  the  effective 
working  of  such  an  institution.  Much  gratitude  is  due  to  all  these  good 
neighbours  and  friends  who  do  not  pass  by  on  the  other  side,  but  gladly 
expend  time  and  spirit  in  helping  Ho  save  the  young  and  careless  from 
a  wasted  life  of  crime'. 

(4)  DISCIPLINE 

Discussion  of  discipline  in  Borstal  institutions  must  import  more 
than  an  interpretation  of  the  Statutory  Rules  dealing  with  offences  and 
punishments :  the  first  thing  is  to  understand  what,  in  Borstal  training, 
discipline  means.  The  importance  of  such  an  understanding  has  been 
emphasised  by  certain  observations  in  the  report,  published  in  June 
1951,  of  the  Departmental  Committee  to  Review  Punishments  in 
Prisons  and  Borstal  Institutions.  The  Committee  based  these  observa- 
tions on  their  conclusion  that  there  existed  in  Borstals  what  they 
described  as  'a  policy  of  leniency',  and,  on  the  basis  of  certain  evidence 
given  before  them  and  of  their  personal  observation  of  the  demeanour 
of  certain  Borstal  boys,  they  stated  'that  discipline  in  general  requires 
tightening,  even  at  the  cost  of  an  increase  in  punishments,  and  that  the 
policy  of  leniency,  appeasement,  or  soft  treatment  as  at  present  inter- 
preted is  not  having  the  success  expected  or  desired'  (para.  33). 

Since  the  Prison  Commissioners  did  not  accept  the  existence  either 
of  this  'policy  of  leniency'  or  of  the  deterioration  in  discipline  believed 
to  have  resulted  from  it,  the  present  account  must  proceed  on  the  basis 
of  what  has  hitherto  been  the  declared  policy  of  the  Commissioners, 
leaving  its  effect  as  sub  judice  pending  any  further  official  pronounce- 
ment. For  this  policy  we  must  again  go  to  the  Principles,  which  opened 
the  chapter  dealing  with  discipline  as  follows : 

'There  can  be  few  words  so  frequently  used,  but  in  so  many  different 
senses,  as  the  word  "discipline".  There  is  a  form  of  discipline  in  the 
army,  another  in  the  navy,  a  third  in  a  school,  a  fourth  in  the  factory 
and  so  on.  Each  section  of  the  community  has  its  own  form  of  disci- 
pline, and  is  frequently  under  a  dangerous  illusion  that  this  is  discipline, 
and  that  any  other  form  is  an  inferior  imitation.  The  real  fact  is,  of 
course,  that  discipline  is  the  first  condition  of  life  in  a  civilised  com- 
munity, and  without  it  chaos  must  ensue.  Each  community,  according 
to  its  size  or  nature,  ultimately  discovers  and  adopts  the  form  of  disci- 
pline most  appropriate  to  it.  We  therefore  in  our  Borstal  Institutions 
must  have  our  own  brand  of  discipline  appropriate  to  our  needs. 

'In  its  simplest  form,  discipline  is  a  mere  obedience  to  orders.  That 
is  where  it  starts,  and  unless  the  basis  is  secure,  and  every  order  given 


382  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

by  those  in  authority  is  obeyed  with  alacrity  and  without  question,  no 
superstructure  can  be  built.  But  the  higher  manifestations  of  discipline 
advance  far  from  this  simple  beginning.  The  most  highly  disciplined 
form  of  society  is  that  where  every  man  is  free,  and  his  every  act,  free 
and  unbidden,  contributes  to  the  good  of  the  community.'  Later  we 
find:  'Order  is  kept  now  not  by  the  mere  weight  of  authority,  but  by 
the  use  of  control,  a  far  more  difficult  power  to  acquire  than  mere 
authority,  on  the  part  of  the  Officer,  and  the  growth  of  consent  among 
the  lads.  This  is  a  far  higher  standard  of  discipline  to  have  attained 
than  that  of  years  ago. 

'It  must  be  said  again  that,  if  the  Institution  is  to  train  lads  for  free- 
dom, it  cannot  train  them  in  an  atmosphere  of  captivity  and  repression. 
They  must  learn  to  exercise  aright  their  power  to  choose.  If  they  are 
forever  forced  by  weight  of  numbers  to  do  right,  their  faculty  to  choose 
will  atrophy,  and  on  discharge  they  will  wait  for  promptings  from 
without  because  there  is  no  voice  from  within.  In  the  Institutions,  there- 
fore, we  must  have  a  form  of  discipline  which  exacts  something  from 
the  lad,  fostering  the  will  to  do  well,  putting  it  up  to  him  to  choose  right, 
not  forcing,  through  fear  of  punishment,  the  right  choice  upon  him.  .  .  . 

'It  may  be  argued,  with  some  show  of  reason,  that  this  is  no  doubt 
a  good  way  of  running  a  lads'  club,  but  can  hardly  be  applied  to  a 
Borstal  Institution,  composed  of  three  or  four  hundred  young  criminals, 
very  different  from  the  average  member  of  a  club.  The  difference, 
indeed,  exists.  The  Officer,  mindful  of  it,  will  be  led  by  common  sense 
and  experience  to  take  certain  precautions  which  he  would  neglect  in  a 
lads'  club.  But  if  a  Borstal  Officer  is  to  make  the  most  of  his  lads,  he 
will  keep  his  caution  in  the  background,  and  treat  them  generally  as 
though  they  were  members  of  his  club.  If  he  is  constantly  thinking  of 
them  as  young  criminals,  they  will  so  think  of  themselves.  There  is  no 
telepathy  more  sure  and  rapid  than  the  perception  of  attitude.  If, 
however,  an  Officer  can,  without  losing  his  balance,  control  and  com- 
mon sense,  treat  his  lads  as  he  would  treat  working  lads  in  a  rough 
club  outside,  the  great  majority  will  rise  to  the  suggestions  and  live 
up  to  the  level  on  which  they  have  been  set.  .  .  . 

'On  the  other  hand,  the  Governor  or  his  deputy  is  a  student  of  boy 
nature,  and  knows  that  many  of  the  silly  things  they  do  are  merely 
symptoms  of  a  certain  condition,  and  it  is  the  business  of  the  Institu- 
tion to  deal  with  the  condition  rather  than  the  symptoms.  A  doctor 
would  justifiably  refuse  to  prescribe  certain  treatment  for  a  lad 
merely  because  another  lad,  showing  the  same  symptoms,  received  tha.t 
treatment  the  week  before.  Similarly,  in  discipline,  the  punishment  must 
fit  the  offender  rather  than  the  offence.  Sometimes  it  will  seem  that 
the  lad  has  been  dealt  with  rather  lightly  when  he  has  committed  an 
offence  and  is  only  reprimanded,  the  truth  being  that  in  his  case  the 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  383 

offence  is  not  so  heinous  as  it  would  be  in  the  case  of  another  lad.  At 
other  times  a  slight  irregularity  may  point  to  a  collapse  which  requires 
drastic  action.  Punishment  is  regulated  not  by  an  exact  tariff  according 
to  the  offence,  but  a  perception  of  the  condition  that  is  revealed  by  this 
particular  act.  On  occasion  this  principle  may  be  overridden  by  the 
necessity  that  one  should  suffer  in  the  interest  of  the  rest.  . .  . 

'On  the  Borstal  Officer  is  cast  a  decision  just  as  difficult  as  that  of  the 
Governor  at  adjudication,  when  he  has  to  decide  whether  or  not  he 
shall  report  a  lad.  He  too  will  distinguish  between  his  lads,  giving  some 
lads  more  rope,  figuratively  speaking,  than  others.  Some  of  the  feebler 
specimens  he  will  father,  with  others  he  will  stand  no  nonsense,  others 
again  he  will  call  aside  and  speak  to  them  with  quiet  and  unhurried 
emphasis.  There  is  no  golden  rule  which  can  be  given  to  him  save  this, 
that  he  shall  learn  the  nature  of  all  his  lads  and  do  the  best  for  each. 
If  he  can  only  work  by  a  fixed  rule,  and  insist  on  knowing  'where  he  is', 
guarded  in  every  emergency  by  an  exact  regulation  that  fits  the  circum- 
stance, a  Borstal  Institution  is  no  place  for  him.  The  System  trusts  the 
Officer  by  outlining  principles  rather  than  imposing  rules,  and  those 
who  visit  the  Institutions  from  far  countries  see  nothing  in  them  that 
compels  their  admiration  so  much  as  the  wisdom  with  which  the 
Officers  exercise  their  discretion  and  the  firmness  with  which  they  main- 
tain their  control.' 

These  Principles,  in  the  absence  of  subsequent  qualification,  must  be 
taken  as  representing  the  spirit  in  which  Borstal  Governors  and  their 
staffs  have  been  expected,  at  least  for  the  past  twenty  years,  to  exercise 
control  over  the  inmates  of  the  institutions. 

It  must  also  be  assumed  that  the  Commissioners  require  Governors 
and  their  staffs  to  act  in  conformity  with  the  first  of  the  Borstal  Rules 
under  the  heading  'Discipline  and  Control',  which  reads  as  follows: 

'25.  The  purpose  of  Borstal  training  requires  that  every  inmate, 
while  conforming  to  the  rules  necessary  for  well-ordered  community 
life,  shall  be  able  to  develop  his  individuality  on  right  lines  with  a 
proper  sense  of  personal  responsibility.  Officers  shall  therefore,  while 
firmly  maintaining  discipline  and  order,  seek  so  to  do  by  influencing 
the  inmates  through  their  own  example  and  leadership  and  by  enlisting 
their  willing  co-operation.' 

The  remainder  of  the  Rules  under  this  heading  follow  the  general 
pattern  of  the  Prison  Rules,  setting  out  the  acts  which  constitute  an 
offence  against  discipline,  the  permitted  punishments,  and  the  procedure 
for  dealing  with  offences,  including  provision  for  more  serious  offences 
to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Board  of  Visitors.  They  also  include  similar 
provisions  as  to  the  use  of  mechanical  restraints  and  as  to  facilities 
for  inmates  to  make  complaints. 


384  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

The  main  differences  from  prison  practice  lie  in  the  nature  of  the 
punishments  which  may  be  used.  In  the  first  place,  corporal  punishment 
may  not  be  used  at  all.  The  permitted  punishments  are  as  follows: 

If  awarded  by  the  Governor  under  Rule  37  (1): 

'(a)  removal  of  an  inmate  from  his  house; 

'(£)  deprivation  of  privileges  for  a  period  not  exceeding  twenty- 
eight  days; 

*(c)  deprivation  of  association  for  a  period  not  exceeding  twenty- 
eight  days ; 

*(d)  stoppage  of  earnings  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fourteen  days; 

*(e)  reduction  in  grade,  or  delay  in  promotion  to  a  higher  grade, 
for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  months; 

'(/)  confinement  to  a  room  for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  days; 
\g)  restricted  diet  No.  1  for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  days; 
\h)  restricted  diet  No.  2  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fifteen  days. 

If  awarded  by  the  Board  of  Visitors  under  Rule  38  (1): 
\d)  any  award  authorised  under  Rule  37  (1) ; 

\b)  stoppage  of  earnings  for  a  period  not  exceeding  twenty-eight 
days; 

'(c)  reduction  in  grade,  or  delay  in  promotion  to  a  higher  grade; 

\d)  confinement  to  a  room  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fourteen 
days; 

'(e)  restricted  diet  No.  1  for  a  period  not  exceeding  fifteen  days; 
'(/)  restricted  diet  No.  2  for  a  period  not  exceeding  forty-two  days. 

'Removal  from  house'  in  these  Rules  replaces  what  was  formerly 
called  'the  penal  class'.  It  means  removal  from  the  normal  life  of  the 
house  to  a  separate  part  of  the  institution,  where  each  is  confined  in  a 
separate  room  and  association  is  restricted  to  work.  Diet  is  also 
restricted  to  the  essentials  of  the  normal  diet — no  jam,  puddings  or 
extras.  The  further  effects  of  this  punishment  may  be  varied  to  meet 
individual  needs :  the  normal  work  of  those  undergoing  this  punishment 
is  something  dreary  and  disagreeable,  but  the  Governor  may  allow  a 
boy  to  remain  at  his  usual  work  if  he  thinks  fit.  He  may  also  attend 
education  classes.  He  will  not  attend  any  entertainments,  club-meetings 
or  the  like  or  take  part  in  any  games.  The  general  intention  is  that  the 
conditions  may  be  varied  to  meet  different  cases  from  a  severe  punish- 
ment to  a  period  of  retirement  for  reflection  in  appropriate  austerity. 

The  other  punishments  set  out  above  speak  for  themselves  but  it  is 
necessary  to  say  something  about  dietary  punishment. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  385 

In  1948  the  use  of  dietary  punishment  was  suspended  in  Borstals, 
by  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  for  an  experimental  period  of  two 
years.  'The  reasons  given  for  this  decision  were  that  dietary  restriction 
was  a  completely  negative  form  of  punishment;  that  it  was  not  conso- 
nant with  the  principles  and  ideals  of  the  Borstal  system;  and  that 
discipline  could  be  maintained  satisfactorily  without  it.'  l  The  Com- 
mittee, having  been  appointed  before  this  experimental  period  expired, 
naturally  considered  this,  as  they  described  it,  "highly  controversial 
question',  on  which  they  'were  not  surprised  to  hear  widely  divergent 
views  expressed'.  Their  recommendations  on  the  subject  were  that 
No.  1  punishment  diet  should  be  restored,  but  that  No.  2  should  be 
abolished.  Pending  a  decision  on  this  question  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  it  is  expedient  to  leave  it  as  being  also  sub  judice.2 

With  one  exception,  which  will  be  noted  later,  the  other  recom- 
mendations of  the  Committee  were  concerned  with  minor  questions 
of  procedure  under  or  interpretation  of  the  Rules. 

These  then  are  the  powers  and  procedures  available  within  the 
Borstals  for  maintaining  discipline  and  control,  but  there  are  still 
others,  for  use  in  exceptional  cases,  involving  removal  from  the  normal 
training  institutions  temporarily  or  permanently.  The  first  is  removal 
to  the  Correctional  Borstal  at  Wandsworth:3  this  is  reserved  mainly  for 
absconders  who  cannot  be  dealt  with  locally  or  have  committed  further 
offences  while  at  large.  Now  that  open  Borstals  have  been  provided 
with  security  blocks  for  'removal  from  house',  it  is  rarely  necessary  to 
use  Wandsworth  for  other  forms  of  serious  misconduct.  An  Assistant 
Commissioner  visits  periodically  to  consider  the  re-allocation  of  the 
boys  there,  only  those  who  have  received  a  concurrent  sentence 
of  imprisonment  for  further  offences  being  kept  more  than  a  few 
months. 

Next  in  order  of  seriousness  comes  removal  to  the  special  Borstal  at 
Hull.  This  is  not  intended  as  a  means  to  enable  Governors  to  get  rid 
of  any  and  every  difficult  boy,  nor  would  Governors  generally  be 
disposed  to  use  it  in  that  defeatist  manner.  But  there  are  some  who  are 
not  only  totally  irresponsive  to  and  unco-operative  in  their  training, 
but  have  an  evil  influence  that  must  be  excised  for  the  good  of  the 
others  in  the  house.  It  may  also,  since  it  provides  complete  security, 
seem  to  be  the  best  place  for  some  of  the  persistent  absconders.  Hull, 
as  has  been  said  earlier,  is  a  training  Borstal  and  those  transferred 
from  other  Borstals  4  are  sent  to  complete  their  training  there,  not  for 
temporary  correction.  The  regime  contains  the  elements  of  Borstal 
training,  but  trust  and  privileges  are  limited  and  delayed,  and  physical 

1  Departmental  Committee's  Report,  Part  II,  para.  51. 

2  See  Appendix  I,  Part  II, 

3  New  Reading,  see  Appendix  K,  note  on  p.  308. 

4  These  so  far  are  a  small  proportion  of  the  Hull  population. 
E.P.B.S.— 25 


386  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

conditions  are  more  those  of  a  prison  than  of  a  normal  Borstal.  At 
the  time  of  writing  Hull  as  a  Borstal  is  but  6  months  old,  and  it  is  too 
early  to  speak  in  detail  of  a  system  which  is  still  in  the  making,  or  to 
speak  at  all  of  its  results.  The  establishment  of  such  an  institution  was 
recommended  by  the  Departmental  Committee. 

The  third  and  final  power  is  that  of  commutation  of  the  Borstal 
sentence  to  one  of  imprisonment.  We  have  already  noted  (p.  354)  the 
legal  provision  governing  this  power,  and  the  views  expressed  thereon 
by  the  Departmental  Committee  on  the  Treatment  of  Young  Offenders. 
Since  the  war  it  has  been  necessary  to  use  the  power  more  frequently, 
the  average  number  per  year  for  1946-1950  being  about  ten.  The 
Punishments  Committee  of  1951  thought  that  there  would  be  'obvious 
objections  to  encouraging  any  substantial  extension  of  the  practice, 
among  them  it  would  involve  over-riding  the  verdict  of  the  Court 
which  imposed  a  sentence  of  Borstal  training':  they  thought  the  setting 
up  of  a  special  Borstal  might  prove  a  better  way  of  dealing  with  the 
types  for  whom  commutation  had  been  used.  This  may  prove  to  be 
so  for  some  of  them,  but  probably  not  for  all — Hull  must  remain  a 
training  Borstal,  and  certain  young  men  of  today  make  it  clear  both 
that  they  will  not  tolerate  the  kind  of  training  Borstal  seeks  to  give  and 
that  Borstal  cannot  tolerate  them. 

In  view  of  the  special  reference  made  by  the  Young  Offenders  Com- 
mittee to  the  'unhappy'  results  of  commutation  for  girls,  it  is  worth 
while  to  note  that  in  the  few  cases  in  recent  years  in  which  a  girl's 
sentence  has  been  commuted  the  result  has  almost  invariably  been  the 
opposite.  The  prison  staffs,  in  a  different  environment,  have  often 
succeeded  in  setting  right  girls  who  in  Borstal  have  been  completely 
intractable,  and  their  reconviction  figures  have  not  been  high. 

Before  leaving  the  question  of  punishments,  mention  should  be  made 
of  the  fact  that  housemasters  are  authorised,  by  delegation  of  the 
Governor's  powers  under  the  Rules,  to  punish  for  minor  offences.  The 
Punishments  Committee  (paras.  81,  82)  said  that  they  fully  approved 
of  this  practice  and  were  'satisfied  that  housemasters  use  their  powers 
reasonably  and  do  not  accept  jurisdiction  in  cases  which  should  properly 
be  dealt  with  by  the  Governor'.  There  is  less  formality  of  procedure 
in  these  cases,  and  serious  punishments  are  not  awarded. 

The  Rules  provide  a  method  of  treatment  which  may  properly  be 
considered  under  the  general  heading  of  discipline,  though  it  is  in  no 
sense  a  punishment, 

Rule  26  provides  as  follows : 

'(1)  If  the  Governor  is  satisfied  that  the  behaviour  of  an  inmate  is 
such  that,  in  the  interests  of  his  own  training  or  of  the  good  conduct 
of  his  house,  he  should  be  temporarily  removed  from  normal  com- 
munity life,  he  may  order  the  removal  of  the  inmate  from  his  house. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  387 

'(2)  Inmates  removed  from  their  houses  shall  be  accommodated  in  a 
separate  part  of  the  Borstal  under  such  restrictions  of  association,  diet, 
earnings,  and  privileges  as  the  Commissioners  determine: 

'Provided  that  where  diet  is  restricted  it  shall  not  be  reduced  below 
a  nutritional  standard  adequate  for  health  and  strength  at  normal  work. 

'(3)  An  inmate  shall  not  be  removed  from  his  house  under  this  Rule 
for  longer  than  is  necessary  to  achieve  the  purpose  of  the  removal,  and 
during  this  period  every  effort  shall  be  made  to  ascertain  the  causes  of 
the  inmate's  behaviour  and  to  correct  it.' 

Since  confusion  may  arise  between  removal  from  house  under  this 
Rule,  and  removal  as  a  punishment,  it  may  be  well  to  clarify  this 
distinction  and  explain  the  purpose  and  operation  of  the  Rule  by 
quoting  the  Commissioners'  directions  thereunder  in  full: 

'It  is  first  necessary  to  emphasise  the  fundamental  difference  between 
removal  under  Rule  26  and  removal  under  Rule  37.  The  former  is  a 
method  of  treatment,  to  be  used  entirely  in  the  Governor's  discretion ; 
the  latter  is  a  punishment,  to  be  awarded  only  as  prescribed  by  the 
Rule.  Rule  26  should  not  be  used  where  the  circumstances  clearly  require 
that  the  inmate  should  be  reported  and  dealt  with  under  Rule  37. 

'An  inmate  may  be  removed  under  Rule  26  in  many  different  sorts  of 
situation,  sometimes  in  the  interests  of  the  House,  sometimes  in  his 
own  interests.  In  the  former  category  might  come  the  case  of  an  inmate 
known  to  be  exercising  a  bad  influence  who  manages  to  avoid  being 
put  on  report,  or  one  who  has  an  outburst  of  bad  temper  or  hysteria 
disturbing  to  the  House,  but  not  such  as  to  call  for  action  under 
Rules  37  or  43:  l  in  the  latter,  one  who  is  being  bullied  or  worried,  or 
for  any  other  reason  might  benefit  by  a  temporary  withdrawal  from 
ordinary  House  life. 

The  essence  of  removal  under  Rule  26,  therefore,  is  change  of 
location,  and  it  need  have  no  other  consequences  beyond  those  which 
must  result  from  the  change  of  location.  It  is  in  every  way  preferable, 
for  example,  that  an  inmate  so  removed  should  carry  on  his  work  in 
his  usual  party,  and  attend  his  usual  educational  classes:  but  it  remains 
within  the  Governor's  discretion  to  make  different  arrangements  to 
suit  the  needs  of  different  cases. 

'The  Commissioners'  directions  on  the  matters  set  out  in  the  Rule 
are  accordingly  as  follows : 

'Association — should  not  be  restricted  beyond  the  necessities  of  the 
case,  and  the  restriction  should  never,  except  in  special  cases  for  the 
shortest  necessary  period,  amount  to  confinement  to  a  room. 

1  Rule  43  provides  for  the  temporary  confinement  of  violent  or  refractory  inmates 
in  a  special  room,  but  not  as  a  punishment  and  only  for  so  long  as  is  necessary. 


388  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

'Diet — should  not  be  altered. 

'Earnings — will  depend  on  the  Governor's  directions  as  to  work.  If 
the  inmate  remains  with  his  party  his  earnings  will  not  be  affected.  If 
he  works  on  his  own,  they  need  not  be  affected,  but  they  may  be  ad- 
justed if  necessary  to  the  effort  he  makes  and  to  the  nature  of  the  work. 
If  through  his  own  fault  he  does  not  work,  he  will  not  earn.  The  Gover- 
nor may  direct,  if  he  thinks  fit  in  a  particular  case,  that  amounts  earned 
be  withheld  until  the  inmate  returns  to  the  House. 

'Privileges — Removal  from  House  under  Rule  26  will  not  automatic- 
ally affect  promotion  in  grade,  though  naturally,  where  it  has  become 
necessary  through  the  inmate's  own  fault,  the  nature  of  that  fault  and 
its  bearing  on  promotion  will  be  taken  account  of  by  the  Institution 
Board  in  the  normal  course  of  considering  that  inmate's  case. 

'Privileges  will  normally  be  affected  only  to  the  extent  that  the  change 
of  location  requires.  Such  privileges  as  taking  part  in  games,  walks, 
etc.,  or  attending  clubs  or  entertainments,  should  be  dealt  with  by  the 
Governor  according  to  the  circumstances  of  each  case. 

'Care  should  be  taken  that  all  inmates  who  are  being  dealt  with 
under  Rule  26,  Rule  37  (1)  (a)  or  (/),*  or  Rule  43  2  understand  what 
measures  are  being  applied  to  them  and  why.' 

It  is,  unfortunately,  impossible  to  close  this  section  without  reference 
to  the  problem  of  absconding,  which  in  post-war  years  had  grown  so 
serious  that  the  Commissioners  in  their  Annual  Report  for  1948 
described  it  as  'one  of  their  gravest  concerns'  and  'a  challenge  to  the 
Borstal  system'.  The  Punishments  Committee  naturally  considered  this 
question  at  length,  and  quoted  figures  which  showed  that  the  number  of 
abscondings  had  risen  from  514,  or  16  per  cent  of  the  total  number 
detained,  in  1945,  to  1,031  or  23  per  cent  of  the  number  detained  in 
1949.  As  compared  with  these  figures,  the  average  number  of  abscond- 
ings for  the  5  years  1935-39  was  124  or  4  per  cent  of  the  average  num- 
bers detained. 

It  has  been  made  sufficiently  clear  that  it  is  of  the  essence  of  the 
Borstal  system  that  safe-custody  cannot  be  an  over-riding  considera- 
tion, and  Borstal  boys  and  girls  being  what  they  are,  to  run  away  from 
trouble  is  their  natural  course.  This  being  so,  these  figures  may  seem 
less  disturbing  if  their  effect  is  stated  as  being  that  of  every  five  boys  or 
girls  who  could  abscond  if  they  chose  only  one  in  fact  does  so.  Indeed 
it  would  no  doubt  be  true  to  say  that  whatever  might  be  the  concern  of 
the  administration  about  this  situation,  public  opinion  would  scarcely 
concern  itself  at  all  if  absconders  did  not  commit  offences  while  at 
large.  Unhappily  they  do,  though  no  large  proportion:  indeed  if  the 
proportion  were  much  larger  the  'challenge  to  the  Borstal  system' 
i  See  p.  384.  2  See  p.  387. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  389 

would  be  critical,  since  such  offences  are  concentrated  around  the 
Borstals  in  the  attempt  to  get  food  and  civilian  clothing  to  assist 
escape.  It  is  this  aspect  of  the  problem  which  causes  'the  gravest 
concern',  for  there  is  no  satisfactory  answer  to  the  just  indignation  of 
the  neighbours  of  Borstal  if  they  are  subject  to  constant  fear  of  such 
depredations.  Quick  and  generous  compensation  is  paid  for  loss  and 
damage — unless  covered  by  insurance — but  that  can  be  no  more  than 
a  palliative. 

What  are  the  reasons  for  this  serious  deterioration  of  the  situation 
in  post-war  years?  As  stated  by  the  Commissioners  to  the  Punishments 
Committee  (para.  71),  they  are  mainly  as  follows: 

'1.  That  the  Borstal  system  was  almost  completely  disintegrated 
during  the  war  and  there  is  even  now  a  bare  nucleus  of  staff  who  had 
experience  of  the  system  before  the  war. 

'2.  That  the  young  men  who  are  now  in  Borstals  belong  to  the 
generation  which  suffered  most  the  unsettling  conditions  of  the  war 
years.  Evacuation,  bombing,  interrupted  schooling,  lack  of  proper 
parental  control  all  helped  to  produce  boys  and  girls  who  are  not  able, 
or  are  not  disposed,  to  count  the  cost  of  their  actions  and  are  therefore 
more  difficult  to  train. 

'3.  That  the  Commissioners  have  taken  into  use  additional  open 
Borstals  to  accommodate  the  increased  population.  One  consequence 
of  this  development  is  that  many  lads  have  to  be  sent  to  open  institu- 
tions who  by  pre-war  standards  would  have  been  sent  to  closed  Borstals.' 

And  what,  finally,  is  the  answer  to  the  challenge?  So  far  as  the  fore- 
going reasons  are  valid,  the  passage  of  time  alone  can  remove  them. 
The  slow  rebuilding  of  the  pre-war  tradition  and  morale  depends  both 
on  greater  stability  and  responsibility  in  the  young  people  received  and 
on  greater  experience  in  the  staff.  The  third  condition  must  remain 
unless  more  secure  Borstals  are  to  be  built  to  house  some  of  those  who 
are  now  placed  perforce  in  open  conditions.  Even  so,  there  will  always 
be  abscondings  so  long  as  Borstal  training  is  not  confined  within  a 
prison  wall.  It  is  impossible  to  remove  the  reasons  for  a  wholly  irra- 
tional act,  and  most  of  these  boys  and  girls  have  very  little  idea  why 
they  run  away,  or  even  in  many  cases  that  they  are  going  to  do  so  till 
it  happens.  For  many  it  is  almost  essential  to  do  it,  just  to  work  it  out 
of  their  systems,  and  when  it  is  over  they  settle  down  and  do  perfectly 
well.  From  the  point  of  view  of  their  training,  it  is  only  a  serious  matter 
when  it  becomes  persistent.  Absconders  are  of  course  severely  punished, 
often  very  severely,  but  if  Borstal  boys  and  girls  were  of  the  sort  that 
stop  to  count  the  cost  of  foolish  acts  before  doing  them  they  would  not 
be  in  Borstal:  it  may  legitimately  be  doubted  whether  greater  severity 
of  punishment  would  make  a  significant  difference. 


390  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

No  quick  or  easy  solution  of  this  difficult  problem  is  therefore  to  be 
expected,  and  its  consideration  can  end  only  on  a  note  of  qualified 
hope. 


(5)    GENERAL 

An  analytical  description  of  this  sort  cannot  convey  any  real  im- 
pression of  what  a  Borstal  looks  like,  or  the  general  run  of  a  Borstal 
day.  The  former  is  in  any  case  impossible,  for  no  two  Borstals  look 
alike:  one  can  only  say  that  in  the  prison  and  camp  types  the  ^physical 
austerity  of  the  buildings  is  matched  by  the  furnishings,  which  are  much 
like  the  prison  style  except  in  the  dining  and  association  rooms — here 
small  tables  for  four  and  suitable  chairs  give  a  pleasant  appearance. 
A  good  deal  is  done  to  brighten  things  up  with  flowers,  framed  posters 
and  the  like,  so  that  most  dining  and  common  rooms  look  cheerful 
enough.  Though  it  might  equally  have  been  mentioned  under  education, 
one  might  here  notice  that  a  scheme  is  working,  financed  from  non- 
official  funds,  for  circulating  sets  of  framed  reproductions  of  fine 
pictures,  from  Giotto  to  Picasso,  which  are  changed  periodically. 
There  are  generally  plenty  of  class-rooms,  good  work-shops,  an 
assembly-hall  which  serves  also  as  a  theatre,  a  gymnasium  and  in  the 
more  permanent  premises  a  chapel.  Outside  will  be  gardens,  a  parade 
and  physical  training  ground  and  sports  fields,  with  a  swimming  pool 
at  most  places. 

The  boys  at  work  look  very  much  like  other  young  men  at  work, 
wearing  grey  trousers,  a  blue  wind-jammer,  and  a  general  appearance 
of  robust  health.  For  evening  and  better  wear  they  have  bluejackets  of 
blazer  type  with  a  grey  pull-over,  shirt,  collar  and  tie  and  grey  trousers. 
The  traditional  brown  jackets  and  shorts  disappeared  after  the  war, 
and  grades  are  now  distinguished  by  a  badge,  not  by  different  coloured 
clothes.  They  wear  their  hair  far  too  long,  and  their  general  demeanour 
is  boisterous  and  friendly. 

The  girls  too  have  been  re-dressed  since  the  war,  and  can  make  their 
own  choice  of  dresses  from  a  fair  variety  of  not  too  institutional 
patterns  and  colours.  At  work  they  wear  overalls  for  house  or  shop 
work,  and  suitable  garments  for  the  farm  or  garden  or  other  outside 
jobs.  Their  demeanour,  if  a  little  more  complex  than  that  of  the  boys, 
also  suggests  cheerful  health. 

The  medical  officers,  in  fact,  are  more  concerned  with  the  care  of  the 
mind  than  that  of  the  body,  though  their  general  duties  and  responsi- 
bility are  the  same  in  principle  as  those  of  prison  doctors.  It  is,  there- 
fore, only  at  the  largest  Borstals  that  there  are  full-tipie  doctors,  and  to 
these  are  allocated  so  far  as  possible  boys  who  would  benefit  from  their 
presence,  including  those  few  who  require  special  physical  attention. 


BORSTAL  TRAINING  391 

weathers,  need  a  lot  of  food,  and  the  calorific  value  of  the  Borstal  diet 
for  both  boys  and  girls  is  higher  than  that  of  the  prison  diet.  There  are 
four  meals  a  day — breakfast,  dinner,  tea  and  supper. 

They  have  a  long  and  busy  day  in  which  to  work  off  their  energies. 
Get  up,  clean  up,  physical  training,  breakfast,  four  hours  work,  dinner, 
another  four  hours  work,  change  and  clean  up,  tea  and  then  a  break 
when  the  dart-boards  and  ping-pong  tables  are  thronged  amidst  the 
competing  noises  of  radio,  laughter  and  heavy  feet  on  hard  floors. 
Then  a  'silent  hour'  in  their  rooms  for  reading  or  writing,  followed  by 
classes  or  an  hour  in  the  gymnasium,  supper,  a  little  more  free  time, 
house  prayers  and  bed.  Such  at  least  is  the  general  pattern,  though  it 
will  vary,  especially  after  tea,  from  one  Borstal  to  another,  from  house 
to  house,  from  grade  to  grade  and  often  from  boy  to  boy.  To  find  out 
what  is  going  on  in  a  Borstal  in  any  detail,  the  only  safe  plan  is  to  go 
and  see. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THREE 
RELEASE  AND  AFTER 


(1)    RELEASE 

RULE  94  provides  that  'an  inmate  shall  become  eligible  for 
release  in  accordance  with  the  Second  Schedule  to  the  Criminal 
Justice  Act  1948  l  when  the  Commissioners  are  satisfied  that 
there  is  a  reasonable  probability  that  the  objects  of  training  as  defined 
in  Rule  4  have  been  achieved':  that  is  to  say,  that  there  has  been 
established  in  the  inmate  the  will  to  lead  a  good  and  useful  life  on 
release,  and  that  he  has  been  fitted  by  his  training  to  do  so. 

The  Rules  further  provide  to  this  end  that  the  Institution  Board  shall 
keep  under  review  the  progress  of  each  inmate  throughout  his  training, 
and  make  a  report  to  the  Governor  when  they  consider  a  boy  or  girl 
fit  for  release.  If  the  Governor  is  satisfied  he  refers  the  case  to  the  Board 
of  Visitors  who,  if  they  agree,  'shall  thereupon  recommend  to  the 
Commissioners  that  the  inmate  be  released  under  supervision'.  When 
the  Commissioners  have  decided  that  an  inmate  shall  be  released,  the 
arrangements  for  release  shall  be  made  in  consultation  with  the  Central 
After-Care  Association. 

The  key  words  in  these  provisions  are  'reasonable  probability*.  In 
dealing  with  human  material  of  this  sort  certainty  in  human  judgment 
is  not  to  be  looked  for:  whether  this  fallibility  may  be  modified  by  the 
use  of  'prediction  tables'  is  for  the  future  to  determine.  Meanwhile,  the 
Borstal  staffs  in  the  light  of  their  experience  and  intuition  record  their 
views  on  the  progress  and  prospects  of  each  of  the  young  people  in 
their  charge,  and  from  the  time  the  minimum  period  of  9  months  is 
reached  the  institution  boards  periodically  weigh  them  up. 

'The  principle  implicit  in  the  methods  of  selection  for  release  under 
the  Act  is  that  each  boy's  readiness  for  release  must  be  assessed  on  his 
own  merits,  and  this  is  carefully  observed.  There  is,  therefore,  no  set 
period  of  training  or  automatic  discharge'  2.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  some- 
thing like  an  average  expectation  must  come  to  be  established,  though 

i  See  p.  352.  2  Annual  Report  1949,  p.  56. 

392 


RELEASE  AND  AFTER  393 

this  varies  a  good  deal  between  institutions  according  to  the  type  of 
youth  received  in  each.  Thus  in  those  taking  the  more  hopeful  type 
the  averages  have  recently  been  12-15  months,  and  in  others  15-20 
months.  The  average  over  all  the  boys'  Borstals  in  1949  was  17-6 
months;  for  girls  it  was  22  months  at  Aylesbury  and  20  months  at 
East  Sutton.  57  boys  were  released  at  or  before  12  months,  and  203 
were  detained  for  over  2  years:  no  girl  served  less  than  13  months,  and 
the  longest  period  was  31  months.1 

Sooner  or  later,  then,  the  Governor  and  the  board  have  to  make  up 
their  minds,  on  the  basis  of  what  they  think  they  know  about  the  boy 
or  girl  and  of  what  the  C.  A.C.  A.  representative  tells  them  about  his  or 
her  prospects,  whether  the  time  has  come  to  recommend  release. 
In  many  cases  they  can  be  fairly  sure  that  the  purposes  of  the  training 
have  been  achieved,  in  many  there  must  be  doubt,  and  in  some  they 
can  be  fairly  sure  not  only  that  the  purposes  have  not  been  achieved 
but  that  they  are  not  likely  to  be.  It  is  not  possible  to  attempt  an 
appraisement  of  the  general  accuracy  of  their  findings:  perhaps  a  boy 
with  a  good  pre-sentence  record  who  has  done  well  in  Borstal  is  released 
in  12  months — a  month  later  he  is  again  before  a  court,  which  may 
make  an  acid  comment  on  the  circumstances.  But  there  are  so  many 
reasons  for  failure  on  release,  and  who  can  say  that  another  3  or  6 
months  training  would  have  prevented  this  one?  In  the  doubtful  cases 
there  may  often  be  as  great  a  risk  in  holding  a  boy  too  long  as  in  releas- 
ing him  too  soon — 'it  is  often  true  that  the  boy  or  girl  may  "go  off" 
rather  than  "come  on"  if  the  training  is  further  prolonged'.2  Then  there 
are  the  cases  that  seem  hopeless:  they  would  probably  not  become 
more  hopeful  by  keeping  them  for  the  full  3  years,  and  except  where 
release  has  been  delayed  by  resolute  misconduct  it  must  often  seem 
wise  to  read  the  Rule  as  meaning  'achieved,  so  far  as  they  are  likely 
to  be  achieved'.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  relapse  into  crime 
may  well  be  prevented  by  proper  supervision  outside,  and  that  the 
longer  the  training  inside  the  shorter  the  period  of  supervision. 

These  perplexities  are  no  doubt  inherent  in  any  system  of  indeter- 
minate sentences,  and  it  can  only  be  said  in  conclusion  that  everyone 
concerned  addresses  himself  seriously  to  the  task  of  carrying  out  the 
intention  of  the  Act  and  the  Rules  in  the  spirit  as  well  as  in  the  letter, 
and  that  when  Borstal  boys  and  girls  relapse  after  release  their  failure 
is  not  necessarily  to  be  attributed  to  errors  of  judgment  in  the  timing 
of  release. 

(2)    SUPERVISION  AND  AFTER-CARE 

The  essential  part  played  by  this  second  part  of  Borstal  training,  and 
the  importance  attached  to  it  in  the  Principles  and  the  Rules,  have 

1  The  figures  quoted  in  this  para,  are  from  pp.  55  and  59  of  the  Annual  Report 
for  1949.  2  Prisons  and  Borstals,  p.  64. 


394  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

already  been  indicated  (p.  359):  it  remains  only  to  fill  in  the 
details. 

The  Central  After-Care  Association  is  in  close  touch  from  the  begin- 
ning with  every  boy  or  girl  who  will  eventually  come  under  its  care, 
and  the  Directors  of  the  Borstal  Division  for  boys  and  the  Women  and 
Girls'  Division  for  girls,  or  their  representatives,  regularly  visit  the 
institutions  to  see  the  inmates  and  discuss  their  future  with  them  and 
with  their  Governors  and  housemasters. 

For  plans  to  be  made  there  must  be  full  knowledge  of  the  local 
conditions  to  which  the  inmate  will  return — the  home  and  family,  the 
prospects  of  work  and  the  social  'milieu'.  To  obtain  this  knowledge  the 
Borstal  Division  works  through  its  local  associates,  who  today  are  the 
members  of  the  Probation  Service  assigned  to  this  recognised  part  of 
their  statutory  duties.  The  Women's  Division,  with  its  much  smaller 
numbers,  has  its  own  full-time  Supervisors  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  though  it  can  equally  rely  on  the  co-operation  of  the  Probation 
Service  where  necessary.  Thus  the  associates  who  will  be  responsible 
for  supervision  are  also  'in  the  picture'  and  preparing  the  way  from  an 
early  stage  of  the  sentence:  and  many  of  them  find  that  they  can  do  a 
lot  of  useful  ground-work  with  the  family  meantime. 

When  the  day  comes  for  this  difficult  change  from  the  regulated  life 
of  an  institution  to  controlled  liberty,  the  boy  will  be  handed  a  copy  of 
the  statutory  'notice'  which  sets  out  the  conditions  of  his  release  as 
follows : 

'1.  On  your  release  the  Central  After-Care  Association  will  tell  you 
where  to  go,  and  you  must  go  there  and  not  change  your  address  with- 
out the  permission  of  the  Association  or  the  person  under  whose  super- 
vision you  are  placed. 

'2.  If  told  to  do  so  you  must  report,  either  by  letter  or  by  personal 
visit  as  required,  to  the  Association  or  the  person  under  whose  super- 
vision you  are  placed. 

'3.  Being  under  supervision  means  that  you  must  do  as  the  Associa- 
tion or  your  supervisor  tells  you.  You  must  work  where  you  are  told. 
You  must  be  punctual  and  regular  at  your  work  and  must  lead  a  sober, 
steady,  and  industrious  life  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Association. 

'4.  You  must  not  break  the  law,  or  associate  with  persons  of  bad 
character.' 

The  Governor  will  carefully  explain  to  him  all  that  this  implies,  and 
the  boy  will  sign  it  in  witness  that  he  has  read  and  understood.  The 
signed  copy  will  go  to  his  supervisor,  and  he  will  keep  one  lest  there  be 
any  doubt  that  he  knows  what  he  is  in  for:  the  wisdom  of  this  has  been 
questioned,  on  the  grounds  that  he  is  likely  either  to  flaunt  it  vain- 
gloriously,  to  reveal  it  carelessly,  or  at  best  to  throw  it  away  as  soon 


RELEASE  AND  AFTER  395 

as  he  passes  the  gate.  So  far  however  the  formally  correct  view  has 
prevailed,  particularly  since  the  Commissioners  have  been  informed 
that  some  boys  or  girls  who  have  been  recalled  claim  that  they  never 
knew  the  conditions  of  their  release. 

Then  with  final  admonitions  and  good  wishes  the  boy  will  set  off, 
with  a  railway  warrant,  enough  money  to  see  him  to  his  destination,  a 
new  suit  of  his  own  choosing  and  such  other  outfit  as  is  necessary.  A 
girl  will  probably  have  made  all  except  the  tailored  items  of  her  outfit 
herself.  The  official  destination  will  be  the  office  of  the  supervisor,  to 
whom  the  boy  must  report  as  soon  as  possible  after  he  arrives:  he 
will  then  be  told  what  is  expected  of  him  as  regards  reporting  and 
so  on,  and  any  loose  ends  of  plans  not  already  arranged  for  will  be 
tidied  up. 

These  plans  of  course  primarily  concern  the  boy's  work  and  his 
home.  All  boys  who  are  capable  of  being  employed  have  work  to  go  to 
as  soon  as  they  are  available,  and  the  supervisor  has  a  copy  of  any 
certificate  of  trade  training  the  boy  may  have  earned :  the  co-operation 
of  the  Ministry  of  Labour  is  willingly  granted,  but  it  has  not  been  found 
necessary  to  introduce  into  boys'  Borstals  the  system  under  which,  in 
prisons,  the  Placement  Officer  personally  visits  the  establishment. 
There  is  more  difficulty  about  the  home:  often  it  is  quite  unsuitable, 
but  even  a  bad  home  has  the  pull  of  home,  and  except  in  extreme  cases 
more  harm  than  good  may  be  done  by  trying  to  keep  a  boy  away  from 
it — in  the  worst  cases,  he  must  be  found  work  and  lodgings  in  another 
district.  The  problem  of  the  homeless  boy  is  one  with  which  the  Borstal 
Division  takes  very  great  pains  to  ensure  satisfactory  arrangements. 
Many  of  the  older  'boys',  of  course,  are  married,  and  here  different 
problems  of  establishing  reconciliation  and  a  proper  sense  of  responsi- 
bility may  have  to  be  faced. 

It  is  necessary  to  qualify  the  foregoing  picture  in  respect  of  the  high 
proportion  of  boys  1  who  are  discharged  direct  to  the  Armed  Forces, 
either  to  rejoin  their  units  or  to  start  their  National  Service.  There  is 
complete  and  satisfactory  liaison  between  the  Commissioners,  the 
War  Office,  and  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service,  and 
between  the  C.A.C.A.  and  the  military  and  M.L.  &  N.S.  authoritories 
with  whom  they  deal,  at  all  stages  of  this  procedure.  Arrangements  for 
'call- up'  and  reporting  to  units,  including  medical  examination,  are 
made  well  before-hand,  and  a  boy  leaves  his  Borstal  knowing  exactly 
what  he  must  do  and  where  he  must  go.  The  War  Office  do  their 
best  to  arrange  that  there  are  no  concentrations  of  Borstal  boys  in 
particular  centres.  Military  service  does  not  however  entirely  relieve 
the  Borstal  Division  of  its  responsibilities,  and  they  maintain  indirect 
supervision  by  correspondence  and  through  contact  with  the  homes. 

The  separate  problems  arising  in  the  re-establishment  of  girls  were 

1  Reported  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1947  as  being  over  50  per  cent. 


396  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

comprehensively  surveyed  by  the  Director  of  Women  and  Girls' 
After-care,  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1949  (p.  61),  as  follows: 

4  From  1st  January  1949  to  31st  December  1949,  142  girls  were  dis- 
charged from  Borstal  Institutions  at  Aylesbury,  Exeter  and  East 
Sutton  Park,  and  60  from  Holloway  after  recall  for  further  training. 
Of  original  discharges,  102  returned  home  or  went  to  live  with  relatives, 
14  went  to  hostels,  2  to  approved  lodgings,  20  to  resident  domestic 
work  and  2  directly  into  the  Women's  Services.  Most  girls  were  found 
employment  within  a  week  of  discharge  and  it  is  here  that  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service  is  of  such  value, 
every  girl  being  interviewed  by  their  representatives  at  the  Borstal 
Institutions  prior  to  her  discharge. 

The  majority  of  girls  get  work  in  factories,  mills,  canteens,  or  hos- 
pital work  as  ward  maids,  ward  orderlies,  or  as  cooks  and  waitresses. 
Some  girls  prefer  private  domestic  work  and  some  have  got  work  on 
farms.  Many  girls  ask  to  join  the  Women's  Services,  but  experience  has 
shown  that  it  is  advisable  to  let  them  earn  a  reference  before  they  apply. 
Those  who  join  subsequently  have  done  well.  The  same  thing  applies 
to  training  for  specialised  work  such  as  that  of  a  Nursery  Nurse,  where 
the  training  is  long  and  the  wage  small  in  comparison  with  wages  in 
factory  or  domestic  work,  where  the  untrained  can  and  do  earn  high 
wages  and  acquire  skill  while  earning. 

'The  unmarried  girl  with  a  baby  is  a  very  different  proposition.  Of 
the  original  discharges,  11  girls  were  unmarried  with  babies,  6  were 
able  to  return  home,  while  homes  for  mothers  and  babies  had  to  be 
found  for  the  other  five.  In  addition,  14  girls  discharged  after  recall 
were  either  pregnant  or  had  already  been  confined.  Of  this  number, 
only  one  was  able  to  return  home,  2  went  into  private  domestic  work 
with  their  babies,  9  were  found  accommodation  in  Hostels  for  mothers 
and  babies  and  2  went  to  Public  Assistance  Institutions. 

4 At  the  end  of  1949  there  were  under  supervision  37  unmarried  girls 
with  babies,  or  pregnant.  The  problem  is  further  complicated  when  the 
baby  is  coloured.' 

In  these  different  ways  all  these  young  people  are  re-established  in 
normal  life — but  that  is  the  easy  part :  what  matters  most  is  what  hap- 
pens next.  Now  the  associate  must,  with  sympathy  and  firmness, 
combine  the  roles  of  friend  and  of  supervisor.  Persistent  patience  is 
needed  to  keep  the  feet  of  wayward  boys  and  girls  along  the  narrow 
path  in  which  they  have  been  set.  The  Associate  must  always  wish  to 
appear  as  the  friend,  anxious  above  all  to  help  and  to  keep  his  charges 
from  the  danger  of  being  sent  back  to  Borstal:  and  indeed,  except  on 
reconviction,  the  sanction  of  recall  is  not  invoked  without  most  earnest 
consideration.  But  there  comes  a  time  with  some  when  neither  friendly 


RELEASE  AND  AFTER  397 

advice  nor  stern  admonition  will  prevail,  and  the  associate  has  no 
option  but  to  advise  the  C.A.C.A.  that  the  young  person  should  be 
recalled. 

Before  passing  to  consider  the  law  and  practice  relating  to  recall,  it 
may  be  noted  that  the  Commissioners  have  power,  under  the  Second 
Schedule  of  the  Act  of  1948,  to  'modify  or  cancel  any  of  the  said  require- 
ments or  order  that  a  person  who  is  under  supervision  as  aforesaid 
shall  cease  to  be  under  supervision'.  This  is  useful  on  occasion  to 
encourage  a  boy  or  girl  who  has  been  released  early  and  has  clearly 
settled  down — a  very  long  period  of  supervision  in  such  a  case  may  do 
more  harm  than  good.  Conversely,  the  power  may  be  used  where  a 
long  sentence  has  followed  reconviction,  and  further  Borstal  super- 
vision would  be  either  impracticable  or  out  of  place. 

(3)  RECALL 

Power  to  order  recall  to  a  Borstal  institution  is  by  the  third  para,  of 
the  Second  Schedule  vested  in  the  Commissioners.  A  person  recalled 
is  'liable  to  be  detained  in  the  Borstal  institution  until  the  expiration  of 
three  years  from  the  date  of  his  sentence,  or  the  expiration  of  six 
months  from  the  date  of  his  being  taken  into  custody  under  the  order, 
whichever  is  the  later,  and  if  at  large  shall  be  deemed  to  be  unlawfully 
at  large'.  There  are  certain  other  provisions  in  the  Schedule  to  prevent 
any  'cat-and-mouse'  prolongation  of  the  total  period  of  the  original 
sentence:  thus  any  order  of  recall  ceases  to  have  effect  when  the  original 
four  years  have  expired,  unless  the  person  is  then  in  custody  thereunder, 
and  any  sentence  of  imprisonment  passed  on  a  person  under  supervision 
counts  as  part  of  the  period  for  which  he  is  liable  to  be  detained  under 
the  Borstal  sentence.  The  total  period  of  the  original  sentence  cannot, 
therefore,  under  the  recall  procedure,  be  extended  to  more  than  four 
years  and  six  months — and  that  only  in  the  extreme  case  of  a  person 
taken  into  custody  under  an  order  on  the  last  day  of  the  period  of  his 
four-year  sentence.  A  person  who  has  been  recalled  may  again  be 
conditionally  released  if  his  period  of  supervision  has  not  expired. 

There  are  separate  Borstals,  known  as  Recall  Centres,  for  the 
further  training  of  those  who  have  to  be  brought  back,  since  it  is  on 
many  grounds  undesirable  for  these  failures  to  mix  with  the  ordinary 
trainees.  If  the  failure  has  resulted  in  a  reconviction,  and  there  is  a 
prospect  that  further  training  might  be  effective,  another  Borstal 
sentence  may  be  passed :  this  however  can  rarely  be  recommended  save 
in  the  case  of  a  quite  young  boy  or  girl  who  has  failed  after  an  early 
release.  The  purpose  of  the  Recall  Centre  is,  therefore,  first  to  serve  as 
a  sanction  in  terror  em,  and  the  conditions  are  by  no  means  as  agree- 
able as  those  in  a  training  Borstal:  the  regime  is  however  a  Borstal 
training  regime  under  the  Borstal  Rules,  and  is  not  intended  to  be 


398  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

simply  repressive.  Its  second  purpose  is  to  find  out  why  failure  has 
occurred,  and  to  do  its  best  to  straighten  out  what  needs  straightening 
out.  The  staff  is  a  normal  Borstal  staff,  with  the  addition  at  the  Boys' 
Centre  of  a  psychologist,  for  much  useful  research  can  be  done  here  into 
causes  of  failure  and  weaknesses  in  both  training  and  after-care.  The 
Girls'  Centre  is  much  smaller,  and  there  are  not  often  more  than  about 
20  girls  there,  with  two  Assistant  Governors  and  a  small  staff. 

The  average  number  at  the  Boys'  Centre  is  about  150,  and  some  340 
boys  were  received  there  in  1950:  of  these,  32  had  been  recalled  for  not 
observing  the  conditions  of  their  release,  the  remainder  in  consequence 
of  a  reconviction.  The  arrangements  where  a  person  under  supervision 
is  charged  with  a  fresh  offence  are  set  out  in  Prisons  and  Borstals  as 
follows — The  practice  is  for  Courts  to  consider  whether,  having  regard 
to  the  facts  of  the  case,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  him  to  be  dealt  with  by 
recall.  In  that  event,  the  convenient  course  is  to  make  this  view  known 
to  the  prison  authorities  and  to  remand  the  offender  so  that  the  Prison 
Commissioners  can  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  recall. 
Whenever  the  Commissioners  are  aware  that  a  young  person  under 
supervision  is  on  remand,  they  make  a  report  to  the  court  indicating 
the  position,  and  stating  whether  they  have  issued  or  propose  to  issue  an 
order  of  recall.'  If  the  court  passes  a  short  sentence  (6  months  or  less) 
the  boy  will  generally  be  recalled  to  Borstal  and  sent  to  the  Recall 
Centre;  where  a  longer  sentence  is  passed  he  will  serve  it  in  prison — in 
a  Young  Prisoners'  Centre  if  he  is  under  21. 

The  date  of  release  is  decided  by  an  Investigation  Committee,  which 
meets  monthly  under  the  chairmanship  of  an  Assistant  Commissioner. 
Where  there  is  a  prison  sentence  on  reconviction,  a  boy  will  be  detained 
at  least  as  long  as  he  would  be  required  to  serve  under  the  sentence  in  a 
local  prison.  Generally,  the  date  of  discharge  does  not  depend  on 
'response  to  training'  but  on  the  assessment  by  the  committee  of  his 
conduct  while  under  supervision.  A  boy  is  rarely  kept  more  than  six 
months. 

The  procedure  at  the  Girls'  Centre  is  similar. 

The  C.A.C.A.  resume  supervision  on  discharge  from  the  Recall 
Centres,  and  take  equal  pains  to  ensure  proper  placement,  the  Directors 
personally  interviewing  each  boy  or  girl  some  time  before  discharge. 
In  the  cases  where  a  sentence  of  imprisonment  is  served  in  a  prison, 
and  the  young  person  is  still  nominally  under  Borstal  supervision  on 
discharge,  a  decision  must  be  made  in  each  case  whether  he  is  to  be 
discharged  under  Borstal  supervision  or  on  a  Young  Prisoners'  licence. 

(4)    RESULTS  OF  THE  BORSTAL  SYSTEM 

It  is  easy  to  write  the  heading  of  this  section,  less  easy  to  proceed. 
By  what  criteria  may  we  discern  and  assess  the  results  of  the  system  we 


RELEASE  AND  AFTER 


399 


have  described?  The  first  might  be  to  ask  how  far  it  has  achieved  the 
objects  set  before  it  in  Rule  4 — in  how  many  of  the  young  people  who 
have  passed  through  Borstal  has  their  training  established  'the  will  to 
lead  a  good  and  useful  life  on  release',  and  fitted  them  to  do  so?  In  our 
present  state  of  knowledge  this  question  can  have  no  objective  answer, 
though  it  is  not  impossible  that  an  extensive  social  research  on  the  lines 
of  that  carried  out  by  Sheldon  and  Eleanor  Glueck  in  the  United 
States  of  America  would  go  some  way  towards  supplying  one.  The 
statistics  of  re-conviction  are  only  pointers.  Many  who  through  innate 
weakness  or  unhappy  circumstances  have  failed  in  this  way  may  well 
have  left  Borstal,  with  every  good  intention  and  ability,  better  human 
beings  than  others  who  have  not  again  come  into  court. 

For  a  criterion  with  any  objective  basis,  however,  we  can  rely  only 
on  these  statistics  of  reconviction,  which  have  been  carefully  recorded 
over  a  long  period  of  years.  And  at  least  they  show  how  far  the  system 
has  succeeded  in  'the  prevention  of  crime',  though  they  are  an  un- 
certain guide  to  fcthe  reformation  of  the  offender'.  In  assessing  these 
figures  we  should  not  forget  that  many  young  people  who  have 
'reverted  to  crime'  may  nevertheless  be  better  people  as  a  result  of 
their  training,  while  it  may  also  be  that  some,  whether  they  offend 
again  or  no,  could  say  with  justice  that  it  did  them  more  harm  than 
good.  There  is  no  means  of  weighing  and  valuing  these  subjective 
judgments:  let  us,  therefore,  look  at  the  figures,  and  see  whether  within 
their  limits  they  tell  a  clear  story — a  result  which  is  not  necessarily  to 
be  expected. 

In  their  Annual  Report  for  1949  the  Commissioners  published  tables 
showing  for  each  year  from  1937-1947,  for  boys  and  girls  separately, 
the  numbers  (1)  discharged,  (2)  not  reconvicted,  (3)  reconvicted  once 
only,  (4)  reconvicted  two  or  more  times.  The  figures  covered  a  period 
of  7  years  from  the  year  of  discharge,  or  where  7  years  had  not  elapsed 
they  gave  the  position  up  to  31  December  1949,  i.e.  all  had  been  dis- 
charged for  at  least  two  years.  It  will  perhaps  be  well,  rather  than  to 
consider  the  tables  as  a  whole,  to  select  two  years  from  the  pre- 
war, the  war,  and  the  post-war  periods.  The  result,  for  boys,  is  as 
follows: 


Numbers 
of  Dis- 
charges 

Not  reconvicted 

Reconvicted 
once 

Reconvicted  twice 
or  more 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

1937-38 
1942-43 
1946-47 

1,741 

2,795 
3,714 

1,039 
1,320 

1,857 

59-5 
47-3 
50-0 

340 
618 
945 

19-5 
22-1 
25-5 

362 
857 
912 

21-0 
30-6 
24-5 

400  YOUNG  OFFENDERS 

From  this  table  one  fact  appears  to  be  firm  and  unqualified,  that  is 
that  the  boys'  Borstals  at  their  best,  before  the  disruption  of  the  war, 
were  achieving  complete  success  with  about  six  boys  out  of  every  ten 
discharged,  and  if  we  include  also  those  who  after  one  conviction 
settled  down,  with  very  nearly  eight  out  of  ten.  This  latter  figure  may 
reasonably  be  accepted,  since  further  lapses  after  so  long  a  period  are 
hardly  now  to  be  expected. 

The  figures  for  the  war  period,  as  was  to  be  expected,  are  less  satis- 
factory. Even  so,  the  falling  off  from  the  pre-war  figure  is  not  great, 
taking  account  of  the  much  larger  numbers  which  were  handled  in 
conditions  of  the  greatest  difficulty.  This  may  however  be  to  some  extent 
attributable  to  the  external  conditions  in  war  time,  every  fit  young 
man  going  at  once  to  active  service  in  the  armed  forces  or  to  other 
essential  national  work. 

On  the  post-war  figures  judgment  must  be  suspended.  Prima  facie 
they  show  an  improvement,  but  this  may  not  last:  the  percentage  of 
'no  reconvictions'  for  the  1946  discharges  was  554  at  the  end  of  1948, 
but  it  had  fallen  to  46-2  at  the  end  of  1949.  Some  hope  may  be  derived 
from  the  records  of  the  C.A.C.A.,  which  show  that  at  the  end  of  1950 
the  percentage  of  reconviction  among  those  who  had  been  discharged 
for  at  least  12  months  was  only  28-5. 

The  1937-38  figures  show  what  the  Borstal  system  has  done,  and 
therefore  what  it  can  do  again :  they  may  be  compared  with  the  state- 
ment in  the  Principles  that  'of  the  9,000  lads  who  passed  through  the 
Borstal  training  in  the  first  twenty  years  it  can  be  stated  with  certainty 
that  only  about  35  per  cent  have  again  come  into  conflict  with  the  law 
.  .  .  about  three  out  of  every  four  Borstal  lads  are  reclaimed  and  con- 
tinue to  live  as  honest  citizens'.  Let  us  hope  that  when  the  figures  for 
1950  and  1951  come  to  be  assessed  they  will  show  that  Borstal  has 
fought  its  way  back  to  at  least  its  pre-war  standard.  And  surely,  given 
the  records  and  characters  of  the  young  men  who  come  to  Borstals, 
most  often  after  many  other  resources  of  our  social,  educational  and 
penal  systems  have  failed  to  affect  them,  that  standard  can  be  judged  a 
high  one.  In  most  examinations  a  mark  of  75  per  cent  achieves 
distinction'. 

The  picture  presented  by  the  table  for  girls  is  curiously  different, 
and  may  be  summarised  as  follows.  For  the  two  pre-war  years,  the 
percentage  with  no  reconvictions  was  45 ;  for  the  two  war  years  it  was 
57-5;  for  the  two  post-war  years  71-5°  The  percentages  with  two  or 
more  reconvictions  were  31,  16-8,  and  14*5  respectively.  Of  the  girls 
discharged  in  1947,  83-2  per  cent  had  reached  the  end  of  1949  without 
a  reconviction.  To  establish  the  significance  of  these  figures  would  be 
an  interesting  but  complicated  task  which  will  not  be  attempted  here. 
Again  one  must  enter  the  caveat  that  these  post-war  figures  may  change 
for  the  worse:  the  1946  discharges,  which  showed  a  61-6  percentage  of 


RELEASE  AND  AFTER  401 

no  reconvictions  at  the  end  of  1948,  had  fallen  to  59-7  at  the  end  of 
1949.  But  if  the  1947  figure  does  even  worse,  it  will  remain  a  remarkable 
achievement. 

It  is  necessary  to  record  these  facts,  even  though  they  do  not  contain 
the  whole  truth,  for  better  or  worse,  about  the  Borstal  system,  because 
it  is  unfortunate  if  natural  that  the  minority  of  failures  attract  a  great 
deal  more  publicity  than  the  majority  of  successes.  It  is  also  desirable 
to  consider  other  results  of  the  system.  Dr.  Griinhut  records  l  the 
'great  interest'  and  'admiration'  for  the  Borstal  system  aroused  among 
visitors  from  abroad,  and  its  widespread  influence  is  undisputed.  As 
recently  as  1949  a  Report  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  from  the 
Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  whom  had  been  referred  a  Bill  to 
provide  an  improved  Federal  system  for  the  treatment  of  young  offen- 
ders, stated  that  'the  concept  of  the  instant  bill  had  its  origins  in  a 
system  initiated  in  England  .  .  .  known  as  the  Borstal  system.  .  .  .  The 
Borstal  system  has  been  successful  in  England.  The  American  Law 
Institute  has  fathered  a  similar  program  of  youth  correction  in  the 
United  States.'  2 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  there  is  reason  to  end  this  account  of  the 
Borstal  system  with,  in  Dr.  Grunhut's  words,  fca  feeling  that  it  is 
something  to  be  proud  of.  3 

1  Griinhut,  p.  382. 

2  81st  Congress,  1st  Session,  Report  No.  1180,  p.  4. 

3  Griinhut,  p.  382. 


E.P.B.S. — 26 


APPENDIX   A 

Extracts  from 

An  Inquiry  whether  Crime  and  Misery  are  Produced  or  Prevented 
by  our  Present  System 

By  THOMAS  POWELL  BUXTON,  ESQ.,  M.P.:  London,  1818 

PREFACE 

ING  at  Ghent  during  the  early  part  of  this  winter,  1  took  some  pains 
in  examining  the  excellent  prison  of  that  city,  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Maison  de  Force.  On  my  return  to  England,  I  communicated  to 
the  "Society  for  the  Improvement  of  Prison  Discipline,  and  for  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Juvenile  Offenders,"  the  intelligence  which  was  thus  acquired.  The 
members  of  that  institution  had  accurately  investigated  the  state  of  almost 
every  jail  in  the  metropolis  and  its  vicinity.  Their  inquiries  had  led  them  to  a 
decided  and  unanimous  conviction,  that  the  present  alarming  increase  of 
crime  arises  more  from  the  want  of  instruction,  classification,  regular  em- 
ployment, and  inspection  in  Jails,  than  from  any  other  cause;  and  that  its 
prevention  could  only  be  accomplished,  by  an  entire  change  in  the  system  of 
prison  discipline.  These  views  were  strongly  confirmed  by  the  practical 
illustration  afforded  by  the  Maison  de  Force;  and  this  led  to  a  request  from 
the  Committee,  that  the  description  of  it  might  be  published. 

'When  I  sat  down  to  this  task,  the  work  insensibly  grew  upon  my  hands. 
It  was  necessary  to  prove,  that  evils  and  grievances  did  really  exist  in  this 
country,  and  to  bring  home  to  these  causes,  the  increase  of  corruption  and 
depravity.  For  this  purpose,  repeated  visits  to  various  prisons  were  requisite. 

'Again,  a  detail  of  the  regulations  of  the  Maison  de  Force  alone,  did  not 
seem  to  establish  the  point  contended  for,  with  sufficient  certainty.  An  experi- 
ment might  succeed  abroad,  which  might  fail  at  home.  Local  circumstances, 
and  the  habits  of  the  people,  might  have  rendered  a  plan  very  judicious  in  the 
Netherlands,  which  was  quite  impracticable  in  England.  It  appeared  therefore 
desirable  to  shew,  that,  whether  the  attempt  be  made  on  the  Continent,  in 
England,  or  in  America,  the  same  results  are  invariably  displayed. 

'Feeling  no  uneasiness  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  facts  related,  1  must  confess 
I  have  felt  some  repugnance  to  the  disclosure  of  scenes,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  reflecting  discredit  on  those  who  ought  to  have  prevented  them ; 
but  against  the  pain  which  this  pamphlet  may  give  to  the  affluent  and  the 
powerful,  must  be  weighed  the  secret  sufferings,  the  unknown  grievances,  the 

402 


APPENDIX  A  403 

decay  of  health,  and  corruption  of  morals,  which,  by  its  suppression,  may  be 
continued  to  the  inmates  of  many  dungeons  in  this  country.  I  have  great 
confidence  in  the  power  of  public  opinion,  in  preventing  detected  wrong; 
and  if  this  confidence  be  not  misplaced,  all  option  upon  my  part  ceases; 
the  publication  becomes  a  matter  of  imperative  duty;  to  conceal  would  be  to 
participate. 

'I  will  conclude  this  Preface  by  stating  that  none  of  the  grievances  repre- 
sented, are  occasioned  by  the  jailers;  that  class  of  men  are  often  subjected  to 
undistinguishing  abuse;  my  experience  would  furnish  me  with  very  different 
language.  Without  any  exception,  I  have  had  reason  to  approve,  and  some- 
times to  applaud  their  conduct;  and  I  can  truly  say,  that  of  all  the  persons, 
with  whom  I  have  conversed,  they  are  the  most  sensible  of  the  evils  of  our 
present  system  of  prison  discipline.' 

PRELIMINARY  AND  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 

'It  is  therefore  evident,  I  conceive,  that  where  the  law  condemns  a  man 
to  jail,  and  is  silent  as  to  his  treatment  there,  it  intends  merely  that  he  should 
be  amerced  of  his  freedom,  not  that  he  should  be  subjected  to  any  useless 
severities.  This  is  the  whole  of  his  sentence,  and  ought  therefore  to  be  the 
whole  of  his  suffering. 

'If  any  one  should  be  disposed  to  hesitate  in  the  adoption  of  this  opinion, 
and  should  still  cling  to  the  idea,  that  prisons  ought  to  be,  not  merely  places 
of  restraint,  but  of  restraint  coupled  with  deep  and  intense  misery;  let  him 
consider  the  injustice,  and  irresistible  difficulties,  which  would  result  from 
such  a  system.  If  misery  is  to  be  inflicted  at  all  in  prisons,  it  ought  surely  to 
be  inflicted  in  some  proportion  to  the  crime  of  the  offender;  for  no  one  could 
desire  to  visit  very  different  degrees  of  guilt,  with  the  same  measure  of  punish- 
ment. Now  this  is  utterly  impracticable.  Our  prisons  are  so  constructed,  as 
in  many  instances  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  separation  at  all,  even 
between  the  tried  and  untried,  the  criminal  and  the  debtor,  the  insane,  the 
sick,  and  the  healthy.  If  it  be  difficult  to  separate  those  amongst  whom  the 
difference  is  so  broad  and  palpable,  how  would  it  be  possible  to  relax  or  to 
aggravate  imprisonment,  according  to  the  varying  circumstances  of  each 
case?  There  must  be  as  many  distinctions  as  crimes,  and  almost  as  many 
yards  as  prisoners.  And  who  is  to  apportion  this  variety  of  wretchedness? 
The  Judge,  who  knows  nothing  of  the  interior  of  the  jail,  or  the  jailer,  who 
knows  nothing  of  the  transactions  of  the  Court?  The  law  can  easily  suit  its 
penalties  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  It  can  adjudge  to  one  offender 
imprisonment  for  one  day;  to  another,  for  twenty  years;  but  what  ingenuity 
would  be  sufficient  to  devise,  and  what  discretion  could  be  trusted  to  inflict, 
modes  of  imprisonment  with  similar  variations?' 

'But  besides  the  rights  of  the  individual,  there  are  duties  to  the  community 
— Parum  est  improbos  coercere  pcena,  nisi  probos  efficias  disciplina. — One  of 
the  most  important  of  these  duties  is,  that  you  should  not  send  forth  the 
man  committed  to  your  tuition,  in  any  respect  a  worse  man,  a  less  industrious, 
a  less  sober,  or  a  less  competent  man,  than  when  he  entered  your  walls. 
Good  policy  requires  that,  if  possible,  you  dismiss  him  improved.'  'Punish- 
ments are  inflicted,  that  crime  may  be  prevented,  and  crime  is  prevented  by 
the  reformation  of  the  criminal.' 


404  APPENDIX  A 

'I  have  already  noticed  the  benevolence  displayed  by  the  legislature,  in  their 
provisions  for  the  regulation  of  prisons;  but  their  intentions  will  be,  as  they 
have  hitherto  been,  of  little  avail,  if  they  do  not  enforce  them.' 

THE  BOROUGH  COMPTER 

'This  prison  belongs  to  the  city  of  London,  and  its  jurisdiction  extends 
over  five  parishes. — On  entrance,  you  come  to  the  male  felons'  ward  and 
yard,  in  which  are  both  the  tried  and  the  untried — those  in  chains,  and  those 
without  them — boys  and  men, — persons  for  petty  offences,  and  for  the  most 
atrocious  felonies; — for  simple  assault, — for  being  disorderly, — for  small 
thefts, — for  issuing  bad  notes, — for  forgery  and  for  robbery.  They  were 
employed  in  some  kind  of  gaming,  and  they  said  they  had  nothing  else  to  do. 
A  respectable  looking  man,  a  smith,  who  had  never  been  in  prison  before, 
told  me  that  "the  conversation  always  going  on,  was  sufficient  to  corrupt 
any  body,  and  that  he  had  learned  things  there  he  never  dreamed  of 
before." 

'You  next  enter  a  yard,  nineteen  feet  square;  this  is  the  only  airing  place 
for  male  debtors  and  vagrants,  female  debtors,  prostitutes,  misdemeanants, 
and  criminals,  and  for  their  children  and  friends.  There  have  been  as  many 
as  thirty  women;  we  saw  thirty-eight  debtors,  and  Mr.  Law,  the  Governor, 
stated,  when  he  was  examined,  that  there  might  be  about  twenty  children. 

'On  my  first  visit,  the  debtors  were  all  collected  together  upstairs.  This 
was  their  day-room,  workshop,  kitchen,  and  chapel.  On  my  second  visit, 
they  spent  the  day  and  the  night  in  the  room  below;  at  the  third,  both  the 
room  above,  and  that  below,  were  filled.  The  length  of  each  of  these  rooms, 
exclusive  of  a  recess  in  which  were  tables  and  the  fireplace,  is  twenty  feet. 
Its  breadth  is  three  feet,  six  inches  for  a  passage,  and  six  feet  for  the  bed.  In 
this  space,  twenty  feet  long,  and  six  wide,  on  eight  straw  beds,  with  sixteen 
rugs,  and  a  piece  of  timber  for  a  bolster,  twenty  prisoners  had  slept  side  by 
side  the  preceding  night:  I  maintained  that  it  was  physically  impossible;  but 
the  prisoners  explained  away  the  difficulty,  by  saying,  "they  slept  edgeways." 
Amongst  these  twenty,  was  one  in  a  very  deplorable  condition;  he  had  been 
taken  from  a  sick  bed,  and  brought  there;  he  had  his  mattress  to  himself, 
for  none  would  share  it;  and  indeed  my  senses  convinced  me,  that  sleeping 
near  him,  must  be  sufficiently  offensive. 

'I  fear  I  shall  hardly  be  credited  when  I  assure  my  readers,  that  as  yet,  I 
have  not  touched  upon  that  point  in  this  prison  which  I  consider  the  most 
lamentable — the  proximity  between  the  male  debtors  and  the  female  prisoners. 
Their  doors  are  about  seven  feet  asunder,  on  the  same  floor,  these  are  open  in 
the  day  time,  and  the  men  are  forbidden  to  go  into  the  women's  ward;  but 
after  the  turnkey  left  us,  they  confessed  that  they  constantly  went  in  and  out; 
and  there  is  no  punishment  for  doing  so.  That  this  is  the  fact,  appears  by 
the  evidence  of  the  Governor  before  the  Police  Committee.  Ques.  Is  it  possible 
for  the  men  to  get  into  the  sleeping  wards  of  the  women?  Arts.  I  cannot  say 
that  it  is  impossible.  Is  any  thing  done  to  prevent  them,  if  the  parties  consent? 
No. 

There  is  no  school;  no  soap  is  allowed;  and  a  prisoner,  when  he  arrives, 
is  turned  in  amongst  the  rest  without  any  examination  as  to  the  state  of  his 
health.  This  may  account  for  a  remark  in  the  apothecary's  book,  January  5th, 


APPENDIX  A  405 

1818 — "Some  of  the  prisoners  have  contracted  the  itch."  The  case  of  one 
man  struck  me  much:  he  was  found  in  a  most  pitiable  state  in  the  streets, 
and  apprehended  as  a  vagrant;  he  was  at  first  placed  with  the  debtors,  but 
he  was  so  filthy,  and  so  covered  with  vermin,  (to  use  the  expression  of  the 
turnkey,  "he  was  so  lousy")  that  his  removal  was  solicited.  I  saw  him  lying 
on  a  straw-bed,  as  I  believed,  at  the  point  of  death,  without  a  shirt,  inconceiv- 
ably dirty,  so  weak  as  to  be  almost  unable  to  articulate,  and  so  offensive,  as 
to  render  remaining  a  minute  with  him  quite  intolerable;  close  by  his  side 
five  other  untried  prisoners  had  slept  the  preceding  night,  inhaling  the  stench 
from  this  mass  of  putrefaction,  hearing  his  groans,  breathing  the  steam 
from  his  corrupted  lungs,  and  covered  with  myriads  of  lice  from  his  rags  of 
clothing;  of  these  his  wretched  companions,  three  were  subsequently  pro- 
nounced by  the  verdict  of  a  jury,  "not  guilty".' 


TOTHILL  FIELDS  PRISON 

'Many  of  the  wards  in  which  the  prisoners  sleep,  are  sunk  below  the  level 
of  the  ground,  and  this  level  is  considered  to  be  below  high  water  mark. 
The  up-stairs  rooms  of  the  Governor's  house  are  much  affected  with  damp; 
hearing  this  from  himself,  1  could  not  suspect  the  truth  of  the  statements  of 
the  prisoners,  who  complained  bitterly  of  the  cold  and  moisture  of  these  cells. 
To  obviate  these  inconveniences,  as  many  as  possible  crowd  together  at 
night  into  the  same  cell;  how  injurious  this  must  be  to  health,  can  be  con- 
ceived by  the  statement  of  the  jailer,  who  told  me  that  having  occasion  lately 
to  open  one  of  the  doors  in  the  night,  the  effluvia  was  almost  intolerable.' 


BOROUGH  JAIL  AT  ST.   ALBANS 

'We  first  went  to  the  Borough  Jail,  which  is  a  wooden  building. 

'A  girl  was  confined  in  the  day-room;  the  window  at  which  she  sits,  opens 
to  the  street,  with  which  it  is  nearly  on  a  level.  We,  standing  in  the  street, 
conversed  with  her,  and  the  bars  are  wide  enough  to  admit  any  thing,  of 
which  the  bulk  is  not  very  considerable;  of  course  spirits  could  not  be 
excluded.  On  the  Sessions  day,  this  window  is  closed  by  a  shutter,  as  it  was 
found  that  the  prisoners  got  drunk,  and  were  in  that  state  during  their  trial. 
The  jailer  opened  a  door  of  what  appeared  to  us  a  dark  closet,  assuring  us 
that  when  we  entered  we  should  be  able  to  see — and  in  fact,  we  could  discover, 
by  the  light  admitted  through  a  small  lattice-window,  that  it  was  a  room  of 
considerable  dimensions. 

The  bed-rooms  were  equally  incommodious.  The  men  and  women,  when 
in  bed,  are  separated  by  an  open  railing,  the  bars  of  which  are  about  six  inches 
distant  from  each  other,  and  the  only  air,  or  light,  admitted  to  the  men's 
apartment,  is  through  this  lattice.  The  allowance  of  food,  is  one  pound  and 
a  half  of  bread  per  day,  and  no  firing  is  provided;  in  fact,  it  would  be  needless, 
for  there  is  no  fire-place.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  there  is  no  yard.  How  far 
the  exposure  at  all  times,  by  this  open  intercourse  with  the  male  prisoners  at 
night,  and  with  all  persons  in  the  street  in  the  day,  may  improve  the  morals 
and  delicacy  of  the  females,  and  how  far  the  seclusion  from  exercise  may 
affect  the  health  of  the  men,  experience  alone  can  determine.' 


406  APPENDIX  A 

JAIL  FOR  THE  LIBERTY  OF  ST.  ALBANS 

'No  separation,  except  between  men  and  women.  One  of  the  men's  sleeping- 
rooms  is  without  air  or  light,  except  what  may  be  received  through  a  grating, 
which  opens  into  a  passage,  which  opens  into  the  day-room,  which  com- 
municates with  the  yard.  The  building  is  an  old  fortification,  and  in  this  room 
there  is  one  of  the  loop-holes,  which  are  common  in  such  buildings;  but  this 
was  stopped  by  the  prisoners  to  exclude  the  cold  air.  When  the  door  was 
open,  it  was  so  dark,  that  we  hesitated  about  entering,  being  unable  to  perceive 
whether  there  was  or  was  not  a  step.  We  were  informed  there  was  a  load  of 
straw,  which  we  did  not  see:  one  blanket  and  some  straw  is  the  bedding 
allowed.' 

JAIL  AT  GUILDFORD 

'In  this  jail  the  prisoners  complained  much  of  cold,  and  not  unreasonably, 
as  I  thought,  for  the  day-room  for  all  of  them,  at  this  time  amounting  to 
thirty-five,  and  at  one  period  of  the  year  for  a  short  time  amounting  to  as 
many  as  one  hundred,  is  nine  feet  ten  inches  by  nine  feet  six  inches;  eight 
feet  three  inches  high.  It  is  therefore  evidently  impossible,  in  snow  or  rain,  or 
frost,  for  them  to  obtain  shelter  or  warmth.  A  prisoner,  however,  has  the 
privilege,  if  he  requires  it,  of  being  shut  up  all  day  in  his  sleeping  cell,  with 
unclosed  windows  and  without  fire,  and  these  cells  are  opened  in  very  severe 
weather. 

'There  is  no  chapel.  There  is  no  work.  There  is  no  classification.  There  is 
no  privy.  No  prison  dress  is  allowed. 

"The  irons  are  remarkably  heavy,  and  all  who  are  confined  for  felony, 
whether  for  re-examination,  for  trial,  or  convicted,  are  loaded  with  them; 
and  those  who  are  double-ironed  cannot  take  off  their  small-clothes.' 

JAIL  AT  KINGSTON 

'The  town  jail  is  a  public  house,  in  the  tap-room  of  which,  the  debtors  were 
sitting,  in  the  center  of  a  crowd  of  other  visitors.' 

USE  OF  IRONS 

'Nothing  can  be  more  capricious  than  the  existing  practice  with  regard 
to  irons. 

'In  Chelmsford,  and  in  Newgate,  all  for  felony  are  ironed. 

'At  Bury,  and  at  Norwich,  all  are  without  irons. 

'At  Abingdon,  the  untried  are  not  ironed. 

'At  Derby,  none  but  the  untried  are  ironed. 

'At  Cold-bath- fields,  none  but  the  untried,  and  those  sent  for  re-examina- 
tion, are  ironed. 

'At  Winchester,  all  before  trial  are  ironed;  and  those  sentenced  to  trans- 
portation after  trial. 

'At  Chester,  those  alone  of  bad  character  are  ironed,  whether  tried  or 
untried. 

'And  there  is  as  much  variety  in  the  weight  of  the  fetters;  some  are  heavy, 
others  are  light:  in  one  prison  they  are  placed  on  one  leg,  at  another  on  both.' 


APPENDIX  A  407 

FOOD 

The  quantum  of  food  is  equally  variable. 

'Tothill  Fields,  and  Ipswich.  No  allowance  for  debtors  except  from  charity. 

'Bedford,  three  quartern  loaves  per  week  for  all  prisoners. 

'Bristol,  a  four-penny  loaf  per  day. 

'Borough  Cotnpter,  fourteen  ounces  of  bread  per  day,  two  pounds  of  meat 
per  week. 

'Bury,  one  pound  and  a  half  of  bread  per  day,  one  pound  of  cheese,  and 
three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  meat,  per  week. 

'Norwich,  two  pounds  of  bread  per  day,  half  a  pound  of  cheese  per  week. 

'Penitentiary,  Milbank,  one  pound  and  a  half  of  bread,  one  pound  of 
potatoes,  two  pints  of  hot  gruel,  per  day,  and  either  six  ounces  of  boiled 
meat,  without  bone,  or  a  quart  of  strong  broth  mixed  with  vegetables. 

'Fourteen  ounces  of  bread  per  day  with  two  pounds  of  meat  per  week, 
are  not  enough  to  support  life;  besides,  in  some  prisons,  the  allowance  is 
withheld  for  a  considerable  time.  The  hour  of  delivery  is  fixed,  and  if  a 
prisoner  arrives  after  it,  he  receives  nothing  till  the  next  morning.  Persons 
may  steal  for  immediate  sustenance.' 

BEDDING  AND  CLOTHING 

There  are  differences  with  regard  to  bedding: — 
'From — No  bedding,  or  coverlid, 
A  blanket  for  two  men, 
A  blanket  for  each, 
Two  blankets  for  each, 
Two  blankets  and  a  rug  each, 
Three  blankets  and  a  rug  for  each, 

To — three  blankets,  a  rug,  a  hair  bed,  and  two  pillows,  each. 
The  same  dissimilarity  exists  in  clothing.  Some  prisons  provide  a  dress, 
others  do  not;  some  prisoners  are  comfortably  clad,  and  some  are  almost 
naked.' 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  LADIES  COMMITTEE,  NEWGATE 

'About  four  years  ago,  Mrs.  Fry  was  induced  to  visit  Newgate,  by  the 
representations  of  its  state,  made  by  some  persons  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

'She  found  the  female  side  in  a  situation,  which  no  language  can  describe. 
Nearly  three  hundred  women,  sent  there  for  every  gradation  of  crime,  some 
untried,  and  some  under  sentence  of  death,  were  crowded  together  in  the 
two  wards  and  two  cells,  which  are  now  appropriated  to  the  untried,  and 
which  are  found  quite  inadequate  to  contain  even  this  diminished  number, 
with  any  tolerable  convenience.  Here  they  saw  their  friends  and  kept  their 
multitudes  of  children,  and  they  had  no  other  place  for  cooking,  washing, 
eating,  and  sleeping. 

They  slept  on  the  floor,  at  times  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  one  ward, 
without  so  much  as  a  mat  for  bedding;  and  many  of  them  were  very  nearly 
naked.  She  saw  them  openly  drinking  spirits,  and  her  ears  were  offended  by 
the  most  terrible  imprecations.  Every  thing  was  filthy  to  excess,  and  the  smell 
was  quite  disgusting.  Every  one,  even  the  Governor  was  reluctant  to  go 


408  APPENDIX  A 

amongst  them.  He  persuaded  her  to  leave  her  watch  in  the  office  telling  her 
that  his  presence  would  not  prevent  it  being  torn  from  her.  She  saw  enough 
to  convince  her  that  every  thing  bad  was  going  on.  In  short,  in  giving  me  this 
account,  she  repeatedly  said — "All  I  tell  thee  is  a  faint  picture  of  the  reality; 
the  filth,  the  closeness  of  the  rooms,  the  ferocious  manners  and  expressions 
of  the  women  towards  each  other,  and  the  abandoned  wickedness,  which 
everything  bespoke,  are  quite  indescribable."  One  act,  the  account  of  which 
I  received  from  another  quarter,  marks  the  degree  of  wretchedness  to  which 
they  were  reduced  at  that  time.  Two  women  were  seen  in  the  act  of  stripping 
a  dead  child,  for  the  purpose  of  clothing  a  living  one. 

'At  her  second  visit  she  requested  to  be  admitted  alone,  and  was  locked 
up  with  the  women,  without  any  turnkey,  for  several  hours;  when  she 
mentioned  to  those  who  had  families,  -how  grievous  and  deplorable  she 
considered  the  situation  of  their  offspring,  and  her  desire  to  concur  with 
them  in  establishing  a  School;  the  proposal  was  received,  even  by  the  most 
abandoned,  with  tears  of  joy. 

'Having  thus  obtained  the  consent  of  the  females,  Mrs.  Fry's  next  object 
was  to  secure  the  concurrence  of  the  Governor.  She  went  to  his  house,  and 
there  met  both  the  Sheriffs  and  the  Ordinary.  She  told  them  her  views,  which 
they  received  with  the  most  cordial  approbation;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
unreservedly  confessed  their  apprehensions  that  her  labours  would  be  fruitless. 
At  the  next  interview  they  stated,  that  they  had  thoroughly  examined  the 
prison,  and  were  truly  sorry  to  say,  they  could  not  find  any  vacant  spot 
suitable  for  her  purpose,  and  therefore  feared  the  design  must  be  relinquished. 
Conclusive  as  this  intelligence  appeared,  her  heart  was  then  too  deeply  en- 
gaged in  the  work,  and  her  judgment  too  entirely  convinced  of  its  importance, 
to  allow  her  to  resign  it,  while  one  possibility  of  success  remained.  She 
again  requested  to  be  admitted  alone  amongst  the  women,  that  she  might  see 
for  herself;  and  if  her  search  then  failed,  she  should  be  content  to  abandon 
her  project.  She  soon  discovered  a  cell  which  was  unused,  and  this  cell  is 
the  present  school-room.  Upon  this  she  returned  to  the  Sheriffs,  who  told  her 
she  might  take  it  if  she  liked,  and  try  the  benevolent,  but  almost  hopeless 
experiment. 

'The  next  day  she  commenced  the  school,  in  company  with  a  young  lady, 
who  then  visited  a  prison  for  the  first  time,  and  who  since  gave  me  a  very 
interesting  description  of  her  feelings  upon  that  occasion.  The  railing  was 
crowded  with  half  naked  women,  struggling  together  for  the  front  situations 
with  the  most  boisterous  violence,  and  begging  with  the  utmost  vociferation. 
She  felt  as  if  she  was  going  into  a  den  of  wild  beasts,  and  she  well  recollects 
quite  shuddering  when  the  door  closed  upon  her,  and  she  was  locked  in,  with 
such  a  herd  of  novel  and  desperate  companions.  This  day,  however,  the 
school  surpassed  their  utmost  expectations:  their  only  pain  arose  from  the 
numerous  and  pressing  applications  made  by  young  women,  who  longed  to 
be  taught  and  employed. 

'These  ladies,  with  some  others,  continued  labouring  together  for  some 
time,  and  the  school  became  their  regular  and  daily  occupation;  but  their 
visits  brought  them  so  acquainted  with  the  dissipation  and  gross  licentiousness 
prevalent  in  the  prison,  arising,  as  they  conceived,  partly  from  want  of  certain 
regulations,  but  principally  from  want  of  work,  that  they  could  not  but  feel 


APPENDIX  A  409 

earnest  and  increasing  solicitude  to  extend  their  institution,  and  to  compre- 
hend within  its  range,  the  tried  prisoners.  This  desire  was  confirmed  by  the 
solicitations  of  the  women  themselves,  who  entreated  that  they  might  not  be 
excluded.  Their  zeal  for  improvement,  and  their  assurances  of  good  behaviour, 
were  powerful  motives,  and  they  tempted  these  ladies  to  project  a  school  for 
the  employment  of  the  tried  women,  for  teaching  them  to  read  and  to  work. 

'When  this  intention  was  mentioned  to  the  friends  of  these  ladies,  it 
appeared  at  first  so  visionary  and  unpromising,  that  it  met  with  very  slender 
encouragement;  they  were  told  that  the  certain  consequence  of  introducing 
work,  would  be,  that  it  would  be  stolen;  and  though  such  an  experiment 
might  be  reasonable  enough,  if  made  in  the  country,  among  women  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  hard  labour;  yet  it  was  quite  destitute  of  hope,  when  tried 
upon  those  who  had  been  so  long  habituated  to  vice  and  idleness.  It  was 
strongly  represented  that  their  materials  were  of  the  very  worst  descriptions; 
that  a  regular  London  female  thief,  who  had  passed  through  every  stage 
and  every  scene  of  guilt,  who  had  spent  her  youth  in  prostitution,  and  her 
maturer  age  in  theft  and  knavery,  whose  every  friend  and  connexion  are 
accomplices  and  criminal  associates,  is  of  all  characters  the  most  irre- 
claimable. 

'With  these  impressions,  they  had  the  boldness  to  declare,  that  if  a  com- 
mittee could  be  found,  who  would  share  the  labour,  and  a  matron,  who 
would  engage  never  to  leave  the  prison,  day  nor  night,  they  would  undertake 
to  try  the  experiment;  that  is,  they  would  find  employment  for  the  women, 
procure  the  necessary  money,  till  the  city  could  be  induced  to  relieve  them 
from  the  expense,  and  be  answerable  for  the  safety  of  the  property  committed 
into  the  hands  of  the  prisoners. 

'This  committee  immediately  presented  itself;  it  consisted  of  the  wife  of  a 
clergyman,  and  eleven  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  They  professed 
their  willingness  to  suspend  every  other  engagement  and  avocation,  and  to 
devote  themselves  to  Newgate;  and,  in  truth,  they  have  performed  their 
promise.  With  no  interval  of  relaxation,  and  with  but  few  intermissions 
from  the  call  of  other  and  more  imperious  duties,  they  have  lived  amongst 
the  prisoners. 

The  Sheriff  expressed  the  most  kind  disposition  to  assist  her,  but  told  her 
that  his  concurrence,  or  that  of  the  City,  would  avail  her  but  little — the 
concurrence  of  the  women  themselves  was  indispensable;  and  that  it  was  in 
vain  to  expect  that  such  untamed  and  turbulent  spirits  would  submit  to  the 
regulations  of  women,  armed  with  no  legal  authority,  and  unable  to  inflict 
any  punishment.  She  replied — "Let  the  experiment  be  tried;  let  the  women  be 
assembled  in  your  presence,  and  if  they  will  not  consent  to  the  strict  observ- 
ance of  our  rules,  let  the  project  be  dropped."  On  the  following  Sunday,  the 
two  Sheriffs,  with  Mr.  Cotton  and  Mr.  Newman,  met  the  ladies  at  Newgate. 
Upwards  of  seventy  women  were  collected  together.  One  of  the  committee 
explained  their  views  to  them;  she  told  them  that  the  only  practicable  mode 
of  accomplishing  an  object,  so  interesting  to  her,  and  so  important  to  them, 
was  by  the  establishment  of  certain  rules. 

'They  were  then  asked,  if  they  were  willing  to  abide  by  the  rules  which  it 
might  be  advisable  to  establish,  and  each  gave  the  most  positive  assurances 
of  her  determination  to  obey  them  in  all  points.  Having  succeeded  so  far, 


410  APPENDIX  A 

the  next  business  was  to  provide  employment.  It  struck  one  of  the  ladies  that 
Botany  Bay  might  be  supplied  with  stockings,  and  indeed  all  articles  of 
clothing,  of  the  prisoners'  manufacture.  She,  therefore,  called  upon  Messrs. 
Richard  Dixon  &  Co.  of  Fenchurch  Street,  and  candidly  told  them  that  she 
was  desirous  of  depriving  them  of  this  branch  of  their  trade,  and  stating  her 
views,  begged  their  advice.  They  said  at  once,  that  they  would  not  in  any  way 
obstruct  such  laudable  designs,  and  that  no  further  trouble  need  be  taken  to 
provide  work,  for  they  would  engage  to  do  it. 

'She  then  told  them,  that  the  ladies  did  not  come  with  any  absolute  and 
authoritative  pretensions;  that  it  was  not  intended  they  should  command, 
and  the  prisoners  obey;  but  that  it  v/as  to  be  understood  all  were  to  act  in 
concert;  that  not  a  rule  should  be  made,  or  a  monitor  appointed,  without 
their  full  and  unanimous  concurrence ;  that  for  this  purpose,  each  of  the  rules 
should  be  read,  and  put  to  the  vote;  and  she  invited  those  who  might  feel 
any  disinclination  to  any  particular,  freely  to  state  their  opinion.  The  following 
were  then  read : 

Rules 

'1.  That  a  matron  be  appointed  for  the  general  superintendence  of  the 
women. 

'2.  That  the  women  be  engaged  in  reedlework,  knitting,  or  any  other 
suitable  employment. 

*3.  That  there  be  no  begging,  swearing,  gaming,  card-playing,  quarrelling, 
or  immoral  conversation.  That  all  novels,  plays,  and  other  improper  books, 
be  excluded;  and  that  all  bad  words  be  avoided:  and  any  default  in  these 
particulars  be  reported  to  the  matron. 

'4.  That  there  be  a  yard-keeper  chosen  from  among  the  women:  to  inform 
them  when  their  friends  come;  to  see  that  they  leave  their  work  with  a  monitor 
when  they  go  to  the  grating,  and  that  they  do  not  spend  any  time  there, 
except  with  their  friends.  If  any  woman  be  found  disobedient  in  these  respects, 
the  yard-keeper  is  to  report  the  case  to  the  matron. 

'5.  That  the  women  be  divided  into  classes,  of  not  more  than  twelve;  and 
that  a  monitor  be  appointed  to  each  class. 

A6.  That  monitors  be  chosen  from  among  the  most  orderly  of  the  women 
that  can  read,  to  superintend  the  work  and  conduct  of  the  others. 

'7.  That  the  monitors  not  only  overlook  the  women  in  their  own  classes, 
but  if  they  observe  any  others  disobeying  the  rules,  that  they  inform  the 
monitor  of  the  class  to  which  such  persons  may  belong,  who  is  immediately 
to  report  to  the  matron,  and  the  deviations  to  be  set  down  on  a  slate. 

'8.  That  any  monitor  breaking  the  rules  shall  be  dismissed  from  her  office, 
and  the  most  suitable  in  the  class  selected  to  take  her  place. 

*9.  That  the  monitors  be  particularly  careful  to  see  that  the  women  come 
with  clean  hands  and  face  to  their  work,  and  that  they  are  quiet  during  their 
employment. 

'10.  That  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  women 
collect  in  the  work-room  to  hear  a  portion  of  scripture  read  by  one  of  the 
visitors  or  the  matron;  and  that  the  monitors  afterwards  conduct  the  classes 
from  thence  to  their  respective  wards  in  an  orderly  manner. 

*11.  That  the  women  be  again  collected  for  the  reading,  at  six  o'clock  in 


APPENDIX  A  411 

the  evening,  when  the  work  shall  be  given  in  charge  to  the  matron  by  the 
monitors. 

'12.  That  the  matron  keep  an  exact  account  of  the  work  done  by  the 
women,  and  of  their  conduct. 

And  as  each  was  proposed,  every  hand  was  held  up  in  testimony  of  their 
approbation. 

'In  the  same  manner,  and  with  the  same  formalities,  each  of  the  monitors 
was  proposed,  and  all  were  unanimously  approved. 

'When  this  business  was  concluded,  one  of  the  visitors  read  aloud  the 
1 5th  chapter  of  St.  Luke — the  parable  of  the  barren  fig-tree  seeming  applicable 
to  the  state  of  the  audience.  After  a  period  of  silence,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  the  monitors,  with  their  classes,  withdrew  to  their 
respective  wards  in  the  most  orderly  manner. 

'A  year  is  now  elapsed  since  the  operation  in  Newgate  began,  and  those 
most  competent  to  judge,  the  late  Lord  Mayor  and  the  present,  the  late 
Sheriffs  and  the  present,  the  late  Governor  and  the  present,  various  Grand 
Juries,  the  Chairman  of  the  Police  Committee,  the  Ordinary,  and  the  officers 
of  the  prison,  have  all  declared  their  satisfaction,  mixed  with  astonishment, 
at  the  alteration  which  has  taken  place  in  the  conduct  of  the  females.' 


APPENDIX    B 

Extracts  from  the  First  Reports  of  the  Inspectors,  1836 

NEWGATE 

Male  Side 

>  •  IHE  beer-man  comes  into  the  prison  every  day  from  twelve  to  one,  with 

I    four  three-gallon  cans:  when  they  are  empty,  he  sends  his  boy  for 

JL  more.  Sometimes  an  officer  is  at  the  yard  gate,  who  may  be  present 
at  the  distribution  of  the  beer;  but  this  is  not  generally  the  case.  We  observed 
the  beer-man  distributing  the  beer,  no  officer  being  present  to  see  that  no 
more  than  the  proper  quantity  of  beer  was  received  by  the  prisoners,  who  in 
fact  might,  unchecked,  have  obtained  as  much  as  they  chose  to  purchase. 
And  from  our  own  observation,  the  statements  of  prisoners,  and  those  of 
officers  at  present  in  the  prison,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  our  belief, 
that  almost  any  quantity  of  beer  which  the  prisoners  can  afford  to  purchase 
may  be  brought  into  the  wards.' 

'In  ward  No.  12  were  six  prisoners.  We  found  a  man  aged  38,  under  a 
sentence  of  12  months'  imprisonment  for  an  assault  on  a  lad,  with  an  intent 
to  commit  an  unnatural  offence;  two  lads  of  17  and  18  years  of  age,  one  under 
a  14  days'  sentence;  the  other  untried,  being  charged  with  a  slight  offence 
for  which  he  was  afterwards  sentenced  to  a  month's  imprisonment;  a  man, 
aged  35,  under  sentence  of  transportation  for  life,  for  forgery;  another  aged 
34,  under  sentence  of  seven  years'  transportation;  and  the  sixth,  aged  34,  for 
the  nonpayment  of  several  small  sums  of  money.' 

'At  the  time  of  our  visit  to  this  ward,  the  wardsman  was  obviously  in  a  state 
of  intoxication.  We  took  pains  to  ascertain  the  fact,  by  observing  the  man 
closely,  and  by  asking  him  questions ;  and  we  satisfied  ourselves  that  the  man 
was  drunk.  He  admitted  that  he  had  drank  two  pints  of  porter  that  morning.' 

'With  the  exception  of  the  wardsmen  (who  have  beds  and  bedsteads),  the 
prisoners  all  sleep  on  mats  on  the  floor,  with  rugs  to  cover  them;  and  some 
two,  three,  and  even  four,  under  the  same  covering.  So  closely,  indeed,  do 
they  lie  together,  that  in  our  night-inspections  we  have  found  it  difficult, 
in  stepping  across  the  room,  to  avoid  treading  upon  them. 

'That  gaming  goes  on  in  the  wards  is  a  matter  of  moral  certainty.  The  prac- 
tice is  not  only  attested  by  every  prisoner  whom  we  have  examined,  and  by 
the  acknowledgment  of  its  existence  on  the  part  of  the  officers,  but  by  the 
appearance  of  the  tables  throughout  the  prison,  scarcely  one  of  which  is 
without  the  marks  of  gaming-boards  deeply  cut  on  them,  for  the  playing  of 
low  games. 

412 


APPENDIX  B  413 

'Rioting,  uproar,  and  fighting,  are  frequently  going  on ;  the  serious  nature 
of  which  may  be  best  understood  from  the  number  of  severe  accidents  which 
have  occurred.  We  would  likewise  refer  to  the  statement  of  officers,  who  have 
been  under  the  necessity  of  going  among  the  prisoners,  armed  with  cutlasses; 
and  even  on  such  occasions  windows  have  been  broken,  and  forms  and  tables 
burnt,  before  order  could  be  restored.  The  act  of  locking-up  becomes,  from 
the  consequent  removal  of  all  superintendence,  a  signal  for  the  commence- 
ment of  obscene  talk,  revelry,  and  violence;  and  that  gaming,  swearing, 
singing,  narration  of  adventures,  instruction  in  crime,  proceed  unchecked, 
and  without  ceasing,  until  a  late  hour  of  the  night. 

'When  this  division  of  Newgate  was  first  inspected  by  us,  we  found  in  it 
seventeen  prisoners  under  sentence  of  death:  in  the  lower  room  were  three, 
who  expected  to  suffer:  in  the  upper  room  were  fourteen,  nine  of  whom  were 
not  more  than  twenty  years  of  age;  five  of  them  were  fifteen  and  under;  one 
of  them  was  no  more  than  thirteen  years  old,  and,  in  appearance  as  well  as 
in  years,  quite  a  child. 

'Early  in  the  morning,  each  day  during  the  session  week,  all  the  male 
prisoners  against  whom  bills  of  indictment  have  been  found,  are  mustered 
in  the  Master's  Side  Yard,  and,  before  the  sitting  of  the  court,  are  taken  down 
to  the  Bail  Dock  sometimes  as  many  as  60  or  70  together.  Here  they  are 
often  kept  day  after  day  expecting  their  trials,  sometimes  from  eight  or  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  1 1  at  night.  Some  of  the  prisoners  have  spoken 
of  this  as  the  time  of  their  greatest  sufferings:  one  in  particular  said,  "There 
we  are  mixed  up  with  horrid  characters,  and  are  like  wild  beasts  in  a  den. 
The  conversation  is  gross  and  horrible;  s6me  behave  more  as  if  they  were 
going  to  a  fair  than  to  a  trial.  They  annoy  all  those  who  are  not  of  their  set, 
and  who  seem  alive  to  a  sense  of  their  situation."  Here,  as  everywhere  else 
in  Newgate,  we  find  the  evils  of  prison  association.' 

Female  Side 

'Intoxication  has  been  found  to  occur  even  among  the  women.  A  gate- 
woman,  named  Saunders,  was  removed  from  her  situation  not  many  months 
ago,  for  drunkenness. 

'Prisoners  sleep  on  the  floor  upon  mats,  with  rugs  and  blankets.  Here,  also 
they  lie  two,  three,  and  even  four,  under  the  same  covering,  and  much  crowded 
together  on  the  floor.  The  matron  informed  us  that  the  bedding  was  in- 
sufficient, that  some  of  it  was  ragged,  and  that  it  generally  wanted  washing. 
Neither  the  clothing  nor  the  shoes  of  the  women  were  good.  The  matron 
said  it  was  some  time  since  any  had  been  issued,  and  that  it  was  much  wanted. 
There  was  an  exceedingly  offensive  smell  in  all  the  water-closjets;  the  arrange- 
ments for  cleansing  them  not  being  efficient.' 

'Here  again  we  find  that  the  2d,  3d,  6th  and  7th  Rules  of  the  Gaol  Act, 
which  require  that  female  prisoners  shall  be  constantly  attended  by  female 
officers,  are  constantly  infringed.  The  female  prisoners,  when  taken  down  for 
trial,  are  often  under  the  care  of  male  officers  only.' 

'Better  provision  is  made  for  the  instruction  of  the  females,  in  consequence 
of  the  constant  and  valuable  attention  which  has  been  paid  to  them  by  the 
Ladies'  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Female  Prisoners.  To  assist 
Mrs.  Fry  in  her  exertions  the  Ladies'  Association  was  formed,  about  twenty 


414  APPENDIX  B 

years  ago.  Whatever  may  be  our  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  and  advantage 
of  such  associations,  and  of  the  expediency  of  encouraging  generally  the 
visits  of  ladies  to  well-regulated  gaols,  no  one  can  for  a  moment  doubt  that 
in  a  miserable  prison  like  Newgate  the  visits  of  the  Ladies'  Committee  have 
greatly  contributed  to  lessen  the  depravity  of  the  place,  and  cannot  fail  to  be 
highly  beneficial,  so  long  as  the  present  state  of  the  prison  shall  continue. 
It  is  only  due  to  these  Ladies  to  say,  that  they  have  been  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing much  order  and  cleanliness;  that  they  have  provided  work  for  those 
who  had  before  passed  their  time  in  total  idleness;  that  they  have  introduced 
much  better  regulations  than  had  been  heretofore  observed  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  women  on  their  passage  to  New  South  Wales,  furnishing  them 
with  many  necessaries  and  with  materials  for  keeping  them  employed  during 
the  voyage. 

'The  women  sometimes,  whilst  washing  themselves,  expose  their  necks; 
this  is  certainly  not  decent,  as  the  female  yards  are  overlooked  by  the  principal 
male  turnkeys'  apartments.' 

General  Observations 

The  Association  of  Prisoners  of  all  ages,  and  of  every  shade  of  guilt,  in 
one  indiscriminate  mass,  is  a  frightful  feature  in  the  system  which  prevails 
here;  the  first  in  magnitude,  and  the  most  pernicious  in  effect.  In  this  prison 
we  find  that  the  young  and  the  old;  the  inexperienced  and  the  practised 
offender;  the  criminal  who  is  smitten  with  a  conviction  of  his  guilt,  and  the 
hardened  villain  whom  scarcely  any  penal  discipline  can  subdue,  are  con- 
gregated together,  with  an  utter  disregard  to  all  moral  distinctions,  the 
interests  of  the  prisoners,  or  the  welfare  of  the  community. 

'If  human  ingenuity  were  tasked  to  devise  a  means  by  which  the  most 
profligate  of  men  might  be  rendered  abandoned  to  the  last  degree  of  moral 
infamy,  nothing  more  effectual  could  be  invented  than  the  system  now 
actually  in  operation  within  the  walls  of  the  first  metropolitan  prison  in 
England! 

'Another  feature  in  the  Newgate  system,  to  which  it  is  our  duty  to  call  your 
Lordship's  attention,  is  the  utter  absence  of  all  employment  for  the  prisoners: 
an  evil  which  imparts  to  indiscriminate  association  nearly  all  its  force  and 
malignity. 

'The  last  evil  which  we  have  to  notice  is  the  subjection  of  convicted  prisoners 
to  the  same  degree  only  of  restraint  and  privation  (with  the  single  exception 
of  a  restriction  upon  the  number  of  days  for  receiving  visits)  to  which  they 
had  to  submit  when  merely  awaiting  their  trial.  That  the  law  should  inflict 
upon  an  individual  whom,  as  yet,  it  regards  as  innocent,  the  same  measure 
of  privation  and  restraint  to  which  it  subjects  the  convicted  culprit  as  a 
punishment,  involves  a  confusion  of  moral  distinctions,  and  a  disregard  for 
individual  suffering. 

'We  now  return  to  the  consideration  of  Newgate  as  a  Prison  of  Detention 
for  the  Untried.  We  are  aware  that  we  shall  be  encountered  by  a  measure 
which  has  been  suggested  as  a  specific  and  sufficient  remedy  for  the  enormous 
and  acknowledged  evils  of  the  present  system:  we  mean  the  classification  of 
the  prisoners.  It  is  maintained  that,  by  a  proper  classification,  we  may  get 
rid  of  the  apprehension  and  mischief  of  gaol  contamination.  We  deliberately 


APPENDIX  B  415 

deny  this.  The  opinion  is  based  upon  a  foundation  which  both  reason  and 
experience  abundantly  prove  to  be  delusive.  Classification  is  professedly 
regulated  by  one  or  other  of  these  two  standards — gradation  in  crime,  or 
diversity  of  character.  Now  we  submit,  that  an  attempt  to  classify  according 
to  the  degree  of  imputed  guilt  is  entirely  futile;  the  standard  itself  is  purely 
technical,  inasmuch  as  the  law  places  in  the  category  crimes  which,  in  moral 
atrocity,  are  separated  by  the  widest  assignable,  interval.  But,  even  granting 
that  the  legal  denomination  embraces  crimes  of  the  same  degree  of  moral 
turpitude,  the  imputed  guilt  of  the  prisoner  will  not  necessarily  consign  him 
to  the  society  of  his  equals  in  moral  depravity ;  because  a  most  atrocious 
character  may  happen  to  be  committed  on  a  charge  involving  only  trivial 
criminality.  Is  this  accident,  then,  to  associate  him  with  trivial  offenders? 
By  the  system  of  classification  by  crime,  it  must  be  so.  But  the  advocates  of 
this  system  seek  to  avoid  the  lamentable  consequences  of  this  branch  of 
the  arrangement  by  taking  refuge  in  the  other.  They  offer  to  determine  the 
class  in  which  the  prisoner  shall  be  placed,  by  the  actual  moral  habits  and 
character  of  the  offender!  They  profess  to  determine  the  case  by  a  reference 
to  a  test  of  which  they  cannot  have  any  cognizance;  by  an  inquiry  into  cir- 
cumstances which  are  impenetrably  veiled  from  all  human  scrutiny — the 
internal  habits  and  disposition  of  the  mind  and  heart!  We  will  not  trifle  with 
the  subject,  by  further  needlessly  exposing  a  doctrine,  the  fallacy  of  which  is 
so  apparent;  and  shall  therefore  proceed  to  state  to  your  Lordship  the  nature 
and  advantages  of  the  Separate  System,  by  the  adoption  of  which  we  feel  a 
strong  conviction  that  most  of  the  evils  which  attach,  more  or  less,  to  all  other 
plans,  will  be  guarded  against,  and  the  benefits  aimed  at  by  a  judicious  and 
well-digested  system  of  prison  discipline  will  be  secured.  If  we  venture  to 
express  ourselves  confidently  upon  this  subject,  it  is  because  a  long  and 
patient  investigation,  pursued  under  circumstances  peculiarly  favourable  to 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  it,  in  all  its  various  aspects  and  bearings,  both 
in  this  and  other  countries,  has  forced  a  conviction  upon  us  of  the  various 
merits  of  this  most  valuable  system,  and  justifies  us  in  strongly  recommending 
its  adoption.  But  before  we  proceed,  we  deem  it  right  to  guard  against  any 
misconception  of  our  meaning,  as  to  the  sense  in  which  we  employ  the 
expression  "separate  confinement".  By  these  terms  we  mean  the  confinement 
of  the  prisoners  individually  in  cells,  so  as  effectually  to  keep  them  separate 
from  each  other.  In  this  sense  it  will  be  perceived  that  "separate  confinement" 
is  not  the  same  as  "solitary  confinement",  with  which  it  is  often  inadvertently 
confounded.  It  does  not  contemplate  the  utter  seclusion  of  the  prisoner  from 
all  human  intercourse:  on  the  contrary,  it  expressly  secures  to  him  that  inter- 
course, so  far  as  his  circumstances  admit  of  and  require  it.  It  provides,  that 
he  shall  see  the  Chaplain  both  in  public  worship  and  in  private  converse: 
upon  a  due  performance  of  this  latter  duty  are  founded  the  strongest  hopes 
of  the  reformation  of  the  offender,  whose  spiritual  good  this  system  provides 
for  with  an  earnestness  proportioned  to  its  importance,  and  with  a  rational 
expectation  of  success  which  no  other  system  can  venture  to  entertain. 
Under  this  plan,  also,  the  prisoner  sees  the  medical  officer  when  he  needs 
his  assistance:  he  sees  constantly  the  officers  of  the  prison,  and  is  permitted 
to  confer  with  his  legal  adviser;  and,  under  proper  regulations,  with  his  rela- 
tions and  friends.  He  only  sees  not  those  whom  it  is  his  own  interest,  and  the 


416  APPENDIX  B 

interest  of  the  State,  and  of  Public  Justice,  that  he  should  not  see.  The  system, 
in  short,  is  not  an  instrument  to  oppress;  it  is  a  shield  to  defend.  It  denies  the 
prisoner  no  advantage  which  he  ought  to  possess.  It  guards  him  against  those 
evils  to  which  the  present  system  unfeelingly  exposes  him.  In  order  to  mitigate 
the  discomfort  necessarily  attendant  upon  this  mode  of  confinement,  we 
propose  that,  for  those  who  desire  it,  means  and  materials  for  employment 
should  be  provided.  But  in  any  provision  which  the  prison  regulations  may 
make  for  the  employment  of  the  accused,  we  must  never  lose  sight  of  the 
protection  due  to  the  rights  of  the  Untried.  His  guilt  is  but  contingent: 
he  may  be  innocent :  therefore,  no  occupation  which  may  be  provided  for  him 
should  be  characterised  by  marks  of  compulsion,  or  degradation,  or  severity. 

'In  the  enumeration  of  the  advantages  of  this  system,  we  must  not  overlook 
the  effect  which  it  will  have  even  upon  those  who  shall  eventually  be  found 
guilty.  Upon  their  minds  it  will  impress  the  conviction  that  a  prison  is  what 
the  law  designs  it  to  be,  and  that  its  regulations  cannot  be  defeated.  The 
gloom  with  which  their  imaginations  will  infallibly  connect  the  interior  of  a 
prison,  will  make  a  powerful  impression;  and  thus  from  the  first  moment 
that  Justice  lays  her  hand  upon  the  offender,  he  will  feel  that  he  is  suffering 
for  his  misdeeds. 

'Amongst  the  evils  against  which  the  Separate  System  affords  a  safe-guard 
we  may  enumerate  the  following:  it  prevents,  in  the  first  place,  the  most 
alarming  of  all  evils  which  attend  imprisonment  as  now  conducted,  viz., 
gaol  contamination.  This  it  does  simply  and  effectually.  And  when  we  say 
that  it  provides  against  this  evil,  we  entreat  one  moment's  reflection  upon 
the  magnitude  of  the  mischief  it  at  once  destroys. 

The  dreadful  state  of  terror  and  alarm  in  which  prisoners  are  constantly 
kept,  and  the  exposure  of  the  weak  to  the  oppression  of  the  strong — evils 
against  which  the  present  system  can  provide  no  remedy — have  no  place  in 
the  Separate  System;  and  consequently  cannot  operate  against  those  habits 
of  self-examination  and  reflection,  which  are  totally  discouraged  and  over- 
borne by  the  present  unhappy  and  fearful  circumstances  of  the  prisoners. 

The  last  evil  which  we  shall  notice  is  that  of  Recognition,  against  even  the 
apprehension  of  which,  separate  confinement  fully  secures  the  prisoner.  This 
is  a  measure  which  justice,  as  well  as  humanity,  loudly  demand.  Regulations 
which  fail  of  completely  effecting  this,  have  not  even  the  merit  of  palliating 
the  evil. 

'In  support  of  the  views  which  we  have  thus  taken  of  the  necessity  of 
Separate  Confinement  for  the  Untried,  we  beg  to  call  your  Lordship's  atten- 
tion to  what  has  been  done,  and  is  now  doing,  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
for  the  advancement  of  the  same  end.  Whatever  differences  of  opinion  may 
prevail  in  the  United  States  as  to  the  expediency  of  adopting  a  rigid  system 
of  separation  for  convicts,  the  advantage  of  its  application,  in  a  modified 
form,  to  prisoners  before  trial  is  becoming  generally  acknowledged.  In 
Pennsylvania  two  county  gaols  have  been  erected  on  this  principle;  and  even 
the  Authorities  of  the  city  of  New  York,  attached  as  they  have  hitherto  been 
to  the  Silent  System,  have  yielded  to  the  general  conviction  that  it  is  most 
unjust  to  subject  the  Untried  Prisoner  to  association  with  other  prisoners. 
A  County  Gaol,  or  House  of  Detention,  is  now  building  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  on  the  Separate  System.' 


APPENDIX  B  417 

'In  another  part  of  that  Report  we  have  proposed  the  construction  of  large, 
airy,  separate  cells  at  Milbank,  with  every  needful  accommodation  for  the 
prisoner.  The  value  of  the  plan  suggested  will  be  further  felt,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  by  carrying  it  into  effect  in  a  place  so  central  and  important  as 
the  Metropolis,  at  a  time  when  the  magistrates  in  several  parts  of  the  king- 
dom are  contemplating  the  erection  of  separate  cells,  a  model  will  be  presented 
for  general  imitation.  This  circumstance  is  the  more  important,  as  much 
ignorance  and  misconception  prevails  throughout  the  country  relative  to  the 
construction  and  fitting  up  of  separate  cells.' 

CAMBRIDGE 

House  of  Correction 

'Labour.  There  are  two  tread-wheels  in  separate  yards,  which  are  divided 
from  each  other  by  a  passage  walled  on  each  side,  leading  to  the  interior  of 
the  mill.  The  power  is  applied  to  grinding  grist  for  the  public,  or,  when 
that  is  not  to  be  procured,  to  pumping  water  into  a  tank,  which,  by  the  use 
of  a  waste  pipe,  affords  the  means  of  endless  labour.  The  tread-wheels  are 
each  12  feet  6  inches  in  length,  and  16  feet  in  circumference,  and  allowing 
them  to  revolve  twice  in  a  minute,  and  that  the  men  are  at  work  ten  hours, 
they  ascend  12,800  feet  daily.  Each  revolution  of  the  wheel  is  denoted  by  a 
bell,  and  the  men  rest  after  every  40  rounds.  The  female  prisoners  are  em- 
ployed in  washing.' 

'Prisoners  of  all  descriptions,  tried  and  untried,  are  permitted  to  labour 
in  the  keeper's  garden,  outside  the  prison,  for  which  they  have  received, 
occasionally,  from  him  small  gratuities,  such  as  onions,  potatoes,  and  ale; 
and  the  keeper  stated  that  the  magistrates  permitted  this,  and  that  it  was  an 
understood  part  of  his  remuneration.' 

Spinning  House 

'This  establishment,  situate  in  St.  Andrew's  Street,  was  founded  by  Thomas 
Hobson,  in  1628,  for  the  purpose,  as  expressed  by  him,  in  the  endowment, 
"of  setting  the  poor  people  of  the  University,  and  Town  of  Cambridge,  to 
work,  and  for  a  House  of  Correction,  for  correcting  unruly  and  stubborn 
rogues,  beggars,  and  other  poor  people  which  shall  refuse  work,  and  to 
provide  wool  and  flax  for  their  occupation."  ' 

'The  University  make  use  of  their  allotted  portion  of  the  Spinning  House, 
for  the  inclusion  of  prostitutes,  who  are  apprehended  by  the  Proctors;  they 
are  taken  there  generally  at  night.  The  Vice-Chancellor  attends  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  prisoners  are  brought  before  him.  A  Proctor  is  present,  and  the 
information  is  taken  without  the  formality  of  an  oath,  and  the  offenders 
dealt  with  by  sentences  of  imprisonment  for  periods  not  exceeding  two 
months,  or  discharged  upon  admonition.' 

'General  Discipline. — This  prison  appeared,  upon  first  inspection,  particu- 
larly that  portion  applied  to  vagrants,  to  be  in  a  neglected  and  uncleanly 
state,  but  on  a  second  visit,  it  was  much  improved  in  this  particular.  There  is 
no  sort  of  discipline  maintained;  several  escapes  have  taken  place.  The 
prisoners  are  not  searched,  nor  deprived  of  money,  nor  any  other  article. 

'They  occasionally  climb  over  the  walls  of  one  airing  yard  into  another; 
they  pass  their  time  huddled  round  the  fires,  in  obscene  talk,  or  occasionally 

E.P.B.S. — 27 


418  APPENDIX  B 

in  singing  and  dancing.  The  keeper  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  "that  any  girl  not 
very  bad,  would  be  far  worse  on  going  out  than  when  she  came  in.  He  has 
observed  shades  of  difference,  as  to  feeling  their  situations,  among  some  of  the 
females  upon  first  coming  in,  but  this  has  worn  off  by  association" 

'The  confinement  has  no  other  effect  but  that  of  keeping  them  out  of  the 
streets  in  term  time.  The  females  now  come  in  at  a  much  younger  age  than 
formerly;  they  have  generally  been  servant  girls  in  lodging-houses  in  the 
town.' 

HUNTINGDON 

County  Gaol 

Treadmill  and  crank  machine.  The  treadmill  is  divided  into  compartments 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  communication  between  the  prisoners  while 
on  it.  The  divisions  are  made  of  thin  deal;  the  space  allotted  for  each  prisoner 
is  22^  inches. 

This  arrangement  does  not  appear  to  me  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which 
it  was  intended;  the  men  on  the  wheel  loll,  and  rest  themselves  against  the 
partitions,  and  the  free  circulation  of  air  is  much  impeded;  and  they  contrive 
to  make  holes  in,  and  injure  the  partitions  whenever  they  can  do  so  un- 
perceived. 

'Without  the  constant  presence  of  the  taskmaster,  the  treadwheel  is  a  very 
inefficient  agent  of  correctional  discipline.' 

Borough  Gaol 

The  following  are  the  dimensions  of  the  six  apartments  appropriated  to 
prisoners : 

'Felons'  day  room,  17  ft.  3  in.  by  17  ft.;  and  8  ft.  9  in.  high. 

'Felons'  sleeping  room,  16  ft.  6  in.  by  16  ft.  6  in.;  and  7  ft.  6  in.  high, 
containing  three  large  wooden  bedsteads,  for  three  men  each. 

'Observations. — This  apartment  is  four  feet  under  ground,  descended  by  a 
trap  door  and  staircase.  It  is  quite  unfit  for  the  confinement  of  any  human 
being.  The  floor  is  rotting  with  damp,  and  is  broken  through  in  many  places; 
is  imperfectly  ventilated,  and  almost  without  light. 

'Solitary  cell,  10  ft.  6  in.  by  3  ft.  10  in.;  5  ft.  10  in.  high. 

"Observations. — -This  den,  for  it  can  only  with  propriety  be  so  termed,  is 
built  below  ground,  in  the  shape  of  a  barrel;  it  is  without  light,  and  is  entered 
through  the  felons'  sleeping  room.  Misdemeanants'  sleeping  room,  18  ft.  by 
17  ft.;  7  ft.  3  in.  high.  Three  wooden  bedsteads. 

'Females'  day  and  sleeping  room,  18  ft.  by  15  ft.  6  in.;  7  ft.  6  in.  high. 

'A  female  felon,  under  sentence  of  two  years'  imprisonment,  was  the  only 
prisoner  in  the  gaol  at  the  period  of  inspection.  Had  there  been  male  prisoners, 
she  must  have  been  confined  wholly  to  this  room,  and  precluded  from  air  or 
exercise.' 

NORWICH 
County  Gaol 

'Moral  and  Religious  Instruction. — The  Chaplain  reads  prayers  twice,  and 
gives  one  sermon  on  Sundays;  and  is  in  the  habit  of  paying  a  visit  on  that 
day  to  all  the  prisoners;  particularly  attending  to  those  in  the  infirmaries. 


APPENDIX  B  419 

On  week-days  prayers  are  read  at  half-past  nine;  and  after  this  duty  is  per- 
formed, he  retires  to  the  room  set  apart  for  him  by  the  Magistrates,  and 
receives  the  Schoolmaster's  report  of  the  conduct  of  the  prisoners  during  the 
day  preceding.  He  examines  the  prisoners  who  have  come  in,  and  before  they 
are  classed,  and  he  states  this  to  be  the  time  when,  previous  to  their  intercourse 
with  others,  he  finds  he  has  the  greatest  influence  over  them.  He  is  frequently 
occupied  several  hours  in  obtaining  information  from  them,  as  to  their  former 
habits,  connexions,  and  conduct.  He  then  proceeds  with  those  who  are  about 
to  be  discharged,  and  gives  them  suitable  advice;  and,  if  they  can  read, 
accompanies  it  with  the  present  of  a  Testament,  Prayer  Book,  or  Tracts. 
He  then  examines  into  the  progress  the  different  classes  have  made  who  are 
under  the  Schoolmaster.  The  prisoners  do  not  attend  Chapel  until  examined 
by  the  Surgeon  and  classed  by  the  Chaplain.' 

'Schoolmaster. — Under  the  direction  of  the  Chaplain.  He  states  that  no 
prisoner  is  ever  taken  from  his  labour  for  the  purposes  of  instruction;  it  is 
done  in  the  intervals  allowed  for  rest,  in  the  day  rooms  and  cells.  He  thinks 
there  are  many  prisoners  who  seek  to  be  taught  for  a  good  purpose,  but  there 
are  others  who  resort  to  it  merely  for  employment  of  time,  and  to  relieve  the 
tediousness  of  a  prison.  The  prisoner  in  solitary  confinement  is  always  the 
first  to  ask  for  books.  He  is  sure  that  it  would  tend  much  to  reformation  and 
improve  the  discipline  of  the  prison,  if  the  prisoners  were  confined  apart  and 
provided  with  books.  Still  the  instruction  now  has  a  beneficial  effect.  He  keeps  a 
book  for  each  class  under  his  tuition,  noting  down  their  daily  advancement, 
and  a  list  of  the  books  in  their  possession;  likewise  a  journal  of  the  disposal 
of  his  time,  and  how  employed. 

'Observations. — The  instruction  of  the  prisoners  is  not  altogether  voluntary 
on  their  parts.  When  a  prisoner  refuses  to  be  taught,  he  is  removed  from  his 
class,  and  placed  in  close  confinement  in  his  own  cell;  but  allowing  him 
exercise.  The  Chaplain  states  this  only  to  last  two  or  three  days  before  the 
individual  is  glad  to  get  back  to  his  class.  It  is  done  with  the  sanction  of  the 
Magistrates.  The  prisoners  are  cautioned,  that  if  they  do  not  make  that  use  of 
the  day  rooms  for  which  they  were  intended,  they  will  be  removed  from  them; 
that  they  are  not  for  the  purpose  of  idle  communication  and  talk,  and  that 
those  who  do  not  choose  to  learn  themselves,  must  not  be  there  to  disturb 
the  others.  I  examined  several  of  the  prisoners  who  had  been  under  the 
schoolmaster,  and  as  far  as  reading  fluently,  and  learning  by  rote,  their 
proficiency  was  satisfactory;  their  spelling  was  much  less  so. 

The  books  used  in  the  process  of  instruction  are  wholly  of  a  moral  and 
religious  tendency.' 

Borough  Gaol 

The  principal  front  and  gateway  presents  a  massive  and  appropriate 
architectural  elevation.  The  lodges  on  either  side  the  entrance  contain 
accommodation  for  turnkeys,  searching  room,  hot  and  cold  water  baths, 
and  reception  cells.  The  disposition  of  the  interior  is  a  centre,  with  four 
detached  radiating  wings.  The  central  building  contains  the  Keeper's  dwelling 
and  the  chapel;  it  comprises  a  basement,  with  kitchen,  store-rooms  and 
domestic  offices.  First  floor,  magistrates'  room,  two  parlours,  and  office. 
Second  floor,  two  chambers,  and  chapel,  with  fourteen  divisions,  for  as  many 
classes.  Upper  story,  two  chambers. 


420  APPENDIX  B 

'The  sleeping  cells  for  the  prisoners  are  8  feet  10  inches  long;  6  feet  wide; 
8  feet  10  inches  high.  Four  square  towers  or  attics  are  raised  at  the  extremity 
of  each  radiating  wing,  containing  four  cells  each,  for  the  reception  of 
prisoners  sentenced  to  solitary  confinement.  The  floors  of  the  cells  are  of 
stone,  the  doors  of  iron,  and  the  light  and  air  are  admitted  to  them  by 
wooden  shutters  which  have  three  panes  of  glass. 

'Observations. — The  prison  is  altogether  well  ventilated,  the  drainage 
effective,  and  quite  free  from  any  danger  of  accident  by  fire;  its  divisional 
arrangements  are  convenient,  and  from  the  balcony  which  runs  round  the 
Keeper's  dwelling,  a  sufficiently  commanding  view  of  the  whole  prison  is 
obtained.' 

SWAFFHAM 

Gaol  and  House  of  Correction 

''Scourge  for  Boys. — Handle  20^  inches  of  whalebone,  nine  lashes  of 
common  whipcord,  14^  inches  each  in  length,  with  three  single  knots  in 
each. 

* Scourge  for  Men. — Handle  21  £  inches  of  whalebone,  nine  lashes  of  com- 
mon whipcord,  20^  inches  each  in  length,  and  from  six  to  nine  knots  in  each 
last.  The  Keeper  inflicts  the  punishment  himself.  The  number  of  lashes  is 
never  specified.  The  sentence  runs,  "to  be  whipped  until  his  back  be  bloody." 
The  number  of  lashes  in  his  experience  is  only  three  or  four,  laid  on  very 
sharply,  and  never  more  than  twenty.  No  medical  man  attends. 

'Observations. — The  Keeper  considers  it  necessary  that  there  should  be  the 
power  to  inflict  corporal  punishment,  although  it  is  but  seldom  requisite  to 
resort  to  it.  The  punishment  he  has  been  in  the  habit  of  inflicting,  has  been 
so  slight  as  not  to  require  the  presence  of  a  medical  man.' 

GREAT  YARMOUTH 

Borough  Gaol  and  House  of  Correction 

The  brick  partitions  of  the  sleeping  cells  being  only  9  inches,  and  those 
between  the  male  and  female  wards  being  little  or  no  more,  and  also  remote 
from  any  inspection,  conversation  in  both  situations  is  carried  on  almost 
uninterruptedly.  In  the  old  gaol  the  four  underground  cells  are  quite  dark, 
and  deficient  in  proper  ventilation.  The  prisoners  describe  their  heat  in  sum- 
mer as  almost  suffocating,  but  they  prefer  them  for  their  warmth  in  winter: 
their  situation  is  such  as  to  defy  inspection,  and  they  are  altogether  unfit  for 
the  confinement  of  any  human  being.' 

'Observations. — Upon  first  visiting  the  prison  I  found  several  of  the 
prisoners  in  the  yards  walking  about  without  shoes  or  stockings  on,  and 
otherwise  imperfectly  clad.  The  following  particulars  of  their  condition  and 
treatment  are  derived  from  themselves,  the  gaoler,  and  turnkey. 

'John  Bowles. — This  prisoner,  sentenced  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment, 
was  without  shoes  or  stockings,  with  scarcely  a  rag  of  trousers  to  cover 
him.  He  had  been  so  for  four  months;  he  was  limping  about  the  yard  with  a 
leg  covered  with  sores,  greatly  inflamed  and  swelled.  He  had  been  without 
medical  attendance.  He  told  the  turnkey  of  it  about  a  fortnight  since.  Had 
but  a  single  shirt,  and  was  not  allowed  any  soap ;  washed  it  as  well  as  he  could ; 
he  got  a  bit  of  chalk  and  scrubbed  it. 


APPENDIX  B  421 

'William  Edwards. — Twelve  months'  imprisonment;  had  no  clean  linen 
this  month;  had  been  four  months  without  shoes.  He  borrowed  a  pair  of 
shoes  to  go  to  trial  of  another  prisoner  in  the  yard.' 

'Labour  and  Employment. — Many  of  the  prisoners  are  sentenced  to  hard 
labour,  but  none  is  provided;  shoemakers  and  tailors  are  permitted  to  carry 
on  their  trades  and  procure  work  from  the  tradesmen  in  the  town ;  the  masters 
send  their  wages  to  them  in  the  prison.  Until  the  Resolutions  of  the  Lords' 
Committee  were  communicated  by  the  Magistrates,  they  were  allowed  to 
purchase  whatever  articles  they  pleased,  but  the  money  is  now  received  and 
kept  by  the  Keeper  until  their  discharge.' 

'Sarah  Martin. — This  most  estimable  person  has,  for  the  long  period  of 
seventeen  years,  almost  exclusively  given  up  her  time  to  bettering  the  wretched 
condition  of  the  prisoners  confined  in  this  gaol.  She  is  generally  there  four  or 
five  times  a  week,  and,  since  her  first  commencing  these  charitable  labours, 
she  has  never  omitted  being  present  a  single  Sabbath-day.  On  the  week-days 
she  pursues,  with  equal  zeal,  a  regular  course  of  instruction  with  the  male 
and  female  prisoners.  Many  of  the  prisoners  have  been  taught  to  read  and 
write,  of  which  very  satisfactory  examples  were  produced ;  and  the  men  are 
instructed  and  employed  in  binding  books,  and  cutting,  out  of  bones,  stilet- 
toes, salt  spoons,  wafer  stamps,  and  similar  articles,  which  are  disposed  of 
for  their  benefit.  The  females  are  supplied  with  work  according  to  their 
several  abilities,  and  their  earnings  are  paid  to  them  on  discharge;  in  several 
instances  they  have  earned  sufficient  to  put  themselves  in  decent  apparel,  and 
be  fit  for  service.  After  their  discharge,  they  are,  by  the  same  means,  fre- 
quently provided  with  work,  until  enabled  to  procure  it  for  themselves. 

'Only  a  single  instance  is  recorded  of  any  insult  being  offered  to  her,  which 
was  by  a  prisoner  of  notoriously  bad  character;  upon  which  she  gave  up  her 
attendance  upon  the  ward  to  which  he  belonged;  after  his  discharge,  the 
other  prisoners  came  forward,  and  entreated  most  earnestly  that  she  would 
be  pleased  to  resume  her  visits. 

'There  are  several  cases  where  her  attentions  have  been  successful,  and 
have  apparently  reclaimed,  if  the  continued  good  conduct  of  the  discharged 
be  admitted  as  satisfactory  proof.  That  of  four  smugglers  is  singular  from  the 
fact  that,  upon  their  discharge  after  a  long  imprisonment,  they  addressed  the 
felons,  and  entreated  them  to  listen  to  her  advice  and  treat  her  with  respect.' 

IPSWICH 
County  Gaol  and  House  of  Correction 

The  interior  structure  originally  consisted  of  a  central  building,  with 
four  attached  wings,  upon  the  radiating  principle. 

'Dimensions  of  the  cells — Original  building,  7  feet  9  inches,  by  6  feet 
3  inch  wide,  and  10  feet  high. 

'New  buildings,  9  feet  6  inches  long,  5  feet  wide,  10  feet  high. 

'Cells,  where  three  sleep,  9  feet  6  inches  long,  9  feet  6  inches  wide,  10 
feet  high. 

'The  materials  used  in  the  first  construction  of  the  prison  were  of  the  best 
quality;  it  is  perfectly  ventilated  and  free  from  damp.  It  was  erected  in  1790, 
on  the  plan  of  Mr.  Howard,  and  was  then  supposed  to  answer  every  possible 


422  APPENDIX  B 

purpose  of  such  an  establishment;  but  subsequent  experience  has  so  improved 
the  details  of  prison  architecture,  as  to  leave  this  structure  far  inferior  to 
many  of  a  later  construction.' 

'Labour. — Treadwheel.  The  buildings  with  the  treadwheels  are  among  the 
later  erections  in  the  prison.  The  six  wheels  are  all  placed  contiguous  to  each 
other;  and  the  prisoners  for  hard  labour  are  taken  there  from  all  parts  of  the 
prison  to  perform  their  daily  tasks  upon  the  wheel. 

The  Matron  states,  that  in  one  instance  a  female  was  sentenced  to  six 
months'  imprisonment,  the  last  to  be  solitary;  her  dread  of  it  was  so  great, 
that  she  refused  her  food  for  the  six  weeks  previous,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
herself  ill,  and  avoiding  it.  She  pursued  this  conduct  till  she  became  speechless, 
and  was  obliged  to  be  taken  to  a  sick  room  and  attended  by  a  nurse.' 

Borough  Gaol 

'Officers  of  the  Prison. — Keeper,  a  widow,  aged  60:  her  husband  held  the 
situation  of  Keeper  35  years  ago.  Upon  his  death,  in  1811,  the  Magistrates 
permitted  her  to  succeed  him.  There  is  no  established  turnkey,  but  she 
employs  one  at  her  own  expense,  who  boards  and  sleeps  in  the  prison. 

'General  Observations. — Without  going  into  the  question  of  the  propriety 
of  a  female  holding  such  an  appointment  as  that  of  Keeper,  the  indifferent 
state  of  this  prison  is  quite  sufficient  to  manifest  the  utter  incompetence  of 
the  person  entrusted  with  its  governance.  She  is  a  very  respectable  person, 
and  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  regret  at  her  being  placed  in  this  anomalous 
position.  She  stated,  upon  examination,  that  she  was  quite  unaware  that 
there  were  Acts  of  Parliament  for  the  Regulation  of  Prisons.  She  had  no 
instructions,  no  rules.  That  prisoners,  in  many  instances,  were  brought  to 
the  prison  without  commitments  from  the  Magistrates,  and  have  lain  four 
or  five  weeks,  and  been  discharged  without  any  having  been  sent.' 

REPORT  OF  THE  INSPECTOR   FOR  THE  S.   AND  W.   DISTRICT 

General  Observations 

'In  all  the  County  Gaols  which  I  have  entered,  a  remarkable  degree  of 
cleanliness  and  neatness  has  reigned  throughout,  equalling  that  which  is 
usually  maintained  among  the  middle  classes  in  England,  and  largely  sur- 
passing the  standard  which  generally  prevails  in  the  most  splendid  residences 
of  Continental  Europe.  This  observation  will  not  be  considered  trivial  by 
those  who  appreciate  the  influence  which  these  two  qualities  daily  exercise 
over  the  health  of  the  body,  and  the  discipline  of  the  mind.  Among  the 
Borough  and  Town  Gaols,  and  those  placed  under  local  jurisdiction,  these 
characteristics  are  far  less  prominent,  and  sometimes,  indeed,  are  scarcely 
visible;  but  these  blemishes  appear  to  me,  in  the  various  shades  in  which 
they  exist,  to  be  derived  rather  from  the  narrow  space  and  unsuitableness  of 
the  building,  from  the  limited  funds,  the  scanty  salaries,  and  the  insufficient 
service,  than  from  wilful  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  keepers,  who,  indeed,  are 
often  sensible  of  evils  which  they  do  not  possess  the  power  of  remedying.' 

'From  the  recent  introduction  of  silence  into  some  prisons  I  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  trace  a  single  instance  of  mischievous  consequences.  My 
conversations  with  prisoners,  officers,  surgeons,  chaplains  and  magistrates, 


APPENDIX  B  423 

have  not  led  to  the  discovery  of  any  case  in  which  disease,  either  of  body  or  of 
mind,  has  been  affirmed  by  any  party  to  have  grown  out  of  this  mode  of 
discipline.  The  experiment,  it  is  true,  has  not  yet  been  practised  for  a  long 
period ;  but  I  am  bound  to  add,  that  all  the  persons  most  conversant  with  the 
interior  of  prisons  who  have  favoured  me  with  their  conclusions  on  this  head, 
pronounce  decidedly  in  its  favour,  and  entertain  an  expectation  of  its  prob- 
able efficacy  in  increasing  the  repugnance  to  incarceration.' 

The  branch  of  my  inquiries  which  has  afforded  me  the  most  unmixed 
satisfaction  is  that  which  relates  to  the  proportion  of  deaths  which  occurs  in 
the  principal  gaols  which  I  have  visited.  The  rate  of  mortality  is,  in  most  of 
these  abodes,  so  remarkably  low,  that  I  can  confidently  affirm,  that  in  very 
few  situations  of  life  is  an  adult  less  likely  to  die  than  a  well-conducted  English 
prison.' 

Gloucester  County  Gaol  and  Penitentiary 

'The  County  Gaol  and  Penitentiary  are  both  comprehended  within  one 
building,  although  separate  in  arrangements  and  in  position.  This  edifice 
reflects  honour  on  the  memory  of  Sir  George  Paul,  who  appears  to  have  had 
the  entire  direction  of  the  plan,  and  who  anticipated,  in  his  own  time,  certain 
improvements,  which  were  not  much  noticed  then,  and  have  been  since 
regarded  as  the  discovery  of  later  individuals.  His  presiding  genius  watched 
over  the  most  minute  details ;  thus,  for  instance,  he  has  made  all  the  doors  of 
passages  very  low,  in  order  that  a  prisoner,  if  running  at  an  officer  to  attack 
him,  might  be  suddenly  arrested  in  his  course.' 

The  ventilation  is  good;  the  windows  and  privies  in  complete  order. 
The  Prison  is  a  secure  one.  Although  the  situation  is  not  very  dry,  the  Prison 
is  usually  dry  internally. 

There  are  13  Wards  in  the  Gaol,  with  six  Day  Rooms,  and  six  Airing 
Yards.  There  are  88  Light  Cells  for  sleeping-rooms.  There  are  only  two 
Dark  Cells  and  both  of  these  are  above  ground.  There  are  no  other  Refractory 
Cells  specially  appropriated  for  punishment. 

'In  the  Penitentiary  there  are  79  Day  Cells,  and  69  Sleeping  Cells.  The  entire 
number  of  the  cells,  in  the  whole  Penitentiary,  is  148.' 

The  Gaol  is  appropriated  to  Untried  Prisoners  (excepting  fines  in  execu- 
tion, also  admitted).  The  Penitentiary  is  for  the  Convicted. 

The  Convicted  Prisoners  are  confined  in  separate  cells,  both  by  day  and 
by  night,  whenever  there  is  sufficient  room  for  the  practice  of  such  a  system. 
They  are  always  separated  at  meals  and  at  night.  Solitude  appears  to  be  that 
part  of  the  discipline  which  is  most  severely  felt.  Amongst  these  classes  the 
observance  of  silence  is  strictly  enforced.  When  the  Prison  is  crowded,  15  or 
20  are  placed  in  a  large  day-room  together.' 

'Cleanliness,  neatness  and  steady  discipline  are  visible  throughout,  and 
the  Prison  has  been  fortunate  in  long  possession  of  a  zealous  and  judicious 
Governor. 

'Silence  appears  to  have  been  introduced  here  on  the  opening  of  the  Gaol 
in  1792;  but  it  was  not  then  so  methodically  pursued  as  at  present.  This 
appears  to  have  been  the  fountain-head  of  information  on  the  subjects  of 
silence  and  solitude.  Labour  in  separate  day  cells  was  only  given  up  in  1822, 
when  the  treadwheel  was  introduced.' 


424  APPENDIX  B 

'Each  Penitentiary  prisoner  has  daily  for  breakfast  and  supper,  half  a 
pint  of  milk  mixed  with  half  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  and  1  £  Ib.  loaf  of  bread 
daily.' 

'Labour. — There  are  two  treadwheels  here,  containing  40  divisions  or 
compartments.  Each  side  has  10  of  these  divisions;  and  the  total  number  of 
prisoners  which  the  wheels  can  employ  at  the  same  time  is  40.  The  height  of 
each  step  is  eight  inches,  and  the  ordinary  velocity  of  the  wheels  is  twice  in 
the  minute.  The  other  lighter  employments  consist  in  cooking,  washing, 
cleansing,  but  no  trade.  Certain  trades  are  performed  by  the  Debtors,  when 
the  prison  does  not  happen  to  be  crowded,  and  they  receive  all  their  earnings. 

'The  hours  allotted  to  hard  labour  are  about  five  in  the  winter,  and  about 
nine  in  the  summer.' 

Winchester  County  Gaol 

'Construction. — Large,  substantially  built,  and  imposing  in  form,  this  Gaol 
is  probably  less  secure  than  it  appears  at  first  sight.  It  is  overlooked  by  the 
windows  of  neighbouring  houses  in  several  points.  There  are  Nine  Yards; 
five  for  Male  Felons,  two  for  Debtors,  and  two  only  for  the  Women.  In 
consequence  of  this  want  of  accommodation  for  the  females,  classification 
among  them  becomes  impracticable  to  any  extent.  The  wall  of  the  Women's 
Yard  is  so  low,  that  they  may  easily  converse  across.  A  great  evil  here  is,  that 
the  Felons  look  up  from  their  yards,  and  observe  the  Debtors  in  their  galleries, 
while  the  Debtors  look  down  from  their  galleries,  and  obtain  an  extensive 
view  of  all  that  passes  in  the  Felons'  yards.  Thus  a  mutual  source  of  amuse- 
ment is  established,  and  a  sort  of  amphitheatre  is  formed  for  reciprocal 
survey.  There  is  no  Kitchen,  nor  Bathing-house.' 

'Labour. — No  hard  labour  is  practised  here,  nor  indeed  is  any  regular 
employment  carried  on.  The  washing  for  the  whole  prison  is  performed  by 
the  prisoners,  so  also  is  whitewashing,  and  trifling  repairs  of  the  premises 
make  an  occasional  occupation.' 


APPENDIX  C 

Extracts  from  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords 
on  Prison  Discipline,  1863 

(1)    SEPARATE  CONFINEMENT  (pp.  V  and  vi) 

'yN  all  questions  of  prison  discipline,  it  appears  to  the  Committee  that 
I  the  principle  of  separation,  or  association,  stands  first  for  consideration. 
JlNext  in  importance  is  the  question  of  solitary  confinement. 

Association,  or  a  mixed  system  of  association  and  separation,  prevails, 
as  has  already  been  shown,  in  many  gaols.  Such  anomalies,  however,  are,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  very  objectionable.  They  should  be  removed 
at  the  earliest  practicable  time;  and  their  present  existence  can  only  be  justified 
by  the  difficulties  of  reconstruction,  and  the  natural  reluctance  of  the  local 
authorities  to  incur  a  heavy  expenditure.  The  Committee  entertain  a  very 
decided  opinion  on  this  head,  and  having  reference  to  the  course  of  legislation 
now  extending  over  many  years,  and  the  agreement  in  opinion  and  practice 
of  the  highest  authorities,  they  consider  that  the  system  generally  known  as 
the  separate  system  must  now  be  accepted  as  the  foundation  of  prison 
discipline,  and  that  its  rigid  maintenance  is  a  vital  principle  to  the  efficiency 
of  county  and  borough  gaols. 

The  Committee  concur  entirely  in  the  opinion  expressed  by  the  Com- 
missioners of  Pentonville,  who  in  their  Fifth  Report,  dated  5  March,  1847, 
give  the  following  decisive  testimony  in  its  favour: 

'We  concluded  our  Third  Report  by  strongly  urging  the  advantage  of 
the  separation  of  one  prisoner  from  another  as  the  basis  and  great  leading 
feature  of  all  prison  discipline. 

'On  reviewing  this  opinion,  and  taking  advantage  of  further  experience, 
we  feel  warranted  in  expressing  our  firm  conviction  that  the  moral  results 
of  the  discipline  have  been  most  encouraging,  and  attended  with  a  success 
which  we  believe  is  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  prison  discipline.' 

'And  in  conclusipn  they  state  as  their  deliberate  opinion  that 

'The  separation  of  one  prisoner  from  another  is  the  only  sound  basis  on 
which  a  reformatory  discipline  can  be  established  with  any  reasonable  hope 
of  success. 

'It  is  clear  that  this  kind  of  separation  must  depend  upon  the  judgment 
and  capacity  of  those  who  are  locally  responsible  for  the  administration  of 
the  prison.  The  newest  and  most  elaborate  form  of  construction  is  an  in- 
sufficient safeguard  if  there  is  any  relaxation  of  the  necessary  precautions  by 

425 


426  APPENDIX  C 

the  local  authorities,  whilst  an  old  and  defective  gaol  may  in  some  degree, 
by  care  and  proper  arrangement,  be  adapted  to  th6  requirements  of  our 
present  system.1  Looking,  however,  to  the  ordinary  arrangements  which 
exist  in  most  gaols,  there  are  so  many  interruptions  to  the  regularity  of  prison 
discipline,  instruction  is  given  at  such  various  times,  and  the  communications 
which  pass  between  prisoners  and  other  persons  are  so  frequent,  that  separa- 
tion, though  it  exists  nominally  in  many,  is  really  to  be  found  in  few  gaols; 
but  where  it  does  exist,  it  exercises  both  a  reformatory  and  a  deterrent  effect. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  Committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  principle 
of  separation  should  be  made  to  pervade  the  entire  system  of  the  prison, 
and  no  adequate  reason  has  been  assigned  for  the  relaxation  of  the  rule  in 
school,  in  chapel  and  at  exercise.  It  is,  however,  to  be  understood  that  this 
conclusion  is  not  intended  to  limit  the  cellular  and  other  religious  instruction 
which  the  chaplain  may  think  fit  to  administer  to  any  prisoner. 

'The  justice  of  this  view  is  generally  admitted,  except  as  regards  the  assbcia- 
tion  of  prisoners  in  chapel.  Upon  this  point  the  evidence  is  conflicting. 

'The  main  objections  to  the  use  of  separate  compartments  in  chapel  appear 
to  resolve  themselves  into  two;  one  moral,  the  other  mechanical.  The  first  is 
grounded  upon  the  opinion  that  a  gaol  chapel  ought  to  be  as  much  as  possible 
like  a  parish  church;  the  second  arises  from  the  belief  that  the  compartments, 
from  the  mode  of  their  construction,  tend  to  facilitate  rather  than  impede 
communication  between  the  prisoners,  and  to  induce  them  to  deface  the 
panels  of  the  stalls  by  indecent  writings  or  drawings.  Neither  of  these  objec- 
tions seems  to.  the  Committee  to  be  valid.  With  regard  to  the  first,  they  con- 
ceive that  the  benefits  which  may  be  derived  from  giving  a  more  devotional 
character  to  the  chapel  cannot  outweigh  the  advantages  of  preventing 
the  communication  of  prisoners  with  each  other,  and  of  rendering  difficult 
their  recognition  by  their  fellow-prisoners  on  their  discharge.  With  regard 
to  the  second  objection,  the  Committee  think  that  by  adopting  arrangements 
of  the  same  nature  as  those  which  are  in  force  in  Bristol  Gaol,  the  separation 
of  the  prisoners  may  be  effected  without  difficulty.  For  these  reasons  the 
Committee  recommend  that  the  separate  system  should  be  carried  out  in 
the  chapel  as  well  as  in  every  other  part  of  the  prison.' 

(2)  LABOUR  (pp.  vii  and  viii) 

'There  can  be  little  doubt  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  discrepancies  which 
exist  in  the  discipline  administered  in  different  prisons  is  due  to  the  different 

1  This  appears  actually  to  be  done  in  the  city  gaol  of  Bristol.  See  Mr.  Gardner's 
evidence.  Sir  J.  Jebb  has  added  his  testimony  to  the  complete  success,  so  far  as 
separation  is  concerned,  which  is  obtained  by  the  system  that  is  there  pursued.  '1 
know  of  one  prison,'  he  says,  'which  is  on  the  old  construction  (I  speak  now  of  the 
prison  at  Bristol),  where  a  most  effective  discipline  is  well  kept  up  by  the  Governor, 
with  very  inadequate  means  as  regards  construction:  he  has  small  cells,  which 
are  only  fit  for  sleeping  in,  and  cannot  be  certified  for  separate  confinement;  but 
by  dividing  his  treadwheel  into  close  compartments,  and  letting  out  the  prisoners 
from  their  cells  at  certain  distances  from  each  other,  and  shutting  them  up  in  the 
compartments  of  the  treadwheel,  and  marching  them  back  again  to  their  cells  in 
the  same  way,  no  two  prisoners  can  ever  see  each  other,  and  you  really  obtain  the 
advantages  of  separate  confinement  without  the  expense  which  is  entailed  by  the 
construction  of  a  prison.'  (1207.) 


APPENDIX  C  427 

constructions  placed  by  the  local  authorities  upon  the  sentence  of  hard  labour 
ordered  by  the  Court.  Committees  of  both  Houses  have  repeatedly  recom- 
mended, and  various  statutes  have  distinctly  required,  the  infliction  of  hard 
labour:  but  it  is  clear  from  the  evidence  that  there  is  the  widest  possible 
difference  in  the  opinions  held  as  to  what  constitutes  hard  labour.  The  Com- 
mittee believe  that,  with  the  best  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  local  authorities, 
there  is  in  many  gaols  a  great  and  unfortunate  misapprehension  on  this  head, 
and  that  until  some  more  precise  definition  of  hard  labour  is  assigned,  the 
grave  public  inconvenience  and  injustice  which  now  arise  from  the  inequalities 
of  penal  discipline  in  neighbouring  counties  or  even  in  parts  of  the  same 
county,  must  continue  in  full  force.  The  first  step  towards  a  better  and  more 
uniform  system  throughout  the  country,  would,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Com- 
mittee, be  found  in  an  authoritative  definition,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  of  the 
term  of  hard  labour.  Nor  does  there  seem  to  be  in  this  any  practical  difficulty. 
Of  the  various  forms  which  are  in  force  in  the  several  prisons,  the  treadwheel, 
crank  and  shot-drill  alone  appear  to  the  Committee  properly  to  merit  this 
designation  of  hard  labour.  Of  these,  the  treadwheel  and  the  crank  form  the 
principal  elements  of  penal  discipline,  and  might  be  safely  prescribed  as 
such  in  any  future  Act  of  Parliament.  But  whenever  the  local  authorities 
may  think  it  necessary  to  supplement  the  treadwheel  or  crank  by  further 
hard  labour,  recourse  may  satisfactorily  be  had  to  shot-drill,  and  this  form 
of  hard  labour  may  be  combined  with  the  industrial  employment  in  the  later 
stages  of  imprisonment.  Industrial  occupation,  though  it  may  vary  in  amount 
and  character,  is  so  much  less  penal,  irksome  and  fatiguing,  that  it  can  only 
be  classed  under  the  head  of  light  labour.  The  picking  of  oakum  must  be 
regarded  as  an  intermediate  form  of  work ;  but  under  no  circumstances,  and 
to  no  class  of  prisoners,  can  industrial  occupation  be  made  an  equivalent 
for  a  corresponding  amount  of  hard  labour  as  administered  by  means  of  the 
wheel,  the  crank  or  the  shot-drill. 

'It  has  been  alleged  in  the  course  of  the  evidence,  that  the  use  of  the  tread- 
wheel  and  crank  degrades,  irritates  and  demoralises  the  prisoner;  but  the 
Committee,  after  full  consideration,  see  no  reason  for  entertaining  this 
opinion,  and,  under  certain  conditions,  they  highly  approve  of  the  use  of 
both  these  instruments  of  prison  discipline.  Productive  labour,  indeed,  holds 
out  to  the  local  authorities  the  hope  of  some  profit,  and  is  somewhat  less 
irksome  to  the  prisoner;  it  is  therefore  frequently  urged,  that  the  crank  and 
wheel,  if  used  at  all,  should  be  confined  to  the  pumping  of  water,  or  the 
grinding  of  corn,  or  some  other  remunerative  work.  The  Committee  cannot 
subscribe  to  this  view.  If  the  local  authorities  can  make  use  of  the  crank  or 
treadwheel  for  productive  work,  the  Committee  see  no  objection  to  such 
an  arrangement,  but  they  think  it  essential  that  every  prisoner  sentenced  to 
hard  labour  should  be  employed  upon  the  crank  or  treadwheel  for  a  minimum 
period,  and  that  in  no  case  should  the  regular  enforcement  of  this  system  be 
relinquished  or  impaired  for  the  sake  of  making  the  labour  remunerative. 

'As  regards  the  short  sentences  or  the  earlier  stages  of  imprisonment,  the 
Committee  believe  that  they  are  adopting  a  safe  and  a  moderate  standard 
when  they  recommend  that  every  prisoner  sentenced  to  hard  labour  shall, 
unless  exempted  by  medical  authority  on  grounds  of  health,  be  employed  at 
the  treadwheel  or  crank  not  less  than  eight  hours  per  day  the  first  three,  and 


428  APPENDIX  C 

not  less  than  six  hours  per  day  during  the  next  three  months  of  the  first  year 
of  imprisonment.' 

(3)    REFORMATORY  INFLUENCES  (pp.  xii  and  xiv) 

'The  possible  reformation  of  offenders  is  an  object  which  successive  Com- 
mittees of  both  Houses  have  had  in  view.  The  House  of  Lords  Committees 
of  1835  and  1847  both  refer  to  it;  the  House  of  Commons  Committee  of  1850 
recognises  its  importance  in  marked  terms.  The  Committee  fully  admits  that 
it  forms  a  necessary  part  of  a  sound  penal  system,  but  they  are  satisfied  that, 
in  the  interests  of  society  and  of  the  criminal  himself,  it  is  essential  that  the 
other  means  employed  for  the  reformation  of  offenders  should  always  be 
accompanied  by  due  and  effective  punishment.  Sir  W.  Crofton,  indeed,  whose 
experience  on  this  subject  entitles  him  to  much  consideration,  does  not 
hesitate  to  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  moral  reformation  of  character  is  greatly 
assisted  by  a  preliminary  course  of  stringent  punishment.1 

They  also  believe  that  the  inefficiency  of  the  present  system  of  administering 
the  law  in  ordinary  prisons  is  shown  in  the  large  proportion  of  prisoners  who, 
after  undergoing  a  period  of  confinement,  are  again  committed  to  prison 
under  fresh  sentences.  The  relapse  of  such  prisoners  is  partly  due  to  the 
difficulty  which  any  one  of  tainted  character  has  in  finding  employment. 

4In  this  view,  the  question  of  rendering  assistance  to  prisoners  on  discharge, 
as  a  preventive  measure  calculated  to  reduce  the  rate  of  re-convictions,  appears 
to  the  Committee  to  be  deserving  of  serious  consideration. 

'2.  The  Committee,  whilst  they  are  compelled  to  admit  that  the  reforma- 
tion of  individual  character  by  any  known  process  of  prison  discipline  is 
frequently  doubtful,  believe  that  the  majority  of  prisoners  are,  within  certain 
limits,  open  to  the  influences  of  encouragement  and  reward.  They  therefore 
attach  importance  to  the  establishment,  in  every  prison,  of  various  gradations, 
which  shall  rise  from  the  penal  and  disciplinary  labour  of  the  treadwheel, 
crank  or  shot-drill,  into  the  higher  and  less  irksome  stages  of  industrial 
occupation  and  prison  employments.  And  with  that  view  they  would  make 
the  entire  system  strictly  progressive  throughout  its  several  stages. 

1  Q.  'Your  view  would  be,  that,  having  regard  to  the  requirements  of  prison 
discipline,  and  the  ultimate  reformation  of  the  prisoner,  the  penal  element,  whether 
it  be  by  the  treadwheel  or  by  the  crank,  ought  to  form  a  constituent  part  of  that 
system? 

A.  'I  am  quite  satisfied  about  that,  and  more  now  than  ever,  because  nine  years 
since  we  established  reformatory  schools  at  a  great  cost  of  money  and  time :  and 
I  think  that  when  we  do  so  much  to  prevent  crime,  and  to  train  those  youths  up, 
so  that  they  shall  not  pursue  criminal  avocations,  we  are  bound,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  be  more  stringent  in  the  punishment  of  those  who  still  pursue  a  course  of  crime 
in  spite  of  what  we  have  done  for  them;  and  I  am  quite  satisfied  that  the  managers 
of  reformatory  schools  would  consider  their  hands  to  be  strengthened  by  the  prisoner 
knowing  that  pursuing  a  course  of  crime  would  lead  to  really  stringent  punishment, 
and  other  procedure  externally,  which  I  shall,  I  hope,  point  out  presently. 

Q.  'It  has  been  given  in  evidence  before  this  Committee  by  some  of  the  witnesses, 
that,  in  their  opinion,  the  effect  of  the  treadwheel  and  the  crank  is  to  create  a  sense 
of  degradation  in  the  mind  of  the  prisoner;  is  that  your  opinion? 

A.  'I  have  no  doubt  it  may  do  so;  but,  combined  with  other  industrial  pursuits, 
I  think  it  might  be  counteracted.  I  believe  that  the  penal  element  is  so  necessary  that 
the  feeling  of  degradation  I  must  place  on  one  side  altogether  in  my  mind.' 


APPENDIX  C  429 

*7.  The  Committee  give  full  credit  to  both  the  inspectors  for  their  wish  to 
improve  the  general  condition  of  the  gaols  placed  under  their  supervision; 
but  they  feel  bound  to  express  their  dissent  from  many  of  the  ruling  principles 
of  prison  discipline,  which  they,  and  especially  Mr.  Perry,  have  laid  down. 
They  do  not  consider  that  the  moral  reformation  of  the  offender  holds  the 
primary  place  in  the  prison  system;  that  mere  industrial  employment  without 
wages  is  a  sufficient  punishment  for  many  crimes;  that  punishment  in  itself  is 
morally  prejudicial  to  the  criminal  and  useless  to  society,  or  that  it  is  desirable 
to  abolish  both  the  crank  and  tread  wheel  as  soon  as  possible.' 

(4)  PRISON  PUNISHMENTS  (p.  xiii) 

'Punishments  for  offences  committed  in  prison  form  so  important  a  part 
of  prison  discipline,  that,  under  any  system,  they  cannot  be  overlooked. 
The  Committee  believe  that  in  many  cases  misconduct  is  best  punished  by 
degradation  from  a  higher  to  a  lower  and  more  penal  class,  combined  with 
harder  labour  and  a  more  sparing  diet;  in  others,  by  the  ordinary  penalty 
of  reduction  of  food,  or  by  solitary  confinement  in  dark  cells — if  separated 
by  a  sufficient  distance  from  each  other,  and  from  the  other  parts  of  the 
prison — but  that  where  the  offender  is  hardened,  and  the  offence  deliberately 
repeated,  corporal  punishment  is  the  most  effective,  and  sometimes  the  only 
remedy.  The  most  experienced  witnesses  are  unanimous  as  to  the  wholesome 
influence  of  corporal  punishment;  some,  indeed,  have  stated  that  they  have 
never  known  it  ineffective;  and  the  Committee  wish  to  record  their  opinion 
of  its  great  value  as  one  form  of  disciplinary  correction.' 

(5)  STATE  OF  CERTAIN  PRISONS  (p.  XV) 

'Some  of  these  minor  prisons,  such  as  that  of  Falmouth,  have  repeatedly 
been  condemned  in  the  inspectors'  reports  as  altogether  unfit  for  the  custody 
and  penal  discipline  of  prisoners,  and  it  would  almost  seem  that  the  inspector 
in  such  cases  has  given  up  the  fruitless  duty  of  making  his  inspection,  and 
republishing  his  annual  censure.  There  is  frequently  an  unrestrained  associa- 
tion of  untried  with  convicted,  juvenile  with  adult  prisoners,  vagrants,  mis- 
demeanants, felons;  dormitories  wholly  without  light  or  control  or  regulation 
exist,  and  in  one  case  the  governor  admits  that,  in  the  event  of  a  disturbance 
at  night  amongst  the  prisoners,  the  warder  on  duty  would  not  be  allowed  to 
enter  the  room,  for  fear  of  an  assault  being  made  upon  him;  occasionally 
two  and  more  prisoners  have  been  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  same  bed.  In  one 
instance  the  beds  themselves  have  been  removed,  lest  the  prisoners  should 
break  them  up  and  make  use  of  the  fragments,  whilst  in  another  gaol  the 
beds  form  so  large  an  element  of  the  life  of  the  prisoners  that  no  less  than 
15  hours  out  of  the  24  are  allowed  to  be  given  to  sleep.  It  appears  that  in 
several  places  the  building  itself  is  out  of  repair,  or  is  overlooked  by  adjoining 
houses;  that  sometimes  one  man  alone  is  in  charge  of  the  gaol,  and  respons- 
ible for  its  security;  that,  in  one  case,  so  little  facility  is  there  for  carrying  on 
the  ordinary  administration  of  the  establishment,  that  the  prisoners'  food  is 
supplied  daily  from  the  neighbouring  inn,  and  that  the  innkeeper's  bill 
constitutes  the  only  accounts  which  are  kept;  that  there  are  times  of  complete 
idleness,  when  neither  penal  labour  nor  light  employment  is  given,  and  that 


430  APPENDIX  C 

amdngst  many  other  abuses  communications  of  a  contaminating  and  injurious 
tendency  take  place  between  the,prisoners. 

In  reviewing  this  unsatisfactory  and  discreditable  condition  of  many  of 
the  minor  borough  gaols,  the  Committee  cannot  conceal  from  themselves 
that  it  is  in  a  great  measure  due  to  a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  the  town 
councils  or  governing  bodies  to  provide  the  necessary  means  for  the  proper 
administration  of  the  prison.  In  one  instance,  where  the  visiting  justices  of 
the  borough,  as  a  measure  of  common  prudence,  appointed  a  warder  to 
assist  the  governor,  who  is  the  only  functionary  in  the  gaoJ,  the  Town  Council 
have  declined  to  confirm  this  order,  and  the  warder  remains  unpaid. 

'In  the  same  prison  no  chaplain  has  been  appointed,  although  the  2  &  3 
Viet.,  c.  56,  s.  15,  makes  this  obligatory  upon  the  authorities  of  every  gaol.' 


APPENDIX   D 


NUMBERS  AND  SALARIES  OF  STAFF  IN  ENGLISH  PRISON 

SERVICE 


Numbers 

Grades 

Salaries 

HEAD  OFFICE 

(Senior  and  Specialist  Posts) 

£ 

1 

Chairman  of  Commissioners         .    (Commissioner) 

2,850 

1 

Deputy  Chairman        .         .         .   (Commissioner) 

2,125 

Secretary   .....    (Commissioner) 

1,500-2,000 

Director  of  Prison  Administration    (Commissioner) 

,500-1,  #00 

Director  of  Borstal  Administration    (Commissioner) 

,500-1,800 

Director  (Woman)       ...... 

,340-1,625 

1  Establishment  Officer  ...... 

,500-2,000 

Director  of  Medical  Services          .... 

,850-2,125 

Assistant  Director  of  Medical  Services  . 

,725-2,000 

Director  of  Industries  ...... 

1,800 

Director  of  Works       ...... 

,500-1,750 

Deputy  Director  of  Works  ..... 

,050-1,270 

6 

2Assistant  Commissioners      ..... 

,250-1,500 

Chaplain  Inspector      ...... 

1,050 

Senior  Vocational  Training  Officer 

830-   930 

> 

Vocational  Training  Officers 

775-    875 

Catering  Adviser         

700-   950 

Physical  Training  Organiser.          .... 

650-    850 

NOTES  : 

1  Assistant   Secretaries   of  the   Administrative 

Class:  there  are  also  3  Principals  of  the  Ad- 

ministrative Class. 

2  One  Assistant  Commissioner  is  in  charge  of 

Education  and  Welfare. 

The   Finance   Officer  and    the    Controller   of 

Stores  and  Manufactures  rank  as  Chief  Execu- 

tive Officers.  There  are  two  other  Chief  Execu- 

tive Officers,  one  in  the  Secretariat  and  one  in 

Establishments  Branch. 

PRISONS  AND  BORSTALS 

Superior  Officers 

10 

Governors,  Class  I       ....            Men 

1,400 

Women 

1,300 

18 

Governors,  Class  II     .         .         .         .             Men 

1,100-1,275 

Women 

925-1,100 

36 

Governors,  Class  III    .         .         .         .            Men 

850-1,050 

Women 

700-   900 

33 

Assistant  Governors,  Class  I         .         .            Men 

650-    750 

Women 

530-    650 

431 


432 


APPENDIX  D 


NUMBERS  AND  SALARIES  OF  STAFF  IN  ENGLISH  PRISON 
SERVICE— continued 


Numbers 

Grades 

Salaries 

PRISONS  AND  BORSTALS  —  continued 

Superior  Officers  —  continued 

£ 

95 

Assistant  Governors,  Class  II       .         .            Men 

395-   650 

Women 

36?-   525 

26 

Chaplains  (full-time)   

520 

9 

Senior  Medical  Officers        ..... 

1,725-2,000 

38 

2Medical  Officers  (full-time)  

1,250-1,725 

Psychological,  Educational  and  Welfare 

2 

Principal  Psychologists         

1,050-1,270 

2 

Senior  Psychologists    ....            Man 

750-1,000 

Woman 

650-   850 

5 

Psychologists      

350-   750 

1 

Educational  Psychologist      .         .         .       Woman 

495-   600 

2 

Psychiatric  Social  Workers  .         .         .       Women 

407-   562 

10 

Psychological  Testers  ....            Men 

350-   400 

Women 

280-   320 

1 

Vocational  Guidance  Officer         .... 

775-    875 

5 

Social  Workers  Women 

350-   480 

Nursing  and  Medical 

1 

Nursing  Matron-in-Chief     

380-   530 

6 

Principal  Sisters  

504-   582 

50 

Nursing  Sisters  ....... 

364-   485 

10 

Pharmacists        

509-   606 

20 

Works 

a  week 

22 

Foremen  of  Works      

190^-2025'. 

63 

Engineers,  Class  I        

18Qy.-190j. 

Engineers,  Class  II      

\65s.-lSQs. 

23 

Industries 

3 

Industrial  Managers    ...... 

570-    675 

Farm  and  Garden  Managers         .         .            Two 

500-    600 

One 

400-    525 

25 

Prison  Officers 

a  week 

Chief  Officers,  Class  I           ...             Men 

200s.~218,y. 

63 

Women 

175.S.-193*. 

Chief  Officers,  Class  II         ...            Men 

18(fo.-192y. 

386 

Women 

160*-174y. 

Principal  Officers         ....             Men 

\6Qs.-M4s. 

3,250 

Women 

\39s.-l5Qs. 

Officers  (established)    .         .         .         .            Men 

1185.-158.S.  6cl. 

Women 

W3s.-I36s.9cl. 

NOTES: 

1  There  is  also  one  full-  time  Roman  Catholic 

Priest,  and  a  number  of  part-time  Chaplains 

and  Priests  at  various  rates. 

2  There  is  also  a  number  of  part-time  Medical 

Officers  at  various  rates. 

The  foregoing  represent  the  main  grades  only, 

excluding  Civil  Service  Executive  and  Clerical 

grades,  and  numerous  miscellaneous  and  tem- 

porary grades. 

APPENDIX  E 
PARTICULARS  OF  ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  USE 

Note.  The  establishments  listed  do  not  accommodate  women  prisoners  except 
where  this  is  specifically  stated. 


Prison 


Special  Features 


Address 


Bedford 
Birmingham 

Bristol. 
Brixton 


Canterbury 

Cardiff 

Dorchester 

Durham 


Exeter  . 

Gloucester 
Holloway 


Leeds  . 

Leicester 
Lewes  . 


Lincoln 
Liverpool 

Manchester 


E.P.B.S. — 28 


LOCAL  PRISONS 
(a)  General 

Also  a  women's  prison 


(1)  Untried  adults  from  the  Lon- 
don area 

(2)  'Stars'  from  the  London  area 
serving    a    sentence    of   six 
months'  imprisonment  or  less 

(3)  Civil  prisoners  from  the  Lon- 
don area 


Also  a  women's  prison 

(1)  Also  a  women's  prison 

(2)  See    also    under    corrective 
training  prisons 

(1)  Also  a  women's  prison 

(2)  See  also  under  Borstal s 

( 1 )  All  classes  of  women  and  girls 

(2)  See  also  under  central  prisons 

(3)  See    also    under    corrective 
training  prisons 


(1)  Untried  prisoners  only 

(2)  See  also  under  regional 
prisons 

See  also  under  corrective  train- 
ing prisons 

(1)  Also  a  women's  prison 

(2)  See    also    under    corrective 
training  prisons 

433 


St.  Loyes  Street,  Bedford 
Winson  Green  Road,  Bir- 
mingham 

Cambridge  Road,  Bristol 
Jebb  Avenue,  Brixton  Hill, 
S.W.2 


Longport  Street,  Canter- 
bury 

Knox  Road,  Cardiff 
North  Square,  Dorchester 
Whinney  Hill,  Old  Elvet, 
Durham 

New  North  Road,  Exeter 

Castle  Lane,  Gloucester 
Parkhurst    Road,    Hollo- 
way,  N.7 


Gloucester  Terrace,  Arm- 
ley  Road,  Leeds 
Tower  Street,  Leicester 
Brighton  Road,  Lewes 


Greetwell  Road,  Lincoln 
Hornby    Road,    Walton, 

Liverpool 

Southall  Street,  Man- 
chester 


434 


APPENDIX  E 


Prison 


Special  Features 


Address 


Norwich 

Oxford 

Pentonville 


Shrewsbury  . 
Swansea 

Wandsworth. 


Winchester   . 
Wormwood  Scrubs 


Eastchurch   . 


Northallerton 
Preston 


Stafford  (and  Fauld 
Camp) 


LOCAL  PRISONS — continued 
(a)  General — continued 


(1)  Prisoners   of  the   Ordinary 
class  from  the  London  area 

(2)  See    also    under   corrective 
training  prisons 


(1)  Prisoners   of  the   Ordinary 
class  from  the  London  area 

(2)  See    also     under    regional 
prisons. 

(1)  'Stars'  from  the  London  area 
serving  a  sentence  of  more 
than  six  months'  imprison- 
ment, while  awaiting  transfer 

(2)  Untried    youths    from    the 
London  area 

(3)  Convicted  youths  from  the 
London  area  serving  a  sen- 
tence   of    less    than    three 
months'    imprisonment    or 
awaiting  transfer  to  Lewes 

(4)  Surgical  Centre 

(5)  Psychological  Centre 

(6)  See  also  under  Borstals 

(7)  See    also    under    corrective 
training  prisons 

(b)  Special 

An  open  prison  for,  Civil  pris- 
oners, 'Stars'  with  sentences  of 
6  months'  imprisonment  or 
less,  and  prisoners  of  the  Oid- 
inary  class  with  not  more  than 
4  months  of  their  sentences 
still  to  serve,  all  specially  sel- 
ected and  transferred  from 
other  prisons 

'Stars'  with  sentences  of  less  than 
12  months'  imprisonment  and 
youths  from  Leeds  prison 
Civil  prisoners  and  'Stars'  with 
sentences  of  under  12  months' 
imprisonment,  from  northern 
prisons 

(1)  'Stars'  serving  sentences  of 
from  one  to  three  years'  im- 
prisonment, collected  from 
northern  prisons  for  transfer 
to  appropriate  regional  pri- 
sons if  and  wh6n  vacancies 


occur 

(2)  See    also 
prisons 


Knox  Road,  Norwich 
New  Road,  Oxford 
Caledonian  Road,  Hollo- 
way,  N.7 


The  Dana,  Shrewsbury 
Oystermouth  Road,  Swan- 
sea 

Heathfield  Avenue,  Trin- 
ity Road,  Wandsworth, 
S.W.18 

Romsey  Road,  Winchester 
Ducane  Road,  Shepherds 
Bush,  W.I 2 


Eastchurch,  Isle  of  Shep- 
pey,  Kent 


East  Road,  Northallerton 


Ribbleton  Lane,  Preston 


Gaol  Road,  Stafford 


under     regional 


APPENDIX  E 


435 


Prison 


Special  Features 


Address 


Aylesbury 
Dartmoor 

Holloway 


Leyhill. 
Parkhurst 


Wakefield 


Training  Prisons 
Askham  Grange 


Sudbury  Park 
The  Verne     . 

Maidstone  (and 
Aldington  Camp) 

Wakefield  (and  New 
Hall  Camp) 


CENTRAL  PRISONS 

Women  of  the  'Star'  class 
Prisoners  of  the  Ordinary  class 

(1)  Women  prisoners  of  the  Ord- 
inary class 

(2)  Women  sentenced  to  preven- 
tive detention 

(3)  See  also  under  local  prisons 
and  correct!  ve»training  prisons 

An  'open'  prison  for  'Stars' 

(1)  Prisoners   of  the   Ordinary 
and  Star  classes  transferred 
for  medical  or  other  special 
reasons 

(2)  Prisoners  sentenced  to  pre- 
ventive detention 

(1)  Prisoners  of  the  'Star'  class 

(2)  See  also  under  regional  pri- 
sons 

(3)  Selected  youths  serving  sen- 
tences of  more  than  three 
years'  imprisonment 

REGIONAL  PRISONS 
An  open  prison  for  women 


An  open  prison 

A  prison  of  medium  security 

A  closed  prison  with  attached 
camp 

(1)  A  closed  prison  with  attached 
camp 

(2)  See  also  under  central  prisons 


Young  Prisoners*  Centres 


Lewes  . 
Stafford 

Allocation  Centre 
Wandsworth 

Camp  Hill    . 
Chelmsford  . 
Durham  (1  wing)  . 
Liverpool  (2  wings) 

Nottingham  . 
Wormwood  Scrubs 
(2  wings)   . 


See  also  under  local  prisons 
See  also  under  local  prisons 


For  corrective  training  prisoners 


CORRECTIVE  TRAINING  PRISONS 


Bierton,  Aylesbury,  Bucks. 

Princetown,    Yelverton, 
Devon 

Parkhurst    Road,    Hollo- 
way,  N.7 


Leyhill,  nr.  Falfield,  Glos. 
Lonsdale  Avenue,  Cowes 

Road,  Newport,  Isle  of 

Wight 


Love  Lane,  Wakefield 


Askham  Grange,  Askham 
Richard,  nr.  York, 
Yorks. 

Sudbury  Park,  Derbyshire 

The  Verne,  Portland,  Dor- 
set 

County  Road,  Maidstone, 
Kent 

Love  Lane,  Wakefield 


Brighton  Road,  Lewes 
Gaol  Road,  Stafford 


Heathfield  Avenue,  Trin- 
ity Road  Wandsworth, 
S.W.18 

Camp  Hill,  nr.  Newport, 
Isle  of  Wight 

Springfield  Hill,  Chelms- 
ford  Essex 

Whinney  Hill,  Old  Elvet, 
Durham 

Hornby  Road,  Walton, 
Liverpool 

Perry  Road,  Nottingham 

Ducane  Road,  Shepherds 
Bush,  W.12 


436 


APPENDIX  E 


Prison 


Special  Features 


Address 


Allocation  Centre 

Manchester    (small 

part) 
Pentonville  (small 

part) 
Holloway 


CORRECTIVE  TRAINING  PRISONS 


For  prisoners  who  prove 
unco-operative 

?or  women 


Southall  Street,  Manches- 
ter 

Caledonian  Road,  Hollo- 
way,  N.7 

Parkhurst  Road,  Hollo- 
way,  N.7 

Selected  corrective  training  prisoners  are  also  sent  for  training  to  regional  training 
prisons 

BORSTALS 

(a)  For  Girls 
A  closed  Borstal 


Aylesbury     . 
East  Sutton  Park  . 
Exeter  . 

GaynesHall. 

Hatfield  (and 

Gringley)  . 
Hewell  Grange 

Hollesley  Bay 

Colony 
Huntercombe 

Lowdham  Grange. 

North  Sea  Camp  . 
Pollington     . 

Usk     . 

Borstal 
Feltham 

Hull     . 
Portland 


Latchmere  House 
Wormwood 

Scrubs 

Portsmouth  . 
Reading 


An  open  Borstal 
Recall  Centre 

(b)  For  Boys 
OPEN  TRAINING  INSTITUTIONS 


CLOSED  TRAINING  INSTITUTIONS 


SPECIAL  INSTITUTIONS 
Reception  Centres 

Recall  Centre 

Corrective  establishment  for 
those  who  persistently  mis- 
behave 


Bierton  Road,  Aylesbury, 
Bucks. 

East  Sutton  Park,  Maid- 
stone,  Kent 

New  North  Road,  Exeter, 
Devon 


Gaynes  Hall,  Great  Staugh- 
ton,  nr.  St.  Neots,  Hunts. 
Nr.  Doncaster,  Yorks. 

Hewell  Grange,  nr.  Red- 
ditch,  Worcs. 

Church  Road,  Hollesley, 
Woodbridge,  Suffolk 

Huntercombe,  Nuffield, 
Henley  -  on  -  Thames, 
Oxon 

Lambley  Lane,  Lowdham, 
Notts. 

Freiston,nr.  Boston,  Lines. 

Pollington,  nr.  Snaith, 
Yorkshire 

Mayport  Street,  Usk,Mon. 


Borstal,  nr.  Rochester,  Kent 

Bedfont  Road,  Feltham, 
Middlesex 

Hedon  Road,  Kingston- 
upon-Hull 

The  Grove,  Portland,  Dor- 
set 

(Nr.  Richmond,  Surrey. 
<  Ducane  Road,  Shepherds 
I    Bush,  W.12 
Milton  Road,  Portsmouth 
North     Forbury     Road, 
Reading 


Note.  This  list  represents  the  position  as  in  June  1951. 


APPENDIX  F 

Resolutions  of  the  Xllth  International  Penal  and  Penitentiary 
Congress  relevant  to  matters  discussed  in  the  text 

SECTION  i  Second  Question  < 

How  can  psychiatric  science  be  applied  in  prisons  with  regard  both  to  the 
medical  treatment  of  certain  prisoners  and  to  the  classification  of  prisoners 
and  individualisation  of  the  regime? 

Resolution 

1 .  The  purpose  of  prison  psychiatry  is  to  contribute  by  the  co-operation  of 
the  prison  psychiatrist  with  other  members  of  the  staff  towards  a  more 
efficacious  treatment  of  the  individual  prisoner  and  to  the  improvement  of 
the  morale  of  the  institution  thereby  attempting  to  decrease  the  probability 
of  recidivism,  whilst  at  the  same  time  affording  society  a  better  protection. 

2.  The  psychiatric  treatment  should  be  extended  to  include:  (1)  the  recog- 
nised mentally  abnormal  prisoners;  (2)  a  number  of  borderline  cases  (in- 
cluding those  with  disciplinary  difficulties)  who  may,  possible  for  compara- 
tively short  periods  only,  require  special  treatment;  (3)  prisoners  with  more 
or  less  severe  disturbances  resulting  from  prison  life;  lack  of  treatment  would 
lessen  their  chances  of  rehabilitation. 

3.  It  is  desirable,  and  would  be  highly  advantageous,  to  have  prisoners 
classified  and  separated  into  groups  for  special  treatment,  e.g.  groups  of 
feeble-minded  persons  and  groups  of  inmates  with  abnormal  personalities. 
An  establishment  for  the  treatment  of  inmates  with  abnormal  personalities 
should  have  facilities  for  dealing  only  with  a  suitably  homogeneous  group, 
not  exceeding  about  two  hundred  persons.  It  is  of  decisive  importance  that 
the  treatment  be  not  limited  to  a  previously  fixed  period,  and  that  the  end 
of  detention  should  not  mean  cessation  of  treatment — this  should  continue 
after  discharge  until  adequate  rehabilitation  is  obtained.  It  is  desirable  that 
social  psychiatric  after-care  facilities  be  provided. 

4.  The  general  methods  of  psychiatric  treatment — e.g.  shock  treatment, 
psychotherapy  (including  group  therapy) — may  advantageously  be  applied  to 
criminals  with  due  regard  to  occupation  and  prison  routine.  For  prisoners 
with  abnormal  personalities  it  is  necessary  to  work  out  indirect  forms  of 
treatment,  not  attempting  to  force  upon  them  definite  patterns  of  response. 
Direct  and  active  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  prisoner  is  of  decisive 
importance,  and  his  readiness  to  be  treated  is,  therefore,  a  necessary  condi- 
tion. This  state  of  readiness  is  stimulated  under  a  system  of  indeterminate 

437 


438  APPENDIX  F 

sentence  which  is  morally  justified  on  the  grounds  of  public  safety.  The 
indefinite  term  element  must,  in  all  cases,  be  utilized  with  due  regard  to  the 
risk  of  society  which  the  prisoner  would  constitute  if  at  large. 

5.  The  assistance  of  the  psychiatrist  is  essential  in  the  classification  of 
prisoners  and  in  the  training  of  the  staff.  Only  when  psychiatric  centres  are 
established   within   the  prisons,   permanently  employing  skilled   forensic 
psychiatrists,  is  it  possible  to  direct  the  special  treatment  of  personality 
problems  ascertained  at  the  general  classification,  besides  those  spontaneous 
nervous  reactions  that  may  manifest  themselves  in  prisoners  previously 
classified  as  fully  normal. 

The  forms  of  psychiatric  treatment  would,  of  course,  depend  on  the  degree 
and  nature  of  the  development  of  the  general  correctional  system  in  the  country 
or  locality  in  question  as  well  as  on  the  number  of  psychiatrists  available. 

6.  By  his  own  example  and  in  collaboration  with  the  other  members  of 
the  staff,  the  psychiatrist  can  contribute  towards  making  individualised 
treatment  a  reality.  In  his  guidance  and  teaching,  the  psychiatrist  should 
build  on  careful  analyses  of  individual  cases  actually  encountered,  and  he 
should  avoid  all  temptations  to  dogmatise. 

SECTION  i  Third  Question 

What  principles  should  underlie  the  classification  of  prisoners  in  penal 
institutions? 

Resolution 

1.  The   term  classification  in  European   writings   implies  the  primary 
grouping  of  various  classes  of  offenders  in  specialised  institutions  on  the  basis 
of  age,  sex,  recidivism,  mental  status,  etc.,  and  the  subsequent  subgrouping 
of  different  classes  of  offenders  within  each  such  institution.  In  other  countries 
however,  notably  in  many  jurisdictions  of  the  U.S.A.,  the  term  'classification' 
as  used  in  penological  theory  and  practice  lacks  philological  exactitude. 
The  term  should  be  replaced  by  the  words  'diagnosis  (or,  if  desired,  classifica- 
tion), guidance  and  treatment',  which  more  adequately  portray  the  meanings 
now  inaccurately  included  in  the  one  term  'classification'. 

2.  In  view  of  the  foregoing,  it  is  concluded  that'for  the  purpose  of  distribut- 
ing offenders  to  the  various  types  of  institutions  and  for  sub-classification 
within  such  institutions  the  following  principles  be  recommended: 

(a)  While  a  major  objective  of  classification  is  the  segregation  of  inmates 
into  more  or  less  homogeneous  groups,  classification  should  be  flexible; 

(b)  Apart  from  the  imposition  of  the  sentence  further  classification  is 
essentially  a  function  of  institutional  management. 

3.  For  the  purpose  of  individualising  the  treatment  programme  within  the 
institution,  the  following  principles  are  recommended: 

(a)  Study  and  recommendations  by  a  diversified  staff  of  the  individual's 
needs  and  his  treatment; 

(b)  The  holding  of  case  conferences  by  the  staff; 

(c)  Agreement  upon  the  type  of  institution  to  which  the  particular  offender 
should  be  sent  and  the  treatment  plan  therein; 

(d)  Periodic  revision  of  the  programme  in  the  light  of  experience  with  the 
individual. 


APPENDIX  F  439 

SECTION  ii  First  Question 

To  what  extent  can  open  institutions  take  the  place  of  the  traditional 
prison? 

Resolution 

1 .  (a)  For  the  purposes  of  this  discussion  we  have  considered  the  term 

'open  institution'  to  mean  a  prison  in  which  security  against  escape  is 
not  provided  by  any  physical  means,  such  as  walls,  locks,  bars,  or 
additional  guards. 

(b)  We  consider  that  cellular  prisons  without  a  security  wall,  or  prisons 
'    providing  open  accommodation  within  a  security  wall  or  fence,  or 
prisons  that  substitute  special  guards  for  a  wall,  would  be  better 
described  as  prisons  of  medium  security. 

2.  It  follows  that  the  primary  characteristic  of  an  open  institution  must  be 
that  the  prisoners  are  trusted  to  comply  with  the  discipline  of  the  prison  with- 
out close  and  constant  supervision,  and  that  training  in  self-responsibility 
should  be  the  foundation  of  the  regime. 

3.  An  open  institution  ought  so  far  as  possible  to  possess  the  following 
features : 

(a)  It  should  be  situated  in  the  country,  but  not  in  any  isolated  or  unfavour- 
able location.  It  should  be  sufficiently  close  to  an  urban  centre  to 
provide  necessary  amenities  for  the  staff  and  contacts  with  educational 
and  social  organisations  desirable  for  the  training  of  the  prisoners. 

(b)  While  the  provision  of  agricultural  work  is  an  advantage,  it  is  desirable 
also  to  provide  for  industrial  and  vocational  training  in  workshops. 

(c)  Since  the  training  of  the  prisoners  on  a  basis  of  trust  must  depend  on 
the  personal  influence  of  members  of  the  staff,  these  should  be  of  the 
highest  quality. 

(d)  For  the  same  reason  the  number  of  prisoners  should  not  be  high,  since 
personal  knowledge  by  the  staff  of  the  special  character  and  needs  of 
each  individual  is  essential. 

(e)  It  is  important  that  the  surrounding  community  should  understand 
the  purposes  and  methods  of  the  institution.  This  may  require  a  certain 
amount  of  propaganda  and  the  enlistment  of  the  interest  of  the  press. 

(/)  The  prisoners  sent  to  an  open  institution  should  be  carefully  selected, 
and  it  should  be  possible  to  remove  to  another  type  of  institution  any 
who  are  found  to  be  unable  or  unwilling  to  co-operate  in  a  regime  based 
on  trust  and  self-responsibility,  or  whose  conduct  in  any  way  affects 
adversely  the  proper  control  of  the  prison  or  the  behaviour  of  other 
prisoners. 

4.  The  principal  advantages  of  a  system  of  this  type  appear  to  be  the 
following : 

(a)  The  physical  and  mental  health  of  the  prisoners  are  equally  improved. 

(b)  The  conditions  of  imprisonment  can  approximate  more  closely  to  the 
pattern  of  normal  life  than  those  of  a  closed  institution. 

(c)  The  tensions  of  normal  prison  life  are  relaxed,  discipline  is  more  easy 
to  maintain,  and  punishment  is  rarely  required. 


440  APPENDIX  F 

(d)  The  absence  of  the  physical  apparatus  of  repression  and  confinement, 
and  the  relations  of  greater  confidence  between  prisoner  and  staff,  are 
likely  to  affect  the  anti-social  outlook  of  the  prisoners,  and  to  furnish 
conditions  propitious  to  a  genuine  desire  for  reform. 

(e)  Open  institutions  are  economical  both  with  regard  to  construction  and 
staff. 

5.  (a)  We  consider  that  unsentenced  prisoners  should  not  be  sent  to  open 

institutions,  but  otherwise  we  consider  that  the  criterion  should  not 
be  whether  the  prisoner  belongs  to  any  legal  or  administrative  category, 
but  whether  treatment  in  an  open  institution  is  more  likely  to  effect 
his  rehabilitation  than  treatment  in  other  forms  of  custody,  which  must 
of  course  include  the  consideration  whether  he  is  personally  suitable  for 
treatment  under  open  conditions. 

(6)  It  follows  that  assignment  to  an  open  institution  should  be  preceded  by 
observation,  preferably  in  a  specialised  observation  institution. 

6.  It  appears  that  open  institutions  may  be  either 

(d)  separate  institutions  to  which  prisoners  are  directly  assigned  after  due 
observation,  or  after  serving  some  part  of  their  sentence  in  a  closed 
prison,  or 

(b)  connected  with  a  closed  prison  so  that  prisoners  may  pass  to  them  as 
part  of  a  progressive  system. 

7.  We  conclude  that  the  system  of  open  institutions  has  been  established 
in  a  number  of  countries  long  enough,  and  with  sufficient  success,  to  demon- 
strate its  advantages,  and  that  while  it  cannot  completely  replace  the  prisons 
of  maximum  and  medium  security,  its  extension  for  the  largest  number  of 
prisoners  on  the  lines  we  suggest  may  make  a  valuable  contribution  to  the 
prevention  of  crime. 

The  rules  and  regulations  obtaining  in  open  institutions  should  be  framed 
in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  point  4  above. 

SECTION  ii  Second  Question 

The  treatment  and  release  of  habitual  offenders. 

Resolution 

1.  Traditional  punishments  are  not  sufficient  to  fight  effectively  against 
habitual  criminality.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  employ  other  and  more 
appropriate  measures. 

2.  The  introduction  of  certain  legal  conditions  so  that  a  person  can  be 
designated  an  habitual  criminal  (a  certain  number  of  sentences  undergone  or 
of  crimes  committed)  is  recommended.  These  conditions  do  not  prevent  the 
giving  of  a  certain  discretionary  power  to  authorities  competent  to  make 
decisions  on  the  subject  of  habitual  offenders. 

3.  The  'double-track'  system  with  different  regimes  and  in  different  insti- 
tutions is  undesirable.  The  special  measure  should  not  be  added  to  a  sentence 
of  a  punitive  character.  There  should  be'one  unified  measure  of  a  relatively 
indeterminate  duration. 

4.  It  is  desirable,  as  regards  the  treatment  of  habitual  offenders  who  are 


APPENDIX  F  441 

to  be  subject  to  internment,  to  separate  the  young  from  the  old,  and  the  more 
dangerous  and  refractory  offenders  from  those  less  so. 

5.  In  the  treatment  of  habitual  offenders  one  should  never  lose  sight  of  the 
possibility  of  their  improvement.  It  follows  that  the  aims  of  the  treatment 
should  include  their  re-education  and  social  rehabilitation. 

6.  Before  the  sentence,  and  thereafter  as  may  be  necessary,  these  offenders 
should  be  submitted  to  an  observation  which  should  pay  particular  attention 
to  their  social  background  and  history,  and  to  the  psychological  and  psychia- 
tric aspects  of  the  case. 

7.  The  final  discharge  of  the  habitual  offender  should,  in  general,  be  pre- 
ceded by  parole  combined  with  well-directed  after-care. 

8.  The  habitual  offender,  especially  if  he  has  been  subjected  to  internment, 
should  have  his  case  re-examined  periodically. 

9.  The  restoration  of  the  civil  rights  of  the  habitual  offenders — with  the 
necessary  precautions — should  be  considered,  particularly  if  the  law  attributes 
to  the  designation  of  a  person  as  an  habitual  criminal  special  effects  beyond 
that  of  the  application  of  an  appropriate  measure. 

10.  It  is  desirable 

(a)  that  the  declaration  of  habitual  criminality,  the  choice,  and  any 
change  in  the  nature  of  the  measure  to  be  applied,  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  a  judicial  authority  with  the  advice  of  experts; 

(b)  that  the  termination  of  the  measure  should  be  in  the  hands  of  a  judicial 
authority  with  the  advice  of  experts,  or  of  a  legally  constituted  com- 
mission composed  of  experts  and  a  judge. 

SECTION  ii  Third  Question 

How  is  prison  labour  to  be  organised  so  as  to  yield  both  moral  benefit  and 
a  useful  social  and  economic  return? 

Resolution 

\ .  (a)  Prison  labour  should  be  considered  not  as  an  additional  punishment 
but  as  a  method  of  treatment  of  offenders; 

(b)  All  prisoners  should  have  the  right,  and  prisoners  under  sentence 
have  the  obligation  to  work; 

(c)  Within  the  limits  compatible  with  proper  vocational  selection  and  with 
the  requirements  of  prison  administration  and  discipline,  the  prisoners 
should  be  able  to  choose  the  type  of  work  they  wish  to  perform ; 

(d)  The  State  should  ensure  that  adequate  and  suitable  employment  for 
prisoners  is  available. 

2.  Prison  labour  should  be  as  purposeful  and  efficiently  organised  as  work 
in  a  free  society.  It  should  be  performed  under  conditions  and  in  an  environ- 
ment which  will  stimulate  industrious  habits  and  interest  in  work. 

3.  The  management  and  organisation  of  prison  labour  should  be  as  much 
as  possible  like  that  of  free  labour,  so  far  as  that  is  at  present  developed,  in 
accordance  with  the  principles  of  human  dignity.  Only  thus  can  prison  labour 
give  useful  social  and  economic  results;  these  factors  will  at  the  same  time 
increase  the  moral  benefits  of  prison  labour. 


442  APPENDIX  F 

4.  Employer  and  labour  organisations  should  be  persuaded  not  to  fear 
competition  from  prison  labour,  but  unfair  competition  must  be  avoided. 

5.  Prisoners  should  be  eligible  for  compensation  for  industrial  accidents 
and  disease  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  their  country.  Consideration 
should  be  given  to  allowing  prisoners  to  participate  to  the  greatest  practicable 
extent  in  any  social  insurance  schemes  in  force  in  their  countries. 

6.  Prisoners  should  receive  a  wage.  The  Congress  is  aware  of  the  practical 
difficulties  inherent  in  a  system  of  paying  wages  calculated  according  to  the 
same  norms  that  obtain  outside  the  prison.  Nevertheless,  the  Congress 
recommends  that  such  a  system  be  applied  to  the  greatest  possible  extent. 
From  this  wage  there  might  be  deducted  a  reasonable  sum  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  prisoner,  the  cost  of  maintaining  his  family,  and,  if  possible,  an 
indemnity  payable  to  the  victims  of  his  offence. 

7.  For  young  offenders  in  particular,  prison  labour  should  aim  primarily 
to  teach  them  a  trade.  The  trades  should  be  sufficiently  varied  to  enable 
them  to  be  adapted  to  the  educational  standards,  aptitudes,  and  inclinations 
of  the  prisoners. 

8.  Outside  working  hours,  the  prisoner  should  be  able  to  devote  himself 
not  only  to  cultural  activities  and  physical  exercises  but  also  to  hobbies. 

SECTION  in  Second  Question 

How  should  the  conditional  release  of  prisoners  be  regulated?  Is  it  necessary 
to  provide  a  special  regime  for  prisoners  whose  sentence  is  nearing  its  end  so 
as  to  avoid  the  difficulties  arising  out  of  their  sudden  return  to  community 
life? 

Resolution 

1.  The  protection  of  society  against  recidivism  requires  the  integration  of 
conditional  release  in  the  execution  of  penal  imprisonment. 

2.  Conditional  release  (including  parole)  should  be  possible,  in  an  indi- 
vidualised form,  whenever  the  factors  pointing  to  its  probable  success  are 
conjoined : 

(a)  The  co-operation  of  the  prisoner  (good  conduct  and  attitudes) ; 

(b)  The  vesting  of  the  power  to  release  and  to  select  conditions  in  an 
impartial  and  competent  authority,  completely  familiar  with  all  the 
aspects  of  the  individual  cases  presented  to  it; 

(c)  The  vigilant  assistance  of  a  supervising  organ,  well  trained  and  properly 
equipped; 

(d)  An  understanding  and  helpful  public,  giving  the  released  prisoner  'a 
chance'  to  rebuild  his  life. 

3.  The  functions  of  prisons  should  be  conceived  in  such  a  way  as  to  prepare, 
right  from  the  beginning,  the  complete  social  re-adjustment  of  their  inmates. 

Conditional  release  should  preferably  be  granted  as  soon  as  the  favourable 
factors,  mentioned  under  2,  are  found  to  be  present. 

In  every  case,  it  is  desirable  that,  Before  the  end  of  a  prisoner's  term, 
measures  be  taken  to  insure  a  progressive  return  to  normal  social  life.  This 
can  be  accomplished  either  by  a  pre-release  programme  set  up  within  the 
institution  or  by  parole  under  effective  supervision. 


APPENDIX  F    ,  443 

SECTION  iv  Third  Question 

Should  not  some  of  the  methods  developed  in  the  treatment  of  young 
offenders  be  extended  to  the  treatment  of  adults? 

Resolution 

The  Congress  agrees  that  both  fields,  that  of  the  control  of  adult  crime 
and  that  of  the  control  of  juvenile  delinquency,  are  involved  in  the  gradual 
change  from  crime  and  delinquency  control  through  punishment  to  control 
through  correction.  For  varying  reasons  much  more  progress  in  that  direction 
has  been  made  in  the  juvenile  field  and  it  is  therefore  advantageous  to  look 
to  that  field  for  suggestions  and  leads  for  further  developments  in  adult 
crime  control. 

The  Congress  considers  that  many  adults  are  capable  of  response  to  the 
kind  of  training  and  conditions  which  in  several  countries  are  applied  only 
to  juveniles.  Because  a  young  man  or  woman  is  legally  an  adult,  it  should  not 
mean  that  he  or  she  must  be  condemned  to  a  form  of  imprisonment  which  is 
shorn  of  all  chances  for  education,  training  and  reformation. 

More  specifically,  the  Congress  suggests  that  the  experiences  acquired  in 
the  field  of  juvenile  delinquency  with  regard  to  preparation  of  case  histories, 
probation  and  parole  and  judicial  pardon  should  be  utilised  also  in  the  adult 
field. 


APPENDIX  G 

Extracts  from  Reports,  etc.,  illustrating  contemporary  international 
opinion  on  the  principles  of  penal  punishment  and  their  application 

AUSTRALIA 

Annual  Report  of  the  Comptroller-General  of  Prisons,  Queensland,  for 
1949. 

'It  is  generally  realised  that  the  deprivation  of  personal  liberty  is  the 
greatest  penalty  which  any  man  can  suffer  and  that  it  is  the  function  of  the 
prison  service  of  the  country  to  take  positive  measures  towards  rehabilitation 
rather  than  the  wholly  repressive  measures  of  the  past,  which  achieved 
nothing  to  remedy  crime,  but  which  bred  a  race  of  bitter,  warped,  and  anti- 
social men. 

'While  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  will  always  be  necessary  to  maintain 
closed  prisons,  many  countries  have  in  addition  established  prison  farms  or 
camps  for  suitable  prisoners  where  security  measures  are  sharply  modified. 

The  inmates  of  the  prisons  themselves  retard  progress  to  a  great  degree, 
as  it  is  the  small,  troublesome,  and  unreliable  minority  who  make  the  rigid 
security  measures  of  the  closed  prisons  necessary.' 

BELGIUM 

Extracts  from  Vers  une  nouvelle  architecture  penitentiaire  by  Jean  Dupreel, 
Director-General  of  the  Administration  of  penitentiary  establishments, 
Ministry  of  Justice,  Brussels. 

'Car  on  ne  repetera  jamais  assez  que  la  privation  de  liberte  est  en  elle 
meme  un  chatiment  tres  dur  et  que,  sauf  de  rares  exceptions,  il  est  inutile,  et 
par  consequent  nuisible,  de  le  renforcer  par  un  regime  systematiquement 
penible.' 

'En  d'autres  termes,  il  faut  associer  le  condamne  au  traitement  dont  le  but 
final  est  d'assurer  son  reclassement  dans  la  societe.  La  detention  ne  doit  pas 
etre  une  sinistre  parenthese,  qui,  s'ouvre  lors  de  1'incarceration  et  se  ferme  a 
la  liberation.  Elle  doit  etre  la  continuation  de  la  vie  sociale,  sous  une  forme 
differente,  plus  austere,  mais  neanmoins  constructive.' 

SCOTLAND 

Report  on  The  Scottish  Prison  System  by  the  Scottish  Advisory  Council 
on  the  Treatment  and  Rehabilitation  of  Offenders,  1949. 

444 


APPENDIX  G  445 

'Punitive  methods  aimed  solely  at  deterrence,  we  have  suggested,  not  only 
fail  to  achieve  their  purpose  but  may  aggravate  the  state  they  are  trying  to 
remedy.  "Warehousing"  is,  in  our  view,  a  negative  policy,  which  encourages 
recidivism,  and  results  in  an  appalling  waste  of  human  lives  and  money.  Is 
it  possible  to  formulate  a  reformative  policy  which  in  practice  will  be  effective? 

'The  main  difficulty  appears  to  be  to  combine  an  effective  reformative 
policy  with  a  punitive  regime.  The  social  stigma  of  a  prison  sentence;  the 
loss  of  liberty;  the  enforced  discipline;  the  deprivation  of  the  comforts  and 
amenities  of  ordinary  life  are  all  punitive.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however, 
that  a  convicted  prisoner  is  sent  to  prison  as  a  result  of  committing  an  offence 
and  that  the  intention  of  the  Court  is  not  only  to  punish  the  offender  but  also 
to  protect  the  community  and  to  deter  potential  offenders  from  committing 
similar  offences.  The  protection  of  the  community  can  best  be  achieved  if  the 
training  within  the  prison  is  such  as  to  ensure,  so  far  as  it  is  possible,  that  the 
prisoner  on  discharge  will  lead  a  law-abiding  life.  In  our  view  the  shame 
attached  to  a  prison  sentence,  the  loss  of  freedom,  the  separation  from  family 
and  friends,  the  difficulty  of  being  accepted  as  a  normal  member  of  the  com- 
munity after  release,  constitute  a  heavy  punishment  and  will  always  be  a 
deterrent  to  potential  offenders.  In  a  word,  the  sentence  and  all  it  implies  is 
the  punishment;  the  object  of  prison  treatment  should  not  be  to  increase  the 
punishment  but  to  reform  the  prisoner. 

'We  have  recommended  that  the  administrators  of  the  prison  system  should 
place  reformative  treatment  of  prisoners  as  their  first  consideration.  In  other 
words  the  primary  object  should  be  to  train  each  prisoner  to  return  to  the 
community  as  a  law-abiding  citizen.  To  achieve  this  it  will  be  necessary,  in 
our  view,  to  train  prisoners  while  living  apart  from  the  community  to  stand 
on  their  own  feet  on  release;  and  to  be  capable  of  doing  right. 

The  main  factor  in  the  training  should  be  to  instil  a  sense  of  responsibility 
and,  as  a  secondary  factor,  which  should  lead  naturally  from  the  first,  a 
sense  of  self  respect.  The  best  method  of  instilling  a  sense  of  responsibility 
is  to  give  responsibility.  This  should  be  a  gradual  process.  Without  wishing 
to  lay  down  any  hard  and  fast  regime  we  suggest  that  this  category  of  con- 
victed prisoners  should  be  housed  in  "open"  prisons,  that  is,  prisons  without 
bars  and  surrounding  walls. 

'The  chief  value  of  the  "open"  institution  is,  to  our  mind,  the  choice  it 
gives  to  each  individual  prisoner  to  abide  by  the  rules  or  to  abscond.  Here 
is  an  acid  test  which,  if  successfully  borne,  goes  a  long  way  towards  instilling 
a  sense  of  responsibility.  But  in  addition,  the  "open"  institution  allows 
opportunity  for  giving  each  prisoner  further  responsibility  in  a  number  of 
ways.  Supervision  is  not  so  close  and  is  certainly  less  obvious,  thus  presenting 
the  choice  of  idling  or  working;  the  choice  of  breaking  or  keeping  the  rules 
of  the  institution;  the  opportunity  of  living  with  members  of  that  particular 
community  in  harmony  or  in  disharmony.  All  these  and  other  opportunities 
of  choosing  the  social  or  the  anti-social  mode  of  behaviour  form  the  basis  of 
training  for  the  acceptance  of  responsibility  in  the  outside  world,  where 
choice  is  in  a  number  of  matters  completely  free.  So  far  these  experiments 
have  shown  sufficient  success  to  call  for  further  efforts  in  the  same  direction. 
They  have  indicated  that  prisoners  can  be  trusted  to  a  far  greater  degree  than 
was  previously  thought  possible.' 


446  APPENDIX  G 

SWEDEN 

Report  of  the  Swedish  Penal  Code  Commission  1942,  on  which  is  based 
the  Swedish  Prison  Act  1945,  quoted  by  Professor  Thorsten  Sellin  in  Recent 
Penal  Legislation  in  Sweden,  Stockholm,  1947. 

'The  loss  of  liberty  can  never  be  outweighed  by  any  benefits  .  .  .  and  need 
not  be  accentuated  by  repressive  means  to  be  deterrent.  Neither  can  it  be 
assumed  that  the  generally  deterrent  effect  of  imprisonment  becomes  great 
or  small  with  greater  or  less  severity  in  the  execution  of  this  punishment. 

'Nothing  should  be  done  to  the  prisoner  that  would  counteract  the  aim  of 
penal  treatment,  i.e.  the  reformation  of  the  offender.  He  should  not  be  set 
apart  in  a  way  likely  to  lower  him  in  his  own  opinion  or  that  of  others. 

'Many  of  the  principles  of  traditional  prison  treatment  are  the  products  of 
hoary  theories.  Our  present  prison  system  has  never  taken  adequate  note  of 
the  imperative  need  of  preparing  a  prisoner  for  a  life  of  freedom,  making 
him  useful  and  conscious  of  his  responsibilities.  Prison  life  so  easily  becomes 
artificial  and  even  stupefying.  .  .  .  Instead,  one  should  strive  to  make  the 
conditions  resemble  life  in  free  society  as  far  as  possible. 

'Walls,  bars,  and  locked  doors  are  the  traditional  features  of  a  prison,  but 
it  is  likely  that  they  are  required  to  a  much  less  degree  than  at  present. 

'Every  effort  must  be  made  to  counteract  the  deteriorating  effect  of 
imprisonment  ...  by  placing  on  certain  agencies  the  responsibility  of  main- 
taining contacts  between  life  in  the  institution  and  the  free  world  outside.' 

SOUTH  AFRICA 

Report  of  the  Penal  and  Prison  Reform  Commission  appointed  by  the 
Government  of  the  Union  in  1945. 

'Punishment  by  the  courts  is  the  infliction  of  some  kind  of  pain  or  loss 
upon  a  person  who  transgresses  the  law.  The  fundamental  purpose  of  this 
punishment  in  the  view  of  the  modern  penologists  and  the  opinion  of  this 
Commission  is  the  protection  of  the  community  from  the  depredations  of 
the  lawbreaker.  Obviously  the  best  way  to  protect  the  community  is  so  to 
educate  and  train  people  that  they  obey  the  laws,  either  because  they  accept 
them  as  their  own,  or  at  least  because  they  realise  that  it  is  the  better  part  of 
wisdom  so  to  do.  No  community,  however,  achieves  full  obedience  to  its 
laws  without  penal  sanctions,  and  there  must  therefore  be  punishment  or 
penalty  as  a  sanction  for  disobedience.  Compliance  with  the  law  may  be 
obtained  by  inflicting  a  sanction  involving  physical  pain  or  by  material  loss 
in  the  form  of  fines,  or  it  may  be  achieved  by  greater  or  less  deprivation  of 
liberty  of  action  together  with  a  smaller  or  greater  degree  of  rigid  control  of 
conduct.  The  most  fundamental  principle  of  modern  penal  methods  is  loss 
of  liberty  of  action  in  some  degree  by  those  persons  who  break  the  laws  and 
by  their  behaviour  show  that  they  are  not  fully  responsible  members  of  the 
community.  The  loss  of  liberty  of  action  may  be  partial,  such  as  submission 
to  the  guidance  of  a  probation  officer  or  the  necessity  to  refrain  from  certain 
conduct  for  a  certain  period,  or  complete  as  when  imprisonment  is  imposed. 
Complete  loss  of  liberty  through  imprisonment  with  its  strict  discipline  and 
enforced  obedience  is  now-a-days  being  used  less,  but  in  certain  cases  it  is 
essential.  In  all  these  cases  of  deprivation  of  liberty  of  action  there  is  the 


APPENDIX  G  447 

punitive  element,  i.e.  the  penalty  for  the  offence,-  but  positive  treatment  during 
this  period,  e.g.  guidance  and  help  by  the  probation  officer  and  practical 
training  or  retraining  and  character  development  during  imprisonment,  is 
emphasised  in  all  modern  penal  systems. 

'The  general  objects  of  punishment  accepted  by  the  Commission  then  are 
conversion  of  an  offender  into  a  law  abiding  citizen,  if  possible,  or  at  least 
his  deterrence  (and  if  possible  of  others  likeminded)  from  entering  or  con- 
tinuing upon  a  course  of  criminal  or  anti-social  behaviour,  so  that  the 
community  may  be  protected.  In  pursuing  these  purposes,  a  court  of  justice 
must  have  regard,  firstly,  to  the  individual  characteristics  of  the  offender 
before  it  and,  secondly,  to  the  kind  of  penalty  or  treatment  which  is  best 
suited  to  bring  him  to  a  proper  state  of  mind.  If  detention  is  necessary,  a 
suitable  institution  must  be  chosen. 

'Mr.  Herbert  Morrison,  then  Home  Secretary  in  England,  in  a  speech 
made  on  28th  March  1944,  dealing  with  the  questions  of  Penal  Reform,  put 
the  present  trend  of  penal  methods  thus: 

'  "The  first  principle  ...  is  to  keep  as  many  offenders  as  possible  out  of 
prison.  In  the  eighteen-sixties  it  was  laid  down  in  plain  terms  that  sole 
object  of  imprisonment  was  punitive  deterrence  with  the  emphasis  on  the 
punitive.  Just  that:  and  so  for  a  generation  we  had  the  most  strictly 
deterrent  penal  system  ever  devised. 

fc  "The  experiment  had  to  be  made  at  some  time.  The  belief  in  the  efficiency 
of  severe  punishments  is  always  cropping  up  and  without  the  devastating 
failure  of  this  experiment  we  might  never  have  known  better.  The  failure 
was  so  complete  that  a  departure  to  fresh  principles  became  essential." 

'Punishment,  whether  harsh  or  mild,  sometimes  fails  of  its  purpose  and 
therefore  reform  must  go  with  it.  There  is  only  one  way  to  combine  punish- 
ment and  reform  in  prison  and  that  is  to  regard  the  loss  of  liberty  with  its 
obloquy  and  separation  from  family  and  friends  as  the  punishment,  while 
the  treatment  of  the  offender  during  the  period  he  is  deprived  of  liberty  is 
aimed  at  his  reformation.  Though  prison  must  not  be  made  a  place  of  desir- 
able residence,  the  treatment  there,  while  discipline  must  be  emphasised, 
must  not  assume  a  punitive  character.  This  view  of  the  position  has  already 
been  adopted  to  some  extent  in  our  penal  institutions,  but  needs  greater 
development. 

'While  methods  aimed  at  rehabilitation  must  still  be  the  main  remedial 
measure  employed  with  this  hardened  group,  the  treatment  and  discipline 
required  will  obviously  be  very  different.  But  the  persistent  effort  for  reform 
must  ever  be  maintained  notwithstanding  frequent  lack  of  success.  There  will 
always  be  a  percentage  of  human  kind  who  are  and  will  remain  anti-social 
— persons  who,  having  the  ability  generally  to  resist  pressures  leading  to 
criminality,  lack  the  desire  to  do  so.  The  steady  increase  over  the  years  in 
the  number  of  recidivists  shows  clearly  that  imprisonment  under  existing 
conditions  in  these  cases  is  not  achieving  its  object  fully.  Imprisonment  is 
not  deterring  enough  criminals  from  repeated  anti-social  conduct.  The  effect 
of  repeated  imprisonment  has  been  rather  to  weaken  the  will  towards  law- 
abiding  conduct  and  to  make  some  offenders  resentful,  callous  and  desperate. 
To  strengthen  the  individual  will  to  resist,  when  this  is  possible,  is  wise:  to 


448  APPENDIX  G 

dimmish  the  forces,  in  so  far  as  these  are  personal,  which  overcame  such  will, 
and  are  likely  to  overcome  it  again,  is  wiser. 

'It  is  for  this  reason  that  most  civilised  communities  today  realise  that  the 
punishment  of  the  offender  is  of  itself  not  enough,  but  that  combined  with  it 
reformative  methods  must  be  used  in  an  attempt  to  adjust  treatment  in  penal 
institutions  to  the  individual  after  a  study  of  the  causes  which  led  to  his 
downfall  as  shown  by  his  history,  environment  and  character.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  best  method  of  securing  the  safety  of  society  is  to  transform  the 
anti-social  individual  into  a  co-operative  one  if  this  is  possible.  The  present 
system  of  returning  an  offender  to  freedom,  often  with  the  knowledge  that 
he  is  still  a  dangerous  man,  is  a  poor  way  of  protecting  society.  The  prison 
authorities  have  presently  no  discretion — the  prisoner  must  be  discharged 
when  his  sentence  has  expired.' 

U.S.A. 

Report  for  1948  of  the  Director  of  Federal  Prisons. 

'To  some,  prisons  are  nothing  but  "country  clubs"  catering  to  the  whims 
and  fancies  of  the  inmates.  To  others  the  prison  atmosphere  seems  charged 
only  with  bitterness,  rancor  and  an  all-pervading  sense  of  defeat.  And  so  the 
whole  paradoxical  scheme  continues,  because  our  ideas  and  views  regarding 
the  function  of  correctional  institutions  in  our  society  are  confused,  fuzzy, 
and  nebulous. 

'Of  the  various  civic  institutions,  the  prison  has  been  most  relegated  to  the 
background  of  the  social  conscience.  Ordinarily  the  prison  comes  to  the 
attention  of  the  public  only  when  it  reaches  the  headlines  because  of  an 
escape  or  riot.  Yet  the  prison  cannot  be  a  fully  effective  agency  of  society 
unless  its  work  is  known  and  understood  by  the  citizens  it  serves  and  unless 
it  can  utilise  the  resources  of  the  community. 

'It  was  encouraging  to  note  this  year  an  increased  public  interest  and  partici- 
pation in  our  work.  Such  participation  has  been  described  in  connection 
with  the  sponsorship  programme  at  the  National  Training  School  for  Boys 
and  with  pre-release  preparation  at  the  various  institutions.  At  the  Federal 
Correctional  Institution,  Seagoville,  Texas,  for  example,  some  thirty  public- 
spirited  citizens  of  nearby  Dallas  contributed  their  services  in  the  development 
of  the  pre-release  programme.  In  increasing  numbers,  educators,  lecturers, 
musicians,  actors,  members  of  religious  and  civic  organisations,  and  others 
who  have  contributions  to  make  in  education,  counselling,  and  recreation 
are  assisting  us  in  making  our  institutions  a  constructive  force  in  the  lives 
of  our  charges.  At  best  the  artificial  restrictions  and  barriers  to  normal  social 
behaviour  of  prison  life  make  difficult  the  development  and  maintenance  of 
healthy  attitudes  and  interests.  The  infiltration  of  normal  community  interests 
through  visits  of  public-spirited  citizens  is  a  hopeful  trend,  both  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  healthy  outlook  among  the  inmates  and  in  the  interpretation  of  our 
problems,  activities,  and  objectives  in  the  community  at  large. 

'Now,  three  years  after  its  reopening  as  an  institution  for  men,  Seagoville 
serves  as  a  demonstration  that  the  pfison  of  bars  and  cells,  walls  and  gun 
towers,  is  not  necessary  or  even  desirable  for  many  of  the  men  sentenced  to 
confinement.  Of  the  472  men  confined  on  June  30,  1948,  187  were  serving 


APPENDIX  G  449 

sentences  of  5  years  and  over,  with  117  sentenced  to  10  years  and  over, 
including  4  with  life  sentences.  They  represented  practically  every  offence 
in  the  Federal  statutes.  Yet  there  is  no  institution  in  the  Federal  system  where 
the  morale  of  inmates  is  higher  nor  where  they  work  harder.  Despite  the 
almost  complete  absence  of  security  facilities,  the  escape  rate  has  been  low, 
with  only  four  escapes  (all  promptly  recaptured)  from  the  1,514  prisoners 
received  during  the  three  years  of  the  institution's  operation.  One  cannot 
spend  a  few  days  at  the  institution  without  the  realisation  that  the  atmosphere, 
the  "climate"  of  the  institution,  is  healthy;  that  attitudes  of  the  men  are 
changing  from  suspicious,  disgruntled,  and  anti-social,  to  those  of  self-respect 
and  regard  for  the  rights  of  others. 

'It  is  not  implied  that  what  has  been  accomplished  is  due  to  the  physical 
setting  alone.  The  entire  staff  at  Seagoville  recognised  the  problems  with 
which  they  were  faced  but  approached  their  solution  through  positive 
leadership  in  the  development  of  constructive  activities,  rather  than  through 
a  programme  based  on  fear,  restrictions,  and  bars.' 

From  Chapter  VI,  The  Prevention  of  Repeated  Crime,  by  John  Barker 
Wake,  Professor  of  Law,  University  of  Michigan:  The  University  of  Michigan 
Press,  1943. 

'But  though  punishment  is  still  clearly  the  purpose  of  the  law,  the  purpose 
of  the  punishment  is  not  so  clear.  The  once  academically  popular  notion 
that  punishment  should  be  imposed  only  for  the  purpose  of  retribution,  to 
the  end  of  exacting  an  owed  expiation,  has  passed  into  obsolescence.  In  the 
main  it  has  yielded  place  to  concepts  of  punishment  as  a  preventive  of  new 
wrongdoing.  But  it  is  by  no  means  obsolete.  It  still  affects  both  the  content 
of  the  law  and  its  administration.  Today's  newer  legislation  can  be  accounted 
for  in  part  only  by  recognition  of  the  extent  to  which  the  motivation  of 
revenge  for  injury  accomplished  has  coloured  it.  The  instinctive  desire  for 
revenge,  for  the  compelled  repayment  by  an  offender  of  a  quid  pro  quo  in 
suffering,  is  a  social  force  which  has  never  been  wholly  argued  down,  which 
has  definitely  influenced  the  whole  process  of  dealing  with  convicted  criminals 
and  which  must  necessarily  be  taken  cognizance  of  in  any  proposal  of  legisla- 
tion to  be  enacted.  It  seems  safe  to  say,  therefore,  that  the  purpose  of  treat- 
ment of  discovered  criminals  is  a  composite,  in  fluctuating  proportions,  of 
retrospective,  retributive  satisfaction  and  of  prospective  hope.  But  no  matter 
how  strong  the  latter  element  of  purpose,  regardless  of  how  emphatically  the 
preventive  purpose  is  stressed,  the  commonly  accepted  method  of  treatment, 
almost  wholly  relied  upon,  is  still  the  infliction  of  unpleasant  consequences 
for  the  sake  of  their  effect  upon  the  will  of  the  sufferer — it  is  punishment,  in 
the  usual  connotation  of  that  term. 

4  A  second  unavoidable  conclusion  is  the  relative  ineffectiveness  of  this 
punitive  process,  particularly  as  a  preventive  of  repeated  crime  by  wrongdoers 
who  have  been  subjected  to  it.  The  light  of  history  precludes  an  assumption 
that  its  failure  lies  in  the  mildness  of  its  punishments;  the  most  drastic  of 
penalties  have  proved  equally  inefficient.  Nor  is  there  substantial  evidence 
that  its  failures  are  caused  by  the  infrequencies  of  its  application.  On  the 
contrary  its  most  obvious  failures  and  its  most  notable  ones  are  precisely 
with  the  very  individuals  to  whom  it  has  in  fact  been  applied  once,  twice,  or 

E.P.B.S. — 29 


450  APPENDIX  G 

repeatedly.  Whether  or  not  a  greater  assurance  of  punishment,  a  greater 
modicum  of  inevitability,  would  more  effectively  decrease  the  amount  of 
first  criminality  one  cannot  say.  Nor  need  one  speculate — the  problem  of 
creating  that  greater  assurance  has  already  been  struggled  with  too  long  to 
raise  a  probability  of  its  attainment.  The  effective  possibilities  of  punishment 
as  a  preventive  method  must  be  measured  by  the  actualities  of  the  past  and 
of  the  present.  And  by  that  measurement  the  punitive  method,  particularly 
in  its  operation  upon  those  to  whom  it  has  in  fact  been  applied,  has  demon- 
strated its  unsatisfactoriness  beyond  dispute. 

'The  reasons  for  this  failure  constitute  a  fairly  obvious  further  deduction. 
In  the  main  the  method  fails  because^  though  it  may  return  its  victims  to 
social  freedom  with  a  strengthened  desire  to  refrain  from  crime,  it  returns 
them  also  without  the  slightest  increase  in  ability  to  do  so.  Too  often  it 
returns  them  to  freedom  with  only  a  wish  to  evade  renewed  punishment,  no 
desire  at  all  to  abstain  from  crime.  But  whether  it  succeeds  in  creating  a  will 
to  abstain,  or  merely  a  will  to  sin  more  safely,  it  operates  only  upon  the  will, 
not  upon  the  capacity  to  abstain.  Only  when  the  treatment  applied  ceases, 
in  part  at  least,  to  be  a  punitive  method  can  it  actively  seek  to  better  its 
subjects'  ability  in  self-support. 

The  failure  of  punishment  cannot  be  prevented  while  the  process  of  punish- 
ment is  retained  as  the  primary  method  of  treatment.  Yet  that  the  faults, 
and  therefore  the  method,  must  be  eliminated  if  society  is  to  be  successfully 
protected  against  repeated  crime  is  an  inescapable  conclusion.  Some  funda- 
mentally different  method  of  treatment  must  be  substituted.  The  only  question 
is  as  to  the  essentials  of  that  substitution. 

'Presumably  the  substitute  could  not  wisely,  even  were  attainment  practic- 
able, depart  entirely  from  the  notion  of  unpleasant  consequences  as  a  result 
of  conviction  of  wrong-doing.  Prevention  of  repeated  crime  is  but  one 
objective,  though  the  main  one,  of  criminal  law  enforcement.  The  prevention 
of  first  crime  cannot  be  ignored.  Nor  might  it  be  altogether  safe  to  disregard 
that  vigorous  insistence  of  the  man  on  the  street  that  wrongdoers  be  punished 
because  they  deserve  to  be  punished.  It  may  well  be  doubted  that  disorder 
would  increase  and  private  persons  might  take  into  their  own  hands  the 
exaction  of  retribution  if  instincts  of  revenge  were  left  unsatisfied  by  official 
action.  More  likely,  a  public  which  believes  that  its  freedom  from  crime  is 
being  adequately  protected  will  acquiesce  peaceably  in  whatever  reasonable 
means  are  adopted  for  that  end.  Still,  satisfaction  of  that  undeniably  prevalent 
wish  for  retributory  suffering  as  a  consequence  of  injury  done  must  be  given 
some  heed  in  consideration  of  any  substitute  for  the  common,  punitive 
method  of  dealing  with  convicted  criminals. 

'In  so  far  as  the  prevention  of  crime  by  others  than  the  person  dealt  with 
is  concerned,  psychologists  agree  and  history  demonstrates  that  neither  fear 
of  monetary  amercement  nor  the  physical  distress  of  imprisonment  are  of 
material  effect.  What  deterrence  there  may  be  springs  from  more  subtle 
influences;  from  the  fear  of  public  condemnation  demonstrated  through 
punishment,  from  the  conduct  habits  and  inhibitions  created  by  open  and 
notorious  application  in  specific  cases  of  what  might  otherwise  be  mere 
abstract  formulations  of  right  and  wrong,  from  the  instinct  of  individuals 
to  conform  with  the  expressed  beliefs  and  demanded  conduct  of  the  herd. 


APPENDIX  G  451 

If  this  be  so,  punishment,  in  the  sense  of  treatment  administered  for  the 
primary  purpose  of  causing  suffering,  is  not  necessary  to  attainment  of  the 
end  sought.  All  the  deterrent  effect,  the  explicit  expression  of  group  reproba- 
tion, the  demonstration  of  its  standards  of  right  and  wrong,  its  insistence 
upon  conformity  with  its  group  ideas,  can  be  expressed  by  conviction  and 
individualised  corrective  treatment  as  effectively  as  by  conviction  and 
stereotyped  punishment/ 

INDIA* 

Report  of  the  Jail  Reforms  Committee  appointed  by  the  United  Provinces 
Government  in  1946.  (Reference  by  Minister  for  Jails,  United  Provinces,  in 
Presidential  Address  to  Indian  Conference  of  Social  Work,  1949). 

The  committee  envisaged  a  large  number  of  changes  to  modernise  our 
penal  system  and  to  accord  that  treatment  to  the  criminal  which  may  be 
conducive  to  the  realisation  of  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  respectability  in 
him,  which  he  definitely  loses  during  the  long  process  of  his  detection, 
detention  and  incarceration.  In  recent  years  a  number  of  amenities  and  facili- 
ties have  been  accorded  to  him  with  a  view  to  assert  his  right  as  a  prospective 
citizen  in  a  free  country.  It  is  unfortunate  that  such  facilities  and  concessions 
have  been  misunderstood  and  there  is  an  impression  in  some  misguided 
quarters  that  such  steps  will  lead  to  a  pampering  of  the  prisoner.  It  is  easy 
for  a  personality  to  be  distorted  but  it  is  a  tough  job  to  reconstruct  it,  so  as 
to  enable  the  individual  to  take  his  proper  place  in  society.  This  is  the  basic 
principle  in  our  treatment  of  prisoners  and  it  is  with  this  object  in  view  that 
attempts  are  being  made  to  soften  the  life  of  an  individual  while  undergoing 
his  period  of  sentence.' 


APPENDIX  H 
STAGE  SYSTEM  AND  PRIVILEGES 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  information  given  to  prisoners  on  the 
appropriate  cell  card: 

PRIVILEGES 

All  prisoners  are  allowed  certain  privileges,  whether  they  are  in  Stage  (see 
next  paragraph)  or  not.  But  these  privileges  may  be  forfeited  under  the  above 
Rules  if  you  abuse  them  or  as  a  punishment  for  misbehaviour.  They  are  as 
follows: 

Additional  letters  and  visits. 

Library  books. 

Educational  note-books. 

Books  and  periodicals. 

Attendance  at  educational  classes  or  taking  of  correspondence  courses. 

Attendance  at  concerts  or  lectures  in  so  far  as  accommodation  permits. 

Purchase  from  earnings  of  tobacco  or  other  articles  from  the  prison 

canteen. 
Possession  or  smoking  of  tobacco. 

STAGE  SYSTEMS 

The  Stage  systems  for  prisoners  sentenced  to  imprisonment  vary  according 
to  classification  (Star  or  Ordinary)  and  length  of  sentence  (Short-term  or 
Long-term).  They  are  as  follows: 

ORDINARY  CLASS 

Short-term  prisoners,  i.e.,  those  with  sentences  of  imprisonment  up  to  and 
including  3  years.  Short-term  prisoners  will  be  either  'Out  of  Stage'  or  'In 
Stage'.  A  prisoner  will  be  'Out  of  Stage'  for  four  calendar  months  from  the 
date  of  admission  on  conviction,  and  will  then  be  'In  Stage'.  The  privileges 
will  be  as  follows: 

Out  of  Stage.  Out  of  Stage  privileges  are  as  in  paragraph  'Privileges'  above. 
In  Stage.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing: 
Attendance  at  concerts  and  lectures. 
Dining  in  association  by  selection  at  the  discretion  of  the  Governor  and 

to  the  extent  that  accommodation  is  available. 
A  general  note-book  and,  if  the  prisoner  so  desires,  a  drawing-book. 
Games  and  other  permitted  occupations  in  cells. 

452 


APPENDIX  H  453 

After  12  months  in  stage:  Extension  of  visit  to  30  minutes. 

Tea  and  evening  association  for  three  evenings 
each  week,  by  selection  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Governor  and  to  the  extent  that 
accommodation  is  available. 

Long-term  prisoners,  i.e.  those  with  sentences  of  over  3  years.  The  Stage 
System  will  be  progressive,  as  follows: 

On  admission  on  conviction — 1st  Stage. 
After  18  months  in  the  1st  Stage  eligible  for  2nd  Stage. 
After  12  months  in  the  2nd  Stage  eligible  for  3rd  Stage. 
After  18  months  in  the  3rd  Stage  eligible  for  4th  Stage. 

The  privileges  attached  to  the  Stages  are  as  follows : 

1st  Stage — Privileges  as  in  paragraph  'Privileges'  above  plus  general 

note-book  and  drawing  book  if  desired. 
2nd  Stage — Attendance  at  concerts  and  lectures. 

Games  and  other  permitted  occupations  in  cells. 
Evening  association  (twice  weekly). 
Extension  of  visit  to  30  minutes. 
3rd  Stage — Dining  in  association. 

Evening  association  (three  times  weekly). 
Personal  possessions  in  the  cell. 
4th  Stage — On  each  day  of  the  week,  dinner  and  tea  in  association  and 

evening  association. 

Certain  additional  facilities  for  obtaining  newspapers  and 
periodicals. 

N.B.  All  association  is  by  selection  at  the  discretion  of  the  Governor  and 
subject  to  the  accommodation  available. 

Stage  Allowances. — In  addition  to  payments  received  under  the  earnings 
scheme  long-term  prisoners  will  be  paid  a  weekly  stage  allowance  on  reaching 
the  Second  Stage  subsequently  at  the  following  rates: 

Second  Stage— 2d. 
Third  Stage  —  3d. 

Fourth  Stage — 4d.  to  be  increased  by  2d.  per  week  per  annum  up  to  a 
maximum  of  Is.  2d.  per  week. 

Distinctive  Dress.  Second  Stage — Grey  dress,  blue  stripe. 
Third  Stage  — Blue  dress. 
Fourth  Stage — Blue  dress  with  grey  stripe. 

STAR  CLASS 

Star  prisoners  whether  long-term  or  short-term  will  be  *Out  of  Stage'  for 
the  first  month  after  admission  on  conviction  and  'In  Stage'  thereafter.  An 
'Out  of  Stage'  Star  prisoner  will  be  treated  in  the  same  way  as  an  'Out  of 
Stage'  prisoner  of  Ordinary  class:  when  In  Stage'  the  Star  prisoner  will 
receive  all  the  privileges  available,  according  to  the  prison  in  which  he  is 
located. 


454  APPENDIX  H 

Long-term  Star  prisoners  will  become  eligible  for  stage  allowances  on  a 
time  basis  similar  to  that  for  Ordinary  prisoners: 

After  18  months — 2d.  a  week. 
After  2^  years    — 3d.  a  week. 

After  4  years     —  4d.  a  week  to  be  increased  by  2d.  per  week  per  annum 
up  to  a  maximum  of  Is.  2d.  per  week. 

YOUNG  PRISONERS 

Young  prisoners  retained  in  local  prisons  will  be  'Out  of  Stage'  for  the  first 
8  weeks  of  their  sentences,  and  will  then  receive  the  stage  privileges  of  the 
short-term  Ordinary  class. 

CORRECTIVE  TRAINING 

If  you  have  been  sentenced  to  corrective  training: 

(a)  On  reception  in  a  regional  training  prison  you  will  receive  the  privileges 
granted  to  men  in  that  prison. 

(6)  On  reception  in  a  corrective  training  prison  you  will  be  'Out  of  Stage' 
for  the  first  8  weeks;  during  this  period  you  will  receive  the  privileges 
(though  not  the  stage  allowances)  of  the  long-term  2nd  Stage.  There- 
after you  will  be  'In  Stage'.  The  Stage  privileges,  as  far  as  facilities 
permit,  will  correspond  to  those  of  the  4th  Stage  long-term  prisoner. 
Corrective  training  prisoners  with  sentences  of  over  three  years  will 
become  eligible  for  stage  allowances  on  a  time-basis  similar  to  that 
for  Ordinary  prisoners — After  18  months — 2d.  per  week.  After  2i 
years — 3d.  per  week. 

(c)  The  Governor  of  a  corrective  training  prison  may  in  his  discretion 
temporarily  remove  a  prisoner  from  association  if  he  is  satisfied  that 
it  is  in  the  interests  of  the  prisoner's  own  training,  or  of  the  good 
conduct  of  the  prison,  to  do  so. 


APPENDIX  I 

Summary  of  the  principal  recommendations  of  the  Departmental 
Committee  to  Review  Punishments  in  Prisons,  etc. 

PART  i — PRISONS 

1.  The  Committee  advised  that  the  No.  2  punishment  diet  should  be 
replaced  by  an  alternative  (para.  54). 

2.  There  should  be  a  special  prison  for  recalcitrant  and  dangerous 
prisoners  (para.  90). 

3.  A  prisoner  reported  for  an  offence  should  be  given  in  good  time  written 
notice  of  the  offence  charged  and  an  opportunity  to  make  his  defence  or 
explanation  in  writing  (para.  100). 

4.  For  adjudication  on  prison  offences,  Visiting  Committees  and  Boards 
of  Visitors  should  sit  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  five  at  a  time,  the 
adjudicating  members  being  called  on  in  rotation  from  a  'judicial  panel* 
(para.  115). 

5.  Visiting  Committees  and  Boards  of  Visitors  should  follow  the  procedure 
of  courts  of  summary  jurisdiction  when  dealing  with  prison  offences  (para. 
116). 

6.  An  explanatory  card  about  the  procedure  which  will  be  followed  under 
the  preceding  recommendation  should  be  handed  to  every  prisoner  who  is 
to  appear  before  the  Visiting  Committee  or  Board  of  Visitors  (para.  117). 

7.  Prisoners  charged  with  offences  against  prison  discipline  should  not 
be  entitled  to  representation  by  a  'friend'  or  legal  adviser  (para.  128). 

The  Secretary  of  State  accepted  these  recommendations  in  principle, 
subject  to  consultation  with  the  Magistrates  Association  on  4,  5,  and  6. 
No.  1  will  require  an  amendment  of  the  Prison  Rules  before  it  can  be  imple- 
mented. No.  2  must  wait  till  a  suitable  prison  is  available.  No.  3  is  already  in 
force. 

PART  II — BORSTALS 

1.  The  power  to  award  restricted  diet  No.  1  should  be  restored  to  Gover- 
nors and  Boards  of  Visitors  (para.  58). 

2.  Restricted  diet  No.  2  should  be  abolished  (para.  59). 

3.  A  special  closed  institution  should  be  established  for  lads  who  by 
persistent  misconduct  or  subversive  activities  interfere  with  the  training  of 
others  (paras.  61-66). 

4.  Absconders  should  be  dealt  with  by  the  Board  of  Visitors  (para.  76). 

455 


456  APPENDIX  I 

5.  A  notice  of  the  offence  for  which  he  has  been  reported  should  be  served 
on  an  inmate  in  good  time  before  adjudication  (para.  78). 

6.  The  Governor  should  be  obliged  to  remit  to  the  Board  of  Visitors  every 
case  where  an  inmate  is  reported  for  assaulting  an  officer,  gross  personal 
violence  to  an  officer  or  another  inmate,  or  mutiny  or  incitement  to  mutiny 
(para.  79). 

7.  As  for  4  and  5  under  PRISONS. 

The  Secretary  of  State  accepted  these  recommendations  in  principle, 
subject  as  to  1  to  the  qualification  'that  this  punishment  should  be  used  only 
as  a  last  resort  when  other  forms  of  punishment  have  failed  or  in  exceptional 
cases  of  serious  misconduct  where  no  other  form  of  punishment  is  deemed 
appropriate';  as  to  2,  4  and  6,  to  the  amendment  of  the  Borstal  Rules, 
though  punishment  diet  No.  2  is  not  now  being  used;  as  to  7,  to  consultation 
with  the  Magistrates  Association.  Recommendations  1,  3  and  5  are  already 
in  force. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  in  connection  with  the  amendments  to  the  Prison 
and  Borstal  Rules  required  to  give  effect  to  the  foregoing  recommendations, 
a  series  of  further  amendments  will  be  proposed  of  which  it  is  unfortunately 
impossible  to  take  account  here  as  they  have  not  yet  been  presented  to 
Parliament.  These  may  affect  some  matters  dealt  with  in  the  text. 


APPENDIX  J 

PRISON  DIETS 

Dietary  Card  Issued  to  Prisoners 

ORDINARY  DIET 

1.  Statutory  Rules,  98,  100  and  101  provide  as  follows: 

'98.  The  food  provided  for  prisoners  shall  be  of  a  nutritional  value  adequate 
for  health  and  strength  and  of  wholesome  quality,  well  prepared  and 
served,  and  reasonably  varied. 

'100.  Except  as  determined  by  the  Commissioners,  or  on  medical  grounds, 
no  prisoner  shall  be  allowed  to  have  any  food  other  than  the  normal 
prison  diet. 

•101.  Except  as  provided  under  Rules  43  and  44  for  an  offence  against  disci- 
pline, or  on  the  written  recommendation  of  the  Medical  Officer  in  the 
case  of  a  prisoner  who  persistently  wastes  his  food  or  on  medical  grounds 
by  direction  of  the  Medical  Officer,  no  prisoner  shall  have  less  food  than 
is  provided  in  the  normal  prison  diet.' 

2.  (a)  The  meals  are  not  prepared  on  a  fixed  dietary  scale.  Excepting 
breakfast  they  may  vary  from  day  to  day.  They  cannot  be  measured  by  weight 
and  it  is  no  use  complaining  about  the  quantity  unless  there  is  clearly  some- 
thing wrong. 

(6)  You  may  not  like  some  dishes  but  the  kitchen  staff  cannot  meet  indi- 
vidual tastes.  If  you  waste  your  food  it  may  be  cut  down;  if  you  are  in  real 
trouble  about  it  you  should  apply  to  see  the  Medical  Officer. 

3.  The  meals  served  are  as  follows: 

Breakfast  consists  of  oatmeal  porridge,  bread,  margarine,  and  tea. 
^    Dinner  varies  from  day  to  day. 

Supper  consists  of  bread,  margarine,  tea  and  (normally)  an  extra  dish 
according  to  what  the  cook  can  make  available  from  the  rations,  e.g 
jam,  cheese,  salad,  or  a  cooked  dish. 
Evening  cocoa. 

4.  (a)  If  you  are  a  Jew,  a  Mahommedan  or  a  Hindu  the  food  which  will 
be  issued  to  you  will  include  a  substitute  for  those  items  which  you  are 
precluded  from  eating  on  religious  grounds. 

(b)  You  may  receive  a  vegetarian  diet  if  you  are  a  registered  vegetarian  and 
report  this  fact  on  admission,  but  you  cannot  change  about.  The  vegetarian 

457 


458 


APPENDIX  J 


diet  is  the  ordinary  prison  diet  without  meat  with  additional  cheese  and 
bread.  Vegetarians  may,  should  they  so  desire,  take  fish  when  it  forms  part 
of  the  meal  issued  to  the  prison  as  a  whole. 

Specimen  Week's  Diet  in  a  London  Prison,  1951 


Day 

Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 

Evening 

Mon. 

Bread,    marg., 

Fried  fish,  peas,  mashed 

Meat,    onion    and 

Cocoa 

tea,  porridge 

potatoes,     semolina 

potato    savoury, 

pudding 

bread,  marg.,  tea 

Tues. 

99 

Irish    stew,    potatoes, 

Cheese       bread, 

99 

cabbage,       savoury 

marg.,  tea 

dumplings 

Wed. 

99 

Soup,  meat  pie,  pota- 

Bread, marg.,  jam, 

99 

toes,  cabbage,  fruit 

tea 

pudding 

Thurs. 

99 

Steamed  fish,  parsley 

Cheese       savoury, 

99 

sauce,          cabbage, 

sweet          buns, 

mashed       potatoes, 

bread,  marg.  and 

semolina  pudding 

tea 

Fit 

»» 

Savoury     bacon     pie, 

Bread,  jam,  marg. 

99 

haricot  beans,  pota- 

and tea 

toes,  cabbage,  treacle 

pudding 

Sat. 

»» 

Vegetable  soup,  pota- 

Cheese, bread,  marg. 

99 

toes,  savoury  dump- 

and tea 

lings 

Sun. 

99 

Roast  meat,  roast  po- 

Cake, bread,  marg., 

99 

tatoes,  cabbage,  date 

tea 

• 

pudding 

APPENDIX  K 

ADDITIONAL  NOTES 

(to  December  1951) 

p.  25.  The  origin  and  development  of  the  Amsterdam  Rasp  House  are 
very  fully  described,  from  the  original  sources,  by  Professor  Thorsten  Sellin 
in  his  Pioneering  in  Penology  (University  of  Pennsylvania  Press  and  Oxford 
University  Press,  1944).  From  this  it  is  clear  that  in  its  origin  the  Rasp  House 
was  intended  as  a  place  of  correctional  imprisonment  for  all  sorts  of  offenders, 
even  for  sentences  of  many  years.  The  memorandum  of  Jan  Spiegel,  an 
Amsterdam  magistrate,  on  the  principles  to  be  followed  in  its  administration 
is  a  remarkable  document  in  the  literature  of  penal  reform,  anticipating  by 
200  years  the  teaching  of  Howard  and  his  followers  (Sellin,  pp.  27  and  28). 
Professor  Sellin  deals  also  with  the  Spin  House,  founded  a  few  years  later 
for  women.  The  gate  of  the  Rasp  House  still  stands  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Public  Baths  in  the  Heiligenweg:  its  present  form,  which  may  derive  from 
the  late  seventeenth  or  early  eighteenth  century  (Sellin,  p.  33)  appears  to 
symbolise  the  deterioration  of  the  original  conception,  the  dominant  motifs 
being  chains,  chastisement,  and  terror. 

p.  25.  Bridewell— It  is  not  without  interest  to  note  that  in  the  City  of  New 
York  progress  has  led  in  precisely  the  opposite  direction.  From  p.  1  of  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Dept.  of  Correction  for  1950  we  learn  that  in  Septem- 
ber 1950  'the  Penitentiary  and  Workhouse  situated  on  Rikers  Island,  Brook- 
lyn, N.Y.,  was  reorganised  to  permit  the  establishment  of  two  divisions 
operating  as  separate  and  distinct  institutions.' 

p.  31.  A  parallel  development  on  the  continent,  which  led  to  the  damming 
up  in  hulks  of  convicts  who  could  no  longer  be  disposed  of  as  galley-slaves 
(an  alternative  to  transportation)  is  described  by  M.  Jean  Dupreel  as  follows: 

'Mais  des  la  fin  du  XVII6  siecle  les  progres  de  la  navigation  a  voile 
briserent  1'avantageuse  communaute  d'interets  qui  s'etait  ainsi  etablie  entre  la 
defense  sociale  et  la  propulsion  des  vaisseaux  de  ligne.  Les  marines  de  guerre 
eurent  done  de  moins  en  moins  1'emploi  de  galeriens,  et  comme  on  continuait 
a  leur  en  envoyer,  elles  durent  les  entasser  dans  des  installations  de  fortune, 
tantot  a  terre,  dans  les  locaux  disponibles  des  ports  militaires,  tantot  dur 
Feau,  dans  des  navires  desaffectes  et  immobilises  a  Fancre. 

'Ce  fut  1'origine  des  bagnes  qui,  en  France,  existerent  a  Toulon,  Brest, 
Rochefort  et  Lorient  et  dont  le  nom  provient,  dit-on,  du  fait  qu'un  des 

459 


460  APPENDIX  K 

premiers  parmi  ces  lieux  de  detention  fut  installe  a  Constantinople  dans  un 
ancien  etablissement  de  bain.' l 

p.  38.  It  is  of  some  interest  to  note  the  history  of  the  plan  established  at 
Pentonville,  since  so  many  prisons  in  Europe  built  since  that  date  have  been 
influenced  by  it.  Theoretically,  it  appears  to  derive  from  a  combination  of  the 
circular  panopticon  of  Bentham's  imagining  and  the  well-known  plan  of  the 
'maison  de  force'  at  Ghent  which  was  followed  at  Millbank:  instead  of 
radiating  from  an  open  court,  as  at  Ghent,  the  separate  blocks  radiate  from 
a  closed  central  space,  from  which  the  complete  and  simultaneous  super- 
vision sought  by  Bentham  is  obtained.  But  this  plan  had  been  adopted  as 
early  as  1817  in  the  Philadelphia  Penitentiary  which  was  reported  on  in  1834 
by  the  English  Inspectors  who  had  visited  the  U.S.A.  to  study  the  Separate 
System,  and  the  writer  has  been  assured  by  Professor  Thorsten  Sellin  of 
Philadelphia  University  that  the  architect  derived  his  plan  from  that  of  the 
London  Hospital.  This  form  of  prison  was  adopted  in  Belgium  through  the 
influence  of  the  Belgian  Inspector-General  Edouard  Ducpetiaux,  who  had 
made  a  visit  to  England  in  1835,  and  M.  Dupreel,  in  the  article  above  quoted 
to  which  I  am  indebted  for  this  information,  mentions  that  in  Belgium  some 
thirty  prisons  of  this  type  were  built  between  1844  and  1919,  fifteen  by 
Ducpetiaux  himself  before  his  death  in  1868.  This  influence  also  spread  to 
Germany,  and  on  visiting  the  Lehrterstrasse  prison  in  Berlin  the  writer  was 
informed  that  it  was  built  in  1846  from  the  plans  of  Pentonville  brought  from 
London  by  the  King  of  Prussia. 

p.  45.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  following  from  an  address  given  to  the 
Institute  of  Comparative  Law  in  Paris  as  recently  as  May  1949  by  the  Director- 
General  of  Prisons,  Chili — 'Le  reglement  penitentiaire  chilien,  en  usage, 
etablit  le  systeme  irlandais,  connu  aussi  sous  les  noms  de  systeme  de  Crofton 
ou  systeme  progressis  .  .  .' 

pp.  51,  78,  83.  The  I.P.P.C.  met  for  the  last  time  at  Berne  in  July,  1951. 
After  long  negotiation,  it  had  been  agreed  that  its  functions  should  be  taken 
over  by  the  United  Nations.  Under  the  terms  of  the  agreement  'consultative 
groups'  of  experts  will  meet  in  different  regions  of  the  world  at  least  once  in 
two  years,  and  the  first  such  group  to  be  set  up  will  be  composed  of  the 
former  members  of  the  I.P.P.C.  The  U.N.  also  undertakes  to  organise 
quinquennial  Congresses  after  the  manner  established  by  the  I.P.P.C.,  and 
to  publish  regular  Bulletins.  The  work  will  be  organised  by  the  Social  Defence 
Section  of  the  U.N.  Secretariat. 

p.  80.  Following  the  retirement  of  the  first  Director,  it  was  decided  in 
consultation  with  the  Ministry  of  Education  that  the  duties  of  this  post 
might  in  future  be  carried  out  by  a  suitably  qualified  Assistant  Commissioner. 

pp.  100,  144.  During  1950  it  became  necessary  to  reserve  part  of  Park- 
hurst  for  men  passing  into  the  second  stage  of  a  sentence  of  preventive 
detention  (see  Chapter  XVIII).  As  their  numbers  grew,  the  Ordinary  class 
prisoners  were  gradually  squeezed  out,  and  by  mid- 1951  there  were  no  more 
transfers  of  this  class  to  Parkhurst  except  for  medical  or  special  reasons. 

1  *  Vers  une  nouvelle  architecture  penitentiaire ' ;  Revue  de  Droit  P6nal  et  de 
Criminologie ;  Mars  1951. 


APPENDIX  K  461 

Dartmoor,  therefore,  became  the  only  central  prison  for  the  general  run  of 
long-term  Ordinaries,  and  it  was  necessary  to  prescribe  'over  four  years'  as 
the  qualifying  term  for  transfer  from  a  local  prison. 

p.  144.  Star  Class  Prisons — Continued  increase  of  population  and  in- 
ability to  obtain  an  additional  open  prison  has  prevented  the  full  development 
of  these  plans.  The  present  situation  is  that  in  the  Northern  group  all  Stars 
with  sentences  of  12  months  to  3  years  inclusive  are  collected  at  Stafford, 
from  where  they  are  allocated  to  the  two  regional  training  prisons  for  that 
group.  Stars  with  sentences  of  less  than  12  months,  and  civil  prisoners, 
go  to  Preston  or  Northallerton,  which  take  only  those  categories.  These 
are  all  cellular  prisons.  In  the  Southern  group  there  is  an  open  prison  (East- 
church,  Kent)  for  civil  prisoners  and  Stars  with  sentences  of  less  than  12 
months  who  are  not  found  to  be  unsuitable  for  open  conditions:  others  of 
this  category  are  concentrated  in  Brixton  and  Wormwood  Scrubs  prisons 
in  the  London  area,  and  elsewhere  remain  in  their  local  prisons.  Stars  with 
sentences  of  12  months  and  over  are  allocated  to  the  three  regional  training 
prisons  for  the  group  from  their  local  prisons  or  from  Wormwood  Scrubs. 

p.  146.  During  1950,  in  consequence  of  the  development  of  the  system  of 
corrective  training  (see  Chapter  XVIII)  the  40  per  cent  of  places  allotted  to 
'trainable  ordinaries'  at  Wakefield  and  Maidstone  were  gradually  filled  by 
corrective  trainees  selected  as  suitable  for  the  regime  of  these  prisons — on 
the  whole  a  similar  type  of  man.  The  'trainable  ordinary'  may  still  however 
find  room  in  the  open  regional  prisons. 

p.  157.  Mention  should  have  been  made  in  the  text  that  arrangements  for 
classification  and  for  training  programmes  are  made  in  each  local  prison  by 
a  Reception  Board  of  the  Governor  (or  deputy)  and  senior  officials,  includ- 
ing the  Welfare  Officer.  The  Board  sees  every  prisoner  as  soon  as  possible  after 
reception,  and  those  with  longer  sentences  about  whom  decisions  have  to 
be  made  are  seen  again  when  the  necessary  material  has  been  collected  and 
observation  made.  At  training  and  central  prisons  similar  boards  meet  to 
arrange  the  training  programmes  of  the  prisoners  transferred  to  them. 

p.  187.  It  is  satisfactory  to  be  able  to  report  a  marked  improvement  in  the 
position  during  1951.  Whether  as  a  result  of  the  new  arrangements  of  1950, 
or  of  the  re-armament  programme,  or  of  both,  there  was  no  shortage  of 
work  except  to  a  limited  extent  for  the  unskilled  short-sentence  prisoners. 

p.  195.  In  July,  1951,  the  Secretary  of  State  approved  an  interesting  exten- 
sion of  this  scheme.  Hitherto  it  had  been  limited  to  out-door  work  on  public 
utilities,  except  for  a  party  working  in  a  privately  owned  quarry.  On  this 
occasion  a  party  of  women  prisoners  were  allowed  to  go  out  daily  to  work 
in  a  civilian  spinning  factory  under  normal  conditions,  but  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  woman  prison  officer,  who  wears  plain  clothes  and  voluntarily 
works  alongside  them.  The  arrangements  as  to  wages,  etc.,  were  made  through 
the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service  and  the  Trade  Union  concerned 
in  the  usual  way.  This  arrangement  has  so  far  worked  well,  and  no  untoward 
incident  has  resulted.  The  women  work  in  a  separate  group,  but  they  are 
indistinguishable  in  appearance  from  the  other  workers. 

p.  197.  In  view  of  the  recommendation  on  this  subject  in  the  relevant 
Resolution  of  the  Hague  Congress  (11(3)  of  Appendix  F),  and  of  the  reasoned 


462  APPENDIX  K 

proposal  on  similar  lines  made  by  the  Scottish  Advisory  Council  in  their 
report  on  the  Scottish  Prison  System,  it  seems  desirable  to  examine  this  idea 
further.  The  proposal  as  stated  is  that  the  prisoner  should  be  paid  an  'econ- 
omic wage'  for  his  work  in  prison,  and  that  out  of  this  wage  he  should  pay 
for  his  keep  in  prison,  maintain  his  family,  keep  up  his  insurance  contribu- 
tions, and  'if  possible'  pay  compensation  to  the  victims  of  his  crimes.  The 
purposes  of  his  training  would  then  be  furthered  by  the  greater  'normalisation' 
of  his  position,  the  increase  in  his  self-respect,  the  strengthening  of  his  sense 
of  responsibility  to  his  family  and  society,  and  the  greater  stimulus  to  his 
industry  and  skill.  If  indeed  these  results  could  be  assured,  they  might  well  be 
worth  a  high  price  in  administrative  cost  and  labour.  But  can  they  be 
assured? 

It  appears  to  the  present  writer  that  for  such  a  scheme  to  succeed  it  must 
appeal  to  the  prisoner  as  bearing  a  realistic  and  comprehensible  relation  to 
ordinary  life:  if  the  effect  so  far  as  he  is  concerned  is  merely  that  the  prison 
authorities,  after  a  complicated  piece  of  book-keeping  in  which  he  exercises 
no  personal  choice  or  self-determination,  inform  him  that  the  weekly  balance 
due  to  him  is  so  much,  then  it  may  be  doubted  if  in  the  minds  of  the  great 
majority  of  prisoners  any  of  the  desired  effects  will  in  fact  be  aroused. 

And  how  is  'a  wage  calculated  according  to  the  same  norms  that  obtain 
outside  the  prison'  to  be  fixed  in  the  labour  conditions  described  in  the  text? 
It  is  sufficient,  for  the  present  purpose,  to  state  the  question.  No  answer  has 
yet,  to  the  writer's  knowledge,  been  put  forward.  The  Scottish  Report,  if  it 
may  be  said  with  respect,  merely  shirks  this  issue  by  proposing  a  general  rate 
of  £3  a  week:  such  an  arrangement  could  bear  no  relation  to  economic 
conditions  either  inside  or  outside  the  prison,  and  could  in  the  writer's  sub- 
mission only  degenerate  into  the  artificial  book-keeping  system  above- 
mentioned. 

If  the  rate  is  to  bear  any  relation  to  the  calls  to  be  made  on  it,  it  may  be 
noted  that  it  costs  £4  3,y.  Id.  a  week  (including  all  overhead  costs)  to  keep  a 
prisoner  in  an  English  prison,  that  a  Class  I  National  Insurance  contribution 
is  5,y.  Id.  a  week  (the  State  would  also  have  to  pay  the  employer's  contribution 
of  45-.  4d.)  and  that  the  National  Assistance  Board  rate  for  a  wife  and — say — 
two  children  would  be  at  least  £2  10s.  Qd.  a  week. 

Among  the  various  difficulties  that  spring  to  the  mind,  are  such  questions 
as,  who  would  decide  the  amount  due  by  way  of  compensation  to  the  vic- 
tims of  the  great  variety  of  offences  of  dishonesty  and  violence  to  be  found 
among  prisoners,  and  relate  the  payments  to  the  prisoners'  wages?  Would 
the  man  in  prison  for  refusing  to  maintain  his  family  be  subject  to  compulsory 
stoppage  of  his  prison  wage?  Is  the  bachelor  or  widower  with  no  dependants 
to  enjoy  the  balance  of  his  wage,  or  is  a  system  of  family  allowances  to  be 
super-added  to  the  structure? 

Further  reflection  only  serves  to  confirm  the  view  that  any  such  system 
must,  in  the  end,  lead  to  some  such  result  as  was  attributed  to  it  by  the  Salmon 
Committee,  and  that  the  cost  to  the  State  and  the  administrative  work  in- 
volved would  be  wholly  disproportionate  to  the  effects  achieved. 

p.  215.  An  interesting  account  of  the  history,  use,  and  organisation  of 
prison  libraries  is  given  by  Mr.  Richard  F.  Watson,  Lending  Librarian  of 
the  Harris  Public  Library,  Preston,  in  Library  Association  Pamphlet  No.  7. 


APPENDIX  K  463 

'Prison  Libraries,'  1951,  (The  Library  Association,  Chaucer  House,  Malet 
Place,  London.)  Mr.  Watson  is  a  prison  visitor  and  for  two  years  acted  as 
Prison  Librarian  at  H.M.  Prison,  Preston. 

pp.  219,  222.  In  1951  the  Howard  League  published  a  pamphlet,  'The 
Legal  Disabilities  of  Ex-prisoners',  price  Is.,  which  deals  in  greater  detail 
with  many  aspects  of  these  questions.  I  am  indebted  to  this  publication  for 
drawing  my  attention  to  two  statutory  disqualifications  which  I  had  over- 
looked, as  follows: 

'A  clergyman  sentenced  to  imprisonment,  or  to  any  greater  punishment, 
following  a  conviction  of  treason,  felony  or  misdemeanour  (if  tried  on 
indictment)  forfeits  his  preferment  and  continues  during  his  lifetime  incapable 
of  holding  preferment.  (The  Clergy  Discipline  Act,  1892,  Section  1).' 

'The  Licensing  Laws  contain  various  provisions  for  the  disqualification  of 
convicted  persons.  (The  Beerhouse  Acts  of  1830  and  1840.  The  Licensing 
Acts,  1910  and  1949).  The  most  important  of  these  which  disqualified  a 
person  convicted  of  felony  from  being  a  licensee  during  his  lifetime  was 
repealed  by  the  Criminal  Justice  Act,  1948.' 

p.  220.  On  15  February  1951  the  Secretary  of  State  told  the  House  of 
Commons  that  'the  question  of  altering  the  law  will  be  considered  when  an 
opportunity  for  amending  legislation  occurs.'  (Hansard,  15.2.51,  col.  94). 

p.  220.  In  1951  the  Secretary  of  State  decided  that  in  future  a  prisoner 
might  be  released  under  escort,  to  be  married  at  the  nearest  place  to  the 
prison  licensed  for  the  purpose,  if  a  child  would  otherwise  be  born  before 
the  expiration  of  his  or  her  sentence.  This  practice  is  now  in  force. 

p.  226.  The  Prison  Rules  1951,  which  are  now  in  force,  add  to  the  prison 
Rules  a  new  Rule  in  the  following  terms: 

'Parole 

484A.  (1)  A  prisoner  may  be  allowed  by  the  Commissioners,  on  conditions 
and  for  reasons  approved  by  them,  to  be  temporarily  absent  from  the  prison 
on  parole,  for  a  stated  length  of  time. 

'(2)  If  the  Commissioners  are  satisfied  that  a  prisoner  absent  on  parole 
has  broken  any  of  the  said  conditions,  he  shall,  notwithstanding  that  the 
said  length  of  time  has  not  elapsed,  be  liable  to  be  recalled  to  the  prison.' 

This  new  power  has  so  far  been  used  for  two  purposes.  First,  to  allow  to 
long-term  Star  prisoners  who  apply  for  it  a  short  period  (five  days)  of  home 
leave,  towards  the  end  of  the  sentence,  provided  their  applications  are 
approved  by  a  special  Board  at  the  prison  after  consultation  with  the  C. A.C.A. 
Second,  to  allow  a  prisoner  to  visit  a  dying  relative  if  the  Governor  is  satis- 
fied that  during  his  temporary  absence  he  is  likely  to  abstain  from  crime  and 
that  he  may  reasonably  be  counted  upon  to  return  to  prison  at  the  proper 
time.  This  latter  concession  does  not  apply  to  untried,  unsentenced,  appellant 
or  civil  prisoners,  nor  to  any  who  are  certifiable  as  insane  or  mentally  deficient 
or  under  sentence  of  death.  If  a  prisoner  is  unsuitable  for  parole,  he  may 
nevertheless  be  allowed  to  make  such  a  visit  under  escort. 


464  APPENDIX  K 

p.  231.  With  a  view  to  the  further  development  and  better  organisation  of 
physical  training  and  recreational  games  a  Physical  Training  Organiser  has 
now  been  appointed  as  a  full-time  member  of  the  Head  Office  staff. 

p.  250.  It  is  becoming  increasingly  clear  that  the  whole  question  of  the 
scientific  examination  of  offenders,  with  a  view  to  assisting  the  courts  to 
select  the  appropriate  treatment  and  the  administration  to  classify  and 
individualise  treatment,  is  ripe  for  reconsideration  and  much  fuller  develop- 
ment. In  December  1951  the  U.N.  organised  a  Seminar  in  Brussels,  attended 
by  experts  from  eighteen  countries,  entirely  devoted  to  this  question,  and  its 
findings  when  published  will  be  of  first-rate  importance. 

Experience  already  suggests  that  a  complete  examination  will  include: 

(a)  Analysis  of  the  criminal  record. 

(6)  Social  examination  by  a  qualified  social  case-worker. 

(c)  Medical  examination  by  a  general  practitioner. 

(d)  Psychological  examination,  including  the  educational  and  vocational 
fields. 

(e)  Psychiatric  examination,  where  any  question  of  mental  abnormality 
arises.  ' 

Not  all  parts  of  this  examination  will  be  required  for  all  offenders,  and  for 
many  no  examination  will  be  required  at  all,  but  there  should  be  properly 
co-ordinated  arrangements  for  making  such  examinations  both  before  and 
after  sentence.  At  present  the  position  in  England  is  only  partially  satisfactory. 
Complete  examinations  can  be  and  are  carried  out  after  sentence  in  Borstal 
Reception  Centres  and  the  Corrective  Training  Allocation  Centre,  but  it  is 
abundantly  clear  that  this  work  ought  to  be  done  before  sentence,  so  that 
the  results  of  a  complete  examination  may  be  available  when  reports  are 
made  to  courts  on  the  suitability  of  offenders  for  different  forms  of  treat- 
ment. Unfortunately  the  machinery  of  administration  of  justice  makes  no 
provision  for  these  needs,  and  it  is  often  necessary  to  report1  on  persons  who 
have  only  been  under  observation  for  a  few  days,  or  even  on  bail  and  not 
under  observation  at  all.  What  is  required  is  a  series  of  regional  observation 
centres,  on  the  pattern  of  the  existing  allocation  centres,  where  both  pre- 
sentence  and  post-sentence  examinations  can  be  made.  Courts  will  then  be 
advised,  and  classification  carried  out,  on  a  reasonably  full  and  scientific 
basis. 

pp.  256,  262.  In  April  1951  the  Secretary  of  State  appointed  a  Joint 
Committee  of  the  Prison  Commissioners  and  the  N.A.D.P.A.S.,  under  the 
Chairmanship  of  Sir  Alexander  Maxwell,  G.C.B.  (formerly  Permanent 
Under  Secretary  of  State  of  the  Home  Department)  to  enquire  into  the 
functions  and  finance  of  the  D.P.A.S's. 

p.  263.  The  following  are  extracts  from  the  instructions  issued  by  the 
Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service  to  its  local  offices : 

'It  is  not  the  intention  that  the  arrangements  should  in  any  way  curtail 
the  activities  of  the  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Societies  and  Central  After- 
Care  Association  in  finding  employment  for  persons  released  from  prison  or 
Borstal  Institutions  by  such  personal  contacts  as  they  may  have  with  em- 
ployers of  labour.  The  purpose  of  the  scheme  is  solely  one  of  securing  closer 
co-operation  between  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service  and  the 


APPENDIX  K  465 

two  organisations.  In  carrying  it  out  the  fundamental  aim  is  to  secure  that 
the  maximum  number  of  men,  women  and  girls  are  placed  in  employment 
and  given  a  fair  start  on  their  release  from  prison  or  a  Borstal  Institution.' 

'When  the  prisoner  is  interviewed  before  discharge  by  the  Welfare  Officer 
of  the  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Society  or  a  representative  of  the  Central 
After-Care  Association  as  the  case  may  be,  his  attention  is  drawn  to  the 
assistance  which  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  National  Service  can  give  him 
in  finding  suitable  employment.  If  the  prisoner  wishes  to  take  advantage  of 
this  help,  the  Employment  Exchange  in  whose  area  the  prison  is  situated  is 
advised  about  two  months  before  the  prisoner's  discharge.  The  Employment 
Exchange  then  arranges  for  a  Placing  Officer  to  interview  the  prisoner  in 
prison.  This  Officer  finds  out  as  much  about  the  prisoner's  experience  and 
qualifications  as  possible,  taking  account  of  any  training  he  may  have  been 
given  whilst  in  prison.  Full  particulars  are  then  sent  to  the  Employment 
Exchange  in  whose  area  the  prisoner  intends  to  live  on  release,  so  that  efforts 
can  be  made  to  find  him  employment  in  advance.  When  the  prisoner  is  dis- 
charged he  is  given  an  introduction  to  this  Employment  Exchange  in  order 
to  make  it  more  easy  for  him  to  register  for  employment.' 

'In  the  case  of  prisoners  conditionally  discharged,  the  Central  After-Care 
Association  is  notified  of  the  name  of  the  Employment  Exchange  to  which 
particulars  of  the  prisoner  have  been  sent;  the  Association  then  advises  this 
Exchange  of  the  date  the  prisoner  is  due  to  be  discharged  and  the  name  and 
address  of  the  local  Associate  with  whom  the  Exchange  should  co-operate  in 
placing  the  prisoner  in  employment.' 

'It  is  realised  that  persons  who  have  served  terms  of  detention  need  par- 
ticularly sympathetic  treatment.  Employment  Exchanges,  therefore,  are  most 
careful  to  deal  with  such  persons  with  great  tact  and  to  limit  reference  to  their 
offences  and  subsequent  detention  to  a  minimum.  Interviews  are  conducted 
in  conditions  of  privacy,  and  everything  is  done  to  win  their  confidence  and 
to  impress  upon  them  that  the  whole  aim  of  the  Employment  Exchange 
is  to  place  them  in  employment  which  will  give  them  an  opportunity  of 
leading  a  useful  and  happy  life.' 

'Employment  Exchanges  endeavour  to  strike  a  proper  balance  between 
their  responsibility  to  assist  a  discharged  prisoner  to  obtain  suitable  employ- 
ment and  their  responsibility  to  assist  an  employer  to  find  a  suitable  worker 
for  the  vacancy  he  has  notified.  The  fact  that  an  applicant  has  served  a  prison 
sentence  is  not,  however,  disclosed  to  an  employer  without  the  applicant's 
consent.  Such  consent  would,  for  example,  be  sought  where  it  would  obvi- 
ously be  in  the  applicant's  interest  to  be  considered  for  a  particular  vacancy 
but  the  circumstances  of  the  job  are  such  that  it  would  not  be  right  to  ask 
an  employer  to  consider  an  applicant  in  ignorance  of  his  past  record.' 

p.  267.  Section  57  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948  provides  as  follows: 

'The  Secretary  of  State  may  at  any  time  if  he  thinks  fit  release  on  licence  a 
person  serving  a  term  of  imprisonment  for  life  subject  to  such  conditions 
as  may  be  specified  in  the  licence;  and  the  Secretary  of  State  may  at  any  time 
modify  or  cancel  any  such  condition. 

E.P.B.S. — 30 


466  APPENDIX  K 

The  Secretary  of  State  may  at  any  time  by  order  recall  to  prison  a  person 
released  on  licence  under  this  section,  but  without  prejudice  to  the  power  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  release  him  on  licence  again;  and  where  any  person 
is  so  recalled  his  licence  shall  cease  to  have  effect  and  he  shall,  if  at  large, 
be  deemed  to  be  unlawfully  at  large.' 

Each  case  is  reviewed  by  the  Home  Office,  on  a  report  from  the  Prison 
Commissioners,  at  4-yearly  intervals,  and  the  period  to  be  served  is  decided 
on  the  merits  of  each  case.  Under  recent  practice  it  has  been  rare  for  release 
to  be  postponed  beyond  9  or  10  years. 

p.  295.  The  cases  referred  to  in  the  text  may  be  said  to  be  subject  to  the 
coercive  function  of  the  prison,  since  they  may  secure  release  by  obedience 
to  the  order  of  the  court.  There  are  however,  other  cases  which  are  in  principle 
correctional,  since  the  offender  is  committed  for  a  specified  term  in  respect  of 
a  specific  act  deemed  to  be  in  contempt  of  the  court,  e.g.  violent  or  abusive 
behaviour  in  court.  Both  categories  are  treated  as  civil  prisoners. 

p.  300.  In  the  case  of  Rex  v.  Murray,  16  October  1950,  the  Court  of 
Criminal  Appeal  said: 

'Because  the  Prison  Commissioners  report  that  a  man  is  suitable  for  cor- 
rective training  or  preventive  detention,  this  is  not  in  itself  a  reason  why  the 
court  should  pass  such  a  sentence,  but  if  they  report  that  he  is  not  suitable 
for  corrective  training,  it  is  a  very  strong  thing  to  disregard  their  opinion.' 

pp.  308,  363.  In  December  1951  a  change-over  took  place  between  the 
C.T.  Allocation  Centre  and  the  Correctional  Borstal  at  Wandsworth 
(see  p.  363).  The  change  was  made  with  regret  so  far  as  concerns  the  C.T. 
allocation  work,  but  the  necessity  to  move  the  Borstal  into  a  separate  estab- 
lishment had  become  over-riding,  and  it  is  now  established  at  Reading. 
There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the  C.T.  work  should  not  prosper  in  the 
separate  wing  of  Wandsworth,  though  ideally  it  should  be  in  a  separate 
prison  if  one  could  be  made  available. 

p.  310.  These  calculations  were  borne  out  by  the  event.  Committals  to 
corrective  training  in  1951  did  not  reach  the  level  of  1950,  and  the  accommo- 
dation provided  amply  sufficed  throughout  the  year. 

p.  311.  In  confirmation  of  this  view  formed  in  the  prisons,  the  following 
extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Police  of  the  Metropolis  for 
1949  is  of  interest: 

'It  is  interesting  to  speculate  on  the  causes  of  this  striking  fall  in  1949. 
Many  could  be  adduced  and  all  would  be  debatable  except  one  on  which 
experienced  officers  of  the  C.I.D.  are  unanimous,  namely  the  Criminal  Justice 
Act  of  1948.  Section  21  of  this  Act,  which  created  new  sentences  of  corrective 
training  and  preventive  detention,  came  into  force  on  18  April  1949,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  its  implications  have  been  fully  appreciated  by  the 
criminal  community.  When  habitual  criminals  are  found  on  arrest  to  be  in 
possession  of  copies  of  an  Act  of  Parliament  it  is  a  safe  assumption  that  their 
study  of  the  new  criminal  law  is  dictated  by  something  more  than  an  academic 
interest,  and  indeed  it  is  reported  that  in  some  cases  house-breakers  have 
disposed  of  the  tools  of  their  trade  and  have  decided  that  the  possibility  of 


APPENDIX  K  467 

a  long  period  of  detention  raises  the  risks  of  their  calling  beyond  the  point 
where  it  is  remunerative.  Experience  will  show  whether  the  effect  of  the  new 
Act  is  permanent  or  not  and  whether,  contrary  to  what  has  so  often  been 
said,  it  is  in  fact  possible  to  make  men  honest  by  Act  of  Parliament.  The 
omens  are  at  any  rate  encouraging.' 

p.  324.  By  the  end  of  1951  the  number  of  men  serving  sentences  of  pre- 
ventive detention  had  risen  to  693,  of  whom  467  were  in  the  second  stage  at 
Parkhurst.  If  the  numbers  increase  at  the  same  rate  in  1952,  the  provision  of 
additional  accommodation  elsewhere  will  present  difficult  problems. 

Arrangements  for  the  third  stage  have  now  been  made  on  the  lines  sug- 
gested on  pp.  321  and  322.  A  separate  third-stage  block  with  a  pleasantly 
furnished  common-room  is  provided:  the  cells  stand  open,  and  the  men  go 
to  and  from  work  without  supervision.  The  idea  of  a  'weekly  leave'  has 
however  been  deferred  pending  further  experience.  A  full  programme  of 
talks  and  discussions  has  been  arranged,  with  an  informal  atmosphere.  It  has 
also  been  decided  in  principle  to  set  up  an  'intra-mural  hostel'  within  a  suitable 
local  prison,  and  arrangements  are  proceeding. 

On  the  whole  question  of  habitual  criminals  and  preventive  detention, 
reference  should  be  made  to  The  Habitual  Criminal  by  Dr.  Norval  Morris 
(Longmans,  Green  and  Co.,  1951),  price  27^.  6d.  This  valuable  work,  un- 
fortunately received  too  late  for  notice  in  the  text,  deals  comprehensively 
with  all  the  problems  treated  in  the  text,  both  of  principle  and  practice,  and 
contains  a  valuable  section  on  comparative  law  and  practice  in  this  field. 

p.  352.  Under  section  82  of  the  Children  and  Young  Persons  Act  1933 
and  section  72  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  1948,  a  person  who  has  attained 
the  age  of  16  years  may  be  sentenced  to  Borstal  training  by  a  court  of  sum- 
mary jurisdiction  if  he  is  brought  before  them  as  an  absconder  from  an 
approved  school  or  as  guilty  of  serious  misconduct  therein. 

The  initiative  is  taken  by  the  managers  of  the  school  with  the  authority  of 
the  Secretary  of  State. 

This  provision  of  1933  had  been  much  criticised,  mainly  on  the  grounds 
that  it  was  possible  for  a  young  person  who  had  never  committed  a  criminal 
offence  to  be  sent  to  Borstal,  and  even  possibly  to  prison,  since  his  Borstal 
sentence  might  in  law  be  commuted  to  imprisonment.  Section  72  of  1948 
therefore  provides  that  the  Secretary  of  State  may  by  Order  in  Council  bring 
this  power  to  an  end  when  he  'is  satisfied  that  adequate  methods,  other  than 
Borstal  training,  are  available  for  dealing  with  the  persons  to  whom  the 
Order  relates.'  It  is  understood  that  the  provision  of  one  or  more  'closed' 
schools,  or  of  closed  blocks  within  normal  schools,  is  under  consideration. 


INDEX 


Absconding  from  Borstals,  388-9 
Accommodation 

in  Borstals,  360-2,  390 
in  prisons,  101-4 

Adult  education  (see  under  Educa- 
tion) 
Advisory  Council  on  the  Treatment 

of  Offenders 
advises  on  use  of  notebooks  by 

prisoners,  216 

membership  and  functions,  78 
on  treatment  of  mentally  abnormal 

offenders,  245 
After-care 

in  Borstal  system,  393-7 
of  prisoners,  253-72 
American  National  Prison  Congress, 

52 

American  Prison  Association,  142 
Annual   Reports    of  Prison    Com- 
missioners, 84 

Appellants,  treatment  of,  287-8 
Approved  Schools,  336-7 
Art,  in  education,  209,  390 
Askham   Grange,   open  prison  for 

women,  148,  154,  157,  278 
Asquith,  H.  H.  (Earl  of  Oxford  and 

Asquith),  53,  57 
Asquith,  Lord  Justice,  9,  14 
Association  of  prisoners 
for  meals,  69,  235 
for  recreation  and  education,  209 

seqq. 

forfeiture  of  association,  168-71 
under  stage-system,  1 50,  Appendix 

H 

Attendance  Centres,  339 
Auburn  prison,  N.Y.,  and  system,  33 
Australia  (Queensland),  Report  for 

1949  ...  444 

Aylesbury  Association  (former),  266 
Aylesbury  prison,  148,  157 


B 

Babies,  in  prisons,  241 

Bathing,  of  prisoners,  227 

Beccaria,  C.  B.,  26,  31 

Beds  and  bedding,  107 

Benefit  of  Clergy,  23 

Bennett,  James  V.,  64 

Benney,  Mark,  223,  231 

Benson,  George,  M.P.,  169 

Bentham,  Jeremy,  31,  130,  133 

Bibles,  provision  of,  in  prisons,  204 

Birkett,  Lord  Justice,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 
11,  78 

Births  in  prisons,  241 

Blackstone,  W.,  26,  27 

Boards  of  Visitors  (see  Visiting  Com- 
mittees) 

Books  for  prisoners 
devotional,  204 
library,  50,  62,  149,  214 

Borstal  Association  (former),  265 

Borstal  institutions 
absconding  from,  388 
accommodation  in,  360-3,  390 
Correctional  Institution,  385 
population  of,  365-7 
Recall  Centres,  363,  397-8 
Reception  Centres,  359,  360 
staff  of,  363-5,  368 

Borstal  system 
after-care    and    supervision,    393 

seqq. 

amended  by  Act  of  1948  ...  352 
arrangements  for  release,  392-3 
commutation    to    imprisonment, 

354,  386 

established  by  Act  of  1908  ...  335 
influence  of  system,  401 
originated  by  Sir  E.  Ruggles-Brise, 

331 

principles  of  system,  355  seqq. 
recall  to  a  Borstal,  397 
results  of  system,  398  seqq. 


469 


470 


INDEX 


Borstal  system — continued 

transfers    between    Borstal    and 

prison,  354 
Borstal  training 

classification,  356,  359,  360 

discipline,  381  seqq. 

education  and  recreation,  378  seqq. 

extra-institutional    activities,    378 
seqq. 

home  leave,  370 

house  system,  358,  369 

methods  of,  368-91 

principles  of,  355  seqq. 

progressive  trust,  357,  369  seqq. 

results  of,  398  seqq. 

self-government,  372 

vocational  training,  374-7 

work,  373  seqq. 
Bridewells,  24,  25,  30 
Brockway,     Fenner    (ed.     'English 

Prisons  Today'),  61 
Brockway,  Z.  R.,  51 
Buildings,  prison,  98  seqq. 
Buxton,  Sir  T.  F.,  27,  28 


Cadet  Forces,  in  Borstals,  379 
Canteens,  prison,  200 
Capital  punishment 
historical    development,    22,    30, 

34 

prisoners  sentenced  to,  296 
Cass,  E.  R.,  178 
Catering  Adviser,  82 
Cells 

cell-cards,  107,  171 
confinement  to,  170 
description  of,  104-6 
equipment  of,  106-8 
special  cells,  170 

Cellular  system  (see  Separate  system) 
Censorship  of  prisoners'  letters,  224 
Central  After-care  Association,  265 

seqq.9  394 

Central  Association  for  Aid  of  Dis- 
charged   Convicts    (former), 
265 
Central  Discharged  Prisoners  Aid 

Society  (former),  259 
Chadwick,  Edwin,  Poor  Law  Com- 
missioner, 135 

Chains  (see  Mechanical  restraints) 
Chapels,  prison,  202;  Borstal,  368, 
390 


Chaplain  Inspector,  80,  260 
Chaplains 
appointment    and    conditions    of 

service,  89,  90 
duties  of,  202-5 

Children  Act,  1908  ...  65,  334 
Children  and  Young  Persons  Act 

1933  ...  336 
Children,     imprisonment     of    (see 

Young  prisoners) 
Children's  Branch  of  Home  Office, 

334 

Church  Army  Evangelists,  202 
Churchill,  W.  S.  C,  64,  265,  291 
Cincinnati,  Congress  of,  52 
Cinema,  use  in  prisons,  212 
Civil  prisoners,  293  seqq. 
Civil  rights  of  prisoners,  218  seqq. 
Civil  Service  Commissioners,  88,  89, 

97 

Classification 

in  Borstal  system,  356-7,  359-60 
in  Gaol  Act,  1823  ...  34,  35 
principles  today,  140  seqq. 
in  Prison  Act  1898,  58 
of  'prisons,  69,  144  seqq. 
replaced  by  Separate  System,  47 
Clay,  Rev.  John,  39 
Clergy,  benefit  of,  23 
Clerical  staff,  93 
Clothing 

of  Borstal  inmates,  390 
of  prisoners,  134,  236-7 
Clubs,   social   and  recreational,   in 

Borstals,  378-80 

Cockburn,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  46,  48 
Coddington,  Dr.  F.  J.  O.,  10 
Colonial  Office,  83 
Commissioners,  of  prisons  (see  Prison 

Commissioners) 
Committee 

Select,  on  Gaols,  1850  ...  39 
on   Discipline   in    Gaols,    etc., 

1863  .  .  .  46-7 
Departmental 

on  Employment  of  Prisoners 
Part  I,  1933  ...  179  seqq. 
Part  II,  1935  ...  260 
on  Imprisonment  of  Debtors, 

1908  ...  294 
on  Imprisonment  in  Default  of 

Fines,  1934  ...  294 
on  Offences  and  Punishments  in 
Prisons  and  Borstals,  1951  ... 
381,  385,  Appendix  I 


INDEX 


471 


Committee — continued 
Departmental — continued 
on  Persistent  Offenders,  1932  ... 

302  seqq. 

on  Prisons,  1894  ...  53-6 
on   Treatment   of  Young   Of- 
fenders, 1927  ...  336  seqq. 
Commutation,  of  Borstal  training  to 

imprisonment,  354,  386 
Complaints  by  prisoners,  171-5 
Concerts  in  prisons,  215 
Conferences 

Commissioners,  81 

Prison  and  Borstal  staffs,  81 

Prison  Visitors,  206 

Visiting  Committees,  86 
Conscientious   objectors  in   prison, 

61 

Consultation  with  staff,  81 
Contempt  of  court  prisoners,  295 
Control  of  prisoners,  158-60 
Conversation  among  prisoners,  160 
Convict  prisons 

Directors  of,  40 

origin  of,  38,  41 
Cornil,  Paul,  223 

Cornton  Vale  Borstal,  Scotland,  322 
Corporal  punishment 

in  convict  prisons,  46 

Prison  Act,  1898  ...  61 

today,  169,  170 
Corrective  training,  300,  302-3,  307 

seqq. 
Cosmetics,  use  by  women  prisoners, 

134,  228 
Crime 

meaning  of,  5,  6 

prevention  of,  6,  7 
Criminal  Justice 

early  history,  19-24 

in  18th  century,  26,  30-2 

Peel's  reforms,  34 
Criminal  Justice  Act,  1914 

payment  of  fines  under,  65,  66 
Criminal  Justice  Act,  1948 

abatement  of  imprisonment,  66 

after-care,  266-8 

Borstal  system,  393-7 

persistent  offenders,  314 

supervision  of  offenders,  267 

young  prisoners,  350 
Criminal    Justice    (Scotland)    Act, 

1949  ...  226 
Crofton,  Sir  W.,  45 
Custodial  differentiation,  136,  144-5 


D 


Daily  average  population  of  prisons, 

111,  113,  118 

Dartmoor  prison,  40,  100,  155 
Death  penalty  (see  Capital  Punish- 
ment) 

Deaths  in  prisons,  240 
Debtors,  imprisonment  of,  293  seqq. 
Declaration  of  Principles,  Cincinnati 

Congress,  52 
Dental  treatment,  238 
Detention    centres    for    young    of- 
fenders, 341-3 

Deterrence,  theory  of,  7  seqq.9  71 
Diet 

in  Borstals,  391 

in  prisons,  231  seqq. 
Dietary  punishment 

in  Borstals,  385,  Appendix  K 

in  prisons,  171,  Appendix  K 
Diet-card,  233,  Appendix  J 
Directors  of  Convict  Prisons,  40 
Discharged  Prisoners  Aid  Societies, 

257  seqq. 
Discipline 

in  Borstals,  381  seqq. 

of  prison  staffs,  97 

of  prisoners,  136, 158-61,  166  seqq. 
Dramatic  Societies  in  prisons,  215 
Dress  (sec  Clothing) 
Du  Cane,  Sir  E. 

criticism  of,  53,  54 

first  Chairman  of  Prison  Commis- 
sion, 48,  49 

on  First  Division,  289 

his  system,  49,  50 

retires,  57 

on  young  prisoners,  327,  329 
Dupreel,  Jean,  444,  Appendix  K 
Durham  prison,  education  in,  210 


Earnings    of  prisoners,    196   seqq., 
Appendix  K 

East,  Sir  W.  Norwood,  180 

East-Hubert 
Institution,  248 
Report,  242 

Education 

Adult  Education  Scheme,  68,  69 
Advisory  Committee  on,  210-12 
in  Borstals  today,  378  seqq. 


472 


INDEX 


Education — continued 

Director  of  (in  Prison  Commis- 
sion), 210 

in  Du  Cane's  system,  50,  51 

early  stages  at  Pentonville,  43 

in  prisons  today,  201,  208  seqq. 

in  Ruggles-Brise's  system,  62 
Ellenborough,  Lord,  1 1 
Elmira  Reformatory,  N.Y.,  52,  332 
Employment  (see  Work) 
Escapes 

from  Borstal,  388-90 

from  prison,  161-4; 

legal  effect  of,  355 
Evangelists,  Church  Army,  202 
Executions,  296 
Exercise 

arrangements  today,  229-31 

in  Borstals,  391 

early  stages  at  Pentonville,  43 
Expiation,  doctrine  of,  8-10 


Factory  Acts,  applied  to  prison  work- 
shops, 200 
Family 

assistance  to,  225 

relations  of  prisoners  with,  222-6 
Farms 

Borstal,  361,  377 

prison,  190 
Fees,  gaolers',  21 

Felony,  effect  on  civil  rights  of  con- 
viction of,  219 

Fetters  (see  Mechanical  restraints) 
Field,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  215 
Fielding,  Henry,  22 
Films 

as  publicity,  84 

use  in  prisons,  212 
Film-missions,  203 
Fines 

imprisonment    in    default,    65-6, 
112 

origins  of,  20 
First  Division,  288  seqq. 
Flogging    (see     Corporal     Punish- 
ment) 

Food  (see  Diet) 
Forensic  psychiatry,  244  seqq. 
Fry,  Elizabeth,  28  seqq.,  184 
Fry,  S.  Margery,  12,  28  (note) 
Furniture,  cell,  107-8 


G 


Games,  outdoor 

in  Borstals,  379,  380 

in  prisons,  230-1 
Gaols,  county 

Gaol  Act  1823  ...  34-5 

gaol  fever,  21 

historical  development,  20  seqq. 
Gardens,  prison,  103,  190 
Ghent,  House  of  Correction,  25,  38 
Gladstone,  Lord,  53 
Gladstone  Committee 

on  Aid  Societies,  258-9 

on  persistent  offenders,  297 

report  of,  53  seqq. 

on  young  offenders,  329  seqq. 
Gloucester  prison,  36 
Glueck,  Sheldon  and  Eleanor,  274, 

276 

Gould,  Dr.  J.,  243,  249 
Governors,  87  seqq. 
Grant- Wilson,  Sir  W.,  266 
Group  therapy,  303 
Griinhut,  Dr.  Max 

on  classification,  141 

on  penal  statistics,  276,  281 

on  preventive  detention,  301 

on  punishment,  7,  8 

on  recidivism,  279 

research  by,  274 

on  work,  180,  184,  185 
Gymnastics,  230 

H 

Habitual   criminals    (see   Persistent 

Offenders) 
Hair 

cleaning,  228 

cutting,  227-8 
Handicrafts,  217-8 
Hard  labour 

in  Bridewells,  24 

Committee  of  1863  on,  46 

definition  by  Act  of  1865  ...  47 

in  du  Cane's  system,  49 

legal  abolition  by  Act  of  1948  ... 
61 

in  place  of  transportation,  31 

Prison  Act,  1898  .  .  .  59-60 

in  separate  system,  36 
Health 

benefits  under  N.H.S.,  221,  238 

of  Borstal  boys,  390 

of  prisoners,  238 


INDEX 


473 


Heating,  of  cells,  106 

His  Majesty's  Pleasure,  detention 
during,  of  young  offenders, 
337 

Hoare,  Samuel,  28 

Hoare,  Sir  Samuel  (Lord  Temple- 
wood),  57 

Holloway  prison,  157 

Home  leave 
Borstals,370-l 
prisons,  226 

Home  Office 

Children's  Department  of,  334 
development  of  responsibility,  37 
early  powers  in  prison  system,  37 
functions  today,  77-8 

Home  Secretary  (see  Secretary  of 
State) 

Honour  parties,  69 

Hospitals,  prison,  240 

House  of  Lords 
and  capital  punishment,  11,  30 
Committee  of,  1863  ...  46 
debate   on  juvenile   delinquency, 
1948  ...  13 

House  system  in  Borstals,  358,  369 

Housemasters,  364 

Houses  of  Correction,  24-5,  47 

Howard,  John,  25-7,  32 

Howard  League,  28,  61 

Hubert,  Dr.  W.  H.  de  B.,  242,  249 

Hulks,  31-2,  40-1,  Appendix  K 

Hygiene,  227-9 


Illiterates,  education  of,  211,  378 
Imperial  Training  School,  Wakefield, 

94 
Imprisonment 

effects  of,  275  seqq. 

nature  and  purposes  of,  15-18 
India  (United  Provinces),  Committee 

of  1949  ...  451 
Industrial  Schools,  327  seqq. 
Industries,  prison  (see  under  Work); 

Director  of,  80,  82,  189 
Information  given  to  prisoners,  171-3 
Injuries,  industrial,  221 
Insanity,  243  seqq. 
Inspectors  of  prisons 

Act  to  appoint,  37 

duties  today,  80 

early  reports,  37,  Appendix  B 
Insurance,  social,  of  prisoners,  221 


International     opinion     on     penal 

methods,  140,  Appendix  G 
International  Penal  and  Penitentiary 

Commission 
first  Congress  of  London,  1872  . .  . 

51-2,  141-2 
foundation,  51 

The  Hague,  1950 .  .  .  140, 143, 198 
(Appendix  K),  251,  299,  302, 
437  seqq. 

London,  1925  ...  67 
Washington,  1910  ...  63 
Irish  system  of  penal  servitude,  45 
Irons,    use    of,    21,    35    (see    also 
Mechanical  Restraints) 


Jebb,  Sir  Joshua 
architect  of  Pentonville,  38 
Chairman  of  Directors  of  Convict 

Prisons,  40,  43 

Surveyor-General  of  prisons,  37 
Judo,  instruction  of  prison  officers 

in,  159 
Juveniles  (see  Young  Offenders) 


K 


Kenny,  C,  5,  10 
Kitchens,  234 


Labour,   Ministry  of,  co-operation 

with 

in  arranging  extra-mural  work,  189 
in  Borstal  after-care,  395 
in  placing   discharged  prisoners, 

263 

Labour,  of  prisoners  (see  Work) 
Ladies  Association  for  the  Improve- 
ment of  Female  Prisoners,  28 
Lady  Visitors  Association,  205 
Latchmere  House,  Borstal  Reception 

Centre,  360 
Leaders,  152 
Lectures,  215 
Legal  advisers,  of  untried  prisoners, 

287 

Legal  proceedings,  by  prisoners,  220 
Less   eligibility,   principle   of,    131, 

133-5,  187 
Letters,  to  and  from  prisoners,  172- 

4,  223-4 


474 


INDEX 


Lewes  prison,  for  young  prisoners, 

350 

Lex  talionis,  19 
Leyhill,  open  prison,  145 
Libraries,  prison 
in  du  Cane's  system,  50 
in  Ruggles-Brise's  system,  62 
today,  214-15 

Licence,  release  on  conditional 
from  Borstal  training,  353,  392-3 
of  convicts  in  penal  servitude,  44-6 
from  corrective  training,  314 
from  preventive  detention,  323 
of  young  prisoners,  348 
Licensing     Acts,      disqualifications 
under    on    conviction,    Ap- 
pendix K,  ref.  p.  219 
Local  authorities 
and    education    in    prisons    and 

Borstals,  211 
and  prison  libraries,  214 
Local  Government  Act,   1933,  dis- 
qualifications under,  on  con- 
viction, 219 
Lowdham  Grange,  first  open  Borstal, 

361 

Lunacy,  243  seqq. 

Lushington,  Sir  Godfrey,  50,  63-4, 
137-8 

M 

Mackwood,  Dr.  J.  C,  243,  249 
MacNaghten    Rules,    on    criminal 

responsibility,  244 

Maconochie,  Captain  A.,  41,  46,  149 
Magistrates'    Association,     Prisons 

and  Borstals  Committee,  86 
Magistrates,    Visiting   (see   Visiting 

Committees) 

Maidstone  prison,  152-3,  277 
Mannheim,  Dr.  H. 
on  civil  rights,  218-19 
on  food,  231 
on  principle  of  less  eligibility,  131, 

133 

on  punishment,  5,  6 
on  work  for  prisoners,  183 
Manufactures  (see  Work) 
Marks  system,  41,  46,  149,  197 
Marriage  of  prisoners,  220 
Martin,  Sarah,  421 
Matrons,  Borstal,  364 
Maxwell,  Sir  Alexander,  65, 115, 132, 
135 


Meals,  service  of,  134,  234-5 
Mechanical  restraints,  164-5 
Medical  Officers 
appointment   and   conditions    of 

service,  90-1 
in  Borstals,  369,  390 
duties  in  prisons,  238  seqq. 
in  relation  to  mental  abnormality, 

242  seqq. 
Medical  services,  238  seqq. 

Director  of,  80 
Members  of  Parliament,  complaints 

to,  172-4 
Mental  abnormality  and  disease,  242 

seqq. 

Mental  deficiency,  definition  of,  243 
Mental  Deficiency  Act,  1913  ...  65, 

246 

le  Mesurier,  Mrs.,  130 
Mettray  colony,  France,  328 
Millbank  Penitentiary,  31,  37,  38 
Money  Payments  Act,  1935,  66 
Morrison,  Dr.  (prison  chaplain),  53 
Morrison,  Herbert  (Home  Secretary), 

131 

Mullins,  Claud,  65 
Music,  in  prisons,  209,  215 


N 

National  Association  of  Discharged 

Prisoners  Aid  Societies,  261- 

3,265 
National     Association     of    Prison 

Visitors,  205 
National  Health  Service,  benefits  of 

prisoners  under,  221,  238 
Newspapers 

facilities  to  visit  prisons,  84 
use  by  prisoners,  214 
Norfolk  Island,  41 
Note-books  used  by  prisoners,  215- 

17 
Nursing  Board,  Voluntary  Advisory, 

241 
Nursing  service,  240-1 

O 

Offences 

against  prison  discipline,  166  seqq. 

criminal,  analysed,  123-4 
Officers  (see  Prison  Officers) 
Oglethorpe,  General,  22 


INDEX 


475 


Open 

Borstals,  361-2 
prisons,  101,  136,  145,  152-4 

in  U.S.A.,  448-9 

Overcrowding  of  prisons,  118,  139- 
40 


Page,  Sir  Leo,  8,  10,  11,  13 
Panopticon  prison,  31,  33 
Parkhurst  prison,  40,  100,  156,  247, 

329 

Parnell,  T.,  M.P.,  289 
Parole 

in  Borstals,  370-1 

in  prisons,  226 
Paterson,  Sir  Alexander 

and  Borstals,  336,  355 

his  influence,  73-4 

his  policy,  67-70 

Prison  Commissioner,  67 
Paton,  Alan,  12 
Paul,  Sir  G.  O.,  36 
Peel,  Sir  Robert 

Gaol  Act,  1823,  34-5 

his  reforms  of  penal  system,  34-5 

on  secondary  punishments,  35-6 
Penal  Grade,  in  preventive  detention, 

323 
Penal  Servitude 

abolition  of,  4 

after  1857  ...  44-5 

Committee  of  1863  on,  46 

in  Ireland,  45 

origins  of,  44 

Pennsylvanian  system,  32-3 
Penology,  in  England,  130 
Pentonville  prison,  38,  40,  43,  99 
Persistent  Offenders 

Departmental  Committee  on,  302 

general  consideration  of,  297  seqq. 

treatment  of,  under  Act  of  1948 

.  .  .  307  seqq. 

Petitions  of  prisoners,  172,  174-5 
Philanthropic  Society,  327,  328 
Photographs  in  cells,  107 
Physical  training,  229,  230 
Pictures,  in  Borstals,  390 
Political      prisoners      (see      under 

Sedition) 
Population  of  prisons 

of  Borstals,  365-7 

effects  of  post-war  increase,  139-40 

size  and  distribution,  118  seqq. 


Portland 

Borstal,  361 

prison,  41,  42 
Pounds,  John,  327 
Pre-release  procedure,  in  preventive 

detention,  320-2 
Press  (see  Publicity) 
Prevention  of  crime,  in  penal  theory, 

6  seqq. 

Prevention  of  Crime  Act  1908  ... 
65 

Borstal  system,  334-5 

habitual  criminals,  298  seqq. 
Preventive  detention,  297-307,  315- 

24 
Prison  (premises) 

cells,  104-8 

criticisms  of  existing,  138 

nature  and  distribution,  98-101 

planning  and  accommodation,  101- 
104 

sanitation,  106-7,  228-9 
Prison  Acts 

1865  ...  47 

1877  ...  48 

1898  .  .  .  57-61 
Prison  Commissioners 

constitution  and  organisation,  79 
seqq. 

established  by  Act  of  1877  ...  48 

powers  to  punish  prisoners,  166 

relations  with  Home  Office,  78 
Prison  Ministers,  89-90 
Prison  Officers  (subordinate) 

Association  and  Whitley  Council, 
95-6 

conditions  of  service,  95-7 

defined,  87 

organisation,  91-3 

qualities  required  in,  158-160 

recruitment  and  training,  93-5 

shortage  in  post-war  years,  95,  140 
Prison  Officers  (superior) 

Assistant  Governors,  88-9 

Chaplains,  89-90,  201-5 

defined,  87 

Governors,  87-8 

Medical  Officers,  90-1,  238  seqq. 
Prison  Visitors,  205-8 
Prisoners 

analysis  of  characteristics,  115-7 

size  of  prison  population,  118 
Privileges 

in  Borstals,  369-70 

in  prisons,  149  seqq.,  452 


476 


INDEX 


Probation 

Act  of  1907,  65 

homes  and  hostels,  340-1 

officers  as  after-care  agents,  267, 

268,  270,  394 
Progressive  Stage  System 

in  Borstal  system,  369-70 

in  convict  prisons,  41-2 

in  du  Cane's  system,  50 

in  prisons  today,  149-51,  452  seqq. 

in  Ruggles-Brise's  system,  62,  149 

in  transportation  system,  38 
Psychological  treatment  of  prisoners 

in  classification,  250-1 

East-Hubert  Report  on,  242,  248 

forensic  psychiatry,  245 

Psychiatric  Social  Workers,  246 

psychiatry  and  psychotherapy,  242 
seqq. 

psychologists,  246,  250-1 
Psychopaths,  244 
Publicity,  83-4,  130 
Punishment,  legal 

early  history,  19 

kinds  of,  15 

principles  of,  7-15,  449-51 
Punishments 

in  Borstals,  384-5 
Departmental    Committee    on, 
1951  .  .  .  381,  385,  455-6 

in  prisons,  166  seqq. 
Departmental    Committee    on, 
1951  .  .  .  167,  455 


R 

Radzinowicz,  Dr.  L.,  22,  23,  36 
Rasp    Huis,    Amsterdam,    24,   Ap- 
pendix K 

Rationing,  and  prison  dietary,  232 
Reading  prison 

former  allocation  centre  for  cor- 
rective training,  308 
now  used  as  correctional  Borstal, 

385 
Recall    of    offenders    conditionally 

released 

Borstal  training,  397-8 
corrective  training,  314 
preventive  detention,  323 
Receptions   of  prisoners,    analysis, 

111,  120 

Reception  Boards,  312,  Appendix  K, 
ref.  p.  157 


Recidivism,  279-81 
Recreation,  212  seqq.,  230-1 
Red-band  prisoners,  149,  190 
Redhill  Approved  School,  328 
Rees,  Dr.  J.  R.,  249 
Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools 

in  19th  century,  327-9 

in  20th  century,  334,  336-7 
Release 

from  Borstal  training,  392-3 

from  corrective  training,  314 

from  imprisonment,  61,  165-6 

from  preventive  detention,  323 
Religious  instruction 

in  Borstals  today,  368 

in  du  Cane's  system,  50 

in  prisons  today,  201-5 

views  of  Mrs.  Fry,  29 

views  of  Howard,  27 
Remand  and  trial  prisoners  (see  Un- 
tried Prisoners) 
Remand  Centres,  339,  341 
Remand  Homes,  337,  340 
Remission  of  sentence,  61,  165-6 
Removal  from  house,  in  Borstals, 

384,  386-7 

Removal  of  prisoners,  164-5 
Reports  to  Courts 

by  medical  officers,  244 

on  eligibility  for  Borstal,  353 

on  persistent  offenders,  300,  315 
Research,  248,  275,  367 
Restricted  diets  (see  Dietary  punish- 
ment) 
Results 

of  Borstal  training,  398  seqq. 

of  imprisonment,  273  seqq. 
Retribution,  doctrine  of,  8-10,  449- 

51 

Romilly,  Sir  S.,  11,  26 
Roper,  Dr.  W.  F.,  222 
Ruggles-Brise,  Sir  Evelyn 

Chairman  of  Prison  Commission, 
57 

consideration     of     his     regime, 
62-4 

criticism  in   1921   of  his  regime, 
61-2 

establishes  Borstal  system,  331-3 

establishes    Central    Association, 
265 

on  First  Division,  291 

and  I.P.P.C.,  62,  67 

Prison  Commissioner,  53 

retirement,  61,  67 


INDEX 


477 


Safe-custody,  139,  161  seqq. 
varying  degrees  of,  144-5 

Saint  Michael's,  Rome,  House  of 
Correction,  25 

Samuel,  Lord,  6,  7,  335 

Sanitation,  107,  228-9 

Scottish  Advisory  Council  on  Treat- 
ment and  Reformation  of 
Offenders,  report  of,  142,  197, 
444-5 

Scottish  Home  Department,  col- 
laboration with,  83 

Second  Division,  58-9 

Secretary  of  State  for  Home  Depart- 
ment 

general  functions  today,  77-8 
in  relation  to  Aid  Societies,  261 
local  prisons  vested  in,  48 
Mr.  Winston  Churchill  in  office,  64 
power  to  appoint  Inspectors   of 

Prisons,  37 
power  to  appoint  Surveyor-General 

of  Prisons,  37 

power  to  control  convict  prisons,  40 
powers  in  relation  to  staffs,  77-8 
Sir  Robert  Peel  in  office,  34-6 

Security  (see  Safe-custody) 

Sedition,  prisoners  convicted  of, 
288  seqq. 

Self-government,  in  Borstals,  372-3 

Sentences  of  imprisonment 
length  of,  analysed,  121-2 
long  sentences,  114 
short  sentences,  114 

Separate  system 

beginnings  in  England,  36 
Committee  of  1863  ...  46 
disappearance  in  England,  60 
in  19th  century,  38,  43 
in  Pennsylvania,  32-3 
Prison  Act,  1898  ...  59 
suspended  for  convicts,  68 

Services,  religious,  202-3 

Sex,  problems  in  prison,  223 

Shaving,  69,  227 

Shaw,  G.  Bernard,  7 

Sheriff,  duties  of,  20 

Sick  prisoners,  treatment  of,  238  seqq. 

Silent  system 
after  1921,  67 
at  Auburn,  N.Y.,  33 
in  England,  36,  39,  60 
position  today,  160 


Smoking,  160-1 

Smyth,  Dame  Ethel,  131 

Social  insurance,  etc.,  221-2 

Social   relations    of  prisoners,   218 
seqq. 

Social  workers,  264-5,  360 

Solitary    confinement,    in    Pennsyl- 
vania, 32 

South  Africa,  Report  of  Commission 
of  1945  ...  446-8 

Staffs 

Borstal,  363-5 
Head  Office,  80,  82,431 
Prison  (see  Prison  Officers) 

Stage  system  (see  Progressive  Stage) 

Star  class,  58,  143 

State-use  system,  188 

Stewards,  93 

Sudbury  (open  prison),  153 

Suffragettes,  imprisonment  of,  291-2 

Surgical  services,  241 

Swedish  Association  of  Criminalists, 
290 

Swedish   Penal   Code   Commission, 
Report  of  1942  ...  446 


Teachers  (see  Education) 
Temple,  Archbishop,  8,  10,  12,  13 
Templewood,  Lord,  28,  57 
Ticket-of-leave,  41,  44 
Tobacco,  160-1 

Toilet  arrangements,  107,  227-8 
Trafficking,  160-1 
Training 
of  prisoners, 
difficulties  conditioning,  129-30, 

138-40 
established  by  Act  of  1948  ... 

73 

objections  examined,  131  seqq. 
practice  today,  148  seqq. 
principles  of,  71-2,  128  seqq. 
results,  275  seqq. 
system  initiated,  67  seqq. 
training  prisons,  144-6, 151  seqq. 
of  staff,  93-5 
Transportation 
end  of,  44 
in  18th  century,  31 
in  19th  century,  38 
origins  of,  23 
penalty  for  felonies,  34 


478 


INDEX 


Treadmill,  31,  36 

Trevelyan,  Dr.  G.  M.,  22,  23,  24, 

135 

Triple  Division  of  offenders,  58-9 
Turner,  Sydney,  328 


U 

Uniform,  prison  officers',  97 
United   Nations    Organisation,    83, 

Appendix  K,  ref.  p.  51 
Untried  prisoners,  285  seqq. 
Upright,  Rev.  W.,  203 
U.S.A.,  Federal  Prisons  Report  1948 

.  .  .  448-9 


Venereal  disease,  238 

Verne  prison,  Portland,  153-4 

Visiting  Committees  (and  Boards  of 

Visitors) 

in  Borstais,  384,  392 
investigation  of  offences  by,  166 

seqq.,  Appendix  I 
origins,  powers  and  duties,  85-6 
Visitors    (voluntary    workers),    205 

seqq. 
Visits 

to  prisoners  by  friends,  67,  224 
to  prisons  by  public,  84 
Vocational  training 
in  Borstais,  374  seqq. 
in  prisons,  195  seqq. 
Voluntary  Advisory  Nursing  Board, 

241 
Voluntary    workers,    67    (and    see 

Visitors,  W.V.S.) 

Voting,  parliamentary,  by  prisoners, 
220 


W 

Wages,  of  prisoners,  196  seqq. 

Waite,  John  B.,  449-51 

Wakefield  prison,  69,  100,  101,  145, 

152-3,  277 

Waller,  Sir  Maurice  L. 
Chairman  of  Prison  Commission, 

67 

his  policy,  70-1 
initiates  training  system,  69 


Watson,  John  A.  K,  206-7,  340 
Webb,  Sidney  and  Beatrice,  64,  83, 

133 

Welfare,  during  sentence,  218  seqq. 
Welfare  Officers,  264 
Whitley  Councils,  95-6 
Wilde,   Oscar,   137,   165,  217,  271, 

279 

Wilson,  Margaret,  12 
Wines,  Enoch  C.,  51 
Wireless  in  prisons,  212-14 
Witzil,  Switzerland,  322 
Women  prisoners 

classification,  147-8 

clothing,  236 

cosmetics,  228 

stage  system,  151 

training  prison  for,  154 

work,  190,  191,  195  (Appendix  K), 

196 
Women's  Voluntary  Service 

after-care    of    women   prisoners, 
264 

social  assistance  to  women 

prisoners,  225 
Work 

after  Act  of  1865  ...  47 

between  the  wars,  68,  70 

in  Borstais,  373  seqq. 

convicts  on  public  works,  38,  42 

Departmental  Committee  on,  1933 
...  179  seqq. 

in  du  Cane's  system,  49 

in  early  19th  century,  36 

extra-mural,  192-5 

Gladstone    Committee    on,    55, 
177-8 

incentives,  196  seqq. 

medical  control  of,  180-1 

organisation  of,  187  seqq. 

in  Ruggles-Brise's  system,  60 

views  of  Bentham,  31 

views  of  Mrs.  Fry,  29 

views  of  Howard,  27 

vocational  training,  195-6 

working  hours,  182-3 

workshops,  182 
Works,    Directorate    of,    82,    92, 

190-1 
Wormwood  Scrubs 

Borstal  reception  centre,  359 

corrective  training  prison,  310 

prison,  69 

psychiatric  clinic,  246-7 

surgical  centre,  241 


INDEX  479 

Y  Young  prisoners 

Gladstone  Committee  on,  329-30 

Young,  G.  M.,  130  'juvenile-adult'  system,  332 

Young  offenders,  327  seqq.  'modified  Borstal'  system,  346 

Departmental  Committee  on,  1927  numS?  j£jj  charactenstics 

•  •  -  336  j*w.  inParkhurst,'329 

effects   of  Criminal  Justice   Act  young  prisoners  centres,  347,  349 

1948  ...  338  seqq.  seqq. 


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Education  Seventh  Impression.     8s.  6d. 

Education  and  Society  in  Modern  Germany 

by  R.  H.  SAMUEL  of  the  Department  of  Germanic  Languages,  Melbourne 
University  and  R.  HINTON  THOMAS  iss.  6d. 

The  Museum:  Its  History  and  Its  Tasks  in  Education 

by  ALMA  S.  WITTLIN,  Dr.  Phil.  Illustrated.    25s, 

Comparative  Education 

A  Study  of  Educational  Facts  and  Traditions 

by  NICHOLAS  HANS,  Reader  in  Comparative  Education  at  the  University 

of  London,  King's  College  Third  Impression.    2is. 

Educational  Thought  and  Influence  of  Matthew  Arnold 

by  Dr.  W.  F.  CONNELL,  with  an  Introduction  by  SIR  FRED  CLARKE 

2IS. 

2 


New  Trends  in  Education  in  the  18th  Century 

by    NICHOLAS    HANS,    Reader    In    Comparative    Education    at    the 
University  of  London,  King's  College  i8s. 


SOCIOLOGY  OF  RELIGION 

Sociology  of  Religion 

by  JOACHIM  WACH  3os. 

The  Economic  Order  and  Religion 

by  FRANK  KNIGHT,  Prof,  of  Social  Sciences,  University  of  Chicago, 
and  THORNTON  W.  MERRIAM,  Director  of  U.S.O.  Training,  Nat. 
Council  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  1*. 


SOCIOLOGY  OF  ART  AND  LITERATURE 

Sociology  of  the  Renaissance 

by  ALFRED  VON  MARTIN,  translated  by  W.  L.  LUETKENS 

Second  Impression.    8s.  6d. 

Chekhov  and  His  Russia:  A  Sociological  Study 

by  W.  H.  BRUFORD,  M.A.,  Professor  of  German  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh  i6s. 

The  Sociology  of  Literary  Taste 

by  LEVIN  L.  SCHUCKING,  Dr.  Phil.  Second  Impression.     8s.  6d. 

Men  of  Letters  and  the  English  Public  in  the   18th 
Century,  1660-1744,  Dryden,  Addison,  Pope 

by  ALEXANDRE   BELJAME,  Edited  with  an  Introduction   and   Notes 
by  Prof.  BONAMY  DOBREE.  Translated  by  E.  O.  LORIMER  255. 

SOCIOLOGICAL  APPROACH  TO  THE  STUDY 

OF  HISTORY 

The  Aftermath  of  the  Napoleonic  Wars:  The  Concert 
of  Europe — An  Experiment 

by  H.  G.  SCHENK,  D.Phil.  (Oxon)  Illustrated.     i6s. 

3 


SOCIOLOGY  OF  LAW 

Sociology  of  Law 

by  GEORGES  GURVITCH,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Prof,  of  Sociology,  University 
of  Strassbourg,  France.  With  an  Introduction  by  ROSCOE  POUND,  Prof, 
of  Jurisprudence,  late  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Law,  Harvard  University 

i8s. 

The  Institutions  of  Private  Law  and  their  Social 
Functions 

by  KARL  RENNER,  Late  President  of  the  Austrian  Republic.  Edited  with 
an  Introduction  and  Notes  by  O.  KAHN-FREUND,  LI.M.,  Dr.  Jur., 
Lecturer  in  Law,  University  of  London  25$. 

Legal  Aid 

by  ROBERT  EGERTON,  Hon.  Sec.  Legal  Sub-committee  Cambridge 
House,  Solicitor  of  the  Supreme  Court.  With  an  Introduction  by  D.  L. 
GOODHART,  K.C.,  D.C.L.,  LI.D.,  Prof,  of  Jurisprudence,  Oxford 

Second  Impression.     los.  6d. 

Soviet  Legal  Theory:  Its  Social  Background  and 
Development 

by  RUDOLF  SCHLESINGER,  Ph.D.,  London  Second  Edition.     25*. 


CRIMINOLOGY  AND  THE  SOCIAL  SERVICES 

Juvenile  Delinquency  in  an  English  Middletown 

by  HERMANN  MANNHEIM,  Reader  in  Criminology  in  the  University  of 
London  izs.  6d. 

Criminal  Justice  and  Social  Reconstruction 

by  HERMANN  MANNHEIM,  Dr.  Jur.,  Reader  in  Criminology  in  the 
University  of  London  Second  Impression.  i8s. 

The  Psycho-Analytical  Approach  to  Juvenile  Delin- 
quency: Theory,  Case  Studies,  Treatment 

by  KATE  FRIEDLANDER,  M.D.,  LR.C.P.  (Edin.),  D.P.M.  (Lond.),  Hon. 
Psychiatrist,  Inst.  for  the  Scientific  Treatment  of  Delinquency;  Clinical 
Dlr.,  W.  Sussex  Child  Guidance  Service  Third  Impression.  i8s. 

4 


A  Textbook  of  Penology 

by  HERMANN  MANNHEIM  In  preparation. 

A  Textbook  of  Criminology 

by  HERMANN  MANNHEIM  In  preparation. 

The  English  Prison  and  Borstal  Systems 

by  LIONEL  FOX  In  preparation. 

Voluntary  Social  Services  since  1918 

by  HENRY  A.  MESS,  late  Reader  in  Social  Science  in  the  University  of 
London  in  collaboration  with  Constance  Braithwaite,  Violet  Creech- 
Jones,  Hilda  Jennings,  Pearl  Jephcott,  Harold  King,  Nora  Milnes,  John 
Morgan,  Gertrude  Williams  and  W.  E.  Williams.  Edited  by  GERTRUDE 
WILLIAMS,  Lecturer  in  Economics,  University  of  London  sis. 

Social  Services  of  Modern  England 

by  M.  PENELOPE  HALL  In  preparation. 


SOCIOLOGY  AND  POLITICS 

Social-Economic   Movements:     A  Handbook  to  the 
Understanding  of  the  Modern  Political  Scene 

by  H.  W.  LAIDLER  Illustrated.    353. 

The  Anal/sis  of  Political   Behaviour:  An   Empirical 
Approach 

by  HAROLD  D.  LASSWELL,  Professor  of  Law,  Yale  University  School  of 
Law  Second  Edition.    s8s. 

Dictatorship  and  Political  Police 

The  Technique  of  Control  by  Fear  by  E.  K.  BRAMSTEDT,  Ph.D.  (London) 

15*+ 
Nationality  in  History  and  Politics 

by  FREDERICK  HERTZ,  Author  of  "Race  and  Civilisation" 

Second  Edition.    285. 

The  Logic  of  Liberty:  Reflections  and  Rejoinders 

by  MICHAEL  POLANYI,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Social  Studies  at  Victoria 
University,  Manchester  155. 

5 


FOREIGN  AFFAIRS,  THEIR  SOCIAL, 
POLITICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  FOUNDATIONS 

Patterns  of  Peacemaking 

by  DAVID  THOMSON,  Ph.D.,  Cantab.,  Research  Fellow  of  Sidney 
Sussex  Coll.,  Cambridge;  E.  MEYER,  Dr.  rer.  pol.,  and  A.  BRIGGS, 
B.A.,  Cantab  2is. 

French  Canada  in  Transition 

by  EVERETT  C.  HUGHES,  Professor  of  Sociology,  University  of  Chicago 

i3s. 
State  and  Economics  in  the  Middle  East 

by  A.  BONNE,  Dr.  cec.  publ.,  Director,  Economic  Research  Institute 
of  Palestine  303. 

Economic  Development  of  the  Middle  East 

An  Outline  of  Planned  Reconstruction  by  A.  BONNE,  Dr.  oec.  publ., 
Director,  Economic  Research  Institute  of  Palestine 

Second  Impression,     iss.  6d. 

The  Danube  Basin  and  the  German  Economic  Sphere 

by  ANTONIN  BASCH,  Dr.  Phil.,  Columbia  University  ids. 

The  Regions  of  Germany 

by  R.  E.  DICKINSON,  Reader  in  Geography,  University  College,  London 

Second  Impression.     IDS.  6d. 

Political  Thought  in  France  from  the  Revolution  to 
the  Fourth  Republic 

by  J.  P.  MAYER  iss.  6d. 

MIGRATION  AND  RE-SETTLEMENT 

Economics  of  Migration 

by  JULIUS  ISAAC,  Ph.D.,  London.  With  an  Introduction  by  Sir 
ALEXANDER  CARR-SAUNDERS,  Director  of  the  London  School  of 
Economics  ids. 

Co-operative  Communities  at  Work 

by  HENRIK  INFIELD,  Director,  Rural  Settlement  Inst.,  New  York 

15$- 
6 


ECONOMIC  PLANNING 

Retail  Trade  Associations 

A  New  Form  of  Monopolist  Organisation  in  Britain,  by  HERMANN 
LEVY,  Author  of  'The  New  Industrial  System"   Second  Impression.     i$s. 

The    Shops    of    Britain:  A    Stud/    in    Retail    Trade 
Distribution 

by  HERMANN  LEVY  Second  Impression,     sis. 

The  Price  of  Social  Security — The  Problem  of  Labour 
Mobility 

by  GERTRUDE  WILLIAMS,  Lecturer  in  Economics,  University  of  London 

Second  Impression.     I2s.  6d. 
Private  Corporations  and  their  Control 

by  A.  B.  LEVY  Two  volumes.    ?os.  the  set. 

SOCIOLOGY  OF  THE  FAMILY  AND 
ALLIED  TOPICS 

The  Family  and  Democratic  Society 

by  J.  K.  FOLSOM,  Professor  of  Sociology,  Vassar  College  gas. 

Nation  and  Family 

The  Swedish  Experiment  in  Democratic  Family  and  Population  Policy 
by  ALVA  MYRDAL  Second  Impression,     sis. 

Adolescence 

Its  Social  Psychology:  With  an  Introduction  to  recent  findings  from  the 

fields    of    Anthropology,    Physiology,    Medicine,    Psychometrics    and 

Sociometry 

by  C.  M.  FLEMING,  Ed.B.,  Ph.D.,  University  of  London  Institute    of 

Education  Second  Impression.     i6s. 

Studies  in  the  Social  Psychology  of  Adolescence 

by  J.  E.  RICHARDSON,  J.  F.  FORRESTER,  J.  K.  SHUKLA  and  P,  J. 
HIGGINBOTHAM. 

Edited  by  C.  M.  FLEMING  sis. 

7 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  PLANNING. 
HUMAN  ECOLOGY 

The    Social    Background    of   a    Plan:     A    Study    of 

Middlesbrough 

Edited  by  RUTH  GLASS.  Illustrated  with  Maps  and  Plans  425. 

City,  Region  and  Regionalism 

by  ROBERT  E.  DICKINSON,  Reader  In  Geography,  University  College, 
London.  With  Maps  and  Plans  2is. 

The    West    European    City:      A    Study    in    Urban 
Geography 

by  ROBERT  E.  DICKINSON,  Reader  in  Geography,  University  College, 
London.  Illustrated  with  Maps  and  Plans.  423. 

Revolution  of  Environment 

by  E.  A.  GUTKIND,  D.lng.  Illustrated.    303. 

The  Journey  to  Work 

by  K.  LIEPMANN,  Ph.D.,  London.  With  an  Introduction  by  Sir  Alexander 
Carr-Saunders,  Director  of  the  London  School  of  Economics 

Second  Impression,    ijj. 


SOCIOLOGICAL  STUDIES  OF  MODERN 
COMMUNITIES 

Negroes  in  Britain 

A  Study  of  Racial  Relations  in  English  Society 

by  K.  L.  LITTLE,  Ph.D.,  London  255. 

Co-operative  Living  in  Palestine 

by  HENRIK  F.  INFIELD,  Director,  Rural  Settlement  Inst.,  New  York 

Illustrated.    ?s.  6d. 

8 


ANTHROPOLOGY  AND  COLONIAL  POLICY 

The  Sociology  of  Colonies:  An  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  Race  Contact 

by  REN£  MAUNIER.  Translated  from  the  French  by  E.  O.  Lorimer 

Two  volumes.    635.  the  set 

Malay  Fishermen:  Their  Peasant  Economy 

by  RAYMOND  FIRTH,  Prof,  of  Anthropology,  University  of  London 

Illustrated.    25$. 

Peasant  Life  in  China 

by  HSIAO  TUNG  FEI,  Ph.D.,  London        Fourth  Impression.    Illus.    /jj. 

A  Chinese  Village:  Taitou,  Shantung  Province 

by  MARTIN  C.  YANG  i8s. 

A  Japanese  Village:  Suye  Mura 

by  JOHN  P.  EMBREE,  Visiting  Assoc  Prof,  of  Anthropology,  University 
of  Chicago.  With  an  Introduction  by  a  A.  R.  RADCLIFFE-BROWN, 
Professor  of  Social  Anthropology,  Oxford  University  Illustrated.  i8s. 

The  Golden  Wing:  A  Sociological  Study  of  Chinese 
Familism 

by  LIN  HUEH-HWA.  Introduction  by  RAYMOND  FIRTH  /&. 

Earthbound  China:  A  Study  of  Rural  Economy  in 
Yunnan 

by  HSIAO-TUNG  FEI  and  CHIH-I  CHANG  Illustrated.     i8s. 

Under  the  Ancestors9  Shadow:  Chinese  Culture  and 
Personality 

by  FRANCIS  L  K.  HSU  Illustrated.    i6s. 

The  Mende:  A  West  African  People  in  Transition 

by  K.  L  LITTLE,  Ph.D.,  London  In  preparation. 

Transformation  Scene:  The  Changing  Culture  of  a 
New  Guinea  Village 

by  H.  IAN  HOGBIN,  Reader  In  Anthropology,  Sydney  University 

Illustrated.    305. 

Indians  of  the  Andes 

by  HAROLD  OSBORNE  Illustrated.    In  preparation. 


SOCIOLOGY  AND  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  THE 

PRESENT  CRISIS 
Diagnosis  of  Our  Time 

by  KARL  MANNHEIM  Fifth  Impression,    iss.  6d. 

Farewell  to  European  History  or  the  Conquest  of 
Nihilism 

by  ALFRED  WEBER  i6s. 

The  Fear  of  Freedom 

by  Dr.  ERICH  FROMM  Fifth  Impression.    153. 

Freedom,  Power,  and  Democratic  Planning 

by  KARL  MANNHEIM  255. 

SOCIAL  PSYCHOLOGY  AND 
PS  YCHO-ANAL  YSIS 

Psychology  and  the  Social  Pattern 

by  JULIAN  BLACKBURN,  Ph.D.,  B.Sc.,  (Econ.),  Lecturer  on  Social 
Psychology,  London  School  of  Economics  Fourth  Impression,  iss.  6d. 

The  Framework  of  Human  Behaviour 

by  JULIAN  BLACKBURN,  Ph.D.,  B.Sc.  (Econ.),  Lecturer  on  Social 
Psychology,  London  School  of  Economics  iss.  6d. 

A  Handbook  of  Social  Psychology 

by  KIMBALL  YOUNG,  Professor  of  Sociology,  Northwestern  University 

Fourth  Impression,    sis. 

Solitude  and  Privacy 

by  PAUL  HALMOS  In  preparation. 

The  Human  Group 

by  GEORGE  C.  HOMANS,  Associate  Professor  of  Sociology,  Harvard 
University  25$. 

Sigmund  Freud — An  Introduction 

A  Presentation  of  his  Theories  and  a  discussion  of  the  Relationship 
between  Psycho-analysis  and  Sociology  by  WALTER  HOLLITSCHER, 
Dr.  Phil.  Second  Impression.  8s.  6d. 

The  Social  Problems  of  an  Industrial  Civilisation 

by  ELTON  MAYO,  Professor  of  Industrial  Research  iss.  6d. 

10 


APPROACHES  TO  THE  PROBLEM 
OF  PERSONALITY 

The  Cultural  Background  of  Personality 

by  RALPH  LINTON,  Professor  of  Anthropology,  Columbia  University 

Second  Impression,     ws.  6d. 

The  Feminine  Character.    History  of  an  Ideology 

by  VIOLA  KLEIN,   Ph.D.,   London.  With  an   Introduction   by   KARL 
MANNHEIM  iss.  6d. 

A  History  of  Autobiography  in  Antiquity 

by  GEORGE  MISCK  Translated  by  E.  W.  Dickes 

Two  volumes.     425.  the  set 

Personality  and  Problems  of  Adjustment 

by  KIMBALL  YOUNG  35*. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  AND   SOCIAL   FOUNDATIONS 

OF  THOUGHT 

Homo  Ludens:  A  Study  of  the  Play  Element  in  Culture 

by  Professor  J.  HUIZINGA  /&. 

The  Ideal  Foundations  of  Economic  Thought 

by  W.  STARK,  Dr.  rer.  pol.,  Dr.  Jur.  Third  Impression.     15*. 

The  History  of  Economics  in  its  Relation  to  Social 
Development 

by  W.  STARK,  Dr.  rer.  pol.,  Dr.  Jur.  Second  Impression.     ?s.  6d. 

America:  Ideal  and  Reality 

The  United  States  of  1776  in  Contemporary  European  Philosophy  by 
W.  STARK,  Dr.  rer.  poL,  Dr.  Jur.  ws.  6d. 

The  Decline  of  Liberalism  as  an  Ideology 

by  J.  H.  HALLOWELL  iss.  6d. 

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Society  and  Nature:  A  Sociological  Inquiry 

by  HANS  KELSEN,  Formerly  Prof,  of  Law,  Vienna  and  Geneva,  Depart- 
ment of  Political  Science,  University  of  California  2is. 

Marx:  His  Time  and  Ours 

by  R.  SCHLESINGER,  Ph.D.,  London  Second  Impression. 


The  Philosophy  of  Wilhelm  Dilthey 

by  H.  A.  HODGES,  Prof,  of  Philosophy,  University  of  Reading 

In  preparation. 

Essays  on  the  Sociology  of  Knowledge 

by  KARL  MANNHEIM  In  preparation. 

GENERAL  SOCIOLOGY 

A  Handbook  of  Sociology 

by  W.  F.  OGBURN,  Professor  of  Sociology,  University  of  Chicago,  and 
M.  F.  NIMKOFF,  Professor  of  Sociology,  Bucknell  University 

Second  Edition  (Revised).    255. 

Social  Organization 

by  ROBERT  H.  LOWIE,  Professor  of  Anthropology,  University  of 
California  2$s. 

FOREIGN  CLASSICS  OF  SOCIOLOGY 

Wilhelm  Dilthey:  Selected  Readings  from  his  Works 
and  an  Introduction  to  his  Sociological  and  Philo- 
sophical Work 

by  H.  A.  HODGES,  Prof,  of  Philosophy,  University  of  Reading 

Second  Impression.     i2s.  6d. 

From  Max  Weber:  Essays  in  Sociology 

Translated,  Edited,  and  with  an  Introduction  by  H.  H.  GERTH  and 
C.  W.  MILLS  sis. 

DOCUMENTARY 
Changing  Attitudes  in  Soviet  Russia 

Documents  and  Readings  concerning  the  Family 

Edited  by  R.  SCHLESINGER,  Ph.D.,  London  255. 

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