Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders / Report of the Committee of Inquiry Appointed by the Hon. Sir Maui Pomare, K.B.E., C.M.G., Minister of Health

by New Zealand. Committee of Inquiry into Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders

Section 14.-summary of Findings and Recommendations.

The Committee find—

(1.) That the unchecked multiplication of the feeble-minded and epileptic is leading to a continually growing addition to the sum of human misery, an ever-increasing burden on the State, and the serious deterioration of the race.

(2.) That it would be sound economy, as well as in the best interests of humanity, to deal with the problem at once, even though it involve a substantial expenditure.

The Committee therefore recommend:

(1.) That to the definitions in the New Zealand Mental Defectives Act, 1911, there should be added a further definition—namely, that of "moral imbecile" contained in the English Act.

(2.) That a special branch of the Mental Hospitals Department be established to deal with all classes of mental defectives who are not inmates of mental hospitals, and to act as an "after-care" Department to look after patients discharged from mental hospitals.

(3.) That a Eugenic Board be appointed, to include a skilled psychiatrist, another member of the medical profession, and to be presided over by a Magistrate as Chairman.

(4.) That the duty of the Department shall be to keep a complete register of persons coming under the following definitions in cases where the Eugenic Board has decided that the patients in their own interests or in the interests of society should be placed on the register:—

(a.) Mental defectives who are not inmates of mental hospitals who in the judgment of the Eugenic Board come within the definition of "feeble-minded" in section 2, Class V, of the Mental Defectives Act, 1911.

(b.) Persons afflicted with epilepsy associated with automatism or other conditions rendering them especially liable to dangerous, immoral, or otherwise anti-social manifestations, and in the case of juvenile epileptics the mere frequency of fits rendering them unsuitable for attendance at ordinary schools.

(c.) Moral imbeciles as defined in the English Mental Deficiency Act, 1913.

(d.) Persons discharged from mental hospitals.

(5.) That the care of backward and feeble-minded children, so long as these remain in an educable stage, shall be the duty, as at present, of the Education Department.

(6.) That the Education Department obtain the services of psychological experts with a view to creating a comprehensive system providing increased facilities for the study of the individual child in school, for the classification of children according to their mental capacities, and for the adaptation of the curriculum to the needs of special children. This may necessitate the establishment of an increased number of special classes, an extension of the residential special schools, and also provision for social readjustment of the children when required.

(7.) That fuller provision be made in connection with our Universities and training colleges for the education of teachers in child psychology and its practical application, and for their training for service in special classes and special schools.

(8.) That full use be made of residential special schools for those cases who fail to benefit by attendance at special classes, but who are considered capable of training in manual work or handicrafts. The lower grades of the feeble-minded who require merely custodial care should, as a general rule, be excluded from special schools, but where there is any doubt as to a child's degree of mentality or aptitude for manual training admission to a special school for a probationary period should be arranged.

(9.) That the Education Department shall report to the Eugenic Board those inmates of special schools found incapable of receiving benefit from further residence in such schools, and the Eugenic Board shall be empowered to place on the register such as they consider should be so dealt with.

(10.) In regard to those on the register, the Eugenic Board shall have the power to order the removal of feeble-minded persons and moral imbeciles to a farm or industrial colony to be provided for the care and training of such persons.

(11.) That any person alleged to be feeble-minded, or the parents or guardians of such person, shall have the right of appeal to a Judge of the Supreme Court against the placing of his or her name upon the register, and the parents or guardians of any person on the register shall have the right to apply to a Judge of the Supreme Court for the removal of the name of such person from the register, or for his or her release from any institution established under the Act.

(12.) The Committee recommend the establishment of farm or industrial colonies where feeble-minded or delinquent persons who are custodial cases may be usefully and, as far as possible, profitably employed, and where they may receive the care and protection required by their condition.

(13.) In regard to sterilization, the Committee find that the operation of vasectomy in men can be carried out under local anæsthesia, and is free from risk. The analogous operation of salpingectomy in women is an abdominal operation, but the risk is not considered serious. These operations are effective in preventing procreation, but do not otherwise interfere with the sexual powers of the patient. In the case of persons suffering from recurrent insanity or idiopathic epilepsy, high-grade morons, and others who in the interests of themselves and of society ought not to be allowed to reproduce, but who do not for other reasons require custodial care, it is desirable that the operation of sterilization should be considered by the Eugenic Board.

(14.) The Committee recommends that the Eugenic Board should be given the power in suitable cases to make sterilization a condition of release from any of the institutions under the charge of the Department of Mental Hospitals, or removal of their names from the register on probation, but that in no case should the operation be performed without the consent of parents or guardians of the persons concerned.

(15.) The Committee consider that the persons so operated upon and liberated should be released on probation and kept under supervision for a reasonable period, and that they should be returned to institutional care if found to be leading an immoral life, or unable to support themselves, or for any other reason which the Eugenic Board may consider sufficient.

(16.) The Committee consider that marriage with any registered person should be made illegal, and that it should be an indictable offence for any person to have carnal knowledge of any registered person. It should also be provided that any parent or guardian who facilitates or negligently allows any registered person to have carnal knowledge of another person shall be guilty of an indictable offence.

(17.) In view of the fact that feeble-minded persons and others likely to become a burden on the community have in the past been introduced from overseas, the Committee recommend that, in addition to the precautions already taken in regard to assisted immigrants, inquiry should be made into the family history, especially as to whether it discloses any cases of insanity, epilepsy, or feeble-mindedness, and that applicants unable to produce satisfactory evidence on this point should be excluded. The Committee are further of the opinion that closer supervision should be exercised over persons who come as ordinary passengers with the intention of remaining in the Dominion.

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