SOME RESULTS AT BEDFORD (NEW YORK STATE) REFORMATION FOR WOMEN.
What has been accomplished with a thousand girls committed to her institution is shown in the Survey for Feb. 18, 1911, by Katherine B. Davis, superintendent of the New York State Reformatory for women, situated at Bedford. Miss Davis prefaces her article with the following statement: “Now, there is nothing quite so difficult to measure in figures as change in character. We can say how many have kept their parole; how many we know have been re-arrested; of how many we know the whereabouts and believe them to be doing well; but the changes in character, the establishment of higher ideals, the doing of more efficient work as a result of the training received, these things can never be measured.” This inability to measure results is regarded by Miss Davis as the weak point in our reformatory system.
The first of the 1,000 commitments dealt with by Miss Davis was received at Bedford May 11, 1901; the last November 26, 1909. The percentage of foreign born is 29.1, of whites born in the United States 52.7, and of colored born in the United States 18.2. Twenty-two and one-tenth per cent. were committed for misdemeanors, 26.4 per cent. for felonies, and 51.5 per cent. for other offences, such as being a common prostitute, habitual drunkenness, etc.
So much for the nature of the thousand cases. In November, 1910, the disposition which had been made of these cases was as follows:
| Paroled | 668 |
| Still in institution | 111 |
| Escaped | 3 |
| Died in institution | 12 |
| Transferred | 47 |
| Deported | 16 |
| Served entire term | 80 |
| Discharged by court | 63 |
It will be noted that 668 out of the thousand cases have been paroled. The status of these 668 in November, 1910, was as follows:
| On parole | 110 |
| Discharged, having done well | 393 |
| Violated parole, not found | 52 |
| Broke parole and returned | 102 |
| Transferred to Auburn Prison while on parole | 1 |
| Discharged by court while on parole | 2 |
| Died on parole | 8 |
Immorality has been the largest single cause of violation of parole. A comparison of those placed with their families and those placed in positions at the time of their parole shows that the percentage of the former who violate their paroles is twice as great as that of the latter. This is not surprising when it is reflected that if home conditions had been what they should be, the girl might not have come to the reformatory in the first place.
The following table shows the present status of the 393 girls who did well on parole and received their discharges:
| Known to be doing well | 127 |
| Known to have criminal record | 38 |
| Known to have been immoral | 53 |
| Known to drink | 9 |
| Dead | 12 |
| Whereabouts unknown | 154 |
The occupations of those who are doing well are as follows:
| Married (44 since leaving here) | 58 |
| Dressmakers | 3 |
| Keep house for members of family | 3 |
| Assist at home | 6 |
| Nurse | 1 |
| Office clerks | 2 |
| Salvation Army officer | 1 |
| Laundry | 1 |
| In sanatorium in poor health | 1 |
| Attendant Institution | 1 |
| Piano accompanist | 1 |
| Factory operatives | 6 |
| Saleswomen | 5 |
| Domestic service | 38 |
In conclusion Miss Davis points out that one reason why the results are not more satisfactory than they are is the fact that the period of legal control which the reformatory has over a girl is fixed at three years. In the case of a girl of the worse sort it may be over two years before the reformatory can begin to exercise an influence over her. The period of its after-supervision is then inadequate to secure effective results. The reformatory should be allowed, Miss Davis thinks, at least one year of after-supervision, no matter what the length of confinement may be.