Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, K.C.B.
CHAIRMAN OF THE PRISON COMMISSION FOR
ENGLAND AND WALES
AND
PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRISON COMMISSION
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1921
COPYRIGHT
CONTENTS.
| PAGE. | |
| Preface | i |
| [CHAPTER I.—THE MEANING OF "PRISON REFORM."] | [1] |
| "Prison Reform"—a phrase of many meanings. The aim of themodern prison administration. The prison population. Influencesoperating for "reform" in prisons—religious services, visitation,education, lectures and addresses, summary of weekly news of theworld, &c. No 'law of silence' strictly so-called: talking exercise inprisons, &c. Non-criminal persons committed under special legislationduring the war—the prison system not intended for such. Officers ofprisons and their power of influence for good. The special categories ofthe Borstal lad, and the 'habitual offender' at Camp Hill. The threedirections along which 'prison reform' might proceed,—the organizationand development of Probation: the extension of the principle ofPreventive Detention to the Penal Servitude system: the co-ordinationof preventive efforts. | |
| [CHAPTER. II.—THE PRISON COMMISSION: OFFENCES, AND PUNISHMENTS.] | [18] |
| Constitution of Prison Board. Establishments under control of PrisonBoard. The criminal law and its a administration, punishments, &c.Probation Act, 1907. Court of Criminal Appeal. | |
| [CHAPTER III.—THE HISTORY OF PENAL SERVITUDE.] | [23] |
| History of Transportation. Pentonville Prison. Public Works. PenalServitude Act, 1857. Progressive Stage System. The Irish System.Royal Commission, 1863. The Penal Servitude Act, 1864. MarkSystem introduced. Habitual Criminals Act, 1869. Prevention ofCrimes Act, 1871. The Royal Commission, 1878. The Star Class. Fallin convict population. | |
| [CHAPTER IV.—PENAL SERVITUDE TO-DAY.] | [39] |
| The Inquiry of 1894. Progressive Stage System recast. New classificationof 1905. Weakminded convicts. Separate Confinement, historyof. Changes in system under the Act of 1898. Corporal punishment.Penal Servitude for Women. | |
| [CHAPTER V.—PREVENTIVE DETENTION.] | [49] |
| Definition of professional criminals. Proposed Habitual Offenders'Division. The Act of 1908. Camp Hill Prison. Rules for treatmentof prisoners. Release on Licence. Statistics of Releases. TheAdvisory Committee. The Intention of the System. | |
| [CHAPTER VI.—IMPRISONMENT.] | [59] |
| Houses of Correction. Local Prisons and their administration. Thephrase 'Hard Labour.' Howard and English Prisons. The Act of1778 and separate confinement. Jeremy Bentham and the 'Panopticon.'Classification under the Act of 1823. Mr. Crawford's visit to U.S.A.Classification, the leading principle of reform. Inquiries of 1832 and1836. Auburn and Philadelphian systems. The Act of 1839 andseparate confinement. The model prison at Pentonville. Local Prisonsand the control of Secretary of State. Surveyor-General appointed.Separate Confinement and Hard Labour, and the objects of imprisonment.Committee of 1850 and uniformity. Prison Act, 1865. Uniformity notsecured. Centralization of Prisons under Act of 1877. Powers ofJustices under. Classification and the objects and effect of Act of 1877. | |
| [CHAPTER VII.—THE INQUIRY OF 1894: THE PRISON ACT 1898: ANDTHE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION ACT, 1914.] | [75] |
| Appointment of Committee and its report. Public opinion and thetreatment of crime. Subsequent reforms in system. Retirement of SirE. Du Cane and appointment of Sir E. Ruggles-Brise. Prison Rulesand Administration. Triple Division and individualisation of prisoners.Part-payment of fines. Corporal punishment. Power to earn remissionof sentence. Gratuity and remission of sentence. | |
| [CHAPTER VIII.—BORSTAL SYSTEM.] | [85] |
| Its Origin. Statistics of youths committed annually. The Committeeof 1894. The Colony at Stretton, 1815. "The Philanthropic Institution."The Reformatory School Act, 1854. The Colony of Mettray.The Age of 16 and criminal majority. Visit to the American StateReformatory at Elmira. The London Prison Visitors' Association, andfirst experiments at Borstal: the features of the early System.Representation to Secretary of State. Statutory effect given to Systemin 1908. The Institution for males and females to-day. "ModifiedSystem" and Borstal Committee System in Convict Prisons. TheBorstal System, and its extension under the Criminal Justice AdministrationAct, 1914. | |
| [CHAPTER IX.—THE HANDMAIDS OF THE PRISON SYSTEM.] | [101] |
| (1) THE CHILDREN ACT, 1908. | |
| (2) THE PROBATION ACT, 1907. | |
| (1) The Children Act, and age of criminal responsibility. JuvenileCourts, statistics of. Physically and mentally defective children.The Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Acts,1899 and 1914. Juvenile Employment Bureaux and Labour Exchanges.The Elementary Education Act 1918. The Value of Voluntary personalservice directed to the young. | |
| (2) The Provisional Sentence abroad. The English law of Probation:Extent of its application: the Law prior to 1907. Difficulties of comparisonof the various Systems. Probation in State of New York:Direct control and supervision by the State. | |
| [CHAPTER X.—FEMALE OFFENDERS.] | [114] |
| The fall in committals to prison. The heavy rate of Recidivism.Formation of the Lady Visitors' Association, its duties, &c. TheBorstal System at Aylesbury, and the work of the Ladies' Committeeof the Borstal Association. The "Modified" Borstal System; Instructionsregulating the class; Extension of Borstal System underCriminal Justice Administration Act, 1914. Female recidivism, and theneed for adoption of the principle of the reformatory sentence, andthe formation of a State Reformatory. Superintendence and control offemale prisoners by women. | |
| [CHAPTER XI.—EDUCATIVE, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCESIN PRISON.] | [124] |
| Education in prisons before Education Act, 1870: comparative statisticsof degree of education of prisoners: large number of illiterateprisoners: present system of education and teaching staff: prisonlibraries, lectures, debates, missions: the work of Chaplains. | |
| [CHAPTER XII.—LABOUR IN ENGLISH PRISONS.] | [131] |
| Changes in system due to reduction of convicts. Less Public Workslabour. Competition with free labour. Contract system unknown inEnglish Prisons. Character of present work in Convict Prisons.Medical census of convicts' fitness for work. The last Public Works,Dover Harbour. Character of Convict Prison labour approximatingmore to that of Local Prisons. Inquiry of 1863, and labour in LocalPrisons. 'Hard Labour' of two classes. The Prison Act, 1877.Abolition of unproductive labour, and inquiry of 1894. Revision ofLabour Statistics. Improvement in output of manufacture since 1896.Unskilled labour. Reorganization of female labour, 1911. Work forGovernment Departments. Work during the War. The work ofJuvenile-Adult prisoners. | |
| [CHAPTER XIII.—(1) VAGRANCY: (2) INEBRIETY.] | [142] |
| (1) Early history of Vagrancy legislation. The Act of 1824. Categoriesof Vagrants. The casual pauper. Casual wards. Alleged attractivenessof prison to workhouse: Commissioners' observations on. Committee of1906 and need for uniformity in casual wards, &c. Merxplas Colony.Labour Colonies and the Inquiry of 1903. Identification of habitualvagrants. Treatment of Vagrancy abroad. Great fall in numberconvicted of Vagrancy offences. The way ticket system. Casual Wardsof Metropolis and Metropolitan Asylums Board. High number ofconvictions of vagrants. No plan yet adopted by State for dealingwith professional vagrancy. | |
| (2) Committee of 1872. Act of 1879. Inquiry of 1892. Principles of theAct of 1898. Establishment of State Inebriate Reformatories.Character of inmates. Control of State Reformatories. Commitmentsunder the Act. The working of the Act. Committee appointed in 1908to inquire into Inebriates and Probation. Causes operating againstwider use of powers under Act. Inebriety as a factor of crime.Dr. Branthwaite's inquiry into a number of cases. Mental deficiencyobvious in many. Condemnation of short sentences of imprisonment.Habitual inebriety and mental defectiveness. Report of Committee of1908. | |
| [CHAPTER XIV.—"PATRONAGE" OR AID TO DISCHARGED PRISONERS:ITS EFFECT ON RECIDIVISM.] | [164] |
| Former system of aid to discharged convicts. Gratuity systemdifferent from 'cantine' or 'pécule' system. Early history of aidto local discharged prisoners. Provisions made by Acts of 1862 and1865. System under Act of 1877. Inquiry of Committee of 1894 andrecommendations. Scheme of 1897. Formation of 'Central Association.'Discontinuance of Convict Gratuity System. New scheme for aid ofLocal prisoners, 1913. The Central Organization of Aid Societies;Aid to wives and families of prisoners. Proposed National Society forPrevention of Crime, and protection of the young offender. Aid ondischarge from Borstal Institutions and Preventive Detention Prisons. | |
| [CHAPTER XV.—THE MEDICAL SERVICE.] | [185] |
| Personnel of the Medical Staff; duties. Sickness and low death rate inPrisons. Prisons described as the best sanatoria in England. Infectiousdisease. Venereal disease. Prison dietary. Insanity and mentaldefectiveness, estimated rates of; the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913. The'Birmingham' experiment for mental investigation of remand prisoners.The Borstal System and physical development. The clinical laboratory;"Study-leave" for Medical Officers. The nursing of sick prisoners. | |
| [CHAPTER XVI.—A CRIMINOLOGICAL INQUIRY IN ENGLISH PRISONS.] | [198] |
| The nature of the inquiry. Professor Lombroso and the postulate ofthe 'Positive' School. The Lombrosian doctrine founded upon observationalone. The science of statistics: 'Normal' and 'abnormal'man. The 'criminal diathesis:' The biometric method of ProfessorKarl Pearson. Anthropometry and the existence of a criminal type.Comparison of statistics of criminals and non-criminal public. Dr.Goring's conclusion that there is no physical criminal type. 'Selective'factors and the physique of criminals. No 'mental criminal type.'Statistics of mental defectiveness. Defective physique and defectiveintelligence in selection of criminals. Heredity and other environmentalfactors. The relation between education and crime. Alcoholism.Conclusions as to the causes of crime. The criminal a "defective"man. His inability to live up to required social standard. The needfor individualization of punishment. The Mental Deficiency Act, 1913. | |
| [CHAPTER XVII.— (A) A SHORT SKETCH OF THE MOVEMENT OF CRIMESINCE 1872: (B) THE WAR 1914-18.] | [216] |
| (A) Classification of offences proceeded against in Criminal Courts.Fall in serious crime since 1871. Decrease of non-indictable offencesof a criminal nature. Statistics of non-criminal offences. PrisonPopulation, statistics since 1881. Decrease in total number of sentencesto Penal Servitude. Great decrease in prisoners under 21 yearsof age. Statistics of recidivism. Petty Recidivism and vagrantsand mentally defective persons in prisons. | |
| (B) Prison statistics during the War: the effect of the Criminal JusticeAdministration Act, 1914, and payment of fines. Statistics of thedecrease in various offences. The effect of the Central Control Board(Liquor Traffic) and committals for Drunkenness. The great fall inVagrancy. Criminal statistics in times of industrial prosperity anddistress. Closing of penal institutions during the War. Statistics ofcharges tried and proceeded against. The maintenance in the futureof the present low criminal population. | |
| Appendix:— | |
| [(a) Regulations &c., for Borstal Institutions.] | [231] |
| [(b) " " Preventive Detention Prisons.] | [265] |
| [Index] | [268] |