237. INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT OF OFFENDERS.—The emphasis now placed upon reformation has made necessary a new point of view on the part of the public. We are beginning to make use of a mass of data furnished by physiology, psychology, and sociology, and on the basis of these data to subject prisoners to individualized treatment. Instead of herding all offenders into a single institution such as the county jail or the penitentiary, we are beginning to inquire, first of all, whether the prisoner might not be treated most effectively outside prison walls. For those offenders who seem to require institutional treatment, we are developing a whole series of institutions, designed to care for special types of abnormality. Industrial and farm colonies for petty offenders and occasional criminals, hospitals and colonies for the mentally defective, industrial schools and reformatories for certain types of juvenile offenders, and penitentiaries for hardened offenders, all these are included in the correctional system of the more progressive states.
238. SUBSTITUTES FOR IMPRISONMENT.—The belief is growing that young offenders, first offenders, and those committing petty crimes, may often be corrected without actual imprisonment. Increasingly common is the probation system, the essence of which is to suspend the sentence of the court upon certain conditions. The offender is placed in charge of a court officer who will stand in the relation of friend and guardian to him, in order to supervise his conduct and to attempt his reformation. The success of the probation system depends largely upon the care and judgment with which probation officers control their charges.
The use of the fine deserves mention. Generally the sentence for a petty offense is a fine, with imprisonment as an alternative in case the prisoner is unable to pay the fine. Realizing the corrupting influence of the jail sentence for first or slight offenders, court officials in many cities are making the payment of the fine less difficult. In Buffalo, Indianapolis, Chicago, and other cities it is customary in some cases to allow the payment of a fine in instalments. This ultimately secures the fine; it has a disciplinary effect upon the offender; and it keeps him out of jail.
239. MENTAL DEFECTIVES.—Recent progress in medicine and psychology has demonstrated that many criminals are mentally defective. Such persons are not fully responsible for their acts, and nothing is to be gained by committing them to prison. They need special treatment in institutions for the insane, the feeble-minded, and the otherwise defective. In recognition of this fact, the criminal courts of our larger cities now make extensive use of psychopathic experts. It is the duty of these experts to determine the mental status of the prisoner, and, in case he is found to be mentally defective, to recommend the type of treatment needed.
This is an admirable development, provided care is taken to prevent the abuse of the insanity plea by influential criminals who, though normal mentally, seek to evade responsibility for their deliberate crimes.
240. THE JUVENILE OFFENDER.—It has been proved that a large percentage of hardened criminals begin their careers by some careless or mischievous act for which they were severely or unwisely punished. Formerly, juvenile offenders were treated much as were adult criminals; more recently we are coming to believe that children ought not to be committed to penal institutions, but rather should be put on probation, or sent to correctional institutions of a special type. Wherever possible, institutional treatment of every kind ought to be avoided, for the crimes of children are clearly in a different class from those of the adult. In New York City a few years ago, for example, half the children brought into court were there because of the lack of recreation facilities. Petty theft and malicious mischief are often traceable to bad home influences and the unnatural surroundings of the city. These circumstances, coupled with the fact that immature children are often unaware of the seriousness of their lawless acts, justify the special treatment of the juvenile offender.
241. THE JUVENILE COURT.—The juvenile court has been created to meet the special needs of the youthful offender. An early institution of this kind was established in Chicago in 1889. Shortly afterward Denver established a juvenile court, and since then many other cities have taken up the idea. In some states county judges are authorized to suspend the ordinary rules of procedure where the defendant is under eighteen years of age.
A typical juvenile court provides separate judges and separate hearings for youthful prisoners. It avoids publicity, investigates the home life of the youthful offender, and attempts by kindly treatment to guide him back into a wholesome, honest life. In some cases delinquent children are sent back to school, in other cases they are placed on probation, in still other cases special institutional treatment is provided. Every effort is made to keep juvenile offenders from associating with habitual criminals. The aim of the court is not to punish the offender for a particular offense, but to weigh all the circumstances which have influenced his life, and to correct his wrong tendencies. Work of this type is preventive in the fullest sense of the word.
242. THE INDETERMINATE SENTENCE.—The realization that punishment ought to fit the criminal rather than the crime has led to the indeterminate sentence. Though not yet widely applied, this reform is attracting more and more attention. A logical application of the indeterminate sentence would require prisoners to be committed to prison, not for a specific term, but for an indefinite period. The actual length of the prison term would depend upon the prison record of the individual, and upon the promise that he showed of becoming a useful and normal citizen if released. According to this plan, occasional criminals, and persons enticed or forced into wrong-doing, would be entitled to release (regardless of the character of the crime) as soon as it became apparent that they would not repeat the offense. Hardened criminals, on the other hand, might remain in prison permanently, even though committed for a trifling offense. Certainly we ought not to continue to commit and to re-commit hardened criminals for short terms, when their past conduct proves that they have neither the intention nor the ability to make proper use of their freedom.
243. THE FUNCTION OF THE MODERN PRISON.—In addition to the principle of the indeterminate sentence, modern penology has approved a whole series of supplementary measures. The ideal prison of to-day is not a gloomy dungeon, but a great plant which attempts to turn criminals into useful citizens through the use of the school, the chapel, the workshop, the gymnasium, the library, and even the theatre. Discipline, the fundamental weakness of offenders against the law, is a cornerstone of prison life. More and more prisons are adopting the merit system, according to which prisoners are graded and promoted to additional privileges on the basis of behavior. In many prisons these privileges may include an "honor system" and "inmate self-government." The prison attempts to supply the deficiencies in the convict's early training. Prisoners are taught to take care of their bodies. They are taught useful trades, according to their abilities. If illiterate they may go to the prison school. Religious exercises and moral instruction are employed to develop a sense of moral values.