[35] The public is indebted to these volunteers for providing some probationary care for charges of the court before official probation was established. As soon as this was done, they were relieved of the undue pressure under which they had worked without proper equipment and aid. With the direction and supervision of the trained official representatives of the court, volunteer co-operation may now be developed and made highly useful.
[36] In March, 1912, as the result of an active campaign, 12 probation officers who had passed the civil service examination were assigned to the Manhattan children’s court and made officers of the court, drawing their salary from the city. In 1913, the number of probation officers was raised to 20. The effectiveness with which the new probation work operates is, of course, a subject on which we have no data. The court still faces the difficulty of having too small a staff for the number of cases. The Manhattan court has over 10,000 cases under treatment in the course of a year. In Chicago, the average number of cases is only about 5,000 and there are 30 regular probation officers and 30 police probation officers, making a total of 60 persons to handle this smaller number of cases.
[37] Jack Spinner’s mother was required to secure $1,000 bail—and fortunately she was able to secure it from the members of her church—for a “$500 burglary,” the articles in question being two small bundles of kindling wood which, as it was afterward proved, the boy had not taken.
[38] “Everybody in the district knows him. Everybody knows where to find him, and nearly everybody goes to him for assistance of one sort or another, especially the poor of the tenements. He is always obliging. He will go to the police courts to put in a good word for the ‘drunks and disorderlies,’ or pay their fines if a good word is not effective. He will attend christenings, weddings, and funerals. He will feed the hungry and help bury the dead.
“A philanthropist? Not at all. He is playing politics all the time. Brought up in Tammany Hall, he has learned how to read the hearts of the great mass of voters. He does not bother about reaching their heads. It is his belief that arguments and campaign literature have never gained votes. He seeks direct contact with the people, does them good turns when he can, and relies on their not forgetting him on election day.” Riordan, W. L.: Plunkett of Tammany Hall. A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics, pp. 168-169. New York, McClure, 1905.
[39] The installation of official probation officers and the adoption of the new system of records have removed this obstacle to the judge’s obtaining a comprehensive view of cases and reaching wise decisions. At the present time a careful preliminary investigation is made by the probation officer and presented in written form to the judge, prior to disposition of the case.
[40] For statistical data see Appendix, Table 12, [p. 172].
[41] Two-thirds of all the cases handled in 1909 involved minor or trivial offenses, according to the Handbook of the New York Child Welfare Exhibit, 1911. Section on Laws and Administration, p. 162.
[42] As already indicated official probation has taken the place of the “parole” system since this chapter was written.
[43] This use of the term “parole” is not strictly correct. “Parole” more properly applies to the supervision of delinquents after release from institutions.