Training Centre Official Replies To Criticism

Chronicle (Levin), 10 September 1948, Page 4

Training Centre Official Replies To Criticism

/'•jtsaseiess ana vicjous was now the manager of the Boys' Training Centre, Levin, Mv> E, J. Stanley, described allegations of indijffierence on the part of the pplice and his staff in regSrd to the recapture of inmates who absconded, reported to have been made by Mr. S. C. Saint and members of the Manawatu prQvincial executive of Fedei*ated Farmers on Wednesday. "After readipg the newspaper accounts, I caii only gay that I am astounded at the baseless charges that haye been made. They are n6t only untrue but vicious. It is obvious that none of the members who so freely gave their views have ever visitea the centre property, nor haye they knowledge of the general tone and standard of conduct, or of the facilities for train" ing which, although urged by one member, have been in existence for many years," said Mr. Stanley. "There are, of course,. occasional cases of absconding, but these are becoming less every year and in yery few jnstances over the past five years,, during which I have been here, has damage been done to property." ' v • When categorically denying the statements reportedly made by Mr. Saint, he said that in the five years he hafi been at the^centre, np boy pad been "capturedV dramatically Oi" otherwise, by Mr. Saint, nor had a single case arisen of boys who had absconded having been found with a "sawn-off shotgun or butchers' knives" in their possession. Neither had there been an instanee of three boys absconding and one jreturning to tell the sta^ where the others were or would be. Touching on an allegati.on made by Mr. Saint that a boy inmate employed on a nearby farm had made off with some suits and money, and was known to have headed ,for the South Island, yet notliing had been done till a resident rang the Police Commissioner, Mr. Stanley "had this to say: "We know of no such case. A school boy from here boarded the train at Levin and the inter-island ferry boat at Wellington. We knew he would probably head for Christchurch and advised the authorities accordingl.y. The boat was watched and, as he left it, he was apprehended and was back at the centre the next morning. He had at^ tempted ' no ' mischief ' during his liberty." Reference, he said, had been made by the .speakers at the Federated Farmers' meeting to warders. "We have no warders here nor anything ■ approaching them. The boys'.'behaviour is supervised by house masters and attendants. When a boy is missing the system is such that within ten minutes' either I or the resident house master is notified. Immediate steps are always taken. We first notify the police in the surrounding district and in Palmerston North and Wellington. A car is sent out at any time of the day or night, and every possible effort is made to locate che missing person/ This effort is continued unceasingly at the cost of sleep to us all in every case until the boy is located. I, personally, cannot pay too high a tribute to the co-operation of the Police Department,- not only in Levin but throughout New Zealand. . On the very iew occasions. when a boy absconds the police are communieated with at any time of the night, and they have never failed to give every possible assistarice in their power." Regarding the Federated Farmers' recommendation that broadcast warnings he given whenever boys escaped froih- the eentre, Mr, Stanley- -said that .such warnings were made, if desired, by the department when • a boy absconded. Covering other points raised at the meeting, Mr. Stanley said that in connection with giving the boys "incentive to work and assistance to improve themselves," he would >say that many responsible visitors from overseas and parts of New Zealand had visited the centre and spoken in the highest terms of both the training facilities and the general conduct and tone of the establishnrent, An international auth^ ority on juveni'le delinquenpy '"and approved English schools had recently expressed amazement at the results obtained at the centre by unobtrusive supervision and the iack of locks ahd keys. He ha'd particularly commented on the friendly relations between the staff and the boys, specially men^. tiohing the respectful attitude of the boys to the attendants. Following the , interview, Mr, Stanley gtated that he had proof of the diminution in the number of cases of qbsconding in the cen-r tre flies, which he "invited "The Chronicle" representative to inspeqt, but he added that it was not his province to supply them for publication. "While the Federated Farmers were crlticising us, I was gitting up half the night working out an .approach to a particuiar boy's problem," he told the reporfer, when outlining the work done at the centre. He invited the reporter to choose any two boys in the centre to whom he would be at liberty to PUt any question, and whom he eould use as sole guides" on a tpur of the centre. "We have nothing to , hide," Mr. Stanley added"Only tfle fools try to go," was the comment of one of the boys when asked if many tobk the op» portunities of absconding. He adrnitted that there were plenty of opportunities, but that over 90 per cent appreciated the position of trust in which they were placed, and that the few who absconded

r •: .V. :■ r •. - , — ^ were definitely offside with. the others. "We are not the careless and nonchalant fellows Mr. Saint would have us appear," said the resident housemaster, Mr. L. S, Abbott. He said that all the attendants took a great interest. in their work..,.It had taken years of sueh work' to "Build up the tone and tradition which was now the basic fotihdacion of the centre. On the old system a boy would come in as a thief and go out a thief, but by giving them every opportunity to live together as a community they learnt tp "respect other people's property. Surely that was better than justj keeping a thief out of circulationj for a period, he concluded.