COMING INTO LINE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 41, 12 November 1926, Page 8

COMING INTO LINE

DOMINIONS PROBATION SYSTEM SPECIAL DISTRICT DIVISION NEW SCHEME TO OPERATE A new departure designed to materially improve the probation system of New Zealand and bring it into line with the standard set by other countries is at present being undertaken by the Justice. ’Department. The scheme provides for the division of the Dominion into four special probation districts, each being ender* the charge of a resident full-time probation officer, who will be responsible for the organisation of his particular district. An important part will also' be played in the new order of things by voluntary associate committees of suitable social workers.

If. was pointed out in the last probation report that hitherto the . Dominion consisted of 181 probation districts and 187 district probation officers, of whom 171 were members of the police force, six were permanent officers of the Prisons Department, four were parttime officers who received an rnnual honorarium, and six were voluntary officers of the Salvation Army, four being women who did duty in each of the four main centres. The probation officer at Auckland was also bailiff end maintenance officer, while in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin the work was done by gentlemen who were linked up with other social service organisations. In Britain and America the view was widely held that police and prison officials were not the most suited by training and outlook for probation work; but quite apart from that aspect it had to be remembered that the whole of the probation staffs were actually part-time officers, and they were too overburdened to devote the requisite individual personal attention to probationers that was so essential a feature of the system. The result was that the work was less effective. Hone visitation was rarely practised, end in many instances the probationers reported by letter. A Constructive System. “Perfunctory probation,” it v.as stated, “has as baneful an influence as the condonation of wrongdoing. It brings the system into disrepute with ‘he Courts, it negatives the deterrent effect on others, and it has a bad moral influence on the offender., It .is thus imperative that an effort be made to place the system on a more constructive basis, as there is no doubt that an effectively administered system offers great possibilities for the treatment of delinquents. A merely negative attitude, such as requiring the probationer to report 1 .at specified times and to place certain restrictions on conduct, will eccomplish little. A positive and constructive attitude, by assisting and befriending the probationer, is essential to the achievement of the best results.” Probation Officer’s Duties. It was held that failure to observe ths conditions, of probationary 1 elease, which usually included'an undertaking by the probationer to conduct himself properly, to abstain from -evil associations and habits, and to lepprt regularly, shoiuld naturally render the offender liable to be brought before the Court, as slackness made the system merely a "mask for impunity.” The probation officer should keep closely in touch with the probationer’s mode cf living, and he should be his guide, counsellor and friend. He should act with sympathy and firmness and endeavour to restore the offender to a proper sense of his social responsibility. The view' of the Department was that the personal touch carried a great influence, while the practice of requiring probationers to report themselves to the probation office had several disadvantages. Probationers had come to regard reporting as a mere matter of form, and the fact of reporting at the office once a week was no criterion of conduct at other times. Another point was that where probationers were working during the day arrangements were made for them to report in the evenings. With several reporting on the same evening there was the objectionable feature that small coteries of a delinquent class were liable to be formed, with the danger of anti-social habits becoming intensified rather than being eradicated. Home Visiting Principle.

In Britain and America the experience had been that the most effective probation work Jay in home visiting. In advocating personal visitation, however, care had to bo taken to ensure that the probationer was not prejudiced in the eyes of his employers or associates through the probation officer visiting the probationer at his daily work. On the other hand, there should be no objection to discreet inquiries being made, as to whether the nature of the occupation which the probationer was following was such as to hinder liis development along social fines. Care had always to be exercised to ensure that the probationer was neither humiliated nor embarrassed in the eyes of bis fellow-workers or his associates. ‘ The New System. The Government has now decided to inaugurate a now system. The Dominion will be divided into four special probation districts, and applications are being called for the positions of full-time probation officers, one for each of the four principal, centres. Although in the initial stages each officer will confine his activities to the organisation of the probation work of the centre in which he is Ideated, the ultimate idea is that he will be responsible for the organisation of the district. It will be his duty to form associate committees of suitable social workers, representative of ..all classes of the community and the various religious denominations, so that appropriate individual attention can be given to each offender, and to ensure that he be subject to the influence and guidance of one of his own faith. It is contended that a committee would relieve the probation officer of a considerable amount of personal work. Sixty cases, it was generally agreed, are the maximum that one man can effectively deal with and permit of thorough individualisation, but by working through a committee defects incurred through overburdening would be overcome, v oluntary organisations had been found to work satisfactorily in other parts or the world, and there was no reason,, it was held, why successful co-operation .on such lines should not be secured in the Dominion. The restoration of the offender to a sense of normal .citizenship was a work the nature of which should appeal to all who possessed a high sense of public duty ana the tune to carry it It is expected that the four appointment will be announced at an early date.