Our Prison Numbers

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 10, 27 January 1937, Page 7

Our Prison Numbers

N.Z. HOWARD LEAGUE FUii PENAL REFORM.

(To the"' Editor.)

Sir, — It has been brought to the iiOtice of th© New Kealahd Howard Leagu© that a misapprejhension exists as to th© significanee of our exoessiVe prison numbers. It is thought by som'e that th© figures ihdicate an excess cif crime, This, w© believe, is a misapprehension. We are told officially, and w© gladly believe, that ther© iB Jittle serious opm© in New Zealand. What then is th© cause of the disproportipn- , at© number of prisoners? Th© explanation Oifered by th© Howard Leagu© (and w© know of non© other) is that the responsibility rests upon a penal policy of ready and longi imprisonment. It is that policy which needs reform, and we feel greatly encouraged by the fact that sinc© our leagu© drew attenfcion to the comparativ© statistics, our Courts have reduced by more than 590 the number of imprisonments for first offences. This has been done, let it b© noted, without any subsequent increas© in crime. Other factors have also contributed and lately we have been told that our daily prison population has deereased from ovex 1100 to 947. Though better, this is still too high. Had we, like England, abolished imprisonment for "sleeping-out" and for non-payment of fines, etc., when poverty is the cause, our numbers would show a further decrease. If w© should, like her, reduce the length of sentence, our daily average would soon approximate much more nearly to the 350 or so which is all that, considering our advantages, it should be. The latest English report shows that only 1.6 of those convicted during the year received sentences of three years or more, while on "preventive detention" (corresponding to our habitual criminals) she had but 116. Another mere recent publication tells us that ther© are less than 2000 longterm men in her prisons. Our proportionate number would be less than 80, yet of habitual criminals alone we had last year over 90! We re'peat that it is our long sentences that contribute to our excessive prison numbers, and not merely our yearly "receptions." And if England can- keep down her crime without these long sentences, cannot we too? Agam we urge that a full and open inquiry into our penal system should be made. — Yours, etfi.,