PRISON ESCAPEES

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 32, 20 August 1952, Page 4

PRISON ESCAPEES

It is disturbing enough to be told, as reported in the Times last week, that an escapee from Rangipo Prison Camp had been at large for about a month, breaking and entering unoccupied premises, and stealingr But 't is even more disturbing to learn that this particular escapee is listed as an habitual criminal. What is an ovil-doer in this categ^ry, who should be under strict survelliance in a wellstaffed eraol, doing in a prison camp in the Taupo Country, of all places1 ? The question demands a satisfactory

answer, and should be pressed home, even into Parliament itself, until ari answer is forthcoming. The Prisons Department has no right whatever tG send hardened criminals into camps from which escape is not verjr difficult, in country, such as the Taupo region, where concealment is easy, and where numerous unoccupied holit.ay premises alford abundant opportunities for further nefarious activitles. The people of Taupo have ample grounds for resentment against their exposure to the menace of an habitual criminal at large in their neighbourhood, and can quite reasonably demand that greater discrimination should be exercised in the selection of prisoners for camps in this area. The anti-social elements in this country have been battling for years on the sloppy sentimentalism that has permeated the adminstration oi law and order. The time for a stoektaking of ideas on the subject is more than due and the contingent issues faced in a more realistic spirit. The moral reformation of our social degenerates by little acts of kindness may be very well for less case-hard-ened, but a good many others, it is to be suspected, laugh up their sleeves at the preceptors and their precepts.. Prison Escapes Since the above article was written, the menace to property — and possibly the safety of individuals — has been intensified by the sensational get-away of three prisoners from a bus en route from Wellington to Auckland,, and at the time of writlng, at large in the wild country in the vicinity of Atiamuri. One of the three was a previous escapee who had been recaptured in the Taupo area and returned to prison. Full details of the latest escape from custody have appeared in the> dany Press. There are, however, certain questions people are asking. Hovv dld the prisofier who attacked the warder become possessed of an irun bar with which to disable him ? Again, there were 17 prisoners on board the bus, with only two warders in charge. What precautions were taken to ensure that the situation did not get out of hand ? Furthermore, what is the explanation of the presence in the bus of rifles which the escapees were able to take with them ? It is said that the bolts had been removed. No matter — what were these weapons doing there ? Finally, why was a human cargo of this description transported by bus though sparsely populated and ,heavily forested country instead of by train ? The public will demand the fullest investigation, and an assurance that more adequate provision will be mad©' to guard against escapes from custody in the future.