H.— 20a.

1916. NEW ZEALAND.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. PRISONS BOARD (ANNUAL REPORT OF) FOR 1915.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Sir,— 22nd May, 1916. I have the honour to forward herewith the report of the Prisons Board for the year 1915. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Justice, Wellington. Eobert Stout, President.

REPORT.

During the year 1915 the Board held meetings at Wellington, Waikeria, Waipa, Kaingaroa, New Plymouth, Auckland, Lyttelton, Addington, Paparua (Templeton), and Invercargill. The following table shows the dates of the meetings, and the cases considered: —

The total number of cases considered during the year was 374, of which 101 were habitual criminals and 273 prisoners undergoing reformative detention. Several of the cases were those of persons who came more than once before the Board : the total number of distinct cases being 329, of which 86 were habitual criminals and 243 reformative detention prisoners. Thirty-six habitual criminals were recommended for release on probation, of which number 34 were actually released during the year. The number of prisoners undergoing reformative detention who were recommended for release on probation was 112, and 99 of these were so released before

Cases considered of Date. Place of Meeting. Habitual Persons underCriminals and going Reformative Offenders. Detention. February 17 ... ... Wellington March 15 ... ... Waikeria 17 ... ... Waipa ,, 17 ... ... Kaingaroa April 26 ... ... Wellington May 3 ... ... New Plymouth ,, 5 ... ... Auckland June 4 ... ... Wellington August 27 ... October 12 ... ... ,, November 23... ... Lyttelton ,, 23... ... Addington ,, 23... ... Paparua ,, 25 and 26 ... I Invercargill ... J I 39 16 55 3 56 59 1 1 43 59 102 3 20 23 7 23 30 1 1 6 97 103 101 273 374 Totals